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  4. Is VSL viable on an Imac?

  • Is VSL viable on an Imac?

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    I'm looking at getting the new 2.8 ghz Imac, with 4 Gb of RAM and an external drive for storing samples - wondering if anyone is successfully using the Imac to work with VSL (SE in particular), or whether a Mac Pro is really needed?

    Do you have to spend all your time keeping a nervous eye on polphyony/CPU usage etc.?

    Would it have the grunt to run VSL SE at the same time as (say) Synthogy's Ivory, or the Galaxy piano sample library? (I'm interested in VSL to mock up piano concertos)

    I'd love to hear from anyone who is already running Imac as their DAW for VSL...am I about to make an expensive mistake? Bear in mind, I would only be running one computer - I will be using Logic 8 as the sequencer on the same Mac as the SE player.

    With thanks!

    Philip Johnston

    www.recitalworks.com

    Canberra, Australia
  • cmC
    VSL Team
    cmC

    imacs have already been used at a time they could hold 2 GB only and run well.

    i would recommend to be careful connecting firewire devices - in many cases it does not work well to connect audio devices and harddisks to stream samples from both via firewire.

    if the internal drive is used for samples or other audio i'd also recommend to partition the drive and format the data partition HFS+ _not_ journaled.

    christian

    and remember: only a CRAY can run an endless loop in just three seconds.
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    I am running VSL with Logic 8 on a brand new iMac, works great except some small Logic bugs...

    4GB RAM should be enough to run smoothly.

    I would get the 24'' version, this display is great and you have enough screen space.And this thing is so silent!

    I did a piece with this configuration, in the demo zone here: Catch me if you can

    There is no risk to run this configuration, I really can recommend it.

    Christof

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    Many thanks for taking the time to give this feedback.

    Christof, my question aside - that's an astonishing demo, hats off to you. Just double checking that a single Imac was the ONLY computer used inproducing that? There was no second computer acting as the sequencer while your IMac hosted VSL? I'm confused, because I seem to remember Christian posting elsewhere that VSL SE had been designed very much with two computers in mind: one to act as the DAW, the other to host the samples.

    With thanks

    Philip Johnston

    www.recitalworks.com

    Canberra, Australia
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    Hi Philip,

    I wish I had 2 Macs;-)

    So yes, I produced this little tune using just one iMac, 3 GIG RAM.

    Not a very powerful machine compared to the high-end turbo-macs with 16 GB RAM, but strong enough to produce quite reasonable music.

    It even gave me the possibility to recieve a contract from LA composer Jeff Rona, and I had the chance to do other pieces for him, just using this little iMac.

    I'm happy with this baby.

    regards

    christof 
  • cmC
    VSL Team
    cmC

    christian as christian kardeis or as me? if the latter maybe a misunderstanding. i mentioned somewhen one could load almost the complete SE (~ 4 GB) using a seperate computer so leaving the sequencing computer free for something else.

    AFAIK the optimized project files for the SE demo #1 load actually on computers with *only* 2 GB RAM, if not less ....

    christian

    and remember: only a CRAY can run an endless loop in just three seconds.
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    Having been running VSL on gigastudio since I got my existing setup in 2003, i'm having trouble adjusting to the idea that one computer can suffice, is all. I am currently running Gigastudio 3 on a single core 2 Ghz P4 with 1.5 Gb of RAM, with a separate computer running Cubase to drive it...if I tried to run them both on the same machine, I seriously think it would burst into flames.

    Looks like good things have happened to hardware in 4 years, and that the Bad Old Days of must-have-at-least-two-computers are gone.

    I don't have this Imac yet, and I love it already...but I'm wondering, if a Mac Pro is at all affordable, is it still a better option? Or is the Imac so capable that a Mac Pro is overkill?

    Christof, how often do you find you need to dial down your composition idea because you have an Imac...and that if only it were a Mac Pro, the piece could have been so much more? Or does the Imac usually handle whatever you throw at it?

    I'm worried a little about the lack of upgradability on the Imac...I don't want VSL to release a fantastic new library in a year's time, only to find that you need at LEAST an 8 core machine with 16 Gb of RAM to run it. (The UBERORCHESTRA! Every articulation quarter-tone sampled at 127 dynamic levels! Ships on a special 3 Petabyte Hard Drive! Free tuning fork included with every purchase!). But if I knew that Imac would support current libraries without me having to keep a careful eye on the CPU meter, then I'd be very happy with that.

    Philip Johnston

    www.recitalworks.com

    Canberra, Australia
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     Christof, how often do you find you need to dial down your composition idea because you have an Imac...and that if only it were a Mac Pro, the piece could have been so much more? Or does the Imac usually handle whatever you throw at it?

    Well, as the piece 'Catch me' which is on the demo site is actually my first orchestral piece I didn't take care of the power of my mac, I just gave him what I wanted to hear as final result.

    This piece has a rather big orchestration, so I think that I can give my mac even more to eat if I wanted.

    So in my case I can say that my iMac handles whatever I throw at it.For now;-)

    christof