Pre-sale UAD-1/G5 Question

[1204mtview]

I am interested in buying the Studio Pak, but have heard mixed reports about the performance on a G5. Can anyone enlighten me as to the pros and/or cons of running the card on a G5 dual 2.5 ghz/2.5 gigs of RAM?

I also run a 002 Fader PT LE system - Should I buy this thing?

Thanks for any feedback! 8)

JM

 

[UAJames]

I would advice against the AMD-8131 (PCI-X) models if you are looking to get the most of your UAD-1 (especially if you think you'll want to get more than 1 card, which most do).

These articles should also shed light on the subject:
http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/2005/March/index5.html
http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/2005/may/index3.html
http://uaudio.com/webzine/2005/august/index7.html

 

[1204mtview]

Thank you for responding so quickly!

BUMMER! :? Man, thats not cool!

Does UA have any plans to fix the issue or are guys like me doomed to a UA void world?

Say it ain't so!?

- JM

 

[MPC]

UAD 1 works soooo much better with anything else.....Logic, DP, Nuendo, Cubase, I've tried using it with LE and it's just no fun. No delay comp, crashy.....and I pin that blame on Digi, not UA. How come it works great on all other systems? IMO Digi sees UA as the competition; a UAD1 or better yet a few of them + some TC Powercore's with any of the above mentioned DAW's gives an HD system more than a run for it's money for a lot less cash. If UAD 1 and PoCo worked great with PT LE one would have much less of a reason to need to purchase a HD system as an upgrade.

I've got a Dual 2.5 with 3 UAD 1 cards in a Magma chassis and it's awesome! Even with the 8131 problems (which Magma helps somewhat) I get a ton of the plugins I like best, 1176, Pultec, LA2A's. I use it with Nuendo and to a lesser extent DP and it's really a joy to work with.

 

[1204mtview]

Thanks for the tip... sometimes I wonder if and when Digi will realize they are not the amazing solution they think they are. It seems there are a growing number of compatibility problems that Digi just refuses to fix because they're big enough to not care anymore. Not to mention they're using ancient code. Forget VENUE! How about supporting exisiting products!

:roll: I could understand the competition argument but preventing me from using the best tools out there and locking me into their world makes me want to get out all together, not upgrade to HD. Its a nightmare!

- JM

 

[UAJames]

At this point we are doing all we can to optimize the situation with the AMD-8131 chipset, but a 100% fix would probably have to come from Apple's end (like changing that chipset), but I don't know if that would happen now with the intel machines coming down the pipe. G5s are the only machines with this problem, there are a few PC motherboards that also use this chipset and suffer the same problems. There are a few more tweaks possible on the PC side, but the main difference is you can just buy a new motherboard with a PC...

 

[1204mtview]

There are a few more tweaks possible on the PC side, but the main difference is you can just buy a new motherboard with a PC...

Yah... don't remind me.

Will the MacTel machines likely have the same issue?

- JM

 

[UAJames]

Hopefully not, but we don't know at this point yet.

 

[Trace]

Its not likely that the problem will exist on the MacIntel machinces, cuz Intel Chipsets are very good with UAD-1. Apple wants the one stop shopping you can get from Intel and the Stability that brings along with it. I just switched from having several different Intel Chipsets and things ran PERFECT on each of them.

I don't regret making the switch back to Mac G5 even with the limits of the PCI-X Tunnel. I had been on Mac for years and then went to PC because the UAD worked better on the PC at 1st and SX had Delay Comp on individual channels, then later thru the whole app. Then I switched back to get back to the ease of just buying a Mac and loading my stuff. I grew tired of messing with the PC's. I hope that some more relief comes for the PCI-X problem, cuz i'd hate to have to sell this G5 and get another just for the PCI issue.

Everything works GREAT now and i'm loathe to change a thing.

TRACE