Anyone using HDX with an unsupported MacPro?

[Wolfgang Eller]

I really don´t want to buy an obsolete MacPro 5.1 when the new is expected this year (hopefully!)

And I know that I must not do firmware updates but apart from that, are there any other problems?

[Tobias Eichelberg]

Hi Wolfgang,

I've been running one HDX card in my 2008 8-core Mac Pro (3,1) since the end of January, I'm on OS 10.7.2 right now.

We have been warned that due to problems with the PCIe bus on these early Mac Pros, Pro Tools could potentially loose sync with the HDX card.
That said - it's basically quite stable - just as stable as HD3 used to work for me.

It does indeed loose sync occasionally when I insert a new plug-in into a session running lots of stuff and sometimes virtual instruments start to distort when Pro Tools has been running in the background for a while. Changing the buffer size from e.g. 256 samples to 512 and then back to 256 samples always solves the problem for me - no big deal.

The CoreAudio driver has been super stable for me - no issues when running Logic or Cubase through the HDX card, with the benefit that the CoreAudio driver for HDX supports up to 64 inputs and outputs instead of 8 in/out on HD systems.

Bottom line - I'm a happy camper. I don't really feel the need to change my MacPro right now. As long as I don't run into serious problems, this system works fine for me. Especially as the 2010 8-core does not have more power at all.

[Wolfgang Eller]

Hi Tobias
Nice to hear.

Does the HDX cause more stress on the Mac than the HD3?

Originally Posted by Tobias Eichelberg

It does indeed loose sync occasionally...

Does it lose sync with plain recording or playback?

[Tobias Eichelberg]

Recording and playback work perfectly fine. Even under heavy load mixes (I always re-record my mixes, I don't bounce to disk).

Only if you instantiate a plug-in or re-route audio tracks to other outputs or busses things can happen (but not very often).

Not sure what you mean by "putting stress" on the Mac - it actually takes stress away from the CPU. HDX can handle bigger sessions than my HD3 Accel could (on the same computer that is).

[phatbeatstudio]

Originally Posted by Tobias Eichelberg

Recording and playback work perfectly fine. Even under heavy load mixes (I always re-record my mixes, I don't bounce to disk).

Only if you instantiate a plug-in or re-route audio tracks to other outputs or busses things can happen (but not very often).

Not sure what you mean by "putting stress" on the Mac - it actually takes stress away from the CPU. HDX can handle bigger sessions than my HD3 Accel could (on the same computer that is).

If you dont bounce to dics how do you get a 2track CD do you just export to Itunes or just send to a CD burner

[Wolfgang Eller]

Originally Posted by phatbeatstudio

If you dont bounce to dics how do you get a 2track CD...

I always re-record my mixes...

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by phatbeatstudio

If you dont bounce to dics how do you get a 2track CD do you just export to Itunes or just send to a CD burner

Route your tracks to a stereo aux and record that. It's real time and allows you to hear what's going on with the mix. Helps insure you're getting everything you think you should be getting on your 2-bus.

[Clemens Becker]

Hi Wolfgang,
i use an Mac 1.1 (October 2007), works fine with HDX.
Just important not to do an HDX card firmware update using an unsupported mac.

Best
Clemens

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Clemens Becker

Hi Wolfgang,
i use an Mac 1.1 (October 2007), works fine with HDX.
Just important not to do an HDX card firmware update using an unsupported mac.

Best
Clemens

Didn't know there was a firmware update for the HDX cards; I know there's one for the HD Native card and that's tricky at best.

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Didn't know there was a firmware update for the HDX cards; I know there's one for the HD Native card and that's tricky at best.

I think he just meant moving forward you shouldn't.