Advice on macbook pro and mbox performance issues

[TheElectricGhost]

For the last few months ive been struggling with performance problems with my macbook pro 15.4in 2.4 and mbox 1. Playing back 1 audio track with the buffer set to 256 would cause constant interrupts but changing to 512 and the system would be stable?Digidesign have had no answers at all, I tried all the suggested optimizing tips and nothing helped. When 7.4 came out I thought that they might have sorted it?So i bought 7.4....read the user guide and noticed a new bit that stated for optimal settings with mbox the buffer needs to be set to 512!Ok fine...so the problem hasnt been sorted,mbox 1 is crap get used to it!I noticed that the mbox 2 section didnt have this buffer bit in it. Luckly I know a guy who was selling an mbox 2 so i borrowed it to see if it made any difference. Wow!now with the buffer set at 128!!!!!I can run back a large session with reason rewired and other pluggins with no problems!Also I can now alter the brightness and let the screen saver kick in without pro tools moaning(which it did with the mbox 1!)I have no idea why this is the case but it is!

My advice to anyone who has had problems like this with a macbook pro and mbox1 buy an mbox 2! I know it sucks cause u have 2 spend more money but it worked for me!

Hope this helps some people!

Good luck!
Rob.

Just done some tests....

Now i can playback 32 audio tracks with the buffer set to 128,cpu at 75% and audio running from the internal 7200rpm drive, using 1 core.

I can record 32 tracks at once with amplitube le on every track and the buffer set to 256,again using the internal drive. Using both cores.

Switching the brightness up and down and turning the sceensaver on during both makes no difference!
This is how this stuff should be working!

[msawitzke]

Just out of curiousity, did you try it with the USB plugged in by the Power Input rather than next to the Firewire ports? This makes a huge difference with the original mbox...

[TheElectricGhost]

Trust me........I tried everything!!!
Changing to an mbox 2 has sorted all the problems I had out!
Thanks.
Rob.