Is my new 8Pre Killing my PC?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nate74
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Nate74

Nate74

HR4FREBR
I recently added a MOTU 8Pre to my MOTU 828mkIII so I can record 16 tracks simultaneously. I have my band coming in to my home studio in a few weeks so I decided I should plug in 16 mics, set up the tracks in Sonar, and hit record.

First issue was I had to start and restart the 8Pre a few times before it connected correctly via ADAT with my 828. But eventually it did. I’ve assigned the 16 different inputs from the 828 and the 8Pre to the 16 tracks I set up in Sonar with no issues, though I realize now that when I was doing this, the 8Pre hadn't correctly "locked" on to the 828.

But now that they are all assigned, Sonar is super slow. It took about twice as long to start up. Then when I tried to arm the 16 tracks, there was about a 2 or 3 second delay between when I’d hit the little “R” on each track and when it would actually turn red. Then when I hit record, it takes about 1 or 2 seconds before it actually starts recording with the clock starting up.

I had none of these problems with just my 828, so I know the 8Pre is the culprit. But what’s the fix?

I have a white box PC that I’ve had quite a while with only a 1.6GHz AMD processor and 2GB of RAM. I know it's old, but it worked fine with the 828 alone...:confused:

I’ve had a new PC in the plans for a while but am wondering if that’ll fix these issues?
Thanks in advance.
 
I would check firmware versions and clock settings. Past that a new machine would probably help. Check tiger direct for barebone kits. U can get a computer for under $500 that will easily handle what your doing.
 
Cool. And Thanks. Seems to be managable, but I think it may be time to look at the budget and see if a new PC fits...
 
It's a ebay whitebox special. 1.60GHz AMD processor and 2GB of RAM, a pair of 250MB Hard drives. The MOTU 828 is connected via firewire and then the 8Pre is connected to the 828mkIII via ADAT.
 
A $1000 worth of interfaces hooked up to a $300 computer...... yeah, not good planning....

Big question: Is your firewire card a TexasInstruments chip'ed card?
(That's a Motu REQUIREMENT)
 
TimOBrien said:
A $1000 worth of interfaces hooked up to a $300 computer...... yeah, not good planning....

Big question: Is your firewire card a TexasInstruments chip'ed card?
(That's a Motu REQUIREMENT)
Click to expand...

Actually when I got that PC back in '05, it was towards the upper end of what was available, but yeah, I guess a 6 year old computer might not have the balls I now need.

I was only using it for mixing and was recording straight to a HD24XR back then, but even now, it does a fine job when I'm using just the 828mkIII. And playback has never been an issue, even on projects with over 20 tracks.

Interestly, when I arm all the tracks at once rather than one at a time, they arm almost instantly... so waiting a second to start recording may not be enough motivation to go spend another grand on the setup. But I gotta confess, a 8GB unit sounds sexy as hell...
 
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