Allenstein OctaPC(8-core) and Quadzilla(4-core) *OS Update

[sunburst79]

I think if I had the current Tyan board I would upgrade when the new chips are available-thats a no brainer since its going to be cheaper than building a whole new rig.

Otherwise I would wait till the Phenom FX chips are released. This will give you the power of the new chips on the Nvidia 680i platform with regular unregistered memory. The Core 2 Quads have definitely shown the registered ram is significantly slower than regular (non ECC) RAM.

Native Quad VS MCM.I suspect Barcey's improvements will be more from the new architecture than any advantage of being a Native Quad core chip. Couple this with unregistered RAM and a integrated memory controller and I'm sure it will be great

FSB and MCM may be the equivalent of 2 tin cans and a piece of string but it completely dominated the market for a year and a half on the power of the Cores new architecture.

I will be interested in how well Phenom does in a single socket processer enviroment since thats were my interest lies I assume it will be slightly better than the Penryn core chips. I also suspect that if it follows the current trend we may not see it till damn near the first of the year or later.

I think AMDS marketing stratgy is relatively sound, They go after the the 4P and up server market since thats where the big savings in energy efficiancy lies... this was their biggest gain 2-3 years ago and their biggest loss in the last year or so. 2) While they meed to make up profits in the desktop sector I think they will try to shoot for the FX series next Its basically a Barcelona with a revised memory controller and as Barcys production comes on line and clock speeds scale up this is going to be the best way to create a buzz. Plus the Quad FX guys have been waiting for a killer proc for at least a year. I think AMD will try to have these out by Xmas. 3) As badly as they need to make profit in the mainstream desktop sector their recent price cuts have stopped the loss in market share and started to turn things around for them. The big OEMS love their pricing......The biggest challenge here is going to be making more profit by increasing yields from moving to 65nm. They need to make a profit of 250 million dollars each and every quarter till 2012. Thats not going to be easy. I expect to see some restructuring stating the 1st of the year. With a need to make a profit in all sectors It will be interesting to see what they push out next Phenom or FX. I hope they sell like hot-cakes we need the competition between to 2 companies.

We have all made out from the CPU wars, Its been great and should continue to do so. I don't so much about 8 Cores. I want the new guy coming into PT to be able to build a quad for under 600.00

The real world performance is here regardless of what you prefer to run. we can run insane plug counts at low buffers. Indeed its the buffer limitations holding us back at this point

And yeah it really is time for a native version of PT, Logic 8 looks DAMN good, REAPERS moving fast.

Keep in mind that this stuff needs to be tested with PT also. Theres a reason the "Core2 Duo thread anybody got one working?" is titled that way

Having said that I bet there are a lot of happy campers with X2 and X2+ boards around here come January or February

[Shan]

...And yeah it really is time for a native version of PT, Logic 8 looks DAMN good, REAPERS moving fast.

Damn right!!! And they better get on this ASAFP!! Reaper is turning ALOT of heads and what we get for a mere $500 in Logic 8....OMFG!!! Apple just turned the DAW world over!

...so, should I spend the $500 on Structure...or Logic 8?


Great to see some DAW war action. Digi needs a big comeback and hopefully not like the "Britney" one.

But hey, I have no problem jumping ship. It's a very competitive world out there and if something comes along thats better and increases my production and workflow...I'll have to check it out.

I'm a big PT fanboy but...

Shane

[sunburst79]

If I can't go NATIVE I'm going Commando.......

Whens NAMM?

[Jeff_C]

Yes. I posted the link above.

Shane

Sorry about that - got the email notification on your BIOS version message after I typed my question.

I've been on BIOS Version 2.00 for a few weeks now with no problems. I didn't see anything on the BIOS download page's "New Features and Fixes" that looked like it had to do with quad core support, though. It's good to know I'm ready.

Wonder when the new quads will be available to purchase...

Jeff_C

[Matt P]

YODA Has crossed over to the Darkside!

[Shan]

YODA Has crossed over to the Darkside!...

Ya, you just couldnt resist that double bladed red lightsaber could you. So you got your Mac and you got Logic 8. Well, we'll definitely miss you around here bro-ski. You brought alot of insight and knowledge to the Digi community which has helped many and we're definitely thankful for everything you've done. Without MattP, this quad of mine that got this whole thread going would not have been built. The irony of it all is that your last post is number 666! You never did make it to 1000.

