Thanks again everyone...

Beepster... Does Pro support multi-processor? (I have dual Xeon-Quads)

The latency doesn't sound great, but it should suffice for now.... Once I have this Mac up and running I'll target a better interface if I find it necessary... but at least I'll be able to work on my own projects more easily than I do now... I almost never use a latency setting faster than 8ms tho I can get down to 1ms....

Today's the day... I'm off to town to put money on my card so that I can start ordering things...

First will be my X2 pre-order (boxed version)
Second will be the interface (I can use it on an HP Quad, liquid colled which was also gifted to me)...

Then in another week or so I'll have enuf cash to get win7Pro and get the Mac Pro running the way I want... and switch the interface to the Mac!

Thanks again...
Keni

Gary, some good point's about CPU useage with the Tascam. I posted a thread in the Hardware forum asking if anyone else experienced this but never got any relplies.

Run The dpclat meter. Turn your Tascam on and then off and see what happens. For me it will kick the meters up by a steady 50 to 300 us depending on the computer. The weaker the machine the higher the reading.
I tried this with my M audio interface and the reading did not change.
So you do need a good computer is my conclusion.
It's interesting about these interfaces and how there is absolutely no performance testing etc available for comparing. You have to rely on user based opinions, not exactly reliable I say. Even the reviews by professionals don't give out much.
I'm glad I'm not in the market for an interface right now. Now we have to wait for stable drivers for W8 , then it will be 132 Bit and on and on,

For me it will kick the meters up by a steady 50 to 300 ms depending on the computer. The weaker the machine the higher the reading.

Translation:  Poorly written driver


If ultimate performance at ultra low latency is important to you, I'd avoid this unit.
Round-trip latency is particularly high.
Otherwise, it's OK... nothing more/less.

@Keni... I don't know specifically but if it's a standard hardware set up I'm sure Win7 will be fine. Maybe check out the Win7 forums. I'm sure the answer will be there... or you could just ask Jim. ;-)

Thanks Beepster...

I've had so many issues ordering things today that I lost an entire day of work... I misjudged how much cash to leave on my card and found myself short so I thought I'd get Win7 only to find all kinds of messages claiming that no version of win7 supports multi-processor... only a single with more than 4 cores.... So I ran into town a second time and placed more cash on my card only to be a bit hesitant about the 1800 because it lacks inserts (I like hardware compressors when I record)... so I searched into that more before finally giving in and buying the 1800... I almost bought the Focusrite scarlet as I'm not so much in need of the mic pre's, but it doesn't support Vista 64 which is all I have on my quad-core HP.... so this will be the temporary upgrade... From my core2duo to the quad with double the memory and 50% higher clock...

...until I'm certain about buying windows for the mac's needs. I just found the following in Micorsoft's info system (after a day of searching):

Product functionality and graphics may vary based on your system configuration. Some features may require advanced or additional hardware.

PCs with multi-core processors:
Windows 7 was designed to work with today's multi-core processors. All 32-bit versions of Windows 7 can support up to 32 processor cores, while 64‑bit versions can support up to 256 processor cores.

PCs with multiple processors (CPUs):
Commercial servers, workstations, and other high-end PCs may have more than one physical processor. Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate allow for two physical processors, providing the best performance on these computers. Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium will recognize only one physical processor.

So if I read that correctly, I should be fine with Win7 Pro... what I found earlier was a lot of discussions from people who added the second processor later and either didn't have exact matches or had the stepping set differently on each... But no one that actually had it running... As this Mac came with the two, I'm gonna guess that they step the same and are identical... So I may buy it later this week or next (cash dependent)...

What an exhausting day!

Thanks for the help everybody! I'll post results as they happen...

Most important? I pre-ordered X2 for download and hard copy!


Keni

I had an awful time with a Tascam us 600....terrible drivers,and no updates since release,I had to take a USB 1.1 UA25-EX[which works great considering]as an "exchange" at the time it was the only interface within $50 that the store had  to swap.

I'm gonna wait until I can afford an RME Babyface,Iv'e considered MOTU,but their drivers suit OSX WAY BETTER than Windows,and after that Tascam experience,I wan't something SOLID.

I think these Tascam US  USB 2.0 interfaces are cheap for a reason.

Bob

Hi Bob...

You may be right...

But I find most of the drivers poorly written in some fashion... It's learning to work with their' issues in the long run...

My Mixtreme drivers work great except that they force me to re-profile every time I change sample rate..... Gets to be a nuisance, but other than that they work great!

