Question about Mac's

[damird]

Hey people I got a few questions and I was hoping you guys could answer them for me.

I have an old computer that I'm using now, from 2001, and I'm in a desperate need of an upgrade.

Currently I run:

Pentium 4 1.9 ghz
256MB Ram
Geforce 2
SoundBlaster Live!

Programs that I used the most for production are FL Studio 5, Adobe Audition and Reason.

My question is this, since I'm planning on getting more dedicated to music production, what kind of computer should I get? Everyone tells me "get a Mac" so i've been looking at this:

Mac PowerBook Pro (laptop)

Specifications

2.0GHz Intel Core Duo
1GB 667 DDR2 - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
80GB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
15.4-inch TFT Display
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory
One FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports

TOTAL: $2,099.

Then I also looked at a Dell system (desktop):

Model:XPS 700

Pentium® D Processor 930 with Dual Core Technology (3.00GHz, 800FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
Dell USB Keyboard
Monitor 20 inch UltraSharp™ 2007FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Dual 256MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GS
Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dell Optical USB Mouse
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D), w/Dolby® Digital 5.1
Speakers: Dell AS501 10W Flat Panel Attached Spkrs for UltraSharp™ Flat Panels Warranty: 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
SYSTEM DETAILS 2.5MM aluminum thickness Chassis with front & back customizable LEDs
SYSTEM DETAILS 7-slot, BTX design motherboard
SYSTEM DETAILS 750-watt Power Supply
SYSTEM DETAILS Tower Six-heat pipe, Copper base Heat Sink with aluminum fans
SYSTEM DETAILS Two 120mm x 38mm front fans

TOTAL:$2,270.00

My question is this, what should I buy? I mean should I wait a little longer to buy a new machine, I've heard that at the end of September new Processors are coming out, is it true? Also, do you have another suggestion for me? I'm a software based producer like I said, besides my PC I use an amp/interface, condenser mics and midi controllers, but everything is software-oriented.

Thanks.

 

[BROUSSARD BEATS]

just get mac and pc intel then you safe on both ends
make sure its over 800 mhz
and get external hard to save files to, this way your computer will always run faster
and don't use this computer for internet unless your upgrading

you can find a mac cheaper then that to
www.gainsaver.com

 

[thedreampolice]

I love mac's! They rock but, if you are a fruity loops and audition user then you will have to use different software on the mac side. As they dont have mac versions. Now you could use reason and Bias peak or something like that. It sure is nice not having to run AV software though.

 

[damird]

just get mac and pc intel then you safe on both ends
make sure its over 800 mhz
and get external hard to save files to, this way your computer will always run faster
and don't use this computer for internet unless your upgrading

you can find a mac cheaper then that to
www.gainsaver.com

Is the stuff on gainsaver used or new?

Also, I have about 2,000-2,300 limit.
How can I get 2 systems with that? lol.

 

[BROUSSARD BEATS]

used, but i just got a ibook for them for $400
i will use for when im in the house or on the road with my mpc1000

 

[Bobby Ffitch]

i just picked up a new macbook for school, love it so far. its really a trade off, with the pc you get more software options, but you get a better overall computer experience with the mac (IMO) and plus everything just keeps working longer with less maintanence. plus the factory soundcard etc are better than most standard pcs.

 

[Big Tone]

you can run tiger osx and windows on a mac now. if you want to do both you will need a huge harddrive for sure. but if you cant decide between which one, maybe you dont have to

 

[The-Shadow]

I have a Macbook too. Apple upgraded it with 100 GB hard disk space and the full 2GB upgrade. I was against running Pro Tools and the OS on the same drive, so I partitioned the drive and loaded the OS and all my apps (including Pro Tools) on the first partition and left the second partition empty for all the audio work. Working great for me man, and it's not even the Pro, it's the 13-inch black one. I can imagine you'll blaze thru your work with a Macbook Pro...but yeah in terms of your apps, like dreampolice said, you'll have to switch.

I've never used Reason before. I use Peak for audio editing that for one reason or another just cannot be done in my hardware. I have played with Ableton before and it's a nice user friendly program. Perhaps you could switch to those apps.

You can also upgrade the 80 GB drive to, I think for 2.5" ATA drives 160 GB is the biggest I've seen...don't quote me on that though. At 80 GB a partition, you could run both your Mac and PC operating systems and applications.

A tough decision indeed. Good luck.

 

[thedreampolice]

Why would you partition your drive that way? I dont see the benefit other than for back up reasons.

 

[Elismatic]

Newbie

I'm in the same situation as you. I'm want to upgrade and I need to decide which way to go. Consider three things :

First, which sound card will you use? E-mu has a great and really cheap sound card for music production (1820m) BUT ONLY WORKS ON PC. RME has the HDSP RPM made for beatmaker and DJ, the price tag is a heafty one thus.

Then, which softwares will you be using? As thedreampolice said FL5 and also Cubase have to become old memories if you switch to Mac. A lot of options then opens up on a Mac for music productin, like GB3, Logic express or pro (easy workflow, podcast, power). Live from Ableton (also works on PC) is so powerful in studio as on stage, the workflow is a world of differences compare to FL5 so take into account that there will be a learning curve to achieve before you get back to your actual potential. All your favorite VSTs will have to come in AU version or you will be using warps to convert them which might slow down your workflow. On a PC you'll get this general acceptance in regards to softwares and format compatibilty, which doesn't hurt.

Lastly, you have to picture yourself in 3-5 years; where will you be with your music and whom you'll be working with? What kind of music production you will be doing (scores, beats, jingles, podcasts, complete recording, etc.) and what kind of plateform others around you are using, will you be able to exchange files with them?

I'm punching out

 

[thedreampolice]

Cubase works fine on the mac, audition does not. RME stuff is top notch and well worth the price. Also look at Maudio stuff.

 

[The-Shadow]

Why would you partition your drive that way? I dont see the benefit other than for back up reasons.

I like to keep the audio and work files for Peak and Pro Tools on separate drives from the OS, it's just the way I've always done it. On our G4s, we have separate SCSI drives, but on a notebook you only have one drive to play with...unless you use external firewire drives. So for me partitioning it is the next best thing. I tried to use one partition for everything before, but Pro Tools would stall and not operate properly. Since I did the partitioning, it's been working beautifully.

 

[thedreampolice]

That does not make sense, because doing it that way should actually give you a performance hit. It makes sense if its actually another physical drive, but not a partition. hmmm

 

[The-Shadow]

That does not make sense, because doing it that way should actually give you a performance hit. It makes sense if its actually another physical drive, but not a partition. hmmm

The speed of Serial ATA could be a factor in it I would assume. A lot of my clients are running Pro Tools on iMacs and Mac minis without external storage and they are running it just fine. Most of them are running it on one partition drives and are not having stall problems.

An interesting conundrum.