PowerCore Element

[Moon]

How interesting is it to invest in a PowerCore Element card. On ebay, they go currently for around 330 euro's. The advantage of this card are:
- destress your cpu
- you have nice effects
So, do you buy this card, or is it better to invest in an upgrade of your mobo and cpu?

[kara]

The elements is the small brother of the 'real' thing.

I think it would all depend on the type of musician you are and the instrument that you play.

With the elements, followinf plug ins are delivered
EQ Sat custom>
 OK

Voice Strip

Only interesting if your a singer

24/7-C

Interesting for a guitar, bas or perhaps organ player

Vintage CL

Nice if you want that vintage sound


Chorus/Delay >

OK, everybody can use that

Mega Reverb

OK
>
Classic Verb (réverb classique, chaude et typée)

depends on the quality, if you have a mobo, SIR could be more interesting

PowerCore 01

Just another monophonic synth

TubiFex

Yes if you play guitar, then again most guitar players have there multi-effect pedal board...

So, my conclusion : I wouldn't buy it.

I'm mostly a hardware guy, hardware sequencer, hardware multitrack,... but if I would go the PC DAW route, I honnestly would believe more in the concept of 1 PC DAW (reocrding) coupled with 1  PC multi-fx with a lightway host on it like Chainer, Console,Ext,.. and both linked with FX teleport.

And if you don't want a second PC, perhaps the unplugged version from the Powercore, could be a better solution

kara

[Moon]

There seems to be a misunderstanding about the Powercore Element: the hardware card is exactly the same as its big brother, the software bundle is more "elementary" (= offering only 9 plugins instead of 14).
For adding basic effects to your DAW with all possible routing options, a second hand Powercore Element is a good option (better than adding a second PC). The procesing power of this cards equals half a CPU of the average DAW, which count because it will make your DAW more stable.
A powercore firwire is an even better options, allowing more type of effects, but than again, it is more expensive (you won't find this one second hand    )
So, conclusion: I think this can be a good options if you want to add basic effects (eq, reverb,...) to your DAW, and freeing your CPU from stress resulting in a more stable DAW. But then again, I don't own such a card, so we need confirmation of someone who is using this card...