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D
03-26-2009, 03:51 PM
I've put this here to avoid any kind of a pissing match over in the other thread.

The new build has gone through very smoothly, and so far (almost) all of my issues have been solved.

It seems that the FW-1884 64-bit drivers are crap when used with more than 4 GB of RAM, and that was causing me at first to think something was still wrong with the entire setup. Luckily, I am far too tenacious to let a little thing like that get in my way. I'm now using a MiaMIDI card I had lying about the studio that I had bought for using with a dedicated Gigastudio workstation, and running the S/PDIF out into the FW-1884 so that I can still use it as a control surface/mixer/MIDI patchbay. Tascam claims to be working on a solution to this, but for now, I have kluged this system together and it works flawlessly.

I am getting rock-solid performance at 32 samples, and the only reason I had to raise that is because Kontakt complains about it being too low for efficient multiprocessor usage. So now this setup is working great with both Vista and XP 64, and the entire 6 GB of RAM is showing with the Magma, 4 UAD-1s and a pair of Pocos, which are uselsss ATM because TC Electronic haven't yet figured out how to compile a 64-bit release. The performance of all applications approaches mind-boggling, even if they are 32-bit. Overall I am quite pleased.

I have yet to bring any projects into the software because I am still loading up VSTis and setting up both XP 64 for audio only and Vista Ultimate 64 for everything else. However, audio playback was stellar at 32 samples during a HDD format, so I expect it is going to be great all around.

Complete spec:

i7 920, 6 GB OCZ Gold DDR3 PC12800, ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard, HIS Radeon 3450 silent, two WD Raptor 74 GB SATA in RAID 0 for both OS and Programs, WD Caviar Black 640 GB SATA II samples & project files, Seagate Barracuda 320 GB & 640 GB SATA II for samples, Pioneer DVR-216D SATA DVD RW drive, CoolerMaster 500 W PSU, Antec Sonata Elite case, Magma 13-slot PCI chassis with 4 UAD-1 cards, 2 Powercore Element cards, and the MiaMIDI card (the Magma has been outfitted with a RAIDMAX 530 Watt Silent PSU), 30" Dell WFP3007HC Flat Panel display, CyberPower 1350 Watt UPS.

Here are a couple of pics of the new machine:

http://www.lordsnarebottom.com/newbuild/the_guts3.jpg

http://www.lordsnarebottom.com/newbuild/violent_guts.jpg

Many thanks to Antec for making the Sonata Elite twice as good for routing cables and increasing airflow on this case, compared to the Sonata II that I used on my other DAW.

Cheers.

Thonex
03-26-2009, 04:13 PM
Thanks for sharing the D!!!!!

It looks awesome... very professionally done.

I'm very curious as to what to how many instances of Kontakt and how many Gigs of Ram you'll be able to access via Kontakt. Do you use lots of orchestral instruments in your template?

If so... I'd love to hear more about (say) loading up crap loads of Orchestral stuff and playback...



Cheers,

T

Jcschild
03-26-2009, 05:44 PM
that is a very pretty build, nice tie up.
looks like it came from here!

glad you got it sorted out.

Scott
ADK

D
03-27-2009, 12:51 PM
that is a very pretty build, nice tie up.
looks like it came from here!

glad you got it sorted out.

Scott
ADK

I'll take that both as a compliment and as a testament to your own skill at tying up the loose ends. In fact, I've already recommended someone to you over at the UAD forums.

I always get these things sorted, it's just a matter of how long I am willing to avoid sleeping. :eusa_wall:

Also thx Nate, and T, I will get back to you in a few days and let you know how that works out. ATM I am working on a very instrument heavy production with lots of strings, harps, and woodwinds. That should be a good test bed for this new DAW. I sure would like to use those strings you're working on...nudge, nudge, say no more.

I also just ordered a UAD-2 Duo for the new box. We'll see how nicely that plays along with everything else.

I'll keep you all posted.

Manolo Camp
03-27-2009, 02:35 PM
I could stare for hours on the pics :)
Thanks for the Insight!

edit: funny .. i have the same tower, but the HDs are horizontal, not vertical ... i think better for Airstream?
May i have an older Build