M-Audio Hardware Supported by Pro Tools M-Powered Software
With Pro Tools M-Powered Software Version 7.0/7.1 for Windows XP
Product Information, Specs, Drivers:
- Audiophile 192
- High-Definition 4-In/4-Out Audio Card (PCI) with Digital I/O and MIDI
- Audiophile 2496
- 4-In/4-Out Audio Card (PCI) with MIDI and Digital I/O
- Delta 44
- Professional 4-In/4-Out Audio Card (PCI)
- Delta 66
- Professional 6-In/6-Out Audio Card (PCI) with Digital I/O
- Delta 1010
- 10-In/10-Out PCI/Rack Digital Recording System with MIDI and Digital I/O
- Delta 1010LT
- 10-In/10-Out PCI Virtual Studio
- FireWire 1814
- 18-in/14-out FireWire Audio/MIDI Interface w/ADAT Lightpipe
- FireWire 410
- 4-In/10-Out FireWire Audio/MIDI Mobile Recording Interface
- FireWire Audiophile
- 4-In/6-Out FireWire Audio/MIDI Interface
- FireWire Solo
- FireWire Mobile Audio Interface for Songwriter/Guitarists
- Ozonic
- 37-Key FireWire Audio/MIDI Interface and Controller
Newly Supported in Pro Tools M-Powered 7.0
- Fast Track USB
- Record Guitar and Vocals on Your Computer — Complete with Effects
- M-Audio Black Box
- Amps | Effects | Drums | Recording USB Audio interface for Guitarists
- (updated drivers posted March 17, 2006)
- MobilePre USB
- USB Bus-Powered Preamp and Audio Interface
- M-Audio Ozone
- USB Audio/MIDI Mobile Workstation
- ProjectMix I/O
- Control Surface with Motorized Faders and 18 x 14 Audio Interface
- Transit
- High-Resolution Mobile Audio Interface
Newly Supported in Pro Tools M-Powered 7.1
Pro Tools M-Powered Software Compatibility
- Pro Tools M-Powered 7.0 or 7.1 for Mac OS X 10.4
- Pro Tools M-Powered 7.0 or 7.1 for Windows XP Home or Professional
- Pro Tools M-Powered software requires one of the above M-Audio hardware devices
- Other audio interfaces from M-Audio have not been qualified with M-Powered
- Audio interfaces by Digidesign or any manufacturer other than M-Audio will not work with Pro Tools M-Powered software
- Pro Tools M-Powered supports the use of any single supported M-Audio peripheral. Simultaneous use of multiple M-Audio peripherals is not supported.
Authorization
- A pre-authorized cross-platform (Mac/Win) red iLok USB hardware key is included with all Pro Tools M-Powered software purchases
- The Pro Tools M-Powered 6.8 authorization will also authorize Pro Tools M-Powered 7.0 and 7.1
- For more information, and to download your free update to Pro Tools M-Powered 7, see the following web page:
Included and Optional Plug-Ins & Software
- Included with Pro Tools M-Powered Purchase:
- Ableton Live Lite 4 Digidesign Edition
- Free Bomb Factory Plug-In Bundle
- Free DigiRack Plug-Ins
- Included DigiRack Plug-Ins & Optional Digidesign Software
- Optional RTAS & AudioSuite Plug-In Finder
Optional Bundle:
Optional Digidesign & M-Audio Hardware
Control Surfaces & MIDI Interfaces
Note: Pro Tools M-Powered software does not support Digidesign Ethernet control surfaces: Control|24, ProControl, ICON D-Control, or ICON D-Command.
Video Options
The following options are not available for Pro Tools M-Powered:
- Support for DV Toolkit & DV Toolkit 2 software
- Support for DigiTranslator software
- Support for Avid video peripherals
Apple QuickTime 6.5 or Higher Recommended
- Available at www.apple.com/quicktime
- Required only on systems using video
- AGP graphics card with 16 MB or more video RAM required for movie playback
- Known Issue: Apple QuickTime 7 is currently not supported with the Digidesign WaveDriver on Windows XP
FireWire Connections
- A 1394 ("FireWire") controller/interface is required to connect an M-Audio FireWire interface to your computer. Some computers have built-in 1394/FireWire controllers, while other computers require an add-in 1394/FireWire controller card (purchased separately)
- Some built-in 1394/FireWire ports may be incompatible with Pro Tools. if you experience FireWire-related issues or errors when using the built-in 1394/FireWire ports on your computer, Digidesign recommends installing a Digidesign-Qualified 1394/FireWire card.
Performance Guidelines
- Recording to the system startup drive is not recommended
- One or more separate internal or external dedicated audio hard drive(s) 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.
New Session File Format (".ptf")
Pro Tools 7.0 uses a new session file format and extension (.ptf) to distinguish its sessions from sessions created with previous versions. Pro Tools 7 sessions need to be saved as an earlier format to be used with pre-7.0 Pro Tools systems. For more information, see the following:
Pro Tools 7 Plug-In Information
While most Digidesign and Development partner plug-in versions for Pro Tools 6.7-6.9 are also compatible with Pro Tools 7, all RTAS plug-ins will need to be updated to take advantage of the improvements to RTAS plug-in performance introduced in Pro Tools 7.
Please note: Plug-in versions updated for Pro Tools 7 are NOT compatible with Pro Tools 6. For all Digidesign and Digi-distributed plug-ins, both versions will be available, and use the same authorization on both Pro Tools 7 and Pro Tools 6. Check the link above, and with individual third-party developers for compatibility, update, and upgrade information.
