slave computer

[mazz]

As some of you know, I'm a dyed in the wool Mac guy but I do use a PC for a slave for running samples from Kontakt.I'm considering adding another PC (glutton for punishment, I know ) and was wondering what folks' take on Vista is. Since it appears that you can't get a Windoze machine these days without it, just wondering how it's working with applications like Kontakt and East West Play. I'd probably run a VST host program like Bidule or the V-stack (which I have). I already have an M-audio FW410 that I can use, anyone having good luck with M-audio's Vista drivers?I'll probably get an off-the-shelf unit like an HP or something, probably 4 cores and at least 4 G RAM. Any recommendations? I don't need fancy graphics or sound but having an extra slot or two for hard drives is a plus. Don't need fancy cases or so on, I'm going to load up my sounds and then switch the monitor back to the Mac and happily compose away.How about 64 bit? Is that ready for prime time?I know there's some PC gurus out there that can shed some light on this for me.CheersMazz

[mazz]

Quote:Why not get the new Mac for your main machine and run whatever VIs push the new one over the top on the G5? It seems to me the new Macs are SO much more powerful, you may not even need the other computer. I'm still running everything on a Dual 2.0 G5. Granted, I push it to the limit on a mildly thick rock/orchestral film trailer piece, but with Freeze in Logic I get by fine. I just looked at the refurb section of Apple's website and there's a quad core there for a pretty good price. I wish it had more than 1G of RAM but it's still a good deal. HMMMMMM Damn you Stick!!! I really want to have my templates set up and loaded and ready to go so I can work quickly. One of my goals is to up my speed and quality. I think they are compatible goals Reading Nick's Virtual Instrument magazine back issues I found a section on how to run Kontakt stand alone outside of Digital Performer (they used Logic in the example) which allows it to have 2G of RAM on it's own (there's a 2G limit per application in OSX 10.4). I might try that too on the G5 (Dual 2.7, 5G RAM). If that works that would really free things up as well. HMMMM Damn you Stick!! (did I already say that?) Thanks for the thought provoking post!Mazz

[mazz]

Quote:A friend of mine runs a computer repair store...he's been around the block over the years, even knew Michael Dell way back when. He tells me it would be a terrific risk to purchase a Vista OS, claiming that there are still too many unaddressed bugs and potential problems. He says the best thing about Vista right now is all the repair business it brings him.I can't do his arguing for him on this forum, knowing as little as I do, but his opinion swayed me enough to stick with an XP-based system.I might have gotten a bad batch of crack that made me think about a Windows machine. I might just stick with Mac! Still thinking.Thanks for the cautionary tale!!Mazz

[matto]

To counterbalance stick's post...The big advantage of just adding a slave is it's a much less time consuming and traumatic undertaking than replacing your main DAW machine...(yeah I know... "DAMN YOU matto"... )

[mazz]

Actually Stick got me thinking about Macs again but I would seriously consider keeping my G5 as my DAW and pawning off the heavy lifting of the sample streaming to a newer Mac. My G5 can play back oodles of audio tracks and also has a UAD 1 card in it and everything works just great. Also a slave would mean that if I can't get it up and running quickly, I can still get work done because I'm not transitioning everything all at once.HMMMMM Damn you Matto!! You guys rock!! I Love you Man !! (slurring after too many glasses of wine!!)Mazz

[mazz]

The new system has arrived. I hooked it up last night and did some testing. It works perfectly. It boots up quickly, has no extra crap in the OS. It's a lean mean sample playback machine. Those guys know what they're doing when it comes to streamlining an overbloated modern operating system!http://www.visiondaw.com/productcart/pc ... ct=548It's dead silent and slid right in my rack no problem.I installed Midi Over Lan on my Mac, the new system came with it already installed. Midi Over Lan works great, there is no perceptible delay. It's pretty easy to set up, no thanks to the manual which is written in a version of English that I've not seen before. I'm waiting to buy a used 2408MK2 from a friend early this week so I can hook up the ADAT out of the Emu card. I did get an Alesis Firewire interface but it seemed to put a bit of extra strain on my system so I'm going to take it back. I'm already on MOTU hardware so I'll stick with what works.I'll give an update on performance as I get going. This is perfect timing as I'll be putting it to constant use in the next few weeks on the film project. I intend on creating as large a template as I can and it'll be interesting to see what this baby can do when its full!Cheers,Mazz