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PC vs Macintosh

Dominon	Date: April 7, 2007 @ 2:34 AM I'm comfortable with pc's and mainly only need to record live music with a minimal amount of mixing involved. I'm looking at buying a new computer (I blew my mic input line out) and have the possibility of buying a mac. I've heard they're media machines so I'm just looking for opinions on the issue. I don't do techno dj loop crap. I am interested in video and pictorial art as well though so I'm wondering if macs are all that.
Opossum	Date: April 7, 2007 @ 8:10 AM From what I've heard from friends and family, Macs are better for video, graphics, etc. And certainly more stable.
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: April 7, 2007 @ 9:03 AM Oh Oh - can of worms time ! Both of them have different strengths. Macs have a good operating system in OSX which works well for music, but their AU (audio units) standard is a bit restrictive for some plugins. Macs are a good solution for music and some applications such as desktop publishing and CAD/graphic design where they have had had niche markets for some time. Also consider that they only just changed over to Intel processors and UB (universal binary), some programs and plugins which fit the older G4 and G5 chips have not been made UB yet, and in some cases will not be converted. Which music software are you thinking of using. Some programs such as Logic and Digital Performer are mac only, some such as Sonar, Fruity Loops, ACID, Soundforge are PC only and others such as Cubase, Reason, Ableton Live and ProTools LE are cross platform. Mac OSX implements MIDI better than win XP and Vista with less latency, although it is still usually manageable on PCs so long as you get your drivers and hardware tweaked for optimum performance. Macs have less hardware incompatibility issues as there hardware is more uniform and restrictive and OSX is less of a target for security threats (more because it is a much less used operating system than being a 'safer' OS). MOst common software such as Photoshop and Microsoft Office is available. The downside for macs. 1) Availability of software and hardware titles. While most of the 'major' software titles are available as said, there is quite a bit less software overall available, mac users would say quality over quantity which might be true in some cases. Hardware limitations are less than they used to be but for those who like to upgrade and tweak PCs offer more choices. 2) Cost. Quite often similarly configured PC systems are available for quite a bit less than equivalent Macs. 3) Gaming - Mac users argue that PCs should be used for more serious things and leave the gaming to consoles such as Xbox 360 but there is a massive abundance of quality PC games not available on Mac. I would disagree that Macs have better graphics. They are used more for graphic design (so I see where the comment comes from re:graphics) but have fewer choices in the high end graphics cards compared to PCs. There is no right or wrong answer. Macs tend to work well out of the box, you should research PC buys more to find a good combination of components and chipsets. But if you take the time to do your homework you can get a great PC system and it will probably cost less. I have to confess that if I were to buy a new setup for music only, and cost was no problem, I would probably get a MacPro setup. I was hoping Vista would provide more for audio and MIDI enhancement than it did, ultimately nothing was upgraded from win XP in this respect.
PrincessTast...	Date: April 7, 2007 @ 9:13 AM Both have their virtues and faults. I'd like PCs better if I knew how to use them better.
pog	Date: April 7, 2007 @ 7:28 PM heheh I was thinking along similar lines to :userleedsquietman: Mac's are traditionally more stable for most intended purposes, however it doesn't have nearly the amount of software or hardware varieties available on the pc. If you purely want DAW (digital audio workstation), then I would consider getting a mac loaded with protools. If you want to run lots of different softwares, then pc is the answer. This is because lots of people have pc's so naturally, the software giants would write more applications for that platform.
