Which Macintosh to get? (Help)

[Trypset]

I'm a graduating senior and my college (Texas A&M) is holding an Apple product sale.

I have Live 8 with plans to upgrade to 9 suite ASAP.
I use live as such.....

MPC ->
Microkorg ->
Electribe ->

all into live.....i like to make my sounds outside of the computer. Ideally it would be nice to record/multitrack at least 4 tracks simultaneously...(via Edirol FA-101)

after all my audio pieces are into live then I use 95% all native tools to do final tweaking/playing.

I don't use any super taxing VST.

From this list......

whats the best to get (really thinking I want a desktop but am open to all ideas) thanks

edit(Not over $1200)

[Trypset]

how important is "quad core"

this will solely be a studio PC....ableton really the only program to be run.

[Trypset]

anyone?

[Akshara]

On that list, for under $1200, I'd choose either the 21.5" 2.5 Ghz iMac (MC309LL/A) with the quad core i5 if you want to run Mountain Lion and 64 bit and stay current with Apple's ecosystem; or the 27" 3.06 Ghz iMac (MB952LL/A) with the core2duo if you want the larger screen or would prefer to run Snow Leopard. And then with either, upgrade the 4GB of ram to 16GB as budget and time allows.

For what it's worth, my 2.4Ghz core2duo MBP w/6GB of ram on 32-bit Snow Leopard could do what you are hoping to just fine, with power to spare. It's really about whether you want keep pace with things for awhile longer (i5) or stay with where things are today (c2d).

Hope that helps. Good fortune!

[Trypset]

ah thanks for the reply man.

My knowledge on apple OS is very limited....any huge benefits by going with one over the other????

64bit or not?

as i said...mainly tracking in audio and mixing down.

[muthafunka]

2nd hand dual 2.6 Macbook Pro and a 30" Dell monitor. Should get you some change from 1200 too. That machine will do all you want, be portable and has TONS of connection and a disk drive. Snow Leopard on there and you're set.

[Trypset]

Starting to lean towards MBP actually....

Keep forgetting its possible to add a monitor later....would be easy to make a "dock" of some sort to hold the MBP while at home.

From that list are there any MBP which are more powerful for the price than the iMacs?

[Akshara]

Personally, I prefer Snow Leopard. But I've been working with Mac OS for a very long time. If I were stepping into the Mac OS now, I'd want to have Mountain Lion. So why... Mountain Lion is where all of Apple's support and attention is, as well as all of the educational resources, the forums, the software developers, etc. It will be easier to get help and support.

Plus a Mac isn't like a PC... there's an ecosystem that goes with it, which hard as you try, will be incredibly difficult to avoid, even if this is your first and only Apple device. Right now, that ecosystem is designed around Mountain Lion, and Snow Leopard is on its way out the door very soon. I don't mind. But a new person may.

64-bit allows for applications to access more than 4GB of memory, which is great for large sample libraries and for video editing, and which could be beneficial to Live 9, depending on how efficient it is. I'm presuming that Live 9 will work well as a 32 bit application and on core2duo systems; yet don't really know. Let's just say that I won't be surprised if there are reports of a performance decrease when upgrading from Live 8 to 9 on older systems. And core2duo is an older system now.

I can't tell you what to do. Either of those systems would be awesome for what you want to do. If it were me buying, considering what I already have for peripherals, I would choose the 27" model. I like a big screen with Live, and the larger chassis keeps the internal components further apart and cooler. Snow leopard is the Win XP Pro of OS X, and is solid for pro audio. All of the older tutorials and educational resources are still out there, possibly cheaper. And I have yet to come across a developer that's dropped Snow Leopard support.

Tough decision, man.

Ah, new posts since I started writing...

[Akshara]

Starting to lean towards MBP actually....

Keep forgetting its possible to add a monitor later....would be easy to make a "dock" of some sort to hold the MBP while at home.

From that list are there any MBP which are more powerful for the price than the iMacs?

The only one under $1200 is the 13" 2.5 Ghz.

With the MBP comes a 5400 rpm drive, not a 7200 rpm, which can have an impact on disk streaming and recording. A 5400 rpm will probably handle 4 simultaneous stereo recording tracks, but it might start to bog down once the total number of playback tracks while recording gets in the 16+ stereo tracks area, depending on the bit rate and resolution.

MBPs are awesome, and I have one with an external 24" Dell monitor. But I also use external drives, and extra memory, lots of peripherals and a whole setup to keep it cool. They can get hot, man. Especially when running an external monitor and streaming from the internal drive. Just something to consider.

*Edit: Hot means loud, due to the fans taking off.

[justchris86]

does any one have the mac mini? was considering getting one from apple.
You can take it where ever you want pretty easily

[Akshara]

Hey Trypset, I'm not wanting to discourage you from any decision. Any of those systems, even a Macbook Air, would likely accomplish what you hope to and make you pretty happy. Every system has its pros and cons, and there's always a better system. Trust your instincts, and you'll pick the one that's right for you.

[Trypset]

Hey Trypset, I'm not wanting to discourage you from any decision. Any of those systems, even a Macbook Air, would likely accomplish what you hope to and make you pretty happy. Every system has its pros and cons, and there's always a better system. Trust your instincts, and you'll pick the one that's right for you.

thanks man, I really appreciate your advice/opinions

[Trypset]

MB953ll/a

27inches
i5 quad core
2.66GHZ
4GB ram
1 TB HDD

shits raw

[wreckcode]

If you already own a screen I would suggest a Mac Mini.
Late generation can come with:
i7 Quad Core 2.6 Ghz
1 TB HDD
16GB RAM -> Buying an extra 16GB ram would be something like 50 bucks (got here in Europe for EUR 60)

All this for a thousand Euros here, probably about the same in dollars, if not cheaper.

Some issues are known about HDMI out (screen flickering for a sec), so if you just connect it with a Minidisplay port to DVI it'll do the trick.

Just got mine, waiting for shipping. I can update you when tested if you want!

It's hands down the best power/price deal for a Mac right now.

[condra]

+1 for Mini