How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
funky shit
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by funky shit » Fri Apr 09, 2010 1:11 pm

nebulae wrote:I've been using Avast free for years. No issues, lotsa protection.
this.
Image

Donnie
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by Donnie » Fri Apr 09, 2010 3:08 pm

davepermen wrote:
Donnie wrote:Anyone who has an antivirus actively scanning while using a demanding application is making a mistake. Turn if off first. Its that simple ;)
anyone still having a need for doing something like this has a) the wrong antivirus, or b) a pc from the early 2000s. I've yet to see a system where a good antivir app does any interference with any demanding application.

and yes, my antivir is even on while on stage. (if anyone wants to know, i use MSE).
Im not even going to get into how flawed this statement is.

agent314
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by agent314 » Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:01 pm

Only problem with keeping Avast during a set is you'll probably get interrupted with a random "Your virus database has been updated!" in the middle of shit.

nebulae
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by nebulae » Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:04 pm

the latest version, Avast 5, for Win7 has a saucy eastern european chick saying it. So it's actually not bad. If timed right, no one would think it wasn't on purpose.

davepermen
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by davepermen » Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:09 pm

Donnie wrote:Im not even going to get into how flawed this statement is.
why not, that's what a forum is for.

and against your "flawedness", well, it works without any hickup. actually 5 years ago i worked like this on xp without hickup.

if something doesn't work, it's a) wrong choice of software, or b) your setup that is wrong.

antivir was a problem on p3 and p4 days. nowadays we have multicore systems which are much much faster. there's no need anymore for manual hazzling around. there isn't since years.

besides, even microsoft states, one wouldn't need per se an antivir anymore since vista, if one behaves on the web (means only sometimes downloading some audio driver or application updates for your studio pc). they obviously don't officially state this, as they would get into huge troubles :) but everyone working there says it's just paranoya mostly nowadays.

some of my systems didn't have antivir over years (starting vista till now). none of those caught anything when finally deploying MSE onto all systems.

i manage 10s of systems myself manually.

tell me, again, what is so flawed?
http://davepermen.net my tiny webpage, including link to bandcamp.

stonefree
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by stonefree » Fri Apr 09, 2010 8:22 pm

I've used an XP machine as my DAW for 6 six years, always connected to the internet with no antivirus and have never had a malware infection. Anytime I do a reinstall or get a new system, I download a free antivirus download and scan my old system and the results are always negative. I always install security updates when available. I'm also pretty good at spotting suspicious files and websites. That requires computer savvy that not everyone has, so just because I do it, doesn't mean I recommend it for others.

I don't think a DAW not connected to the internet is a practical option these days. If you agree, then a Mac would be a good choice, since there is no risk for keeping it connected to the internet and no need for antivirus.

I haven't tried Win7 yet but it looks pretty promising. But when I replace my PC it will likely be with a Mac Pro with Boot Camp for my legacy projects, plugins, and app. I've been using a Mac for my laptop the last year and really like it. I personally think Windows is good, but OS X is better.
Ed Mazur
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San Francisco based label showcasing all varieties of house, especially deep house combined with tougher grooves and adventurous sounds

rsaulo
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by rsaulo » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:10 pm

stonefree wrote: I haven't tried Win7 yet but it looks pretty promising. But when I replace my PC it will likely be with a Mac Pro with Boot Camp for my legacy projects, plugins, and app. I've been using a Mac for my laptop the last year and really like it. I personally think Windows is good, but OS X is better.
I replaced my old XP for an macbook about 2 years now, used windows for about 15 years and I'm very happy with OSX.
The major problem with windows it's the need for antivirus and you need once in a year to format and reinstall because the registry comes too big and begins to generate problems.

Maybe now, the antivirus is not necessary, but I do not consider going back, as I pointed before, the only OS that I consider change from OSX is Linux, but Live and some others software don't run on it. :( :( :(

nebulae
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by nebulae » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:32 pm

^wow, that's like double the bullshit.

