rackmounting a pc to play live

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ultraman
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Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 1:40 am

rackmounting a pc to play live

Post by ultraman » Tue Jul 13, 2004 7:40 pm

Hi. I can't afford to buy a laptop so my plan is to rackmount my studio machine. (AMD 1800+ pc)

I've seen some nice aluminium rackmount cases with fans and power supplies included.

Besides, this machine just works great with all my program including Logic and Live. I have a delta 1010 lt sound card so no breakout box. I,ll put a patchbay in the rack too so everything will be pre-patched.

I'll add a rackmountable FW disk.

Is someone tried this and what about the reliability? I'm in Canada so I,ll take this rack with me in the pre-heated car in the winter but will it be as tough as a laptop?

Thanks

kptkar
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Post by kptkar » Wed Jul 14, 2004 9:31 pm

The biggest issue you'll have with a rack is the possibility of agp/pci cards coming loose from the slot. Some rack cases have a cross brace that also acts as a lock-down holder to keep this from happening, something to consider. Also if you go with a 4u case you'll be able to use agp video but if you go with a 2u you'll need a mb with on board video.
iBook G4 1.33, 1.25mb FW410,Edirol PCR50. Live 5+Operator.

ultraman
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Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 1:40 am

rack

Post by ultraman » Wed Jul 14, 2004 11:03 pm

Well thanks for the advice. I'll try to choose the best case possible to avoid this kind of problems and of course, I'll use a video card so I'll check that.

If its the major problems I could have , I can live with this. I had so many problems during the past years with my pcs but xp has solve a lot and a lot more were due to ata drives which are often very fragile and unstable.

Hope that FW will make my life easier.

spiderprod
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Post by spiderprod » Sat Jul 17, 2004 12:45 am

i have a rack case ,the pci cards are maintained by a fixing system ,they don't move at all.
one day at the airport they droped the flightcase from nealy one storey high (no joke) ,the plastic flightcase was nearly destroyed nut the pc was still working perfectly. the biggest problem of a rackmount case is the weight, mine is around 15 kg ,when i add to it all the stuff inside plus a screen , a rack mixer & the flightcase it weight around 35 kg , it used to cost me a fortune at airports.


honestly , if you entend to travel a lot with your computer the weight is a major factor, by experience it's really anoyning , i advise you to wait to have the money & get a laptop(such a pleasure to carry).
also the cases are long in deph and there is no flightcase availlable in the shops,you will need to make it yourself or get a flightcase maker to build one (& adds up the cost).
for the reliability those rackmount cases are can survive a plane crash , i 've had mine for 3 years now & after a lot of traveling it still looks as new.

ultraman
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Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 1:40 am

case

Post by ultraman » Sat Jul 17, 2004 1:14 am

Cool! It answers my question well. I don't plan to travel by plane with this in a near future and since i want it with me in the car, it will be the only thing in the case, along with the fw disk. So I'll go with that and of course, buy a laptop asoon as possible.

Thanks

Wayne from White Salmon

Transportable vs. laptop

Post by Wayne from White Salmon » Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:12 pm

Your question is a great one. I've been contemplating a new machine, lusting after my wife's new HP desktop replacement. Its very very nice.

But I'm not a real laptop fan. They are expensive to upgrade, limited in their capacity relative to full PCs, and you are paying for transportablity when most people don't use them anywhere but on their desk, me included.

I dug around and found some transportables, units that are essentially PCs in a mobile case. They use a flat screen and full size keyboard, and are regular PC motherboards, so can use regular memory, PCI cards, etc. Full size, abundant ports, etc.

The drawbacks are weight, of course, and no battery power. But if you don't want to sit in the park and play, they seem to be just the ticket. But you pay for the privilege- upwards of twice what the PC alone would cost.

A rack system seems to be a good compromise. Transportability, if not portability. Full size PC in a road ready transport, nicely expandable. I'm thinking of starting there, and building a rack system as I go. In the long run, it seems like what I'll end up with anyway.