Woof	Date: April 7, 2007 @ 10:49 PM This is a really bad time to make a decision like this. Mainly because PC users are under constant pressure to update to the latest version of the Windows OS. And the new OS is awful. So it's bye-bye Windows XP, hello Vista, and cross your fingers that any given program will work properly on it. I've never seen software developers have such a hard time getting their programs to run. You can't even get Zonealarm or Skype for Vista yet... and old standbys like Roxio's Easy Media Creator and Nero are plagued with bugs when running on the new OS. This may very well give the Mac an edge in the marketplace that it hasn't enjoyed yet. Macs have an overall reputation for being more reliable. I've heard this from day one. But they crash, too. I think PC's have gotten a reputation for being buggy, because, well... look who makes them! I wouldn't go near a PC made by eMachines, Acer, or Compaq. And that's roughly a third to half of the PC's out there. So of course they crash... Unfortunately, since Sony's gone for the truly adventurous, upscale market, the only really reliable manufacturer of the standard PC out there at the moment is Hewlett. And there's Dell, too... but both Dell and Hewlett have one thing working against them: They allow you to custom order your own concoction of hardware, and often the recipes that users come up with aren't as compatible as the prefab models that you can get off the shelf at Best Buy or Circuit City. Hewlett makes a hell of a great PC: The model number is a1740n. The drawback is that it comes with Vista preinstalled. Which means, software-wise, you're screwed. Unless you want to run XP on it, in which case it will work great... but you'll have to buy a copy of XP if you don't already own one. And of course Microsoft will want to gradually withdraw XP support to induce users to go Vista. So... all of that said, I'm sticking with a PC for my own personal use. Why? Because I just don't have the patience to learn another OS after all this time. I'll do it when and if I must, but only when I'm completely out of reasonable alternate workarounds. The market could go any which way over the next year or two... I have a feeling that MS could wind up releasing a stable version of a new OS in that amount of time... much the same way that XP got unveiled after they got boos from the entire PC community over the release of ME. And I'd suggest that, if you really need new hardware, get a reliable PC with XP on it to tide you over until we know what the future of Microsoft will be.
Veracohr	Date: April 8, 2007 @ 2:02 AM On 7th Apr 2012, Dominon said: I'm comfortable with pc's and mainly only need to record live music with a minimal amount of mixing involved. I'm looking at buying a new computer (I blew my mic input line out) and have the possibility of buying a mac. I've heard they're media machines so I'm just looking for opinions on the issue. I don't do techno dj loop crap. I am interested in video and pictorial art as well though so I'm wondering if macs are all that. Ignoring the "techno dj loop crap" insult for the moment , there's no real difference between the two platforms. Many programs exist only on one platform, and if you really need or want a particular program, let that make up your mind. If you don't need a particular program, then you have more options.
Veracohr	Date: April 8, 2007 @ 2:03 AM And of course, now you can run Windows on Macs, so I hear, although I can't afford a new Mac so I haven't done this myself.
Veracohr	Date: April 8, 2007 @ 2:06 AM Unfortunately, I don't think there's any DAW options on Linux, and I don't know about visual/video stuff. It sure would be nice to be able to edit posts, so I didn't have to make three different posts to say what I wanted to say.
pog	Date: April 8, 2007 @ 9:00 AM sure there are... there's audacity, which is a nice free multitrack recorder. And a whole bunch of other stuff... I've even seen daw distros. Like anything with linux though, it can be quite a chore to set it up if you don't know the o.s. Once it is set up, it's a dream... plain and simple, it works
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: April 8, 2007 @ 4:12 PM Mac users can run win xp under bootcamp (not vista as yet), the only problem being in that it is not 100% compatible and that no-one making PC software will give any support to Mac users running bootcamp, it is not supported. Although I know of people running windows software quite nicely under it. We have Macs at work and PCs at home, so I use both daily and see strengths in both. Linux is a great OS for free. There are some good applications such as Ardour and Audacity and Rosegarden., then hydrogen drum sequencer etc. For me the biggest drawback with Linux is that as it's mostly freeware, the programs written don't have a lot of support and are quite basic and plain, have terrible GUIs and the MIDI support is severely lacking compared to the many years of advanced development that Cakewalk and Steinberg etc have put into their products. Also, I cannot get Linux to work with my pro audio card, and the basic onboard audio, although it does run better under Linux latency wise, plain sucks. Woof made a good point about windows. I will not be changing over from XP to Vista for quite some time, the staibility and lack of drivers for my audio/midi software is just not there right now. I'd say wait 12-18 months if you have XP before changing over. However. new PCs are only going to come with Vista, so be sure to check with your music software for newer versions/new drivers. The worst part is that some products won't work under Vista and the manufacturers are not going to make Vista drivers, for example Steinberg's very expensive Midex 8x8 MIDI interface is not going to be updated for Vista This means having to purchase new equipment. The same for Mac, OSX is a good system but it's future is in doubt to a point, it is moving further and further away from Linux with more and more proprietary coding each release. It might not be too much longer (maybe within 2 years if rumours are to believed) before they rebuild that system from the ground up, after all, OSX first appeared around 2000. You could say Apple have been worse than Microsoft in this respect, the change from OS9 to OSX rendered everything obsolete, then changing from G4 and G5 chips to Intel made many things obsolete. The things with computers is ... everything changes in a blink, so expect to have to make major changes every 2-3 years.
