Please explain different chassis options

[digidesigner]

There are many different expansion chassis options, could someone please explain the differences and options. (32 bit, 64 bit, different numbers of slots, different lengths of possible cable lengths, RTAS latency, PCIe host cards possible to get or no)

I think many are thinking about dumping G5's and would like to use their cards inside chassis with PCIe computers and could use this info.

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by digidesigner

There are many different expansion chassis options, could someone please explain the differences and options. (32 bit, 64 bit, different numbers of slots, different lengths of possible cable lengths, RTAS latency, PCIe host cards possible to get or no)

I think many are thinking about dumping G5's and would like to use their cards inside chassis with PCIe computers and could use this info.

Magma PE6R4 Is the Daddy. It has PCIx slots and a PCIe host card and has zero latency.

I just bought a S/H Digidesign expansion HD6 which is ok and has 6 slots pcix. but doesn't have the zero latency of the PE6R4. so the buffer has to be reduced by half (compared to having the cards in the computer) but it has got me out of a hole for upgrading to MacPro intel and leaving the old G5 2g DP which was getting overloaded with PT8 and Leopard.

If you want to keep your PCIx cards and have a PCIe computer then your options are a bit limited as i don't know if the older chassis offer the PCIE host card to go in the new computers with PCIe slots.

Chris

[propower]

If you go to http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...5&itemid=24124 you will see the 2 slot magma chassis to cardbus CB264 is qualified for 7.3/7.4 and a laptop. It would make sense that just changing out the cardbus end for PCIe should also work.

Qualified CardBus PCI Expansion Chassis

• Magma 2-Slot model CB264 (64-bit/33Mhz 2 Slot CardBus to PCI expansion)
• Magma 2-Slot model CB232 (current), CB232-D1 (discontinued) (both 32-bit/33Mhz 2 Slot CardBus to PCI expansion)

It would seem pretty straightforward to qualify this (or not) for Mac Pros. Anybody using this solution already?

-Lee

[ChrisMitchell]

Originally Posted by crizdee

Magma PE6R4 Is the Daddy. It has PCIx slots and a PCIe host card and has zero latency............... If you want to keep your PCIx cards and have a PCIe computer then your options are a bit limited as i don't know if the older chassis offer the PCIE host card to go in the new computers with PCIe slots.

Chris

I always wondered about the expansion chassis differences myself.

The unfortunate reality with PT nowadays and us hold-outs with older cards/systems is that there are fewer and fewer options available to us as time/progress marches on. At some point it gets a lot like trying to get blood from a stone, and as much as it hurts, upgrading to a new system/cards is eventually going to be the only way to go.

However, monetarily, I have my limits. I just looked at the cross-grade price from my HD3 PCI to HD3 Accel PCIe, and unless I'm reading it wrong, $4295 US is what I'm looking at before I even think about upgrading to PT8 and getting a new Mac. Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor.

Sorry, I'll stick with "Ye Olde" G4 Dual 533 and PT 6.2.3 TDM for now. Yeah, it's ancient, and yeah, other sound engineers get pissed at me cuz they have to save as Version 6 all the time. Unless they wanna buy me a new rig, they'll have to deal with it.

The Magma PE6R4 chassis as an option to get a PCIe system but still keep my PCI HD3 cards is definitely a more cost effective solution. When I do finally decide to bite the bullet and upgrade, I'll either get a used G5 DP 2.7 or look into the Magma PE6R4 as an option.

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by ChrisMitchell

I When I do finally decide to bite the bullet and upgrade, I'll either get a used G5 DP 2.7 or look into the Magma PE6R4 as an option.

When you do finally upgrade you'll want more than a dual processor old G5's are already biting the dust at a very fast rate when it comes to anything RTAS usage. unless you are to stay completely TDM (and all the new Digi-Air plugins are RTAS by the way) then 1 or 2 processors if you're lucky, for RTAS is pants.

Chris

[PhilBuckle]

Originally Posted by crizdee

Magma PE6R4 Is the Daddy. It has PCIx slots and a PCIe host card and has zero latency.

I just bought a S/H Digidesign expansion HD6 which is ok and has 6 slots pcix. but doesn't have the zero latency of the PE6R4. so the buffer has to be reduced by half (compared to having the cards in the computer) but it has got me out of a hole for upgrading to MacPro intel and leaving the old G5 2g DP which was getting overloaded with PT8 and Leopard.

If you want to keep your PCIx cards and have a PCIe computer then your options are a bit limited as i don't know if the older chassis offer the PCIE host card to go in the new computers with PCIe slots.

Chris

Hi Chris, thanks for the info about the PE6R4. That looks like it's the one for me. Is there a 2 or 4 slot Chassis with the same zero latency and compatibility?

[bashville]

Also Magma (but not Digi yet) says the last generation of its four-slot chassis works on Intel machines with a PCIe host card providing the chassis contains the Pericom chip.

I'm currentlly running that chassis on my MacPro--my PCI cards pass the Digitest OK. I'm having some other issues that might not involve the chassis, so I can't totally confirm it works until I eliminate other possibilities with a totally clean install. (I just got the desktop).

I've had PT8 totally rocking syncing to Logic running from my laptop. But then, for the first time since I had it, I loaded a sequence with a video, and ProTools would crash everytime I enabled the video. (and would often go down if I used QuickTime in any other application). So there's some conflict I have to resolve.

[digidesigner]

Is the PE6R4 only zero latency chassis of all right now? If so just curious what makes it different? It's not the bits as I understand as there are other 64 bit boxes that have latency?!

[scottgreiner]

Originally Posted by bashville

Also Magma (but not Digi yet) says the last generation of its four-slot chassis works on Intel machines with a PCIe host card providing the chassis contains the Pericom chip.

I'm currentlly running that chassis on my MacPro--my PCI cards pass the Digitest OK. I'm having some other issues that might not involve the chassis, so I can't totally confirm it works until I eliminate other possibilities with a totally clean install. (I just got the desktop).

Mind telling what issues you're having? I have the same setup with a Macbook Pro and am having a few non-lethal "issues" - namely, can not change the playback engine to use more DSP/voices without a crash and consequent re-install.

[digidesigner]

Anyone thought about going PC instead of a chassis or PCIe upgrade? I have never really looked at the windows side of this board but right now there is a discussion about a new dell computer and people are saying that new PC's come out more and more with PCIX slots instead of PCIe! Some are saying PCIe is "dead". In that light, why the heii isn't there a PCI-x Mac Pro??