Tricks to run Cubase on an old Mac?

[jethani]

Hi Gang.

I'm running Cubase 4.0 on a PPC 7200/120. While I dream of getting a new G3, the reality is that I will pick up a G4 if and when they ever go on the market.

I've maxed out the RAM on this puppy, but doing any serious amount of digital audio is still tricky. I found that the CPU can't handle redrawing a window during playback. I've learned to stop the track first, *then* open, say, the audio channel mixer. Also, turning fx on/off during playback is a big no-no on this computer.

Any tips you guys can give to take the heat off my cpu would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
jethani

[Emeric]

Hi jethani,

Well, I don't use a Macintosh, but I would think Cubase 3.6 for PC and 4.0 for Mac must have some similarities. You could try turning off the drawing of waveforms if you have not already. Don't use real time FX while recording. Turn them off before hand.

Steinberg may have some tips for optimizing for the Macintosh at their site.

I stumbled across this site looking for info on your machine.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/

That's all I can think of for now.

Emeric

[jethani]

Hi Emeric.

Thanks for the tips about turning off the redrawing. Will do.

Unfortunately, my Mac is one of the few models made whose CPU cannot be upgraded. It's soldered right onto the motherboard. So for now, it's use as many cheats as possible to keep it trim enough for Cubase.