[QLab] Hello an Mac Mini question

[Charles Coes]

Thanks for testing it.  I'm hopeful that we can convince the higher  
ups that its a sound investment.
Charles Coes
ccoes1 at gmail.com
(973) 573-1288
"As I write highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying  
to kill me." - G. Orwell



On Jan 28, 2007, at 4:45 PM, Christopher Ashworth wrote:

> On Jan 28, 2007, at 4:01 PM, Charles Coes wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> 	I'm a sound design student and a big fan of Q-lab.  I've used it
>> on a couple of shows and haven't had a problem yet.   I'm looking
>> into purchasing a system to replace on of our SFX systems here at
>> school.  If at all possible we'd like to use Q-lab, but have some
>> budget constraints and some requirements that might make it
>> impossible within our budget.  The deciding factor is whether a Mac
>> mini (core 2 duo) can run a pretty intense show (maybe 8 concurrent
>> audio files with fades) with 16 channels of audio and midi cues.
>> We'd be using a Motu 828 linked through lightpipe to a AI-3.
>> Anyone done something like this?  Can the minis handle it, what
>> limitations do they run into?  Thanks.
>
>
> Hi Charles,
>
> I just ran a quick-n-dirty test (TM) to double check, and I reckon
> the Mini should serve you just fine.  The Core 2 Duo chips are pretty
> hefty little beasts.
>
> For reference, here's what I just tried:
>
> Computer:  2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro, 2GB of RAM.   (Yes, this
> is better than a Mini, but I also pushed it harder than you required;
> see below.)
>
> Output Device:  MOTU UltraLite, 14 channels out.
>
> QLab workspace:  26 Group cues.  Each group cue contains a Sound Cue
> and a Fade Cue.  Each sound targets an 8 channel WAV, routed to all
> 14 outs of the MOTU.  Each fade targets that sound, and fades all
> inputs, all outputs, the master, and a bunch of the crosspoints
> simultaneously.  Sound Cue is set to infinite loop, Fade cue is set
> for a 30 second duration.
>
> All 26 groups of sounds and fades are set to autocontinue.  Loaded
> them all and hit GO.  The CPU is pegged solid at 100%, and the GUI is
> pretty unresponsive, but I'm getting no dropped frames.
>
> I actually started at 8 simultaneous groups, and kept adding until
> 26, at which point I got bored of adding them and decided to go ahead
> and report the results.
>
> If you can, go for the faster processor, and definitely plan to add
> as much RAM as you can afford.  But the Mini should be a solid
> machine.  I know there are a number of people using them out in the
> wild--hopefully someone else will pipe up with that experience.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Christopher
>
>
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