Pro Tools 7 Plug-In Q & A
Q: Are all plug-ins for Pro Tools 6.7-6.9 100% compatible with Pro Tools 7 software, or will I have to get updates from plug-in vendors?
A: Most plug-ins will work fine. An updated list of known compatibility issues is posted in the Developers/Plug-In Info section of the Digidesign website.
Q: Do all RTAS plug-ins automatically benefit from Pro Tools 7 software performance improvements?
A: The answer depends on the system configuration. On multi-processor systems (with a dual processor or dual-core processor), most plug-ins will benefit greatly. On single-processor systems, most plug-ins will have to be updated before delivering enhanced performance. Customers should contact third-party vendors for more information about updates.
Final release testing of Pro Tools 7 has shown that there are some performance issues with certain RTAS plug-ins when used with single processor computers. Instance counts on OS X-based Pro Tools LE & M-Powered systems may show a small decrease with certain plug-ins, Windows XP-based Pro Tools LE & M-Powered systems may incur a small performance hit as well with these plug-ins. All plug-ins tested show significant instance count gains on dual-processor computers.
We are actively looking at these issues, and hope to have solutions as soon as possible. Unfortunately, at this time we do not have a release timeframe for improved plug-in versions.
Need Advice on a Computer Purchase?
Be sure to check out the Pro Tools LE & M-Powered Windows sections of the Digidesign User Conference for computer recommendations from other Pro Tools 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. |
Supported CPU Models & Requirements
Music Production Toolkit Option — Maximum Track Count Information
The purchase of this option expands a Pro Tools M-Powered system from 32 total voiceable tracks to up to 48 mono or 48 stereo tracks at up to 96 kHz (interface permitting). Most desktops are capable of 48 stereo tracks at up to 96k, providing the system meets the following recommended requirements for maximum track count:
- 2GHz or higher processor
- 1GB total system RAM or more
- 2 or more hard drives dedicated for audio record and playback:
- 1 internal IDE/ATA and 1 internal SATA drive
- 2 internal SATA drives
- 2 SCSI drives
- 2 or more external FireWire drives
Recommended Desktops
Turnkey/Audio Optimized Systems
Other Manufacturers or Build Your Own — Recommended Motherboards for Dual Core Processors
- ASUS P5WD2 Premium
- Pentium D Dual Core Processor
- Intel 955X chipset
- ASUS A8N-E
- AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core Processor
- nVidia nForce4 chipset
- Tyan Thunder K8WE (Model S2895)
- AMD Opteron Dual Core, Dual Processors
- nVidia nForce4 chipset
- System built by Colfax International
Desktop — Minimum Recommended Requirements
- 2.8GHz Processor or Higher Recommended
- 1GHz Processor Minimum Required
Qualified Configurations:
AMD Athlon 64 or 64 FX Processor
- VIA K8T800, VIA K8T800 PRO, or NVIDIA nForce3 chipset
- Socket 754 or 939 motherboard
AMD Athlon XP Processor (2000+)
- VIA KT266A or NVIDIA nForce chipset
Intel Pentium 4 or Xeon Processor (2.4GHz+)
- Asus P4C800-E motherboard
- Intel 845/845E/845PE, 850/850E, 865PE, 875P, 915GL/915GV, 925XE, 945G/945P*, 955X* chipsets with Intel Pentium 4 processors
*Also qualified with Pentium D processors
Recommended Laptops
The following computers are compatible with Pro Tools LE 7, but may not be able to achieve maximum track count (48 mono or 48 stereo tracks) with Music Production Toolkit:
Models with Intel Celeron processors are not supported, check with manufacturer before purchase.
System Software
- Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
- Not Supported:
- Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
- Windows XP Media Center Edition
- Pro Tools M-Powered is qualified with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP1 not tested)
- If you are updating from SP1 to SP2, please read the following beforehand to help insure a smooth transition:
- Pro Tools M-Powered 7 includes support for Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified, and Chinese Traditional Operating Systems
- Pro Tools M-Powered software can NOT be installed or used on systems running Windows 98, Me, 2000, NT, 95, or 3.1
- Windows XP Settings & Requirements
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.
- The correct PACE InterLok drivers are included with the installation of Pro Tools 7
Total System RAM
- 512 MB minimum required, more recommended**
- More RAM increases overall system and Pro Tools performance
- More RAM suggested for sessions with high edit density, extensive use of plug-ins, higher sample rates, or simultaneous use with MIDI sequencers
- Refer to motherboard manufacturer for supported RAM
**Additional RAM Requirements — Music Production Toolkit Option
- The purchase of the Music Production Toolkit option expands a Pro Tools M-Powered 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, 1GB RAM or more is required on Windows XP
Additional Requirements
Monitor
- Minimum resolution of 1024 x 768
- 17" or larger recommended if using external monitor
Storage
RAID Not Supported
- Pro Tools does not support RAID technology. Please do not activate this feature on any Pro Tools recording drives.
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:
Additional Information & Downloads
M-Audio Driver Updates
To download driver updates from the M-Audio website:
- Go to the Support-> Drivers section on the M-Audio website
- On the right, under Drivers Search, Select Product
- Click SUBMIT
Product Information & Specifications
Pro Tools LE & Pro Tools M-Powered Comparison
Pro Tools LE software requires Digidesign hardware. Pro Tools M-Powered software requires M-Audio hardware. More Information on similarities and differences between Pro Tools LE & M-Powered:
Downloads
Pro Tools 7 Information
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