has any tried this 2 slot Magma PCI to PCIe?

[bashville]

The guy to talk to at Magma is Ariel in support. You want to make sure the chassis you're buying has the "Pericom" chip in it, vs. whatever earlier generations had. I'm using the 4-slot version of this chassis and the PCI-E host card. Some caveats--you have to be more careful with plug-in order on your tracks. No TDM plugs before RTAS plugs, or you get a lot of delay. And since it's not officially supported by Avid, whenever you notice a bug and they ask you your setup, they will always point to the unsupported device and assume that that's the problem, whether it actually is or not.

See this post as an example:

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=292772

no judgements on Digi tech support--it's just what they have to do within their support system.

I've been running my chassis since PT7.4, and whenever there's been an issue, it's always turned out to be the software (usually a plug-in) and not the hardware. Ariel the tech guy at Magma essentially said that if the cards pass the Digitest, whether they're in the chassis or not, you're good to go. I've found that to be true in my case (cross fingers).

good luck

[WernerF]

Originally Posted by barrio east

cool -- I left a message with Magma today -- I'd love to keep it simple with the 2 slot for my HD2! (hopefully less fan noise then the pe6r4)

The PE6R4 has zero fan noise, and not to mention zero latency, with the quiet power supply. I think that if you do all the research you will find that the attempt to save a few extra hundred bucks is not worth the extra loss in performance.

[barrio east]

thanks WernerF - the PE6R4 i saw (and heard) was much louder then a Digi 192, but it was a few years old.

[WernerF]

Yah, some of the older ones were crazy loud. Thankfully Magma dealt with that problem.

[bashville]

You can also find quieter fans on the market. I don't know if this 6-slot has space for hard-drives, but my 4-slot did, and it turned out that the more powerful fan was only needed if you had it loaded with hard drives. The fan that I found keeps it cool enough for my cards, but I can hardly tell that it's on.

[Mr.Ed]

Originally Posted by WernerF

The PE6R4 has zero fan noise, and not to mention zero latency, with the quiet power supply. I think that if you do all the research you will find that the attempt to save a few extra hundred bucks is not worth the extra loss in performance.

The PE6R4 I work with is very loud. So I think you must have a unit with upgraded fans. The Price of a PE6R4 is $2199.00 vs the 2 slot expansion chassis which is $1199, So it is a $1,000 dollar savings. Which is substantial I think.

But I do agree if you do have the extra thousand dollars lying around then you might as well purchase the fully approved hardware to keep your PCI system going until the next upgrade if/when that ever happens :)

[WernerF]

My PE6R4 came from Magma with the quiet power supply as the stock unit. I then disconnected the front fans and you literally cannot hear whether it is on or not. I have five cards in it and they are totally cool enough. I've had it this way for a couple of years now with no problems whatsoever.

[barrio east]

After talking with Magma -- I ordered a PE6R4 today.
The 2 Slot would work, but it has a few limitations....none with the PE6R4.
Thanks for your help DUC folks

[Mark Dann]

I set a friend up with the 2-slot PCI-to-PCIe almost two years ago. No problems. It definitely works.

[cdrue2606]

Hi all,

has anyone used this expansion chassis on MacPro for ProTools HD3 Accel PCI cards with ProTools 9?

http://www.virtuavia.eu/shop/full-pa...-atx-case.html

I am grateful for any comment.

Thanks

Carsten