Oh well, times change, technology advances, and all good things must...

Strange though, my lightsaber is still glowing green, but I've seen a few flickers of red in it recently...


Shane



(at this point in time I still have full intent on completing the 8-core)

[nickdahl]

I'm back after working with my Quad computer for a while, and while I'm retooling for another run at active non-music-related employment, I'm thinking about the excitement of building an 8-core Pro Tools computer.

I still need to read the whole thread, but if someone's feeling helpful, could they answer these questions?

1. Has someone built an 8-core using the AMD Barcelona processors yet, and the specs on p. 1 of this thread?

2. Did the Barcelona processor just drop in price recently? I thought it was more expensive than what newegg.com lists it for now.

3. Would the 8-core theoretically let me run 48 tracks at 88.2 with channel strip plug-ins on each track?

4. Registered v. non-registered memory? Non-registered memory is faster? In functional terms, would I notice the difference, or both memory types fast enough for everything you'd do with this computer?

5. If I quell this initial urge, is there a "better" time during the calendar year to put together a computer, when manufacturers typically drop prices? Put another way, there's no important reason for me to do this today, except for my curiousity.

6. Will this computer outpace my 002R's capabilities?

Enough questions for now. We're living in exciting times!

Thanks,

Nick

[guitardom]

Ya, you just couldnt resist that double bladed red lightsaber could you. So you got your Mac and you got Logic 8. Well, we'll definitely miss you around here bro-ski. You brought alot of insight and knowledge to the Digi community which has helped many and we're definitely thankful for everything you've done. Without MattP, this quad of mine that got this whole thread going would not have been built. The irony of it all is that your last post is number 666! You never did make it to 1000.

Oh well, times change, technology advances, and all good things must...

Strange though, my lightsaber is still glowing green, but I've seen a few flickers of red in it recently...


Shane



(at this point in time I still have full intent on completing the 8-core)

WOW, this is a bad day fellows..... maybe he will get board helping the mac clan with all their problems and come back to us!!

shane, when you are ready to get a move on the next systems (8cores) i think i am ready to go, lets do it! any idea on time frame????

though i must say my machine is still rocking, no problems yet.... so i guess THE ASUS HAS PROVAILED!!! kidding guys, i know that had to be a terrible thing to deal with for way to many of you.

[Shan]

WOW, this is a bad day fellows..... maybe he will get board helping the mac clan with all their problems and come back to us!!

Well, I was in the Lab with MattP for a few hours with his MacBook Pro 2.2 Intel and Logic 8: Using Logic Audio 8 he had a full real world mix of 69 tracks, 18 aux returns, TONS of CPU intensive plug-ins, full surround PLUS video going....and the buffer at 32 using a Digi 002!!!!!!!! ....he aint coming back...and yes, he will dump his powerharness plagued 002 for an Apogee that will give him a 1.6ms round trip latency. I hate to say it, but Digi is really really in the stone age these days. To have someone like MattP who has been a HUGE Pro Tools and Windows enthusiast drop it all for Mac and Logic 8 really says alot here.

shane, when you are ready to get a move on the next systems (8cores) i think i am ready to go, lets do it! any idea on time frame????

Skype me or Email me while the lightsaber is still green. We are taking the Phenom route this time.

Shane

[markus44uk]

I don't know what all the fuss is. I am still rockin out with my original Tyan Tiger and AMD 260's. Never ran into a plug count issue, no latency issues, am loving HD2 on my Quadzilla. I love the PDC, but most of all I LOVE the ability to import plug-ins routings, aux tracks and sends from other sessions into existing sessions. Its made the mixing of 5 songs a complete piece of cake. Once you get all the routings, plugins for the drums, bass, etc, its so simple to import them into the next song file. Saves hours in the mixing process.

I also still haven't seen a problem with my Tiger Mobo to suggest that its defective. The ONLY problem I had this weekend was that halfway through a mixing session, for some strange reason, I was unable to change any of the settings of the SSL Channel plugin. Had to close PT and re-open the session.

Are the Tyan issues with the "original" quadzilla spec or the later one that uses the F-socket board?

Its still remarkably cheap to add an HD card to an existing PT Quad system to get truely Native functionality...although I suspect that the source of my SSL plugin had to do with the fact that it was RTAS and not TDM.