Hard Drive Minimum Requirements

With Pro Tools 6.4.1 for Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems for Mac OS X 10.3

Storage

Storage requirements have not changed from previous versions of Pro Tools. As with all Pro Tools systems, drive performance depends on a number of factors, including track count, edit density, and the use of crossfades or processing like Beat Detective. For sessions with high edit density, we recommend the following configurations. Testing has been conducted using Digidesign's DigiDrives and Avid MediaDrives. Performance with other drives may vary.

• Dedicated audio drive or drives (internal or external). Recording to or playback from system drives is not supported.
• SCSI drives recommended for maximum performance.
• When using QuickTime movies with Pro Tools systems, for reliable performance of 16 or more audio tracks, audio drives should be connected to a compatible SCSI HBA card, with video drives connected to a separate SCSI bus (preferred) or IDE/ATA bus.
• Note that there is limited support for IDE/ATA and Firewire drives, listed farther down this page.

Optional Digidesign & Avid Storage

• Avid MediaDrive rS80
• Avid MediaDrive rS36/320 LVD
• Avid MediaDrive rS73/320 LVD
• Avid MediaDock iS36/320 LVD Shuttle
• Avid MediaDock iS73/320 LVD Shuttle
• Avid MediaDock Dual
• Avid MediaDock Dual+
• DigiDrive MediaDock
• DigiDrive FireWire 80
• DigiDrive SCSI Drives
• SCSI-128 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-UL3D)
• SCSI-64 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-DC)

SCSI Hard Drives

• SCSI interface: Wide single-ended or low-voltage differential (LVD or Ultra 160)
• Disk drive rotational speed: 7200 RPM or faster
• Buffer Size: 512K or larger

Additional SCSI Requirements for Pro Tools Systems

• Mac OS file system: Mac OS Standard (HFS) or Mac OS Extended (HFS+)
• Mac OS Extended (HFS+) strongly recommended
• Drives should be formatted with Apple's Disk Utility, included with Mac OS X
• Journaling should be disabled

ATTO Utilities

The Pro Tools installer CD contains an ATTO utility specifically for OSX users, ATTO Express PCI Plus. The installer is located on the Pro Tools installer CD in a folder labeled “Additional Files”, or download from the Digidesign Storage Downloads page.

ATTO ExpressPCI Configuration Tool

• See SCSI Accelerator Card Requirements

Hard drive families from the following manufacturers are recommended:

* First generation DigiDrives are not supported in LVD mode

SCSI Accelerator Cards

• See SCSI Accelerator Card Requirements

Notes

• Pro Tools has a single audio file size limit of 2048MB. This equates to about 4.5 hours at 24-bit, 44.1 kHz.
• High Speed Drives require manufacturer-approved enclosure to ensure correct heat dissipation, required for sustained drive reliability.

Storage

Approximate Storage Consumption (Megabytes per Minute per Track)

As with all Pro Tools systems, drive performance depends on a number of factors, including track count, edit density, and the use of crossfades or processing like Beat Detective. For sessions with high edit density, we recommend the following configurations. Testing has been conducted using Digidesign's DigiDrives. Performance with other drives may vary.

SCSI Drives—Approximate Track Counts:

Note: above results are with approved G4 AGP desktop models only.

IDE/ATA Hard Drives

IDE/ATA drives meeting the following requirements are qualified for up to 32 tracks at 44.1/48 kHz with Pro Tools TDM systems:

• Pro Tools TDM Requirements for IDE/ATA Hard Drives — Macintosh Systems

Firewire Hard Drives

The DigiDrive FireWire 80 and Avid MediaDrive rS80 have been qualified with Pro Tools|24 MIX systems for the following:

• Supported track count (per drive): 24 tracks per drive at 48 KHz/24-bit
• Pro Tools|24 MIX systems: maximum 64 tracks, maximum 48 kHz

For more information and specific requirements, see Pro Tools FireWire Requirements

Important Note About Mixing Drive Types With Pro Tools Systems

You cannot spread audio files from one session across different types of drives. For example, if you have a session with audio files on SCSI drives, you cannot record or play back Pro Tools files from an IDE/ATA or Firewire drive. (this applies to audio files only, video can be on a different type of drive, or the same type of drive as the audio files in a session)