Now, I have been telling you about what Rain Recordings are up to on the face of the Earth: they're sworn to keep on producing the coolest and the most efficient recording equipment when it comes to PC, whether we're into laptop or desktop systems.
This time, Rain outdid themselves and stepped boldly forward with a Quad-core based workstation, the Element Pro promises to lead on the heritage of the Element series. Running on Intel Core 2 Duo processors, the new Element Pro comes in two flavors, PQ1 and PQ2. While PQ2 is 64-bit only, the PQ1 will work with a 32-bit OS as well (Vista 32 or 64 and XP Professional).

Benefiting from a total of 8MB level 2 cache provided by the actual four processors it is equipped with, it looks like the Element Pro will be able do deliver a very serious deal of working power especially where real-time runs are needed for processing, editing or recording.

Since there are so many Windows Vista versions Rain Recordings decided that the full powers of the Element Pro series will be unleashed only under Vista Ultimate. Now, don't be that disappointed that Rain supports the utmost version of the new MS OS; it was clear even before Vista was launched that some applications and even hardware will not be supported on the new versions; yet Rain Recording have posted on their website a compatibility guide which should illuminate you a bit and also help you orientate when not sure on choosing your next technological step.

Even if this Vista-move Rain decided to make is considered premature by some guys in the industry (and they are rather right since there are so many unsolved matters regarding the new OS), Rain announced that all their new gear will be Vista-compatible and this software will be available on all the future workstations. However, Windows XP Professional will be present on all other systems and even the new Element Pro will port it when demanded.

Thinking about the quality-level Rain Recordings has been using people to since they entered the DAW-market and combining this with the announced capabilities of the Element Pro series workstations, the announced prices don't seem that striking anymore.

You'll be able to load the Element Pro PQ1 in your studio's rack (yes, they're built for in-rack mounting!) for roughly $3,800 while having the 64-bit Rain Recordings Element Pro PQ2 will mean cash stash $4,900 lighter.