Pro Tools HD Questions

[EVP]

This is directed towards any Pro Tools HD users/owners here,mainly Jem
and Beano,and anyone else who has experience with this setup, I would welcome
answers as well.

I'm actually considering getting a used system and by having a gander around
at for sale adds around the internet, a loan could put me within reach of something.
But I'm curious as to what the minimum is I could get away with. Right now my
typical songs/projects would fall well within 64 tracks,if not less. Would an HD 1
or an HD 2 suffice for typical Rock/pop projects?

The main advantages I seek are of course, zero latency monitoring and the DSP
acceleration. I don't typically use a ton of plugins. I would also be mainly running
Logic as a front end,but also PT depending on what kind of mood I'm in
As for a desktop from which to run a system, I would be looking at a used G5
as I unfortunately cannot afford a new Mac Pro. Aside from having enough juice
to run a few VI's I assume you wouldn't need that powerful of a desktop.

Finally, what should I realistically expect to pay outright for an HD1 or HD 2
system,with all the necessary cabling and such?  It's all kind of a dream
at the moment but there could be potential for me business wise in the area
that I live even if I start out bare bones.

thanks!
-Brian

[weezul]

is it really worth going HD for what you are suggesting? You say you use few plugins, and not many tracks (LE supports 48, and up to 64 with the toolkit i think) If you build an i7 based machine now, people are getting ridiculously good performance,

http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=238426

a good read of that thread might swing you

[EVP]

Yes it would be worth it for the reduced latency alone. But it would have to be Mac only
as I use Logic 90% of the time,that and I'd rather shoot myself than deal with Windows
XP again. I spent 7 years working with XP and theres no way I would ever go back
to using windows. I get a headache just thinking about it now actually.

I've since backed off on the idea for now until I can find a better place to set up shop.
I'm going to go downstate to visit a friend of mine who works in co-operation with
an HD studio next door. I'll get to take the helm for a couple hours and see if in fact
it's worth it.

[weezul]

no worries. But can you really get zero latency with plugins and HD? there must be some processing cycles. I thought the only way to get zero latency was to go through the hardware directly? Which works well for my ProFire but i have to mute the track. I guess with HD it's all in the box so to speak no fiddly mutes! Anyways best of luck whatever happens, its not like i would turn away a HD system if i could afford it haha