Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 I've been researching and researching all weekend. The onset of USB 3.0 is buzzing around. I've been reading about eSATA ports and such. Firewire 800 still going strong but for how long? It has me wondering about computers, external hardrives, and even the interfaces we use to record. How long until what we have will no longer be "enough"? I'm running a macbook pro right now, with a apogee duet and a firestudio project. I just realized both of those interfaces are firewire 400, not even 800 which my mac can take. How much less speed am I losing by not running 800? Should I update to a 800 interface? What interfaces out there run 800? OR Should I wait to see what comes of this eSATA/usb 3.0 stuff. If 3.0 unveils and is as good as they say it is...new computers will be out, new interfaces will be out, new externals will be out...everything will be revamped, and it's probably within the next year or two all this goes down. I'm trying to gear up and get ready to have some good products around to record with...but there is a lot of material out there now to chew on. tl/dr go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ben_allison Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 Honestly, USB 2.0 has enough bandwidth for most stuff... and FW400, even more so. I believe most hard drive speeds are below what FW can handle, so the FW will never be the weak link. Just get an interface that sounds good and works/suits your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 I think I'm fine with my interfaces I have for now, really. Basically I was just concerned if I needed an upgrade for now. As the 3.0 comes out, and as I read reviews...I may revamp my computer, external, and interfaces alike. Right now as I run logic, sometimes I get a "disc too slow" error and it stops recording. This is all my internal computer stuff. I was planning on getting an external hardrive to save and run tracks on to free CPU usage, but the MBP I have only has a 2.0 slot and 1 firewire slot...so I either need a 2.0 external, which I read is only half helix, or firewire, in which case I'd need to daisy my interface and external. I just don't know that the daisy will help keep that error from happening or not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members six acre lake Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 People still use tape machines. Just use what you have and stop chasing the never ending cycle of upgrades that really make little to no difference. Your Macbook, Duet etc should last a long long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 I'm basically just trying to fight this "disc too slow" error right now, trying to see what maybe causing it. Issues it "could" be: I run 2GB of ram (looking to grab 2 x 2GB sticks after work)I record to internal memory (get a firewire 800 external to save and work projects off of)Interface is FW400? (doubt it...400 is probably plenty enough for the computer...but was keeping it as an option) This error pops up even when recording 1 track, but while multiple tracks in session are playing back during recording (overloading CPU or RAM?) Not always...but has stopped enough sessions that I'd like to look into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IamBurnout Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 Freeze tracks that were pre-recorded. Turn off any plugins that aren't necessary when tracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 Freeze tracks that were pre-recorded.Turn off any plugins that aren't necessary when tracking. Great advice. I actually didn't know anything about this...hopefully it will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ben_allison Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 You have a Duet? That's world-class {censored} man.To get better convertors, you'd be looking at Prism, Metric Halo, Burl... SERIOUS coin.I'm basically just trying to fight this "disc too slow" error right now, trying to see what maybe causing it.That's your HD most likely.How big is your drive and how much free space?Is it 5400 or 7200 rpm?Are you running lots of sampler instruments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 You have a Duet? That's world-class {censored} man.To get better convertors, you'd be looking at Prism, Metric Halo, Burl... SERIOUS coin.That's your HD most likely.How big is your drive and how much free space?Is it 5400 or 7200 rpm?Are you running lots of sampler instruments? I think the drive is 5400. No sampler instruments. I just bought 2 x 2GB of ram to upgrade, and also a 1TB My Book Studio running 7200 to run my sessions of of now. hoping to daisy my interfaces through it and then into my MB. This was I have storage, can free up the CPU storage of music and sessions and such, and run off of a 7200RPM HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IamBurnout Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 Great advice. I actually didn't know anything about this...hopefully it will help.It will help your memory buffer substantially.Hope it does you some good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ben_allison Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 I think the drive is 5400. Keeping your projects on an external FW drive that is spinning at 7200, and only keeping apps an OS on your internal drive should prevent disc too slow errors. I have a 1st gen MBP Pro with 2g RAM with only like 10g free on a 120g drive, and I'm able to run full projects with samples. When I fire up Superior, I get problems. But short of that, performance is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 Keeping your projects on an external FW drive that is spinning at 7200, and only keeping apps an OS on your internal drive should prevent disc too slow errors.I have a 1st gen MBP Pro with 2g RAM with only like 10g free on a 120g drive, and I'm able to run full projects with samples.When I fire up Superior, I get problems. But short of that, performance is fine. 5400 rpm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ben_allison Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 5400 rpm? I believe so. And it's no different if I'm using the internal card, or my interface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BTBAM Posted November 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 I believe so.And it's no different if I'm using the internal card, or my interface. Do you freeze tracks? I just don't know why I get this error. sometimes I record multiple tracks at once all day and no issues. sometimes I go into a session to record one track at a time and it'll stop and give me that disc too slow error. It's hard for me to understand why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ben_allison Posted November 29, 2010 Members Share Posted November 29, 2010 sometimes I record multiple tracks at once all day and no issues. What is your average track count looking like? How many plugs? How often are you recording 1 track and getting this problem? Do you turn off air port and close other apps? Do you reboot before a session? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.