I'm also thinking of making my own transportable. I'm a woodworker by trade, so I think I can make a decent box for a computer and flat screen and keyboard. Maybe even one of those suitcase on wheels type deals. Then I get a full on PC, transportable if not portable.

Just thinking...

ultraman
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Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 1:40 am

go!

Post by ultraman » Sat Jul 17, 2004 4:55 pm

The more I read, the more I think I make the good decision using a rackmount pc. It's not for sending email in a park but play live in clubs and venues where obviously there's always electricity so battery is not even a small point for me.

As for the weight, my power amplifier rack is the most heavy piece and there's no way my pc rack will come close to, so no problem.

I've seen some foldable keyboard that you can roll and tape on a case.

dirtybomb
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Post by dirtybomb » Sun Jul 18, 2004 3:18 am

Dontcha wish you had something like this? :P

Image

Pitch Black
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Post by Pitch Black » Sun Jul 18, 2004 5:34 am

I have a suggestion: DON'T get a rackmounted FW drive.

Too risky. You add all that mass of the rack being mishandled (esp. at 4 in the morning) and BAM! there goes your drive/data/show. The issues of protecting your hardware and your data are totally separate.

I would suggest getting a FW card and keeping your drive external. It is so much more fragile that your puter, and so much less replaceable.

When I tour I always have a small "data bag" that contains floppies and removable Jaz cartriges. It always gets "babied" and put at the top of the pack in the car or taken as hand luggage when I fly. All the backups travel in another part of the luggage. This was for an Akai S3200 and S6000 that were racked up.

A padded bag for a large still camera or handycam is perfect.
You might consider a bus-powered 2 1/2 inch FW drive. Takes any laptop drive which will give you 7200 rpm for audio if needed. I carry the old 4200 rpm that I replaced from my Tibook with a clone of my system on it.

HTH
p
MBP M1Max | MacOS 12.7.2 | Live 11.3.20 | Babyface Pro FS | Push 3 (tethered) | a whole other bunch of controllers
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Martyn
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Post by Martyn » Sun Jul 18, 2004 10:20 am

I've been thinking of rackmounting my machine too, I don't think I'm going to be able to afford the sort of laptop I want, either this or next year.

Thinking about it, I used to think nothing of chucking a Marshall 4x12 and two 50w heads into the back of my old Fiesta for gigs, a little rackmounted puter is nothing compared to that!

I'm liking the idea of external firewire drives though, I have a Lacie f/w card in my main machine, with 4 f/w ports. I think it cost about 15 quid so it's very easy to do.

D K
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Post by D K » Mon Jul 19, 2004 6:21 am

if you drop your computer or external firewire unit(or anything) there is no doubt in my mind or experience(15+ years of touring) that it will will have less dammage in a rack than if it is loose and unprotected. ideally you should use a shock-mounted rack(the internal mounting rails are supported by a foam, spring, or rubber support system inside a larger case).if dropped, the shock-mounts absorb alot of the impact. the downside is this makes the case larger, but i believe it's worth the peace of mind. also, i believe your gear is much safer in racks if being packed together for travel, as opposed to a loose pile of soft bags. make it a point to move your gear yourself as much as possible, to limit the idiot factor.
that said, i agree with pitch blacks advice about airplane travel and backups 100%. never trust an airline, carry on as much as you can (you can rack mount your drive(s) after arrival) and have a clone of your system. two of everything! as you can see in my sig, i have two laptops.
(one is a backup) could i afford it? hell no! but i can afford a show cancellation due to equipment failure even less.
much respect to all, just my $.02
dk

ultraman
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Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2004 1:40 am

ooo yeah!

Post by ultraman » Tue Jul 20, 2004 12:15 am

First of all, thanks for all your answers.

Dirtybomb, wow! Have you build this yourself? Maybe I'd have a couple of questions!! is this a flat screen embedded in the cover? Cool!

I'm not afraid of the size of the rack, I'm a guitarist too! But with this rig, Amplitube will replace my marshall head and cabs, at least for a couple of months.

I'll surely do both options, a fw rackmount disk to have all in the same case with one separate (and another one) data bag with plenty of backup disks.

The shock mount is a great idea too.

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