Topic: G4=power? (Read 6175 times)

grantis · « **on:** December 11, 2007, 01:21:28 AM »

Hi forum

I'm looking into getting a dual G4 1.25 GHZ mac to run Mix (solely for purposes of tracking at this point, I hate the latency of LE). 888 I/O's will come with it (2).

Would I be ill advised to plan to upgrade my Mix system down the road to HD2 Accel (PCI) and think that it will run fine on my G4? Or will I need a G5? Will my 888 I/O's work with HD2 accel? I can't seem to find any good literature on the topic.

Thank you!

Iain Graham · « **Reply #1 on:** December 11, 2007, 08:30:32 AM »

The 888s will work, but only through the legacy port on an HD interface.

The G4 will also work, but it'll be slow, and may not feature on Digi's supported computers list.

E Merrill · « **Reply #2 on:** December 11, 2007, 12:19:10 PM »

The g4s have horrible issues with noise (even the "quiet" ones). At this point the G5s should be cheap enough to make it worthwhile. There is also a HUGE difference in speed.

Eric

j.hall · « **Reply #3 on:** December 11, 2007, 03:16:38 PM »

are you talking about used PPC g5's? cause they are anything but cheap new.

by noisy do you mean the machine itself is noisy? or do they have grounding problems and make the audio noisy? i've never heard of the latter.

my G5 isn't exactly quiet. that's why it's back in the machine room.

if you get an adat bridge and an aurora, that can easily be migrated to an HD system and the converters sound great.

Podgorny · « **Reply #4 on:** December 11, 2007, 04:55:52 PM »

All G5s are used.
The new PowerMacs are Intel-only.

grantis · « **Reply #5 on:** December 11, 2007, 06:18:59 PM »

i guess i'm most concerned with the G4 being powerful enough. i'd rather just get what i need now in terms of the computer, and not have to upgrade my computer and HD at the same time.

i highly doubt at G4 would cause noise in the audio, just fan noise. G5's are only quiet if they have the liquid cooling system in them. if not, they're just as loud as a G4.

E Merrill · « **Reply #6 on:** December 11, 2007, 09:30:15 PM »

I admit I haven't checked prices since I've had mine for a while. I assumed that G5s, being old computers, would be cheap. As far as noise, they are nowhere near as loud as the G4s. I didn't say they were quiet. I would never record with one in the room but I CAN stand to have the door to the computer closet open while I'm working. That is a HUGE difference. And the power is much, much more rewarding.

j.hall · « **Reply #7 on:** December 12, 2007, 12:07:04 PM »

looks like a dual 2gig G5 can be had for under 1k. though you'll need more ram and a display....that's still not bad.

doesn't mix support stop at panther?

grantis · « **Reply #8 on:** December 12, 2007, 12:30:39 PM »

i'm not sure about panther. the guy i'm looking into buying MIX from told me he had it running on Tiger, but it was WAY faster on Panther, so I just assumed that it'd be better to run it on Panther.

there-in lies my problem...if Dual 1.25 ghz G4's are roughly $400, and G5's are roughly 1k, i'd rather just get the G4 if it will run HD2 PCI. I assumed that all Pro Tools operations run TDM and don't need the CPU's for much. am i wrong in assuming that?

j.hall · « **Reply #9 on:** December 12, 2007, 12:57:43 PM »

just calculating wave forms, fades and running RTAS plugs to lighten the load on your HD cards.

Jay Kadis · « **Reply #10 on:** December 12, 2007, 02:35:17 PM »

MIX support does in fact end at 10.3.8 although you can run 10.3.9 if you revert to QuickTime 6.5.2. We run an older HD1 system on an 867 MHz G4 and it works.

Berolzheimer · « **Reply #11 on:** December 13, 2007, 05:34:40 PM »

With Mix hardware you can only go up to PT v6.4.1, OS 10.3.8. I have a single G4 867 running that configuration and it's fine, though not terribly powerful. I also run a PT HD3 on a dual 1.25-gig G4 at PTv6.9.3 & OS 10.3.9, and it;s fine too, though again limited of course compared to an intel mac with Acccel hardware. But I've done some fairly complex mixes with 50-60 tracks on that system successfully.

grantis · « **Reply #12 on:** December 13, 2007, 06:28:28 PM »

Quote:

The 888s will work, but only through the legacy port on an HD interface.

What is the legacy port? Does that come "standard" Smile

?

Berolzheimer · « **Reply #13 on:** December 13, 2007, 07:08:07 PM »

grant richard wrote on Thu, 13 December 2007 15:28

Quote:

The 888s will work, but only through the legacy port on an HD interface.

What is the legacy port? Does that come "standard" Smile

?

