Digidesign Hardware Supplied with System
- Mbox (firmware v20 or higher required)
- USB Cable
Digidesign Software Compatibility
- Pro Tools LE 6.4 for Windows XP
- Pro Tools LE software will not work without Digidesign hardware connected
- Pro Tools LE supports the use of any single supported Pro Tools LE audio interface. Simultaneous use of multiple Pro Tools LE hardware devices is not supported.
Pro Tools LE 6.4 Information:
Included and Optional Plug-Ins:
Optional Digidesign Hardware
- Command|8
- Control|24
- PRE (No Integrated Control)
Control Surfaces & MIDI Interfaces
Optional Digidesign & Avid Storage
- DigiDrive SCSI Drives
- DigiDrive FireWire 80
- 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+
- SCSI-128 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-UL3D)
- SCSI-64 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-DC)
Optional Video Software
*Pro Tools will crash when pressing play if Avid XPress DV 4.1.1
is installed after PT. The workaround is to install Avid XPress
DV before installing Pro Tools. (Item #47816)
Apple QuickTime 6.5 or Higher Recommended
- Required only on systems using video
- AGP graphics card with 16 MB or more video RAM required for
movie playback
- Available at www.apple.com/quicktime
Third-Party Video Capture Cards
- Playback within Pro Tools is only supported via the computer
monitor. Hardware Codecs are not supported. Use a third party
application and card to capture video and import the video into
Pro Tools. For the best performance use Avid CODEC DV files created
by Avid Express DV.
Performance Guidelines
- Recording to the system startup drive is not recommended or
supported
- For desktop models, a separate internal or external dedicated
audio hard drive is highly recommended for maximum performance
and track count (see Hard Drive
Minimum Requirements)
- Although limited recording and playback of audio tracks may
be possible using the internal drive in laptop models, a separate
external dedicated audio hard drive is highly recommended for
maximum performance and track count. Digidesign recommends the
use of FireWire drives for use with these computers. (see FireWire Drive Requirements)
- Turn off or unplug any unnecessary USB devices when using Mbox
- The Mbox should be connected using the included USB cable directly
to the computer's USB port. Connection of the Mbox to a USB hub
is not supported.
- Dual processor machines may need to have network cards disabled
for best performance
Maximum Performance Guidelines
To provide full 32-track, 24-bit performance on Pro Tools LE with
high edit densities and the maximum number of Plug-Ins follow these
guidelines:
- Intel Pentium 4 or Xeon Processor
- Laptops Intel Centrino processor highly recommended,
or Pentium 4, 4-M machines running faster than 2ghz
- AMD Athlon XP with pure VIA chipset
- Performance and the number of Plug-Ins will vary from PC to
PC; however, faster processor speeds produce better results
- Total System RAM: 384 MB minimum, 512 MB (or higher) highly
recommended
- File System (all drives): FAT32 or NTFS
- Also note that we have seen better performance on computers
that have less components attached and non-custom versions of
the BIOS or Windows XP
Known Incompatibilities
Caution - Mbox is NOT supported on the following systems or systems
with the following components:
- Older Dell Inspiron and Dell Latitude laptop computers that
run less than 1ghz (please see recommended Dell laptops above)
- Computers with motherboards containing SiS (Silicon Integrated
Systems) chipsets
- AMD K6, K6-2 or K6-III, K7 processor based computers (newer
AMD Athlon XP and AMD Athlon Thunderbird processors are supported)
- Computers with Opteron processors are known to
be incompatible with Pro Tools. Initial testing indicates that
a future revision of Pro Tools would be required to add support
for these CPUs.
- Pentium I and Pentium II processor based computers. (Pentium
III not tested or recommended)
- Computers with motherboards containing mixed chipsets from AMD
plus VIA combined
- "ESS Solo-1 PCI AudioDrive" Sound, video and game controller.
This device can be disabled from the "Device Manager" in the "System"
Control Panel.
