Hewlett-Packard HP Workstation xw8000 Requirements

With Pro Tools 6.x & Pro Tools HD 7 for Windows XP

(Discontinued. Replaced by the HP Workstation xw8200)

Digidesign has officially qualified two configurations of the HP Workstation xw8000 for use with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel for both local use and with Avid Unity MediaNetwork. Qualified configurations are only available through Authorized Digidesign Dealers.

Some early models of the HP Workstation xw8000 manufactured before October 31st 2003 are incompatible with AVoption|XL, Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems.

Qualified HP Workstation xw8000 Models

Supported Configurations

The following configurations are qualified with Pro Tools TDM and LE systems with Pro Tools 6.1 and higher for Windows XP.

• HP Workstation xw8000 with Dual Intel Xeon 2.8 GHz Processors
• HP Workstation xw8000 with Dual Intel Xeon 3.06 GHz Processors

BIOS

• BIOS version JQW107US (non-chassis configurations only)
• BIOS version JQW111US or higher (with or without Digidesign or Magma 7 slot 64 bit 33mHz expansion chassis)

System Software

• Windows XP Professional or Home Edition*
• Service Pack 1 or 2 Required**
• Service Pack 2 Required for Pro Tools 6.9 and higher
• Windows XP Settings & Requirements
• Pro Tools 6.1 and higher can NOT be installed or used on systems running Windows 98, Me, 2000, NT, 95, or 3.1

*Windows XP Professional required for systems with AVoption|V10, Avid Mojo, Media Station|PT, or Avid Unity

**The HP Workstation xw8000 has been fully qualified with Windows XP SP1 and SP2. If you are upating from SP1 to SP2, please see the following information:

• Recommended Steps for Installing Windows XP SP2 Update

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:
  • Download Current InterLok Drivers
  • More information from the PACE website
• 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.

Internal SCSI support

• The qualified configurations of the xw8000 come with 2 SCSI ports which do not take up a PCI slot. They are qualified for audio-only operation with AVOption|XL, but are qualified for video and audio operation with AVoption|V10 or Avid Mojo.

Card Slot Order for Pro Tools|HD & Pro Tools|HD Accel Systems with Pro Tools 6.x or 7.x

When used without AVoption|V10 or AVoption|XL

• The HD Core card goes in the slot furthest from the AGP card, followed by all HD Accel cards, then HD Process cards (if any)

Configuration using only CPU with only Pro Tools|HD or HD Accel system:

Pro Tools 6.3/6.4/6.9.x/7.x with AVoption|V10 or Avid Mojo

Configuration using only CPU with HD or HD Accel and AVoption|V10:

For information on slot order with AVoption|V10 and Avid Mojo and Pro Tools 6.9.x and 7.x:

• PCI Slot Configurations for AVoption|V10 Systems With Windows XP
• PCI Slot Configurations for Avid Mojo Systems With Windows XP

Avid Interchange

AVoption|V10, Avid Mojo, and Media Station|PT are supported with Pro Tools 6.9 & Pro Tools HD 7 for Windows XP For details and System Requirements, see the following compatibility pages:

• AVoption|V10 with Pro Tools|HD for Windows XP
• Avid Mojo with Pro Tools HD for Windows XP
• Avid Media Station|PT for Windows XP
• Avid Unity MediaNetwork

AVoption|XL is not supported with Pro Tols 6.3 and higher. Pro Tools 6.2 is the last release with support for AVoption|XL.

PCI Expansion Chassis (Optional)

For more information on Qualified Expansion Chassis and Requirements, please see the following pages:

• Supported Expansion Chassis - Pro Tools HD 7 Systems
• Supported Expansion Chassis - Pro Tools 6 HD Systems

Supported Chassis For Use With Pro Tools 7.1 and higher with Pro Tools|HD or HD Accel systems:

• Digidesign Expansion|HD 6 Slot Expansion Chassis
  • with Digidesign Host PCI Card (PCIe host card currently not supported on Windows)
  • HD PCI cards only in chassis

Supported Chassis For Use With Pro Tools 6.9.x & 7.x with Pro Tools|HD or HD Accel systems:

• Digidesign 64-bit 7 Slot Expansion Chassis
• Magma 64-bit 7 slot expansion chassis - model P7R464 (current), model P7R464-D1 (discontinued)
• For use with Avid Unity Shared Storage or AVoption|V10, these chassis have been qualified with Pro Tools 6.9.x & 7.x only
• Other chassis have not been tested with Pro Tools 6.4 and higher

AVoption|V10 & Avid Mojo

Because AVoption|V10 and Avid Mojo connect to the internal FireWire bus, a chassis is not required. However, AVoption|V10 and Avid Mojo require the complete bandwidth of the FireWire bus, as well as the segment of the PCI bus which that FireWire bus utilizes. Therefore, no other devices can be attached to the same FireWire bus as the AVoption|V10 or Avid Mojo, and no PCI cards can be installed in the PCI slots that share that segment. This leaves the HP xw8000 and Dell 650 with only three available PCI slots for Pro Tools cards, SCSI HBAs, or additional FireWire PCI cards. For information on slot order with AVoption|V10 and Avid Mojo:

• PCI Slot Configurations for AVoption|V10 Systems With Windows XP
• PCI Slot Configurations for Avid Mojo Systems With Windows XP

PCI Slot Configurations for AVoption|V10 Systems With Windows XP

This page documents supported PCI slot configuration for Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems with AVoption|V10, with and without an expansion chassis.

Slot orders are labeled from top (starting with the monitor card) to bottom.

HP xw800 with Pro Tools|HD and AVoption|V10

Configuration using only HP xw8000

CPU Configuration using HP xw8000 with Digidesign or Magma 64-bit 7-Slot Expansion Chassis

Digidesign or Magma 64-bit 7-Slot Expansion Chassis

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.

HP xw800 with Pro Tools 6.1 & 6.2 with AVoption|XL

Configuration using only HP xw8000 with AVoption|XL with either FibreChannel or SCSI:

CPU Configuration using HP xw8000 with Digidesign or Magma 64-bit 7-Slot Expansion Chassis and AVoption|XL:

Digidesign or Magma 64-bit 7-Slot Expansion Chassis

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.

Please see PCI expansion chassis guidelines for correct slot order of Pro Tools|HD and HD Accel cards in the Digidesign or Magma chassis:

For information on slot order with AVoption|V10 and Avid Mojo and Pro Tools 6.9.x and 7.x:

• PCI Slot Configurations for AVoption|V10 Systems With Windows XP
• PCI Slot Configurations for Avid Mojo Systems With Windows XP

For information on slot order with AVoption|V10 and Pro Tools 6.4:

• PCI Expansion Chassis with Pro Tools|HD Systems with Pro Tools 6.4 (without AVoption|V10)
• PCI Expansion Chassis with Pro Tools 6.4 with AVoption|V10

Hewlett-Packard Product Information:

• www.hp.com