It's a port on the HD interfaces. What Iain menat was that to use the 888 with PT HD it has to be plugged into the legacy port on the interface. I hate to say it but I think a lot of the info you're looking for is available on the Digidesign website.

grantis · « **Reply #14 on:** December 13, 2007, 08:01:46 PM »

Berolzheimer wrote on Thu, 13 December 2007 18:08

grant richard wrote on Thu, 13 December 2007 15:28

Quote:

The 888s will work, but only through the legacy port on an HD interface.

What is the legacy port? Does that come "standard" Smile

?

It's a port on the HD interfaces. What Iain menat was that to use the 888 with PT HD it has to be plugged into the legacy port on the interface. I hate to say it but I think a lot of the info you're looking for is available on the Digidesign website.

thanks!!

i just visited the digidesign site about 15 min before i read that and stumbled onto that answer, and you are correct. thank you for the help! Smile

Iain Graham · « **Reply #15 on:** December 14, 2007, 09:56:25 AM »

Finding it however, is not so easy....

And that i exactly what I meant.

mattrussell · « **Reply #16 on:** December 14, 2007, 12:24:40 PM »

i have a g4 dual 1.25 i'm about to unload. my plugs are ALL RTAS. PT 7.x runs terribly on it. can't get nearly the plug counts i was getting on 6.4 with panther. tiger is a HOG and the 30% gain in RTAS "power" that digi added with ver 7 doesn't help at all. some sessions i ran with little trouble won't play AT ALL in ver 7. if you're running mostly TDM plugs (esp. the verbs, MB Comps, linear phase EQ's), you'll be fine.

on another note, the machines themselves are VERY noisy compared to a G5. i'm using a dual 2.3PPC machine right now and it is whisper quiet. my G4 is ten times louder than this box - without a doubt.

buying a quad-core Intel Mac, 2.66 this weekend. can't wait.

neilio · « **Reply #17 on:** December 16, 2007, 04:36:11 PM »

well fully blown mix+ systems used to run off powermac g4 466's...

which is the whole point of the tdm architecture...the host cpu really is merely an interface and a controller not processing anything unless you use rtas plugs....

so a dual 1.25 g4 will be a very viable host cpu for a mix system, the thing to watch out for is what os vs. what version of quicktime vs. what version of pro tools you are using...there is very specific window of compatibility for these older systems...but once that is sussed out it will be a rock solid system...

and there is the option to use something like an ad8000 instead of the 888's, albeit at 48k/24bit max...

tom eaton · « **Reply #18 on:** December 16, 2007, 06:28:20 PM »

My G5 dual 2.7 is WAY louder than my G4 dual 1.42. I couldn't believe it when I first ran the thing. I thought the G5 was supposed to be a quieter machine. Mine is louder than any G4 I've owned (733, dual 1.0, or the dual 1.42).

I wonder how much variance there is between machines.

t

Jay Kadis · « **Reply #19 on:** December 18, 2007, 11:29:05 AM »

tom eaton wrote on Sun, 16 December 2007 15:28

My G5 dual 2.7 is WAY louder than my G4 dual 1.42. I couldn't believe it when I first ran the thing. I thought the G5 was supposed to be a quieter machine. Mine is louder than any G4 I've owned (733, dual 1.0, or the dual 1.42).

I wonder how much variance there is between machines.

t

I found a lot of difference in fan noise between OS versions on my dual 1.8GHz G5. Upgrading to 10.3.9 (or maybe it was 10.3.8 ) reduced the fan volume considerably. A friend with a single 1.8GHz G5 had some defective fans that made huge noise and eventually were replaced under warranty.

j.hall · « **Reply #20 on:** December 18, 2007, 11:34:45 PM »

Berolzheimer wrote on Thu, 13 December 2007 18:08

I hate to say it but I think a lot of the info you're looking for is available on the Digidesign website.

100% completely true. though their search engine is TERRIBLE.......almost as bad as their useful information on mix + systems. neither of which i blame them for.

bblackwood · « **Reply #21 on:** December 22, 2007, 08:30:05 PM »

From what I hear, you should just get a G5 - it will be worth the (financial) wait, if there is any.

Of course, I'm just a lowly mastering guy who has zero knowledge of ProTools, so basically ignore everything I say.

tom eaton · « **Reply #22 on:** December 23, 2007, 08:33:11 AM »

Jay Kadis wrote on Tue, 18 December 2007 11:29

tom eaton wrote on Sun, 16 December 2007 15:28

My G5 dual 2.7 is WAY louder than my G4 dual 1.42.

I found a lot of difference in fan noise between OS versions on my dual 1.8GHz G5. Upgrading to 10.3.9 (or maybe it was 10.3.8 ) reduced the fan volume considerably. A friend with a single 1.8GHz G5 had some defective fans that made huge noise and eventually were replaced under warranty.

Interesting... in my situation it was the same OS on both machines, 10.4.8. Maybe my machine runs hot? Temperature monitor shows no particular strangeness.

I don't know hot hot it SHOULD be running, though...

-tom

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Author Topic: G4=power? (Read 6175 times)