Windows desktop systems supported by ProTools LE 7.4 ?

[chrisdee]

I wonder what current Windows desktop system is supported with ProTools LE ?
As far as I can se on Digidesign compability pages : http://digidesign.com/index.cfm?lang...4&itemid=28565, only outdated Processors & Chipsets are supported.

I could not find any of the chipsets listed there in any of the local hardware stores
where I live in Trondheim, Norway.

Does this mean that I have to buy a used windows desktop system if I want to run ProTools LE 7.4 ?

[StavrosSound]

Here's my current specs for WinXP if it helps:

- Intel Q6600 2.4Ghz (ProTools 7.4 regonizes and uses all 4 cores, and 7.3.1 did too)
- 4GB DDR2 SDRAM (WinXp only recogizes between 3.25 and 3.5GB of it)
- ASUS P5E X38 motherboard (any P35, X38, and X48 board should work without a problem)
- ASUS EN9600GT Silent (any nVidia 9xxx or ATI HDxxxx series card should be fine)
- ADS PYRO Firewire card (bought the one Digi recommended, works flawlessly)

Hope that at least helps in identifying what will work. Theoretically, anything mainstream which is newer than whe listed specs (i.e. CPU and chipset) will work.

[EGS]

...Does this mean that I have to buy a used windows desktop system if I want to run ProTools LE 7.4 ?

Yeah, Digi REALLY owes us an update on this info. With so many hardware variables out there, they can't possibly test everything. But they should at least test/approve some currenttly available systems, in order to help those who are not comfortable building one. Digi?

[zuma]

I have to agree with the above posts regarding the compatibility info from Digidesign.

It's getting pretty hard to find a 965 or 975 chipset board on the shelves at any of my local computer shops. For a core 2 duo these are the only two that are compatible according to the site. And even with those, Digi adds this little disclaimer

The following Intel processors are compatible, but have not been fully qualified with Pro Tools LE 7.4 for Windows XP. Computers with these processor/chipset combinations may be able to provide full track count performance, however, they cannot be guaranteed to do so.

There are quite a few people on these forums that are running P35, X38, X48, etc chipsets and quad core processors without problems, so can someone from Digidesign please fill me in as to why you can't test some of these combinations yourself and make it official. By the way, I would guess that 95% of your LE customer base has never come to this forum to see that other people are running newer hardware.

I know you can't test every hardware combination from every manufacturer, but surely you could slap together a few different machines and let us know what happens with them.

I want to build a new machine myself, but I am very apprehensive about the board/processor/chipset combination that I go for. I know I can get an ASUS P5K board and it should work since others are using it, but I may want the P5K/EPU or a Gigabyte P35 based board and I don't want to just "pay my money and take a chance" so to speak. To be honest I can't even believe pro tools is THAT picky, but many people imply that it is.

I'll quit with the rant now, but PLEASE can someone from Digi address this issue of old hardware lists. "Find the info on a forum" is no way to run a business.

I want to give you money. I really do! But it seems like a crap shoot with new hardware and my old machine is too old.

[deanguidry]

I have to agree with the above posts regarding the compatibility info from Digidesign.

It's getting pretty hard to find a 965 or 975 chipset board on the shelves at any of my local computer shops. For a core 2 duo these are the only two that are compatible according to the site. And even with those, Digi adds this little disclaimer

There are quite a few people on these forums that are running P35, X38, X48, etc chipsets and quad core processors without problems, so can someone from Digidesign please fill me in as to why you can't test some of these combinations yourself and make it official. By the way, I would guess that 95% of your LE customer base has never come to this forum to see that other people are running newer hardware.

I know you can't test every hardware combination from every manufacturer, but surely you could slap together a few different machines and let us know what happens with them.

I want to build a new machine myself, but I am very apprehensive about the board/processor/chipset combination that I go for. I know I can get an ASUS P5K board and it should work since others are using it, but I may want the P5K/EPU or a Gigabyte P35 based board and I don't want to just "pay my money and take a chance" so to speak. To be honest I can't even believe pro tools is THAT picky, but many people imply that it is.

I'll quit with the rant now, but PLEASE can someone from Digi address this issue of old hardware lists. "Find the info on a forum" is no way to run a business.

I want to give you money. I really do! But it seems like a crap shoot with new hardware and my old machine is too old.

This is probably the best post I have ever read to focus consumer frustration with pro tools. Digi should pay close attention to what he is saying.

[mykhal c]

have to agree. it's kinda like DIGI is sayin' either build a PC (choose your 'new' specs/take your chance) or buy a MAC. i'm glad i like to build

[EGS]

I have to agree with the above posts regarding the compatibility info from Digidesign... I want to give you money. I really do! But...

That says it all. I'm in the "build one" camp, but Digi needs to realize there's a LOT of users who simply don't feel comfortable building a computer. I think Digi should chime in here.

