Mackie’s D8B is one digital mixer that gets better with time. Because of its open-architecture design, it can be upgraded via hardware and software indefinitely. The following are just two items of information that relate to the CPU of the D8B system:
1. Q: Can I load other applications or programs inside the D8B’s CPU unit?
A: The D8B host CPU is only compatible with Mackie Realtime OS and any other Mackie-approved applications and/or software revisions. As new Mackie Realtime OS updates become available (such as the brand new Version 5), upgrading is simple and easy to do.
2. Q: Can I upgrade the D8B’s processor and/or hard drive for increased performance and capabilities?
A: The Mackie Realtime OS was designed to work at 100% efficiency while using less than 50% of the Pentium 166MHz processor’s capabilities. This means that upgrading the processor will not necessarily make the D8B work any “faster” or “better”. Most of the session and effect parameter files that are stored on the D8B’s internal hard drive require a very small amount of memory. The 4.2GB hard drive is well equipped to handle as many sessions and effect parameters as a user can generate. We recommend backing up your files to either a floppy disk library or an external hard drive/computer through the D8B’s networking protocol.