dp 5.11 is a 32 bit machine in a 64 bit world

[willheim]

just got off the phone with dp tech support.

i have a dual processor 2.5 powermac with 8 gigs of ram and am thinking of going to the quad core 3.0 hz wintel mac pro.

however, dp only runs at 32, even my power mac is 64 bit, and dp can only address 3 gigs of ram.

what is the point of upgrading? i knwo the ram runs other apps, and that is goood for doing alot of stuff at once,

does any one have experience of knowledge about this issue?

like how far off is the 64 bit dp? and he also said all my plug ins - absynth, atmosphee, albino, altiverb, mach five, ultra anaglue, stylus, tc mk 11, moogs , 2600's, mellotron, ivory

blow into the ram from performer, not on their own.

comments?

[bralston]

regardless of the processor in the computer...since OSX is 32-bit right now even with Tiger...everything will be 32-bit for a while longer. It is not a 64-bit world by any stretch. This is not a "DP" issue...the OS first has to be written for 64-bit performance. Then all of the programs and plug-ins and such will have to be written to conform to the 64-bit spec. And...all the hardware drivers and such (which is the problem with windows Vista 64-bit right now that there are basically little to no drivers written for it. So...no one can really do anything of value under the windows 64-bit OS because nothing works reliably under it.

It is not a "DP" issue...it is an industry wide hardware and operating system issue. The programs like DP will have 64-bit versions when the system foundations are in place to support it. I would venture to bet it will be another 2 years (minimum) before people start seeing 64-bit systems supported across the board (all hardware, drivers and software), etc...

[Frodo]

I agree with Brian.

To that I'd add that there are significant performance benefits with the new Intel machines. Projects that sent G5 Duals into the red hardly put a dent in the MacPro's resources. For that reason alone, I have no regrets for having added a MacPro.

It does give Mac users a choice of when they'd want to buy a MacPro. If the reason to go MacPro is for 64-bit functionality, then we'd need to wait for Leopard (October?) as well as application developers to 'up-code' their software for 64-bit addressing. Some of these apps *may* or *may not* begin to surface at NAMM 08. I don't expect to see much of anything before then, and there's no telling how long after NAMM 08 the flood gates may open. More to the point, it's anyone's guess when a 64-bit version of DP will appear.

[emulatorloo]

quad core 3.0 hz wintel mac pro.

As others have said, we will need a 64bit mac os. Apple says just around the corner. I am sure MOTU will follow suit!

-------------------------------
FWIW, the term

"wintel"

was coined to describe computers running Microsoft Windows on an intel processor. As opposed to Macs, or computers running UNIX.

from the wiki:

"Wintel is a term used to describe desktop computers and servers of the type commonly used in homes and businesses since the late 1980s (these are PC compatible computers running a version of Microsoft Windows). The portmanteau term is a concatenation of Windows (Microsoft's operating environment) and Intel (the originator of the x86 processor architecture used in many of today's PC compatible computers)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintel

So while the new macs are running on intel processors, happily they are running Mac OS X. (although they can run Windows OS as well -- although if I never had to look at or touch windows again I would be a damn happy person)

---

[magicd]

A little clarification.

The Mac OS currently uses 32 bit addressing. This means that no application can address more than 4gb of RAM. Digital Performer can currently make use of up to 4gb RAM.

The way the Mac OS works is that virtual memory is always on. A great deal of what the computer does gets stored in RAM memory. If you launch an app then quit it, portions of that app are kept in RAM. This means the next time you launch the app, it will launch much faster.
For a Powerbook user like me, this is a big deal because I rarely restart my computer. That means over time, RAM useage becomes less and less efficient. There may be utilities that clear out or optimize RAM. I haven't checked. I do know that a restart refreshes the RAM.

Open the Apple Activity Monitor (Utilities folder) Press the System Memory tab. You'll see a parameter at the bottom of the window labeled Page ins/page outs: The second number listed is how many pages the OS has made to the hard drive. This happens when the OS runs out of RAM and needs to cache to the hard drive, which affects overall computer performance. If you see this second number go above 3500 (as a rough rule of thumb), that means your computer would probably benefit from having more RAM.

Yes, plug-ins run inside the host application, which means they share RAM with that application. That's why if you use a lot of sample based virtual instruments, having a healthy amount of RAM makes a difference.

The resolution of the data path inside Digital Performer is a different subject than RAM allocation. Digital Performer uses 32 bit floating point resolution in it's mix bus. The plug-ins can operate up to 64 bit float, depending on the preference of the programmer. The MOTU Masterworks plug-ins are 64 bit floating point resolution plug-ins.

32 bit float gets you roughly 1500 db of dynamic range.

Hope that all helps!

Magic Dave

[gearboy]

32 bit float gets you roughly 1500 db of dynamic range.

Is the benefit of this the fact that you can't clip DP's plug-ins? I have noticed that the hotter I run recorded signal into, say, IK or Waves plug-ins, they clip and I can hear digital distortion. I've never experienced this with any of MOTU's plugs.

Am I correct, here?

Thanks Magic Dave!

Jeff

[magicd]

32 bit float gets you roughly 1500 db of dynamic range.

Is the benefit of this the fact that you can't clip DP's plug-ins? I have noticed that the hotter I run recorded signal into, say, IK or Waves plug-ins, they clip and I can hear digital distortion. I've never experienced this with any of MOTU's plugs.

Am I correct, here?

Thanks Magic Dave!

Jeff

You'd have to check with IK or Waves as to their internal resolution. You are correct that you can not clip any of the stock MOTU plug-ins. Just make sure final output from DP is brought back down to within non-clipping range.

Dave