shadowself	Date: April 9, 2007 @ 9:20 AM On 7th Apr 2012, Dominon said: I'm looking at buying a new computer (I blew my mic input line out) Isn't that like replacing a car when a headlight burns out?
blacklieder	Date: April 10, 2007 @ 1:07 PM In the three years since I signed up to dMusic, I have had the opportunity to use both PC and Mac for a variety of things. I say hands down, Mac is great for music and video. Mac isn't so hot for internet. As it is, I've made my iMac a hermit; it only treads into civilization every six months or so, and I haven't even bothered to upgrade the poor beast in about six months. It's probably due. Pcs are great online, and get better daily. The hot and heavy rule for me is always, ALWAYS, wait about three years before even approaching a new Microsoft OS. It takes that long for MS to work out all the bugs. I have XP, but I wouldn't touch it with a cattle prod before 2005. My PC and Mac get along fine, just like in the commercials, although Macs add a little extra stuff to their files that PCs simply don't understand. To Dominion: you may want to invest in a preamp with a USB connection for musical projects. I use Garageband and Ableton Live on my Mac, and use a MIDIMAN 4X4 and an MBox. Quality beats a mic input line every day of the week. I'm not smart enough to understand Linux, though I may simply be totally in the dark about it. Query: anybody know how to access Pro Tools LE on a Mac OS X without an authorization key? I lost mine and now I cannot use it.
shadowself	Date: April 10, 2007 @ 2:35 PM On 10th Apr 2012, blacklieder said: I'm not smart enough to understand Linux, though I may simply be totally in the dark about it. This might totally change your mind: http://www.ubuntu.com
Doyo	Date: April 10, 2007 @ 5:58 PM the answer is both
Dominon	Date: April 12, 2007 @ 5:12 PM Thanks. I think I'm going to buy a pc with windows xp if I can find one and some hardware. And how easy is it to replace a mic input line on a pc? I looked at it and I didn't see anything to unscrew so I left it alone. My current pc does the job I need it to do I just can't record directly to it. I want a new one for other reasons like my 233mhz processor so I can get cable internet.
shadowself	Date: April 13, 2007 @ 12:11 AM Does the motherboard have onboard sound or do you have a soundcard? I would just replace (or install) the soundcard. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new machine, ESPECIALLY a Mac.
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: April 13, 2007 @ 2:14 AM if it's integrated in the motherboard, replace the motherboard. The only downer is if your computer is only a 233 mhz machine you probably have underpowered RAM, tiny hard drive, slow graphics card and everything else. It might not be feasible to just replace the motherboard (the socket type might not work, power supply issues and the like) given this scenario. Computers are really dirt cheap right now. Even the 500 buck specials are about 20 times more powerful. But if you want a computer for music and you're getting a new PC, you should consider an Intel Core2Duo or AMD 64x2 processor and at least 1 GB ram (2 GB if running Vista) and save some money for buying a proper audio interface, inbuilt audio is always poor for pro music production. So, you'd be better off to spend 900-1000 dollars on your machine. Oh vista also needs 256 MB graphics card to run pro audio software well (keeping up with the waveforms and mixer windows is very graphic intensive)
shadowself	Date: April 13, 2007 @ 11:36 AM On 13th Apr 2012, leedsquietman said: if it's integrated in the motherboard, replace the motherboard. Noooo no no no... if integrated, buy a soundcard. Most computers will have a free PCI slot. Getting a soundcard is a better idea because frankly, onboard sound on motherboards sucks ass. My motherboard has onboard sound - the first thing I did when I got my latest machine was to disable it and install an Audiophile 24/96. But I do agree with the rest - it might be time for a new machine if the specs on the current one are that low. I would avoid Vista like the plague if it is going to be an audio workstation.
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: April 13, 2007 @ 5:35 PM Yes, what I meant was that you should buy a proper audio interface, I was referring to if the onboard audio is damaged then you will have no audio at all and it could also cause problems with short circuits and such. Definately get a PCI or even a firewire or USB 2.0 interface as opposed a crummy onboard audio. Sorry for the confusion, I would never advocate cheap onboard audio as a feasible solution for pro audio !
blacklieder	Date: April 14, 2007 @ 12:45 AM thanks, shadowself! I'll check this out!

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