d8b Forum

I use a D8b as a DAW controller ONLY and the CPU gets relatively warm. Anyone have input on putting a CPU in a cabinet (with ample space around it) with a high powered fan with the CPU top removed and a vent going out the cabinet. I was thinking it might be more effective cooling than the small fan it uses now, but I also have the feeling that I read somewhere that it was a no-no !!

BK

Black Knight wrote:I use a D8b as a DAW controller ONLY and the CPU gets relatively warm. Anyone have input on putting a CPU in a cabinet (with ample space around it) with a high powered fan with the CPU top removed and a vent going out the cabinet. I was thinking it might be more effective cooling than the small fan it uses now, but I also have the feeling that I read somewhere that it was a no-no !!

BK

It's essentially a pc... shouldn't be treated any differently; albeit it's older and may require a more controlled cooling environment due to it's age. If you can live with it in a cab, as long as you keep it closed up clean (dust-wise) just do it. I'd personally advise you to make sure it's getting adequately cooled, by either drawing air out of the cabinet or providing the appropriate fan(s)... electrically, it doesn't matter where you put it - you're restricted by the BFC and your own cabling loom(s)... and of course any dust issue possibilities raised here also be mitigated. At face value, doesn't appear to me you're violating any 'cardinal rules'... unless I've missed something here...

You had to know this was coming... here ya go:
[Standard Mgmt Disclaimer] - "Your actual mileage may vary..."

Everything the doctor said is true and applies when running the D8B as a mixer, and it definitely doesn't hurt to create an environment for the rack/computer unit, to keep all the components cool and happy.

As far as the "CPU" in the rack unit goes - if you're using the D8B with the ProBox for the purpose of using it as a DAW controller, you could remove the entire computer mainboard and CPU from the rack unit, and it would still work fine with the ProBox. (But it would no longer work as a mixer - does it still work like that at this point?)

When using the D8B with a ProBox, then it only uses the power supply portion of the rack unit. The "computer" part of it does nothing, since the serial ports aren't connected from the mainboard in the rack unit, to the console via the DB25 cable.

For a while, when I had two D8Bs running together as DAW controllers with 2 ProBoxes, one of the rack units didn't even have a mainboard/cpu in the case since the board was fried. Works fine if used with the ProBox.

With the ProBox, there's no "console" DB25 cable connected between the mixer and the rack unit... and that's what is being used for the "computer-stuff" to communicate between the two. Instead, the ProBox connects to the DB25 "Console Data" connector on the console and on the other end of the ProBox, interfaces with your DAW computer via USB. So, any communication between the rack unit and the console is bypassed entirely and not used.

The BFC cable is just for power, from what I understand.

So, if you use the D8B as a Controller via the ProBox, don't worry about the CPU. But you wouldn't want to overheat the power supply, either, I suppose... but I think those components aren't quite as heat sensitive as a computer mainboard and CPU usually are, so it shouldn't be a problem if it gets a bit warm, as long as you can't fry eggs on the case.

What I'd be doing to give the mainboard/CPU a bit of a break, in case you might want to bring the D8B back as a mixer at a later point, is to disconnect the power supply from the computer mainboard in the rack unit. It'll likely also draw a little less power as a result (...but not by much... powering the console takes up most of the power, I'd think).

(If you're using the D8B as a controller with 8-Faders in HUI mode while it runs in mixer mode, then you'd still need the computer in the rack unit... in that case, none of what I said above would apply. I don't know about the "D8Bridge" software solution that came with a serial cable... but that should most likely also bypass the CPU completely, since I believe that this connects to the "Console Data" port on the console as well - interrupting the rack<-->console communication).

Like Dok and Y-my-R said…good HVAC control and dust environment are key.
I have my CPU in my machine room, on the shelf, and it's been working fine for almost 20 years.
I also cover my d8b console when not in use