Magma PCI to PCIe Upgrade Solution HERE

[Giles117 DP]

How many of us have been holding out on a G5 to Mac Pro or PCIe G5 Upgrade for the Magma Promise of a PCIe upgrade card???

It's here/ for $299.00

Get a new PCIe Host card and keep using your existig magma Chassis.

I will grab mine in September along with a MAC Pro (My G5 is on the chopping block)

All we need now is the Intel Upgrade of the UAD Drivers......

UA Get on it.....

http://www.mobl.com/expansion/products/ ... index.html

 

[mikeyb]

Hello Giles, I have sent the following email to UA support asking if they will test/confirm compatibility with the new PCIex1 card from magma.
I havent got a chassis yet and if tested will buy OEM board set, but I'm sure you'd understand me wanting to know if will work before I shell out on the expansion bits :!:
If we all drop UA a line - they may get on this quickly - just copy my mail below and send to UA support.
I'm certainly crossing my fingers and toes on this one :wink:

 

[mikeyb]

Oops - silly me Here's what i sent to UA support

Hello Support,
Got a Mac Quad 2.5 Ghz with PCIe slots. Seen the footnote about UAD not working well in the Magma 6 slot.
Is it a PCIe problem or is it that the cards dont like the faster slots - I am sure I read on the forum moons ago, before PCIe came along that the UAD didn't like the 7slot PCI 64 bit chassis of old!
As, I am sure you are aware, magma have announced a PCIe 1x card that will interface to the 7 slot 32 bit chassis( along with all the other chassis). Will you be testing this system on PCIe computers - there's many Mac quad owners out there and I'm sure there will be many more Mac Pro owners that have exsisting UAD PCI cards. I own 2 cards (PCI) and would like to implement these with the Mac Quad. If the new host card from magma works, I would buy a 7 slot chassis(32bit/33Mhz) and probably another 2 UAD PCI cards to get the full complement of 4. I prefer the expansion chassis as I could use the UAD's with other computers - hopefully the MacBook Pro with the soon released Express34 card.
I do hope UA will test this new interface - I'm sure it would make a lot of exsisting UAD PCI owners a lot happier knowing that the cards work with the above mentioned setup(hopefully!).

Thanks

Mike

 

[Giles117 DP]

I figure 299 is a small price to pay to see if it works

Digi works, so if digi works, I am certain UAD will work.

 

[Trace]

My guess is that it will work. The PCI conversion chips do all the heavy lifiting and your cards and G5 shouldn't know the difference. I'm very happy about all of this, since I have a big investment in my Magma and UAD cards.

TRACE

 

[Giles117 DP]

Just got an email stating that they will be taking orders for the cards starting today

and I quote

Dear Bryan,

Thank you for your interest in our PCI Express to PCI host card. I am happy to announce that we are currently accepting orders for our PCI Express® host card and complete expansion systems. We expect to start shipping these orders August 21st and will be shipping on a first-order-in basis.

The PCIe host card (PEHIFX1) can be ordered for $299 for those customers who wish to upgrade their current MAGMA chassis. This host card will connect to any product within our product line with the exception of our PCI Express to PCI expansion unit, 64-Bit/66MHz 7 Slot PCI to PCI expansion system and any obsolete 80-pin chassis.

Please note that your PCI card’s driver must have a Universal Binary version for Mac OS X in order to be used with the Intel based Mac Pro desktop.

 

[mikeyb]

Yippee! - PCIe magma looking good and Logic update!

Yeah - it's looking good for a 7/13 slot board set.
Also - Logic update is released to make use of Quad processers- NICE

Here's the email back from magma

\"The 6 Slot PCI Express to PCI expansion system does not work well with UAD or Media 100 cards, this is an ongoing technical support issue and is not a concern when going from PCI Express to PCI (32-bit/33MHz or 64-bit/33Mhz systems). This should not be a concern when using the PCI Express to PCI 7 Slot systems.\"

8)

Just need to sell the kids :evil: - only joking :!:

 

[Trace]

I read this note on the UA site:

Is there any way to use my existing UAD-1's with a PCIe computer?

Perhaps. If current UAD-1 users absolutely need to interface to PCIe, there are a number of third party products available. However, these products have not been tested on G5 systems.

The SBS Technologies - PCI Express to PCI-X Expansion Chassis has been tested successfully with the UAD-1 on the Windows platform. However, compatibility with G5 systems cannot be guaranteed at this time.