[Jason Grooms]

Let me tell you, I am new to Pro Tool however I am not new to computers or music. I have been involved in computers and music since 1984 and have been a professional software developer since 1992.

With my current experience with Pro Tools I am utterly flabbergasted it is the industry standard. Now when I say that I am not knocking the features of the software, it is quite powerful. However, I will knock its stability and reliability.

When I spend more time being a computer tech rather than an engineer or a musician something isn't right. And the fact that so many people have these issues just, like I said, blows me away Digi doesn't focus more on product stability.

As I mentioned, I have been writing software professionally for a long time and can certainly relate to the issues of inconsistent hardware platforms but from my experience in development I only see this level of "qwerkyness" when programmers are using shortcuts or undocumented API calls to "push" the system to do things that it normally would not (or should not) do. The fact the application has to be "certified" on a motherboard chipset, for example, is utterly ridiculous and completely unacceptable.

I have never subscribed to this approach as a developer as it leads to exactly what we see on this forum, qwerky inconsistent results. Also, Digi blames the infinite hardware platforms that it can't test. Umm, hard drives interfaces, standard video modes, firewire interfaces, USB have all been around for a long time and it doesn't appear to effect most other software apps or even OS's for that matter. Even Windows can figure out most hardware these days, what in god’s name are your developers doing that makes it so picky? In addtion, Pro Tools installations are required to have Digi audio hardware and drivers?? Hello? Doesn't that stabilize the platform for you?

Please, address the stability issues and clean up your code base. Save all of us some time and headache. I'll gladly spend another $2000 on a PC to get the horsepower I need if it just WORKS!

Respectfully.

[zuma]

Customers: "I wonder if anyone will reply to my question?"

Digi: "Shhh. Everyone be quiet. Maybe they will go away."

Customers: "Maybe I'll try the pre-purchase product information phone number on the web site"

Digi: "Whew! We dodged another one. Don't worry boss....we've set that number up as an infinite loop of prompts that lead to nowhere............oh #%*% they're on the forum again.....shhhhhh!"

[The Weed]

Digidesign is well aware of the problems with their code. It's old code and that's one of the big the reasons PT LE is so picky, especially on PC's, and why you have to do everything 1-2-3 or else. From an old post:

"To clarify a few things here - it IS true that Pro Tools has very specific compatibility requirements and this is mostly due to it working off a codebase that is much older than other applications. We ARE working very diligently to make Pro Tools compatible with more systems, but this is no small undertaking, as it requires some massive engineering efforts to keep everything going for current users of Pro Tools and still add new features AND system compatibility. It's rather like changing horses mid-stream.

Given that, it is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL that the compatibility requirements are followed to a 'T' on Windows systems. Any deviation and it goes into territory where we either know Pro Tools will fail (as with incompatible/untested chipsets or processors) or don't know specifically what could cause a particular problem. We *do* know that we could spend hours trying to get a system working only to find out that it's just not going to happen. Rather than waste your time and ours trying to get an incompatible/untested system working, the first thing we're going to do is recommend you get one that we have tested and put on our compatibility documents so that we at least know what we're working with. Once you're on a compatible system, we can then look at possible causes for any problems that someone may be having.

Unfortunately on the PC side of things, we also have to deal with a nearly constant updates and changes to motherboards, processors, chipsets and computer configurations. Even the same model computer can have components changed that cause incompatibilities without any change to model numbers of the computer. We experienced that earlier this year with a particular computer manufacturer - they changed the chipset of the firewire controller, rendering it useless with any of our firewire devices. We didn't find out until we had several unsolved errors reported from customers and actually got a customers system in to take a look at what could be causing it.

We're not out to just brush people off here - we really do want to try to help get your system working properly, however we MUST insist on using a compatible system or all our troubleshooting is nearly for naught.

The only thing being reported incorrectly by Sandra is the chipset type for VIA chipsets - we know that now and how to work around it. If it's a concern, we can always have someone use PCWizard for more info.

Yes, Pro Tools has more specific compatibility requirements than other software systems, but that's the way it is for now and that's what we have to work with. We know this needs to change and are working on it, in the mean time, however, this is what we have to work with."

And:

"You'll note that Cakewalk only developed Sonar within the last few years, which is why their compatibility requirements aren't as stringent as ours.

There's no specific timeline and some serious engineering issues that would need to be addressed for all these compatibility issues to be solved - remember, we have to develop for TDM, Mac AND Windows simultaneously, all with their own specific requirements, yet all having to share common feature sets and such. Most of the other software companies are only developing for one platform or the other, with a few exceptions.

Rest assured - we are working on it."

I too wish they would hurry up. Maybe now that Leoptard is qualified?

Oh, never mind.

Cheers,