Power Mac G5 — Digi 002 Requirements

With Pro Tools LE 7.0/7.1 for Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

Supported Power Mac G5 Computers

*Although these models are qualified with Pro Tools LE 7.0, Pro Tools LE 7.1, Music Production Toolkit, and DV Toolkit 2, they are not guaranteed to achieve maximum track count with Music Production Toolkit or DV Toolkit 2.

Specifications

• For more information on Apple computer models and specifications, see the AppleSpec page on Apple's website
• Other resources: www.everymac.com and www.mactracker.ca

Dual Monitor Graphics Cards

All dual monitor cards which ship as standard equipment with qualified Apple Power Mac G5 models at the top of this page are supported.

Low Buffer Size/Multi-Processor Issues with Pro Tools 7 on Mac OS X

There is a known issue with low hardware buffer sizes and the multiprocessor RTAS engine of Pro Tools 7 (HD, LE, and M-Powered). Specifically at buffer sizes lower than 512, multiprocessor setups of Pro Tools can show a marked INCREASE in CPU utilization as you enable more processors. While dual processor models also exhibit this behavior somewhat, it is more noticeable with 3 or 4 processors enabled on the Power Mac Quad G5.

Digidesign is aware of the problem, and is actively working on the issue. We have run a number of tests, and while we continue to investigate a fix, our tests have turned up a few situations where this problem is likely to manifest, and a workaround for those scenarios.

At buffer sizes 512 and higher, we recommend you use the maximum number of processors. More processors will give you more cycles to run additional RTAS plug-ins and more tracks with little additional overhead from Pro Tools' management of additional processors.

We recommend the following setting for existing or new sessions that require lower buffer sizes:

1. In "Setup/Playback Engine" lower "RTAS Processors" to "2 Processors".
2. If you still see errors, one or more of the following will reduce the CPU utilization below the error threshold:
   • Make some plug-ins inactive
   • Make some tracks inactive
3. If errors still occur, follow the same instructions with one processor enabled

Once you are mixing, you may use all processors, and restore any inactive tracks/plug-ins. You can then increase the HW buffer size to 512 or higher to prevent errors.

We are fully engaged in this investigation and we will update our customers as we have more information.

DV Tookit 2 & Music Production Toolkit Options — Maximum Track Count Information

The purchase of either of these options expand a Pro Tools LE system from 32 total voiceable tracks to up to 48 mono or 48 stereo tracks at up to 96 kHz (interface permitting*). In order to reliably achieve maximum track count, Digidesign recommends the following on Mac OS X:

• Digidesign-Qualified Power Mac G5 Dual Processor 2GHz or higher, including Power Mac G5 Quad
  • Power Mac G5 Dual 2GHz (first generation model M9032) may not achieve maximum track count
• 1.5 GB total system RAM or more
• 2 or more hard drives dedicated for audio record and playback:
  • 2 internal SATA drives
  • 2 external SCSI drives & qualified SCSI HBA
  • 2 or more external FireWire drives

*Maximum Sample Rate

• Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack - 96 kHz
• Mbox 2, Mbox - 48 kHz

Energy Saver Settings for Power Mac G5

Processor Performance

For optimal Pro Tools performance, you must set Processor Performance (located in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Options) to "Highest". Updating your Mac OS may reset this to the default setting: "Automatic". After updating your Mac OS, check to make sure this is set to "Highest".

Apple's Mac OS help documentation provides the following info on Energy Saver Processor settings:

• The PowerPC G5 processor in your Power Mac G5 can run at various speeds. The default setting for this feature is "Automatic", which allows the system to run the processor at full speed when required, and at a lower speed during periods of light processing activity. Certain real-time applications, such as audio creation or gaming, may perform optimally when using the highest processor performance setting. You can change the processor performance setting in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences.

Pro Tools Does Not Support Sleep Mode

In the Macintosh System Preferences, launch Energy Saver, click the Sleep tab, and disable all Sleep features. Set "Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive" to Never. Do not manually put your computer to sleep when running Pro Tools.