Important: The Magma Mobility Electronics - PCI Express to PCI Expansion Chassis has been tested and DOES NOT perform well with the UAD-1 in PCIe systems.

http://www.uaudio.com/support/software/UAD/tips/G5.html


TRACE

 

[Giles117 DP]

And that note was based on the only SHIPPING PCIe magma solution at that time, not the new product.



The new product uses your existing 68 pin cable, not the dual infiniband cables the 6 slot product uses.

Please also note, that the link in the aforementioned FAQ is a direct link to this 6 slot product with infiniband cables. This is a different monkey.

 

[mikeyb]

Yep - I know! Had response from UA tech support saying they will test the new PCIex1 card and let us all know. I'm pretty much at the point of getting the mastercard out!

 

[Trace]

And that note was based on the only SHIPPING PCIe magma solution at that time, not the new product.



The new product uses your existing 68 pin cable, not the dual infiniband cables the 6 slot product uses.

Please also note, that the link in the aforementioned FAQ is a direct link to this 6 slot product with infiniband cables. This is a different monkey.

OH... well then that's GREAT news. I was feeling a bit down about all this until you cleared that up.

Thanks

TRACE

 

[Giles117 DP]

good to know ua is on top of this. i am hoping for good news...

 

[MeloManiac]

Hi.

I am a bit confused as to which old Magma chassis will work with the PCIe-adaptor card. I am about to buy a Mac Pro and I need a chassis since I have several UAD-1, a PowerCore and an RME MADI card I need to work with the Mac. And trying to find a second hand chassis online since a new one will set me back around $2500 in Denmark! So I found a few ones on ebay, but most seem to be using the grey, flat ribbon cables. Those will not work with the PCIe adaptor Magma are coming out with?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Giles117 DP]

No, the grey flat ribbon cable models will not work. you need the one that will take the 68pin vhdci cable.

 

[MeloManiac]

Giles, thanks a lot. One more question then. Will the new PCIexpress to PCI 7-slot Magma solution work then? I read about problems with the 6-slot version. But the 7-slot version, called P7R4, is that a safe bet? I need to run UAD-1, PowerCore and RME MADI card in it (with possibility to expand). I am sorry if this is too much to ask for a definite answer on this - I won't hold it against you if I get any problems But I just read that the \"official\" PCIe solution with 6 slots would give UAD-1 problems, so I assume that the 7/13-slots won't. Hmm.

EDIT: Just read above that UA says the UAD-1 doesn't perform well in the current PCIe>PCI Magma chassis. That just doesn't make sense, unless the whole PCIe>PCI solution won't ever work well with UAD-1. I assume that the PCIe>PCI solution is exactly the same chassis as in the PCI>PCI solution - just with a different host card...

 

[Giles117 DP]

The 6 slot is a nother monkey. due to the infiniband cables and the varying socket speeds you have a very differnet animal than the other solutions.

The previous pci solutions had ONE slot speed for the entire chassis, not 3 dif slot speeds.

The intent of the new card upgrade is to maintain that compatibility. Magma indicated they would be testing with the UAD cards. They noted the issue with the 6 slot and uad on their sight.

Also the 6 slot is PCI-X whereas the other solutions are standard PCI.

Of course I just spent 15 minutes searching for what I read about UAD compatibility... GRRRR. And cant find it. But I know I read it on Magmas site. Last week. They might have taken the language off the sight. Dont wanna hurt potetial sales ya dig. LOL.

 

[MeloManiac]

OK, I have been corresponding with Magma the past few days (great and professionel support). They offer a solution with 7 slots and the PCIexpress host card as well, and I will be ordering this. They are aware that this configuration hasn't been tested much with the new Mac Pro and offer a 30 day money back guarantee. I am pretty optimistic though. This is the \"old\" PCI solution (P7R4 is the name of the chassis), just with the PCIe host card. Will report my findings when I receive it all.

 

[Giles117 DP]

To add. Elaborate.

the Express Card/34 will be backwards compatible with exisitng magma solutions that use the 68 Pin Round Cable....

This has me buggin'. I might just grab a MacBookPro and use my Magma ..........

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Nah. LOL. 4 Xeon Processors vs 2 processors......

Portability.. Desktop.... Hell Why not by both... Anybody wanna MacBook 1.83??? LOL

 

[mikeyb]

yeh - I sure like the idea of macbook pro and magma down the line - when i get the money! For now igot quad g5 and I'm looking at oem board set for 7 slot with pcie card for bout £500! if youre confident enough just buy this baby and stick it in a pc tower case for about £20. Hell of a lot cheaper to get UPS expidited with customs clearance - half the value and no weight at all. In total looking at about £600. NICE :!: :!: :lol:

 

[gravedigger]

i guess i'am out of luck with
my flat grey cable