Merging Technologies

Hi all,

I'm trying to choose a new laptop to use with Native v6 and a Fireface 800. Can anyone suggest any reliable models?

- Will Pyramix 6 run on Windows 7 Home Premium, or only Windows 7 Professional? Merging's PC config page lists 7 Pro as a minimum requirement, but as far as I can tell the only difference is the extra networking capability.
- Does anyone know when Pyramix will be 64 bit compatible? Most PC laptops seem to be shipping with the 64bit versions of Win7.
- Is it still important to have a Texas Instruments firewire chip for RME interfaces?

Many thanks,
Rich

RE the 64-bit question, see here:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6778

Thanks, but the question was actually when would Pyramix be able to run on 64bit, not whether it already could. Do any Merging staff or beta testers have any clues?

From Pyramix 6.2 SP1 release notes :

For the long term, the move of our applications to a 64 bit operating system will provide a very solid platform to accommodate the ever growing project size requirements of some of our users. We are extremely committed to this move but we do need to be clear that it will not be a short term solution, current plans put such a move around 12 months away from today and potentially towards 2011.

One imagines v.7 may be the one that takes on the 64-bit mantle, and I have heard rumour of it appearing within a month or two, with v8 following in the first part of 2011. (Or perhaps that means v8 is the 64-bit compatible version of the all-new v7?)
However, I think we've all heard these sorts of desirable timescales before (for me from v4 to v5 which was severely stretched! and v5 to v6 too), so I wouldn't pin any hopes on them.
Graemme did mention the other day that v7 was going from alpha to beta, so that's a good sign of progress, though it suggests that they are still some way from the RC, let alone the actual release...

AVI

rjas wrote:- Will Pyramix 6 run on Windows 7 Home Premium, or only Windows 7 Professional? Merging's PC config page lists 7 Pro as a minimum requirement, but as far as I can tell the only difference is the extra networking capability.

does anyone have an answer to this?

as far as your firewire chip question, i would assume Pyramix still prefers a TI firewire chip. the RME forum would be the best place to check, however.

cheers,
-c

Hi Charlie,

Paul at emerging UK confirmed that Pyramix will run on Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit.

As far as the laptop goes, I'm giving up hope of finding a machine with my perfect specification. The manufacturers make it very difficult to find out what firewire chipsets they use - I even called up Sony and Dell but they couldn't / wouldn't tell me. Added to this, firewire seems to be going out of fashion, so there aren't all that many models to choose from.

I have now ordered a mid-range Dell as I need a laptop for other reasons anyway. If it works with Pyramix and the Fireface, great. If it doesn't then I'll build myself a rack-mounted machine to Merging's specifications.

Best wishes,
Rich

thanks Rich.
if you hadn't ordered your machine yet (or if you happen to order another), Tim Martyn could recommend a good machine on which to run native.
cheers,
-c

Hi,

Well, I used to be in a good position to do this by recommending Asus, which we're still using very happily. But alas the Asus line in the past year or 15 months has followed most of the others in the "race to the bottom". Fewer valuable features (mostly I/O), all to be able to sell laptops for under $1k. Also FWIW, Asus does NOT use the TI FW chip, although I've had no issues recording & playing back media drives via FW. (There very well could be an issue using non-TI Firewire with e.g. an RME Fireface). But the only current Asus machine I can find with FW and eSATA is the G51JX-3DE...& it has a small screen (15.6"). If that's a big enough display for you, I'd take a look at that one.

Tim Martyn

I am wondering if there are any updates to this. I am considering getting a Sony Viao which would have occasional use with Pyramix, but have heard that Sony has some "strange" drivers which can cause problems.
Thanks
Larry

rjas wrote:Hi Charlie,
Paul at emerging UK confirmed that Pyramix will run on Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit.

FWIW- I would NOT use any home version with PMX. There is a difference between running and running reliably.
Professional is the appropriate version. Spend the extra couple of bucks to upgrade when you buy your laptop.

All the best,
-mark

I heartedly second Mark's excellent advice....furthermore, if you order a laptop from "my guys" at xoticpc.com and upgrade the OS to Win 7 Pro, they will (if you ask them) custom load the system with just the bare OS and drivers, and leave out all of the bloatware which always causes huge problems.

Tim Martyn

I use an Asus laptop for xoticpc.com. Rock solid and customizable.
Dennis

Dennis

Can you advise which model you are using?

Thanks
Larry

Hi,

In case, I do use the Lenovo Thinkpad x200, as I'm the Merging QA it works pretty well I must say but is quite small and has no Firewire port, in that sense it depends of your interface.
Note that I would also recommend a laptop with an integrated num-pad. Unless you want to use an external one.

Best Regards,
Ricardo