PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Hi everyone -

I am a long-time Scope user, and have a Creamware Power Pulsar loaded up on a Carillon Audio PC running Windows XP. That thing must be around 15 years old now!

Anyway, several years ago I was lured into buying an XITE-1. When it arrived, I realized that its PCI card would not fit in the card slots of my Carillon and VisionDaw computers. And I wasn't going to buy a new Windows audio computer as at the time I was switching everything over to Mac. And I never got around to buying an Expresscard, or a laptop dedicated to XITE (all computers now except those mentioned are Macs).

So, I have this brand new XITE-1 never taken out of its box, sitting on a shelf. If you were in my situation, seriously what would you do with it? Would you invest in a PC laptop to use the XITE, sell it to someone? I would like to use it, but am afraid of getting a PC or PC laptop after reading all the posts in this forum from people still trying to figure out the correct PC configuration to work seamlessly with the XITE. If there was a contemporary (not 2009) listing of a workable PC configuration (e.g. go buy this computer with this specific configuration), I would be tempted to use the XITE.

Your honest, sarcasm-free suggestions would be welcome! Thanks in advance, CirclingKailas

The price of a PC ( even a 500 euro PC would do) is quite low compared to the price of Xite. I also have a XITE "laying around" as it's my spare part in case my first XITE would die, as I'm addicted to the scope world.

In case of a laptop, you should buy the expresscard+cable first, as not all laptops provide a perfect fit. ( my elitebook required me to slightly modify the cable, as the laptop's case slightly collided.

On the other hand, you obiously lived happily without Xite and scope. Xite is great to be in the middle of much equipment. But If you're used to work with a standalone DAW on a laptop whilte traveling, selling Xite might be an option.

So many variables, so hard to say what is right for you.

Xite seems less picky about what PC you run it on than PCI cards. On my PC I can use it at minimum latency and never a glitch, which was not the case when using PCI cards on the same machine, where I had to run medium latency.
I'm using a ASUS PRIME B460 PLUS with an i5 10600k, and have not seen anyone having problems with that combo.
Having said that, PCI cards on old XP machines was also running perfect.

Downside is that some devices do not work on 64 bit and Xite, notably Zarg synths, samplers and some sequencers.

Personally I would say it is worth it, but I prefer PC anyway, and mostly use modular and is not missing any devices.
If you prefer using Mac I guess having an old XP32 slave to your Mac might not be a bad option. But if you need the extra DSP and/or prefer to have a single system a very capable PC that can run the Xite should not be hard or expensive to configure.

Get the ExpressCard.

Hello circlingkailas. My Xite that I got yesterday runs fine on my Lenovo w 700 laptop. The installation went without any problems and the operating system is Win 10, 64 bit. Already an old model, but now a great part again. Connection via Expresscard .

Thanks for this update, BuG. Truly appreciated!

most PCs run great. many people make things harder than they need to.

i wouldn't waste all the audio gear that is an XITE, but that's me. if you are primarily interested in AUDIO and in MUSIC, rather than computer toys, then it's a no-brainer. buy a PC and use the thing. otherwise, sell it.

Thanks, GaryB. The plan is to have a PC dedicated to the XITE. It might have an old version of Cubase or Live on it, but that's about it.

I use Reaper with Xite-1. It is a great DAW very fast and light. My i-5 laptop (a Fujitsu model bought in 2013 for 500e) can carry the weight easily.