CPU/PC requirements

[Phil]

I read that 2.4ghz and 1gig ram is minimum recommended. Multi core/processor doesn't help. More ram doen't help.

More channels and mixers add to the load. Thanks to Bob's excellant post on testing CPU load I should be able to simulate a load and test a system.

I'm wondering what hardware to target to keep that CPU load % as low as needed for stable use for a church system I'm designing. The plan really uses the capabilities to the max.

I'm planning for 48 live channels (2 ambient mics), 4 stereo inputs for various devices, CD DVD, PC, Sat (thats 8 inputs) 56 inputs total

FOH mix to 6 master outs, L/R front, center front, L/R delay, center delay, L/R delay at sound booth, Subs. plus solo headphones, recording out at booth (till SAW is used, loved the online demo!) -13 outs

Monitor Mix(s) mon solo plus either upto 8 wedges OR 20 IEM personal mixes. -21 stereo pairs -42 outs

Thats upto 55 outs

Not the max it can do but up there.

I'd definitely use EQ and Dynamics on FOH
probably use EQ and Dynamics on Mon Mix 1 and have Mix 2-21 be post fade off Mon mix 1. Thats the beauty, I can change things so easy.

I plan to use 2 RME Ratdat interface cards and ada8000's for I/O
The PCI-Express bus is the fastest.
The fastest clock speed processor I can find (currently 3.33ghz in a dual core intel)
The rest really doesn't seem to matter
I just don't see anything faster.

Would faster ram help? dual or triple channel?

I am building my own personal 24 channel to test/demp the system. Got a used DIGI9652 from ebay. Should make a great portable! I'll try to test loads from that but any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[mycorn]

core 2 duo does help
more is a waste

i'd get at least
2 gig of the fastest ram the MB will support

i'm sure we'd all love details
about build and loads/heat with
that I/O count

mh

[905shmick]

Grab yourself an intel E8400 and overclock it to 3.8ghz.

Seriously.

[gdougherty]

Grab yourself an intel E8400 and overclock it to 3.8ghz.

Seriously.

For a permanent install, I'd certainly consider an overclock. With a big Zalman fan I have a 2.4Ghz chip overclocked to 3.2Ghz with solid performance and no impact on heat over the stock cooler and speeds. With a channel count like that you'll be putting a pretty heavy load on the CPU. I'm currently running 24 channels with EQ and dynamics on most channels for FOH and Monitor 1 source split. 4 stereo IEM mixes and a FOH post fade monitor mix for record output. Stereo mains, balcony delay, subs with crossover and EQ on each. 4 fx channels on FOH, 4 reverbs, one for each IEM mix, limiters on the output for IEM's. Using Studio EQ and delay for most things I've got my 3Ghz rig down to about 40% load. That's with 44.1/24 and 2x64 buffers on a single RayDAT. Each reverb uses about 2% CPU but has made a big difference for IEM mixes. You could possibly get away with patching reverb off the FOH or monitor 1 instead of running one for each IEM, but I wanted a realistic balance based on the mix, which takes one for each.

One thought to reduce your input count which is what I may end up with is a playback switcher for the various playback sources so it's only one stereo input into SAC.

[905shmick]

If you're running the other mons as Post Fdr M and have the Aux sends on Mon1 set as Post Fader, using the vox and drums verbs from Mon1 on all the other monitor mixers shouldn't be a problem.

[mycorn]

if you tap post dynamics M [pre fade] then you'r
free to use monitor 1 faders as mix 1
and still get the single eq/dyn cpu relief

fwiw

[Bob L]

E8400 and 4 gigs of ram pretty much does it... you will only get about 3.5 gigs to use in XP 32 bit Windows, but that extra gig and a half can help with the many internal ram buffers needed for all the routing.

Bob L

[Ogmeister]

Grab yourself an intel E8400 and overclock it to 3.8ghz.

Seriously.

I have the e8400 and got it stable at 3.6GHZ.
What did you do to get it up to 3.8? I have read reports of this thing hitting
4.0 GHZ.


I am on the ASUS P4Q-E MB.

OGO

[905shmick]

I have the e8400 and got it stable at 3.6GHZ.
What did you do to get it up to 3.8? I have read reports of this thing hitting
4.0 GHZ.


I am on the ASUS P4Q-E MB.

OGO

I'm using the ASUS P5Q SE/R

My O/C settings are:

FSB Freq : 425
PCIE Freq: 100
CPU Volts: 1.225

Using this heatskink / fan - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150082

[Ogmeister]

I'm using the ASUS P5Q SE/R

My O/C settings are:

FSB Freq : 425
PCIE Freq: 100
CPU Volts: 1.225

Using this heatskink / fan - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150082

Thanks
I will give it a try