Used Macbook or New PC for music production?

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by revive

Maybe Mac's tightly controlled system (more efficient & less virus attacks) contribute to its longevity?

Apple controls the design of the hardware as well as the operating system software.

My first recording computer was a Mac G4 tower, which was made in 2000. I replaced it in 2011 with a basic 21" iMac. I've used the same ProTools recording software for all these years, starting with version 4 and now up to version 10. Software upgrades have generally been seamless.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Apple controls the design of the hardware as well as the operating system software.

My first recording computer was a Mac G4 tower, which was made in 2000. I replaced it in 2011 with a basic 21" iMac. I've used the same ProTools recording software for all these years, starting with version 4 and now up to version 10. Software upgrades have generally been seamless.

Interesting my first recording computer and my first mac period was also a G4, laptop in 2003 which I used until 2010 when we got my wife a new macbook and I took her 2008 macbook. I now use a late 2010 Westmere 6 core Mac Pro for recording. Which I will probably use for at least another 4 to 5 yr's
I can't remember if I started with PT 5 or 6 but seamless upgrades has been my experience also. I am on 10 now and probably going to go to 11, in the fall.

[rick-slo]

In general as far as music making and recording it does not make a lick of difference, PC or Mac. However that particular Mac Pro you are talking about has a miserably small 13" screen and a fairly small 500 Gb hard drive may come back to bite you down the road.

The fact that you already are experienced with a PC may give it a bit of preference. With just an $800 budget you are more in PC territory. Any PC in this price range will have plenty of CPU power. Get a quiet computer, with (or upgradable to) a second internal hard drive (operating system on one, recording to the other), and a 20" or larger monitor to work the DAW in.
Good luck. Have fun.

[Cocobolo Kid]

I agree with Mau that I would not buy a two-year old laptop unless it sat in a closet unused for two years.

If you don't need the portability of a laptop, then I would buy a new PC for home recording. As said before, pick a quiet one and get a big monitor for mixing.

I use both Macs and PC's at work, and personally prefer the PC. You pay a premium for Mac hardware, and an equally priced PC will usually perform better. Of course, if one prefers OS X over Windows 7/8, then that may tip the scale in favor of a Mac.

I use Sonar X2 and Studio One for my DAW software and would recommend either.

John

[delaorden9]

here's my opinion...

No difference between a PC intel i7 or a MAc with a intel processor i7. Garage Band ? Well, PC has hundreds of options... I go with Acoustica Mixcraft. I'm talking about recording and producing music.... Portability ? yes a Macbook, but not only because is Apple. Any good laptop windows will do the work as well.
I definitely don't buy the legendary Apple supremacy. Sorry.

[Timothy Lawler]

I got a Macbook Pro laptop a year and a half ago. Longtime Windows user before that. My Mac is set up as a dual boot system - can run as a Mac or Win7 machine. I prefer the Mac partition for overall use - online... tracking music... editing. Everything is easy, simple and stable even though I don't know the Mac as well as Windows. I use the Windows partition of the mac when I need to use apps I have from the past that are Windows-only, or audio processors that don't have Mac versions (I have several). It's easy and quick though on my Mac to change back and forth between the Mac and Windows partitions. For me it's perfect.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

I got a Macbook Pro laptop a year and a half ago. Longtime Windows user before that. My Mac is set up as a dual boot system - can run as a Mac or Win7 machine. I prefer the Mac partition for overall use - online... tracking music... editing. Everything is easy, simple and stable even though I don't know the Mac as well as Windows. I use the Windows partition of the mac when I need to use apps I have from the past that are Windows-only, or audio processors that don't have Mac versions (I have several). It's easy and quick though on my Mac to change back and forth between the Mac and Windows partitions. For me it's perfect.

Ah I am curious do you use Boot Camp or Parallels ? I am going to have to use Windows to run some diving simulations and download any updates for my diving computer

[Timothy Lawler]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Ah I am curious do you use Boot Camp or Parallels ? I am going to have to use Windows to run some diving simulations and download any updates for my diving computer

I use Bootcamp. Hadn't seen Parallels before. Looking it up it appears that Parallels is an app that you use with Bootcamp. Is that right? Looks like one of its features is that it adds the ability to use both the Mac and Windows partitions without restarting the machine, which would be nice.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Ah I am curious do you use Boot Camp or Parallels ? I am going to have to use Windows to run some diving simulations and download any updates for my diving computer

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

I use Bootcamp. Hadn't seen Parallels before. Looking it up it appears that Parallels is an app that you use with Bootcamp. Is that right? Looks like one of its features is that it adds the ability to use both the Mac and Windows partitions without restarting the machine, which would be nice.