I installed a small Tascam for a student a number of months back... I think it was a 144? In any case, it works fine on her machine ever since so I'm not sure what problem you had but it may have been situation dependent...

In any case.... I've already ordered the 1800 as it will be fine to get this workstation up and running and somewhat band-ready. It's not the fastest so it's probably not the best for my personal use, but I should be ok for a while until I get the Mac running and have a better idea... The new Presonus VSL devices boast a 2.8ms-6ms latency.... Very attractive... But I've had many issues with many of their products on Windows platforms tho I did get them working fine... The Focusrite have the nicest sounding pre amp.... But neither of these companies support Vista64 which I'm blessed with on my HP liquid cooled machine... so it raised the anti another $100-$200 which I don't have right now.

The RME stuff is supposed to be excellent tho I've had no experience with them yet...

I think they're cheap for a few reasons... but that doesn't mean they don't work fine for many situations. I don't get a ton of band recording dates these days, but the 1800 is a safe buy to cover that immediately...

So sad that these companies all write ASIO drivers and little if any WDM as the ASIO are so restricted in so many ways...

We'll see.... Right now I'm focused on the issues regarding which version of Windows to buy for the Mac with it's dual-Quad processores and 16GB of RAM.... I'm just so itching to feel that running Sonar! ;-)

Thanks for sharing...

Keni

Hey Keni,
Yeah,it was back when I first got my dell xps L502x laptop,and Sonar X1 Studio,and no matter which way I set it up[WDM ASIO] it would CONSTANTLY,when I opened Sonar,have the ugly pop up-with the RED circle of doom,saying something like-"unable to open audio,due to device being used by other application"[when Sonar was the ONLY application!]something I have NEVER had happen with the UA25-EX.

I had it for 23 days,and got sound for 10minutes,at a time[when I was lucky enough to GET SOUND],and then just nothing,and just opening Sonar became a dreaded experience,and absolutely no response from Tascam.

It was very dissapointing as I used Tascam products a lot in the decades previously.

Good luck,and of course YMMV.
Bob

Thanks Bob...

As I mentioned earlier (I believe)... I used their' gear in the past but not really for quite some time tho I have more faith in them than many other companies...

I'm sorry you had so much trouble and I hope you can get your RME sometime very soon... Sometimes simply getting a DAW up and running can be daunting...

I've been very happy with my SSL/Soundscape Mixtreme stuff for more than 10 years and a number of computers... Too bad they require PCI.... My new machines only offer PCIe and while I'll bet there's a box to convert one to the other, I'm a bit shy of getting that to work! ;-)

So the 1800 will be a stab in the dark and very possibly only for a short time until I too can get something that solves whatever issue(s) arise...

With good positive thoughts that it will surprise me and work well here, I await it's delivery! ;-)

Keni

Hi Keni
 
First the bad stuff - I purchased a US1800 in November of last year. The unit worked for 5 days and then developed a crackling sound in the headphone output when monitoring from my DAW. The USB interface on the unit eventually failed and I was forced to send the unit away for warranty repair (I live in Canada and don't have a Tascam rep in the city I live in - nearest in my province is approx. 1200 miles away). The rest of the audio sections still worked prior to sending it away. The service depot replaced a bunch of boards, tested it and returned it to me. The unit worked for approx. 30 minutes, then the crackling started, the USB interface failed again along with complete audio section this time. This time I e-mailed Tascam Canada and was given an RMA for a replacement. At the time I was using an older computer with win XP 32bit.
 
Now the good news - I purchased a new DAW computer in February of this year and didn't use the 2nd US1800 until then. The US1800 works great with Sonar X1 64bit. I have KRK Rokit8's and a KRK 10S plugged into the monitor outputs. I did have an issue with some clicking in recorded vocals or monitoring a guitar plugged into the US1800 through amp sim software in the DAW. It took some to figure out the cause but it came down to me using a 10ft USB 2.0 cable that wasn't actually USB 2.0 certified. I plugged in the US1800 with the USB 2.0 cable supplied with the unit and the crackling was gone. Latency is low and audio recording is working great.
 
One thing I do faithfully is that I don't turn on the US1800 until the computer is powered up and Win 7 is loaded. US1800 users in various forums have had a problem where the US1800 isn't always recognized if it is turned on before the computer is turned on. The US1800 is the only audio interface I use on the computer - the motherboard on-board audio is turned off in the bios.
 
My DAW computer is a i7-2600k, 16gb RAM with Win 7 Pro 64bit, wireless keyboard/mouse combo and dual 25" monitors. I also have a Cakewalk A-500PRO keyboard controller.
 
Alex