Vista 64 interface recommendations?

h_double · Post by **h_double** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 8:11 am

I am looking to build a new desktop machine primarily for musical purposes (I might also try to get into some video editing as well, so I want something with plenty of RAM). I'll probably be spending 90% of my music-making time in Live.

With everything I've taken into consideration, a Vista 64 machine seems like the best choice. I know driver support is more dependable for MacOS, but I'm not sure I can get past the sticker shock of a Mac Pro, and there is a fair amount of PC-only plugins (and Sonar) that I don't want to lose the use of.

I still am hearing less than great things about the overall driver situation on Vista 64 but the Presonus Firebox or FP10 are supposed to be supported, and that's at the top of my list right now. I don't see myself needing more than 2 simultaneous inputs in the near future, but firewire definitely seems to best route at the moment.

Anyway I would appreciate any feedback or advice from those of you with some Vista 64 audio experience -- things you'd recommend or that you've had problems with, etc.

crumhorn · Post by **crumhorn** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:05 am

Vista 32 here (not what you were asking I know) but I can report that my FirePod (old name for FP10) works flawlessly.

Simmo · Post by **Simmo** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:11 am

I use Vista x64 and the RME Fireface 400 (although there is an 800 with more channels if you decide you need them ongoing). Sound is flawless and in my opinion rates better than the MOTU/MAudio equivilents for the money. I tested it against the Presonus when buying mine and the RME appeared to have a better signal/noise ratio.

The driver support from RME is very good as well with full ASIO support etc.

I tried various MOTU's and got severe sound breakup and the routing wasnt as flexible as the "matrix" style routing system that the Fireface has (in Totalmix).

The main downside I found to the Fireface (and all Firewire audio interfaces that I've used) is that you do get sound breakup or clicking if the system doesnt provide enough internal bandwidth to the firewire chipset or if the firewire chipset isn't that good. To get around that I bought a SIIG Firewire express card for the laptop and cheapo Belkin Texas Instruments chipset interface for the desktop. You may find you need to buy a seperate SATA controller (such as the Adaptec 1430SA) - I found sound breakup during disk access which was related to the SATA controller nicking all the system bandwidth.

Really depends on how much you have to spend though, the RME isn't that cheap; a cheaper option could be an M-Audio interface, although I'm not sure of the quality of the drivers for x64.

Hope that helps mate

h_double · Post by **h_double** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:16 pm

crumhorn: yeah, most interfaces are well-supported under Vista 32; it's the 64 bit that's the kicker.

Simmo: thanks for the recommendation for the RME; it's a little more than I had been looking to spend, but I've yet to be disappointed by erring a little on the side of higher end so I'll definitely consider it. M-Audio's Vista 64 support is effectively non-existant (in private beta for months and months), which is a shame because I already have a Delta 44 and MobilePre USB that I wouldn't mind using as temporarily, but there's no Vista 64 drivers.

Lo-Fi Massahkah · Post by **Lo-Fi Massahkah** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:20 pm

Is Live itself even supported on Vista 64?

And in general; more memory - great, but lack of drivers and support? Is it worth it?

.m

McQ714 · Post by **McQ714** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:37 pm

i've only used two different interfaces with my Vista 64 and they both worked great. In fact, everything i've installed on the machine, except for the NI Kore 2 controller and my M-Audio midisport 4 x 4 (old one), has worked great including Live 7, Reason 4, all the NI instruments, all the Rob Papen synths, Waves Platinum bundle, Camel Audio's Cameleon and Phat/Space, etc. Haven't had a glitch in the system. Anyway, the interfaces i've used are the Edirol M-16DX digital mixer/controller/interface and the RME Multiface 2 with HDSPe card, which I highly recommend to everyone i've talked to about this. RME's drivers are solid. I haven't had an issue yet with them, but for those that do, they update the drivers and firmware every couple of months. the only thing this interface lacks are mic inputs for if you're serious about your sound, then you would want to look into some good quality preamps anyway. Now if NI and M-Audio would give me drivers, I'd be set. All other hardware i've used work great... Novation's Remote Zero SL and Xio 25 are my main controllers.

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:37 am

Good question.

A lot of interfaces still DO NOT have Vista SIXTY FOUR drivers. Most have some kind of Vista 32 by now. M-Audio are just beta testing Vista 64 (and their drivers are notoriously bad anyway) and many other interfaces do not yet have Vista 64. Some say it;s coming, others are probably going to skip it and wait for the next windows o/s which will probably only come in 64 bit flavours anyway.

Even the ones which do have vista 64 are still being worked upon, drivers not yet optimal in most cases, as it is quite a new standard and not many people are yet running it, so they prioritized vista 32.

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:22 am

Live isnt 64 bit native.

So youll get the benefit of it being able to address more RAM running live under a 64 bit OS, but the program itself isnt 64 bit, although the audio engine is, which confuses some!

gosinisha · Post by **gosinisha** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:35 pm

i will also install vista 64bit after new year,currently using xp32bit.

h_double · Post by **h_double** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:18 am

Thanks for the feedback everybody.

McQ714, thanks for the info on specific plugs, makes me less nervous about the situation in general.

After my overall research though, I've decided to stick with 32 bit XP for the time being, after learning that it can address up to 4GB RAM (only 2GB in a single app, but still decent), and that there are still plenty of modern 64 chipsets with XP drivers. I'm sticking with XP rather than Vista 32 because I KNOW all my apps are supported, and I'm much more interested in reliability and productivity than I am in fancy OS toys. So I ordered hardware that will last me a while and figure I might switch up to 64 bit Windows 7 in a couple of years once I know it's officially supported by Live.

dancerchris · Post by **dancerchris** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:08 am

Because Live is a 32 bit mode application (not native 64 bit) can you utilize more than the 2 meg limit on 32 bit apps? I would get Vista if I could use more than 2 megs within Live. I want to run huge sample sets (Superior 2 drums w/ full miking + more). However can the app address that much memory? Anybody actually done it? (I'm not talking about just running live on a machine with more than 2 megs of memory). In otherwords can you use that extra memory with a 32 bit application like Live.