I thought very hard about going for a high-end Mac, but the budget wouldn't quite stretch that far and the comprises I'd have had to make to make the budget fit would have given me a significantly reduced specification over the Darc unit. I've a couple of development projects that might pay for such a machine next year, but it'll depend on whether some R&D funding applications come good. In the meantime my Apple testing will have to be performed on my rather modest Mac Mini. Best wishes. Tim Burgess Raised Bar Ltd Phone: +44 (0)1827 719822 Don't forget to vote for improved access to music and music technology at http://www.raisedbar.net/petition.htm -----Original Message----- From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bryan Smart Sent: 08 September 2010 20:57 To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] Re: SV: SV: Re: Cakewalk VS-700C V-Studio controler That's pretty good. My Mac Pro is mostly like that, except it uses the 2.9Ghz Xeon 5560 processors. These include turbo, like the I7 processors. You get 2.9Ghz when all 8 physical processor cores are running, but you get about 3.4Ghz per core when no more than 4 are running. Of course, all are hyperthreaded, so you get 16 virtual cores. It's pretty sweet, and it eats Sonar alive. However, this isn't even the new thing anymore. The newer Mac Pros and PC DAWs run the 6 core Xeons. That's 12 physical and 24 virtual processors. So far, though, I have no idea what I could do with a system like that if I had it. That's a good thing, because the Mac Pro wasn't cheap at all. Hope it continues to satisfy me for at least a few years. Bryan -----Original Message----- From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tim Burgess Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 12:34 PM To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] Re: SV: SV: Re: Cakewalk VS-700C V-Studio controler Chris, Basic spec as follows: DARC ultimate 2x Xeon E5620 2.4GHz Quad core Quiet CPU coolers and exhaust fan (120mm) Tyan, 12 Dimm slots. 3 PCIe, 1 PCI slots 6GB (6x1GB) DDR3 1333MHz 320GB OS disk 1TB Audio Disk 700W Quiet PSU HD3450 ATI dual ouput silent cooling DVD R/RW 19" Rack case with acoustic insulation Windows 7 Pro custom install I've added another 1TB sample drive, upped the RAM to 12GB (it'll go up to 64). Darc are adding a serial port for my DecTalk and putting a Windows 7/64 dual boot in place (for actual production and my development work) at no additional charge. When the cost of the 6 core processors come down I can refresh the machine to get 24-thread operation, so this thing will have some serious legs. It takes up 4U of rack space and the cooling is front to back, so there's no problem having other gear above and/or below it and radiating heat. Don't ask for the price in dollars - the price in Pounds is still making me shiver:) Best wishes. Tim Burgess Raised Bar Ltd Phone: +44 (0)1827 719822 Don't forget to vote for improved access to music and music technology at http://www.raisedbar.net/petition.htm -----Original Message----- From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: 08 September 2010 17:00 To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] Re: SV: SV: Re: Cakewalk VS-700C V-Studio controler Woe Tim, dual Zeon? Can we see the specs and collectively drool longingly? :) Chris PLEASE READ THIS FOOTER AT LEAST ONCE! To leave the list, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type unsubscribe For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq or send a message, to ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type faq PLEASE READ THIS FOOTER AT LEAST ONCE! To leave the list, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type unsubscribe For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq or send a message, to ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type faq PLEASE READ THIS FOOTER AT LEAST ONCE! To leave the list, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=subscribe If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type unsubscribe For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subjectzq or send a message, to ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type faq PLEASE READ THIS FOOTER AT LEAST ONCE! To leave the list, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type unsubscribe For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the immediately following link: ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq or send a message, to ddots-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and in the Subject line type faq