Digi 002 Rack with PT 8.0.4 and Win7 x64..

[thisjanuary]

So I'm currently running PT 8.0.4 with an Mbox 2 Mini on two machines:

• Windows 7 x64 PC, with Intel Q6600 and 4gb of RAM
• Macbook Pro, with i7 and 8gb of RAM

I'm getting a lot of buffer errors when playing back or recording, DAE errors, check your buffer size, increase/reduce, all that crap. So, first question: are these the fault of the Mbox? Since both are pretty powerful computers, I would assume so.

If the Mbox is to blame, I'm happy to upgrade to something a little more substantial, I currently have two options: a new Eleven Rack for around £630, or a used 002 Rack from a friend for half of that.

I won't use 8 inputs or outputs, the only thing I record are guitars, bass, and vocals through a single mic, but since it's half the price I'd much rather pick up the 002.

Subsequent question(s): since the 002 Rack is an older model, will it work with Pro Tools 8.0.4 and any subsequent updates, at least through the rest of PT8's lifespan? Will the drivers support both Snow Leopard and Windows 7 x64?

I know that the 002 is Firewire and the Eleven is USB, will I notice any performance boosts/issues with one over the other, on either the PC or Mac?

I only really record single instruments at a time, I use programmed drums and bass using Kontakt 4 plugins, additional synths / VIs, and then I DI guitars and process with AmpliTube or ReValver, then record vocals. I don't really do much else.

If anyone could give me any advice on this, I'd be hugely grateful!

[cwsand]

As far as I know the 002 will be supported by 8.x and beyond. Your errors could very well be caused by system incompatibilities or lack of optimizations. Read and follow the threads for optimizing Windows 7 for LE. Also, you should go ahead and post a SANDRA report as described in the General Troubleshooting sticky.

[thisjanuary]

Okay, here's my SANDRA report:

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : System manufacturer System Product Name
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : Luke64
User : Luke

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
Speed : 2.4GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 4MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 16-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Asus P5N-E SLI
BIOS : Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision 1406 11/18/2009
Bus(es) : X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : nVidia C55 Host Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 267MHz (1GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 400MHz (800MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Nanya M2Y1G64TU8HB0B-25C 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-18 3-23-6-3)
Memory Module : Nanya M2Y1G64TU8HB0B-25C 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-18 3-23-6-3)
Memory Module : Nanya M2Y1G64TU8HB0B-25C 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-18 3-23-6-3)
Memory Module : Nanya M2Y1G64TU8HB0B-25C 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-5-5-18 3-23-6-3)

Video System
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112 SM4.0 1.25GHz, 1GB DDR3 2x800MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112 SM4.0 1.25GHz, 1GB DDR3 2x800MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112SP 14C 1.38GHz, 1005.6MB 2x800MHz)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112SP 14C 1.38GHz, 1005.7MB 2x800MHz)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112SP 14C 1.38GHz, 1005.6MB 2x800MHz)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112SP 14C 1.38GHz, 1005.7MB 2x800MHz)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112SP 1.25GHz, 1005.7MB 2x800MHz)
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (112SP 1.25GHz, 1005.6MB 2x800MHz)

Storage Devices
INTEL SSDSA2M080G2GC (80GB, SATA300, 2.5", SSD, NCQ) : 75GB (C:)
SAMSUNG HD103SI (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache) : 932GB (T:)
SAMSUNG HD103SJ (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache) : 932GB (D:)
MAXTOR STM3500320AS (500.1GB, USB/SATA150, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ) : 466GB (G:)
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S202N (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (F:)
ELBY CLONEDRIVE (SCSI, SCSI-2, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD-R, CD-R, 256kB Cache) : N/A (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
TV (T:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD103SI (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache)
1TB (D:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD103SJ (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache)
AUDIOBACKUP (G:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ MAXTOR STM3500320AS (500.1GB, USB/SATA150, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ)
SSD (C:) : 74GB (NTFS) @ INTEL SSDSA2M080G2GC (80GB, SATA300, 2.5", SSD, NCQ)
Optical Drive (F:) : N/A @ TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S202N (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optical Drive (E:) : N/A @ ELBY CLONEDRIVE (SCSI, SCSI-2, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD-R, CD-R, 256kB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS MCP51 LPC Bridge
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : ITE IT8718F
Audio Device : Creative Labs SB0570 [SB Audigy SE]
Disk Controller : ASUS MCP51 Parallel ATA Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS MCP51 Serial ATA Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS MCP51 Serial ATA Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS JMicron 20360/20363 AHCI Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS MCP51 USB Controller
USB Controller 2 : ASUS MCP51 USB Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VT6306 VIA Fire II IEEE-1394 OHCI Link Layer Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : nVidia MCP5+ SMBus 1
SMBus/i2c Controller 2 : nVidia MCP5+ SMBus 2

Network Services
Network Adapter : NVIDIA nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet (Ethernet, 1Gbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Business 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 6.8

Performance Tips
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

[The Weed]

One problem is an Intel CPU and an Nvidia chipset. Digidesign has stated on several occasions that an Intel CPU requires an Intel chipset for Pro Tools to function properly.

Cheers,

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by The Weed

One problem is an Intel CPU and an Nvidia chipset. Digidesign has stated on several occasions that an Intel CPU requires an Intel chipset for Pro Tools to function properly.

Cheers,

Right...

And that 1GB video card with only 4GB of RAM On a 64bit OS leaves less for PT than one would think. What items remain in your startup menu? Have you shut down all unneeded services? Are you running anti virus in the background?

[Hotcrazyfruit]

Originally Posted by TOM@METRO

Right...

And that 1GB video card with only 4GB of RAM On a 64bit OS leaves less for PT than one would think. What items remain in your startup menu? Have you shut down all unneeded services? Are you running anti virus in the background?

Correction, hes running 2, 1 GB video cards :P so PT is being choked.

[thisjanuary]

Being choked? Yes, I run three screens, so I use two 1gb graphics cards in SLI. I don't really game, but I use multiple monitors pretty extensively for both work, and audio stuff. There's a fair bit of stuff in my startup menu but nothing too intensive except Thunderbird for mail which is using around 90mb of RAM at all times.

So with regard to the Intel CPU on NVIDIA chipset issue.. if I bought a new CPU/Mobo/RAM bundle, would I still run into issues using two graphics cards?

Should I just use the Macbook Pro as my Pro Tools system?

[thisjanuary]

I don't really get what you meant by choked. How does having 2 graphics cards with 1gb of onboard RAM on each have anything to do with my 4gb of system RAM?

[cwsand]

From what I understand, Windows allocates memory for the amount used on your video cards, so by having 2GB reserved for video you're only leaving 2GB for ProTools and everything else in Windows since ProTools is a 32bit app. It's best to go with a video card with very little memory for that reason - besides ProTools isn't an app that requires a hi-end graphics card. I'd never say you wouldn't run into issues with a new pc, but check out the I7 thread - many of us are using multiple monitors with no issues on the I7's.

[thisjanuary]

Do you have a link with some more information on that? As far as I know, my graphics cards have 1gb each onboard, they don't use my system mrmory. I've certainly seen Cubase and Pro Tools both using more than 2gb of RAM before.

If the graphics cards have onboard memory why would my RAM be allocated to them?