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  4. Mac Mini users...

  • Mac Mini users...

    V
    V
    Need some help. [:)]

    Just returned from the big apple with a Mini and a Profire Lightbridge to setup my second farm, but now I need to put in 2x1GB sticks into the Mini and suddenly it dawns on me I dont have the slightest idea how to open the damn case lol. Those of you who have put in RAM sticks into ur Minis yourselves, please help me out, as I can't seem to figure it out and would hate to break anything on my new sweetie.

    Thx in advance. [H]
  • J
    J
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    Hey Vagn,

    check this out.

    Jerome
  • V
    V
    Awesome Jerome!

    That really is a great site.

    I owe you cow at a restaurant someday. [[;)]]
  • J
    J
    You're welcome!

    And re. the restaurant - even though it's going to be hard to top JWL's treat last night - I won't mind another cow [:)]

    Maybe next time I'm going to the Netherlands? [[;)]]

    Jerome
  • T
    T
    Hey Vagn,

    How are you connecting the lightbridge and mac mini's - i'd be interested in knowing your setup - i.e. cables, s/w config etc.
    Cheers

    Tim
  • J
    J
    as a "heads-up" --> Use the word clock!

    I've finally nailed-down one of my perpetually nagging playback problems as sync-related. I was getting pops and clicks, but they weren't really consistent across different pieces/scores. I didn't think it was sync-related, originally, because I imagined that sync problems would be constant -- i.e., same symptoms on every session. Not so, apparently. I hooked up my cards with the word clock expansion (RME cards) and everything is _much_ better. Anybody who knows how this could be, please feel free to explain. I don't quite understand how sync could get worse on different sessions, when the clock is being generated on the card (afaik). Though perhaps it has something to do with the way Logic negotiates the hardware sync and its own plugin delay compensation... that's a possibility, I suppose...

    Anyway, word clock is your friend.

    J.
  • V
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    @timkiel said:

    Hey Vagn,

    How are you connecting the lightbridge and mac mini's - i'd be interested in knowing your setup - i.e. cables, s/w config etc.
    Cheers

    Tim


    Hey Tim,

    My setup goes like this:

    Mac G5 with Protools HD3 and 192 interface.
    The 192 can input 16 streams of lightpipe ADAT

    Mac Mini with firewire connected Profire Lightbridge
    The Profire outputs 32 streams of lightpipe ADAT


    I connect 2 lightpipe cables from the Profire into the 192 for a total of 8 stereostreams (the VI is stereosamples, so ofcourse all streams have to go in pairs)

    As for sync, the Profire has a small breakout cable with wordclock input and wordclock output. I connect this to the 192 and let the 192 be the master. Should I need more slaves, I just connect the wordclock output of the Profire to the input of the next slave and the sync is passed on through down the chain. Wordclock is supperior in clocking compared to all other methods, so this is nice to have on the Profire.

    Apart from being a composer I'm also a pro mixer, and that is why Jerome's solution could never work for me (1 stereo stream out of each mini) as I would find myself too limited when having to do the mixing on the indivdual instruments. So I'm going to see how much juice I can get out of this setup, and no doubt the wall I will hit first will be the RAM limitation.

    As a writing setup, Jerome's will be superior to mine with the instant abillity to write without having to load specific matrixes for each composition.
    I will have to use the RAM-management feature in the VI to be able to get as much as possible out of eacch slaves, and therefore only loading the matrixes I need for this particular composition. I sacrifice the abillity to write instantateous and unobstructed by not running a template-based setup like Jerome's, but on the other hand I gain much more control over the mxing process. Either way there are going to be compromises, and you have to choose what approach will be better for you from the way you work. If you are mainly writing mock-ups to be performed later by a real orchestra, then Jerome's template setup is unmatched. If you are into delivering the final version of your compostion straight from your computer, then I believe mine will be the best solution.

    But there is hope on the horizon for all of us with the 64bit age moving closer each day. I dont find it unrealistic that 2 Mactel quad slaves loaded up with 8-12 GB of RAM each will be able to handle the entire orchestra, and with a Profire attached to each you will get 32 stereo streams of pure VI glory to put into your main DAW (and MIR [H] )!for mixing - more than enough in my opinion.

    This is also why I invested in the Profire, as I didn't want to be stuck with PCI card that wouldn't fit into the next computer I will eventually buy to upgrade. Firewire wont go out of fashion soon is my guess. [[;)]] And the many lighpipe outputs will come in handy when we get to unleash the true power of our computers with 64bit computing.
  • T
    T
    Thanks

    Tim