@DG said:

The reason that I asked about usage is that you don't need brute power for VI, but if you are running a sequencer/audio app with loads of plugs as well, then you do.

However, using a PC as a sample box I can load 2.85GB samples on a fairly slow PC with the machine costing abut £550. Does that help?

DG

I whole heartedly agree with DG. PC slaves running VI (with the 3 gb switch) is the most cost effective way to go. I have one maching (older) that is 2.66 ghz and everyonce in a while chokes a tad - but this oldest slave will be replaced in Dec. My 2.8, 3.0, and 3.2 machines hum along perfectly - and in tune [[;)]]

Rob

It seems to me that there might be a more efficient way for VI to be run if better machines offer marginal improvements at the moment. Then again, at least older PC slaves won't break the bank.

I think that with a 32bit OS the bottleneck is always going to be RAM. The legacy Macs (I don't know about Intel) have better access to RAM, but I'm not sure how much extra you get for the money. Certainly 2 PCs are cheaper and have more processing power than one Mac, although the usable RAM may well end up being the same.

However, within the next 6 months or so everything changes in pooter land, so I think that the question may well become irrelevant.

DG

DG: Point taken. and thanks for the replies everyone.

Miklos.

Here's something else that excites as much as it confuses:

From macrumors.com:

AnandTech took a Mac Pro, which comes with two Dual-Core Xeon (Woodcrest) processors and replaced them with samples of two Quad-Core Xeon (Clovertown) processors.

We grabbed a pair of 2.4GHz Clovertown samples and tossed them in the system, and to our pleasure, they worked just fine. Our samples used a 1066MHz FSB, although we're expecting the final chip to use a 1333MHz FSB, but the most important part of the test is that all 8 cores were detected and functional.

The Mac Pro appeared to run fine with the Quad-Core processors, effectively giving them a 8-Core machine. While they are unable to give performance numbers due to non-disclosure agreements, the machine was reportedly stable. It also gives hope for current Mac Pro owners that they will be able to later upgrade the processors on their machine in the future. Clovertown Quad-core processors are expected to be available in late 2006.

The Core Octet.

Innovative, ground breaking, forward looking---

But is it ironic overkill or some sort of cruel technological joke for our purposes?

I have a dual 2.5 PPC with 8 GB of RAM and I'm not convinced my resources are being utilized even when my system seems to clog trying to parse 2-3 GB of VI data. The benefits of using standalone mode is rather futile, unless all you're adding is a solo instrument.

Deciding on which way to go with building a farm has been on hold until more info on the Mac Intels appear. Inasmuch as choosing the right machines for the farm has been the issue, choosing the right front end machine has also been a major consideration.

I'm going to give it until 'Leopard' appears on the 'Vista', and then I don't think I can wait any longer to take the plunge. This will otherwise be an endless cycle.

This is also a hot topic for PC users. I'm with you on the upgrading thing. By the time that Vista is stable and worth upgrading to, PCs will have moved on yet again and 4 Quad core processors will be possible. Couple that with masses of RAM and the one box solution could be a reality. We are actually not far from this now, so I'm just hoping that my current system will last another 6 months before it dies a death, either from old age or from terminal slowness..!

DG

Hang in there!!!

@DG said:

Couple that with masses of RAM and the one box solution could be a reality.

<insert very loud diminished seventh chord here>

It's an ad MIR able goal, but someone like VSL will come along and bring that machine to its knees too.

[6]

I'd resigned myself to the idea of buying a new computer every couple of years long ago. The difference is that I used to sell them at that point. Now I stick them on the shelf in my garage next to all the others. [:)]

@Nick Batzdorf said:

I'd resigned myself to the idea of buying a new computer every couple of years long ago. The difference is that I used to sell them at that point. Now I stick them on the shelf in my garage next to all the others. [:)]

LOL-- tell me about it. My garage now looks like a silicon graveyard.

I'm getting there too...

Oh, I've had a Mac graveyard in the garage for years. There's a Mac Plus in there, a IIci, a Radius clone, a 9600, a broken Powerbook 520, a pre-Windows and mouse portable PC, along with lots of things like tiny hard drives, a Syquest drive, a Zip drive, an old 15" color monitor, a 10BT ethernet hub, a Localtalk-Ethernet adapter, and on and on - to say nothing of mountains of old cables.

I mean that I still have my dual gig G4, and the main G5 I'm using now is still going to be useful whenever I move to an Intel Mac, etc.

***

You know, I should put all this junk together and donate it as a tax deduction to a school that will in turn send it to a landfill in China. And maybe I can sell a huge carton of unspecified cables on eBay. [:)]

@Nick Batzdorf said:

Oh, I've had a Mac graveyard in the garage for years. There's a Mac Plus in there, a IIci, a Radius clone, a 9600, a broken Powerbook 520, a pre-Windows and mouse portable PC, along with lots of things like tiny hard drives, a Syquest drive, a Zip drive, an old 15" color monitor, a 10BT ethernet hub, a Localtalk-Ethernet adapter, and on and on - to say nothing of mountains of old cables.

I mean that I still have my dual gig G4, and the main G5 I'm using now is still going to be useful whenever I move to an Intel Mac, etc.

***

You know, I should put all this junk together and donate it as a tax deduction to a school that will in turn send it to a landfill in China. And maybe I can sell a huge carton of unspecified cables on eBay. [:)]

LOL. The stuff we hang onto.

Add 4 Atari STs, a Mac Performa 6400/200 Mhz, boxes and boxes of old PCI cards, cables, parts, chips, and about 2000 3.5 floppies.

Then there's the old Tascam Portastudio and all gadgets associated with it-- MMC boxes, old cheap mics... billions of 4-track cassettes...

Ah-- those were the good ol' days! [:D]

Oh!! This was a thread about PC vs Mac. Sorry to go OT!

http://www.mac-switcher.com/wp-content/images/mac-pc-tv-ads.jpg">

So for instance, if building a slave pooter to run VSL only, something like an:

AMD 3800 X2 processor
Asus M2N-E Motherboard (one of their least expensive)
2 gigs RAM
3 Seagate SATA hard drives (80, 300, 300 for backup)
Antec 500 watt PS
inexpensive video card

....would be a good setup, or would that be overkill even?

Thanks,
Mahlon

@Mahlon said:

So for instance, if building a slave pooter to run VSL only, something like an:

AMD 3800 X2 processor
Asus M2N-E Motherboard (one of their least expensive)
2 gigs RAM
3 Seagate SATA hard drives (80, 300, 300 for backup)
Antec 500 watt PS
inexpensive video card

....would be a good setup, or would that be overkill even?

Thanks,
Mahlon

Put in 3Gb RAM

DG