- SampleCell II PCI cards and SampleCell Editor are not compatible
with Windows XP
- The Digidesign WaveDriver does not support Avid Xpress DV or
certain other DirectSound applications that require advanced DirectSound
capabilities
- Laptops users need to disable integrated wireless networking
- Asante Network cards are not compatible with Control 24 on Windows
XP
- Some HP Pavilion models do not meet the minimum requirements
as listed in these compatibilitiy documents. Before purchasing
these or any computer, please carefully go over these documents
and the exact specifications of the computer to make certain that
all of the compatibility guidelines have been met.
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Supported CPU Models & Requirements
- Intel Pentium 4 or Xeon - Processors with 1.3 GHz speeds or
higher supported
- AMD Athlon XP - Processors of all speeds supported
- AMD Athlon Thunderbird - Processors of all speeds supported
The AMD Athlon 64 has not been fully qualified by Digidesign, however, there have been no reported problems.
Turnkey & Audio Optimized Systems
Supported Laptops
- Dell Inspiron 8500 (Pentium 4-M) and 600m (Centrino) models
- Gateway 400 series (with Pentium 4 or 4-M)
System Software
- Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
- Service Pack 1 or 2 Required*
- Windows XP Settings & Requirements
- Pro Tools LE 6.4 can NOT be installed or used on systems running Windows 98, Me, 2000, NT, 95, or 3.1
*Digidesign has officially qualified Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Mbox with Pro Tools LE 6.4 and 6.7. If you are going to update to SP2, please read the following beforehand to help insure a smooth transition: Recommended Steps for Installing Windows XP SP2
Windows XP SP2, Microsoft DEP and PACE InterLok Drivers Update
- if you encounter unexplained blue screens, freezes or spontaneous reboots when launching Pro Tools with Windows XP Service Pack 2, please update your PACE InterLok drivers:
- The current InterLok drivers solve the described problems without having to disable Microsoft's DEP (Data Execution Prevention) feature introduced with Windows XP Service Pack 2.
Total System RAM
- 384 MB minimum
- 512 MB (or higher) highly recommended
Additional RAM may be required for:
- High edit density sessions
- DAE buffer setting larger than the default
- Extensive use of plug-ins
- Simultaneous use of MIDI sequencers or software options such as DigiTranslator
- Additional RAM is recommended for better video playback performance
Monitor
- Color monitor required
- 14" minimum, 17" or or larger recommended
- Minimum resolution of 1024 x 768
Additional Computer Requirements
- Intel chipset (with Intel processors)
- Pentium 4 or Xeon systems with HyperThreading technology must
have "Intel HyperThreading" in the system BIOS disabled.
- VIA or NVIDIA nForce chipset (with Athlon processors)
- ATX motherboard
- CD-ROM drive for software install
- 4GB hard drive space dedicated for audio (minimum)
- For maximum performance a separate Digidesign
Qualified ATA/IDE, SCSI or Firewire Drive dedicated for audio
is required
Compatibility Alert — Intel Chipsets
- Digidesign's Mbox is not compatible with Intel 925X, 915G or 915P chipsets.
- Mbox is now approved for use with the 925XE chipset. Digidesign has not yet tested the new 915GV and 915GL chipsets. Be sure to check with the manufacturer for the model number of the chipset before purchasing.
To find out the model number of your chipset, check with the manufacturer before purchasing, or use the following tools for your existing computer:
How can I tell if my PC is compatible?
Find out how much RAM and which processor, chipset, and Windows XP Service Pack you have:
Storage
Download Updates
Additional Information
Mbox & Mbox Factory Information
For more information, see the Pro Tools 6 documents in the Support
> Tech Support > Technical Document
Library section. Also included with new systems and Pro Tools
6 upgrade CDs.
Need Advice on a Computer Purchase?
Be sure to check out the Pro Tools LE Windows section of the Digidesign
User Conference for computer recommendations from other Pro
Tools LE users.
Disclaimer: Digidesign can not verify that the information in
this forum will provide full functionality or performance. Please
refer to these Compatibility Documents for Digidesign's official
system requirements.
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