Parallels and VMWare are separate Mac apps that replace the function of Apple's Bootcamp. Both have many additional features (over Bootcamp) and are generally well regarded. I've used VMWare Fusion for over four years on my office iMac to run a few Windows-only apps. The entire Windows universe is contained within a single Mac application window. No rebooting, seamless and efficient.

[Timothy Lawler]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Parallels and VMWare are separate Mac apps that replace the function of Apple's Bootcamp. Both have many additional features (over Bootcamp) and are generally well regarded. I've used VMWare Fusion for over four years on my office iMac to run a few Windows-only apps. The entire Windows universe is contained within a single Mac application window. No rebooting, seamless and efficient.

Good info. Thanks.

[myersbw]

I'll pop my 2 cents in FWIW. I've been servicing macs (and any name or generic PC) for 30 years. In my present job, I oversee a student laptop program for a university. (10 years into a required laptop program now) I'll have to say I love the macs. Every genre of a machine will have years of lemons.

Yet, most of the student issues I've seen center around two things. 1 - lots of use of a hard drive (which is a mechanical device) and 2 - some abuse of the typical laptop-on-the-go (which is inevitable as it is a portable device).

Things to watch for...does the screen hinge still have some decent resistance? Or, do you notice any cracking or misfitting of the hinge? (indicating someone that flipped it open quite frequently or carelessly)...or...are there evidence of corner dings? (That particular case is pretty resilient...if it has a decent ding...it took a good hit to do it.)

If either of those...stay clear of it.

That said, 8GB is not stock...they added it at purchase or did an upgrade...thumbs up for that...it's all you'll need. The 500GB drive is a 5400rpm model (if stock!) and is ok to use. You can always add a 1TB+ external firewire drive for an audio recording scratch disk (and I would). Bottom line is...the drive will go...just a question of when.

If it's the model I think it is, you can remove the bottom plate and easily upgrade the drive. Go solidstate if you can swing it. THe right drive can add a tremendous boost in overall performance. You can even stoop down to a 250GB SSD and still be fine utilizing an external firewire 7200rpm drive for the audio scratch drive.

If you're just tracking 1-4 tracks at a time...the 13" screen is fine. You can always attach another later.

As for life, most students here are ready for a new one by the beginning of their senior year. However, it's usually from either abuse (too many drops)...or...they need the extra power for design rendering apps, etc. That will not be the case for audio. Whatever you have now can be used for quite some time. The only real consideration is...are there external needs to keep up with... (a studio that upgrades protools, plugins, etc.).

I like the flexibility of Win towers (adding cards, etc.), but I really love the stability (current write) of OSX and that it just works. Not sure I can ascribe that to OS 8 yet.

All the best!
BradM

[revive]

Thanks for the advice!

I've pretty much decided to take the Mac and plan to pick it up some time this week. Garageband/Logic seem like a good fit for my need.

I also had a chance to talk to the seller. He is a music producer who is also including tons of the data with the mac. I feel good about our conversation; it did not raise any suspicion in my mind, so that's good.

I also plan on performing various checks recommended in this article.

[myersbw]

Nice! You'll like it, I'm sure!

[flagstaffcharli]

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

An Apple computer is not superior to a similarly spec'ed PC by any stretch.

That being said, I really like the Apogee/Apple combo. Your tastes may vary.

FWIW, as someone who has used and managed lots of computers, I would not buy a two year old laptop for any kind of money. I would rather buy a lower spec new Powerbook for a couple hundred more.

Laptops all have a certain lifespan. After a while, everything starts to degrade.

Good post. I am happy I switched to Mac & have had good luck with my Apogee and MOTU stuff. For the most part... I use DP7 and Garage Band for tracking and editing. I'm usually working with fairly simple recordings of voice, guitar, and spoken word.

I think PCs tend to work better for people who have the skills to get "under the hood" since you tend to have more mixed/matched components from various venders. I'm sure it all can work just as well if you have a bit of knowledge. I'm not that guy, and you have to be honest about your skills and preferences.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Parallels and VMWare are separate Mac apps that replace the function of Apple's Bootcamp. Both have many additional features (over Bootcamp) and are generally well regarded. I've used VMWare Fusion for over four years on my office iMac to run a few Windows-only apps. The entire Windows universe is contained within a single Mac application window. No rebooting, seamless and efficient.

Hey thanks , I'll check both of them out.