Expansion Chassis Requirements — Pro Tools|HD Systems

With Pro Tools 6.2, 6.4, 6.7 and 6.9.x for Windows XP

Important: Expansion chassis are not supported with the Compaq Evo Workstation W8000
(HP Workstation xw8000 is supported with expansion chassis below)

Up to 7 HD cards can be used in a single ProTools|HD or Pro Tools|HD Accel system

  • 1 HD Core card, any combination of HD Accel and/or HD Process cards
    • For proper operation, card order MUST be: HD Core card, all HD Accel cards, then remaining HD Process cards
    • DigiTest will NOT reflect the actual card order. System Usage window in Pro Tools will reflect the proper card order.
  • Although 7 cards may be installed, only 4 HD cards are addressable when using 176 or 192 kHz sample rates, regardless of whether an expansion chassis is used or not
  • HP Workstation xw8200 qualified with a maximum of 6 HD cards when used with qualified expansion chassis

The following Expansion Chassis are officially qualified for use with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems with Pro Tools 6.2, 6.4, 6.7, and 6.9.x for Windows XP:

7 Slot, 64-Bit Chassis

  • Digidesign 7 slot 64-bit/33mhz Rackmount Chassis
  • Magma 7 slot 64-bit/33mhz Rackmount Chassis - model P7R464 (current), P7R464-D1 (discontinued)

For further information about this expansion chassis, please contact Magma at www.magma.com

Special offers from MAGMA for owners of Magma and Digidesign/Magma expansion chassis:

The Digidesign and Magma 64bit/33mHz 7 slot expansion chassis have been qualified by Digidesign with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems with the following computer models:

Pro Tools 6.2 Only - Not qualified with Pro Tools 6.4, 6.7 or 6.9.x:

Click on the CPU links above for specific requirements and CPU slot order.

Maximum Qualified Track Counts with HD Accel Card Systems & Chassis

With ATTO EPCI-UL3D SCSI card in CPU and 5 SCSI drives:

Sample Rate (kHz)
48
96
192
Track/Voice Count
160
96
30

With qualified FireWire drives, 4 drives maximum:

Sample Rate (kHz)
48
96
192
Track/Voice Count
104
80
30

The following Expansion Chassis are no longer qualified for use with Pro Tools|HD systems:

  • SBS (Bit3) 13 Slot Expansion Chassis — model DD23
  • SBS (Bit3) 13 Slot Expansion Chassis — model 24-700-2-2
  • SBS (Bit3) 13 Slot Expansion Chassis — model 240-2-2
  • SBS (Bit3) 13 Slot Expansion Chassis — model 240-2-201

Additional Expansion Chassis Requirements & Slot Order

  • Chassis host card must be slotted in the lowest 64 bit slot (slot that is furthest from the AGP card) of the CPU motherboard
  • All HD cards must be placed in the chassis
  • All other cards (SCSI cards, etc.) should be placed inside the CPU
  • Slot orders in the chassis run from left (closest to the power supply) to right
  • Chassis slot ordering should start with the core card placed in slot closest to the chassis power supply (magma chassis) followed by HD Accel cards, followed by HD process cards
  • Please note that you should have a minimal amount of cards in your CPU when using a chassis. Video compression and storage cards (SCSI, FibreChannel, etc) should be placed in the slots closest to the AGP card. For Unity, please refer to the slot ordering on this page for exact ordering of non-Digidesign cards. Pro Tools Unity Client Configuration for Windows

Digidesign or Magma 64-bit 7-Slot Expansion Chassis

Chassis Slot PCI Card
Chassis Slot 1 HD Core card
Chassis Slot 2 HD Accel card or HD Process card or Empty
Chassis Slot 3 HD Accel card or HD Process card or Empty
Chassis Slot 4 HD Accel card or HD Process card or Empty
Chassis Slot 5 HD Accel card or HD Process card or Empty
Chassis Slot 6 HD Accel card or HD Process card or Empty
Chassis Slot 7 HD Accel card or HD Process card or Empty*

Slot orders in the chassis run from left (closest to the power supply) to right.

After the HD Core card which is always first, all Accel cards should go before any Process cards.

*Notes:

  • HP Workstation xw8200 qualified with a maximum of 6 HD cards
  • IBM Intellistation Z Pro - model 6221 limited to a maximum of 5 HD Accel cards in chassis (Pro Tools 6.2 Only - Not qualified with Pro Tools 6.4 and 6.7)

Slot Order in Computer

Please see the following pages for correct slot order for cards in the CPU:

Pro Tools 6.2 Only - Not qualified with Pro Tools 6.4:

For more information about expansion chassis setup and card order configurations, please see the Expanded Systems Guide.pdf in the Technical Document Library of the Support/Tech Support section of the website, or installed on your hard drive during Pro Tools Installation.

CardBus PCI Expansion Chassis

New in Pro Tools 6.9 — Laptop TDM Support for Windows XP

The following notebook computers were tested and qualified with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools 6.9:

  • Dell Inspiron 8500 (Pentium 4-M)
  • HP Compaq Business Notebook nx8000

Qualified CardBus PCI Expansion Chassis

  • Magma 4-slot model CB4DRQ (current), CB4DRQ-D1 (discontinued)
  • Magma 2-Slot model CB264 (64-bit/33Mhz 2 Slot CardBus to PCI expansion)
  • Magma 2-Slot model CB232 (current), CB232-D1 (discontinued) (both 32-bit/33Mhz 2 Slot CardBus to PCI expansion)

Not Tested

  • Magma 2-Slot CB2 (discontinued)
  • Magma 2-Slot CB2S (discontinued)
  • Magma 1-Slot CB1H & CB1F

Magma Technical Bulletin - March 21, 2005

Release of PLX CardBus for Pro Tools Users. NOTICE: The Magma Engineering and Compatibility Test Group has determined that some Pro Tools users with Magma CardBus card (PN: 01-04551-02) and the current PCI bridge on the expansion chassis, may experience computer lock-up or clicks and pops in audio when using Playback Engine sizes of 2 or more DSPs. The Magma Engineering and Compatibility Test Group has also determined these issues may be alleviated by swapping out the original Magma CardBus card (PN: 01-04551-02) with a different version of the Magma CardBus card (PN: 01-04551-03).  Click here to download the Technical Bulletin (46 K).

Digidesign Compatibility Documents Index