1. Antivirus programs do not interfere with your DAW. You can also turn them off when recording if you want to, but there's no need.
2. Use CCleaner or other registry cleaners, and you never have issues. http://www.ccleaner.com/

The amount of myths out there are absurd sometimes.

epiphanius
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by epiphanius » Fri Apr 09, 2010 10:46 pm

After using OSX for a year, I am getting more frustrated with it, not less.

There are some nice things about it, e.g its responsiveness and its midi routing. It's the file location and the incredible difficulty in finding and organizing files (samples, presets, plugins) that is driving me to distraction.

The default file locations are arbitrary and inconsistent (I don't want my Ableton Project files in the same directory as my MP3s - making music and listening to music are not the same sort of thing to me). There are more "Libraries" in OSX than there are in the province I live in. And the Finder should be called the @#$!@ Loser, cause that's what you are if you have to depend on it to find anything.

Some of this annoyance is just due to my familiarity with Windows, but a lot of it is due to paternalistic decisions from Apple HQ. The frustration is compounded by Apple's reputation as 'user friendly'.

I just now realized how much I'm looking forward to giving Win 7 a whirl.

/rant

handojin
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by handojin » Sat Apr 10, 2010 12:11 am

i have xp partition stripped down for live rig only and windows 7 for my everyday stuff and also use it regularly for producing and writing music ect,
i can get my xp partition down to 128 buffer and load up to about 90% performance no problem,
on my windows 7 partition i have to be at 256 otherwise i get not many but the occasional drop out or glitch when switching patches,
if i could get 7 to work @ 128buffer with same performance i would totally ditch the xp partition as it is stable as a rock,, more pleasurable to use on an everyday basis and hasnt given me any problems other than a slightly higher performance load,

xp seems to like the 128 and lower buffers for me, (ff400 soundcard) and also pretty sure im getting glitches earlier in win7, ie when performance hits 70% instead of 80-90

i have a feeling that this is due to my intel gma graphics seeing as many people are reporting better performance in windows 7,,,
anybody else in a similar boat?
i would be very happy if i could push win7 like i do xp without glitches, and if i can also do that without disbling aero features which i really like, i dont mind 256 buffer when writing but live i have a lot of monitored inputs for mics and outboard, @ 256 i can sometimes feel the latency a tiny bit

jacob_ma
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by jacob_ma » Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:34 am

handojin wrote:i have xp partition stripped down for live rig only and windows 7 for my everyday stuff and also use it regularly for producing and writing music ect,
i can get my xp partition down to 128 buffer and load up to about 90% performance no problem,
on my windows 7 partition i have to be at 256 otherwise i get not many but the occasional drop out or glitch when switching patches,
if i could get 7 to work @ 128buffer with same performance i would totally ditch the xp partition as it is stable as a rock,, more pleasurable to use on an everyday basis and hasnt given me any problems other than a slightly higher performance load,

xp seems to like the 128 and lower buffers for me, (ff400 soundcard) and also pretty sure im getting glitches earlier in win7, ie when performance hits 70% instead of 80-90

i have a feeling that this is due to my intel gma graphics seeing as many people are reporting better performance in windows 7,,,
anybody else in a similar boat?
i would be very happy if i could push win7 like i do xp without glitches, and if i can also do that without disbling aero features which i really like, i dont mind 256 buffer when writing but live i have a lot of monitored inputs for mics and outboard, @ 256 i can sometimes feel the latency a tiny bit
Finally some sense in this thread.

Absolutely the same experience here, more latency, and easier to get to pops and clicks using windows 7. Running a Motu Ultralite under Win 7 x64, Ti FW, Dedicated NVidia Graphics. 512 samples is lowest latency I can get.

Win XP rock solid with 128 or 256 sample buffers.

friend_kami
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by friend_kami » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:51 am

m.nash wrote:Thinking of switching from OSX to Windows 7. I'm going to load up a copy on Bootcamp to test it out, but thought I'd ask you guys your experience with the OS so far.

Is it stable? Does it recognize all music plug-ins, USB drivers, etc. as well as OSX? Is it speedy, useable, etc.

Overall, I've been disappointed with my move to a Mac. For the price ($2300 for a macbook pro) I thought the machine would be a speed demon, stable, easy to use, etc. Other than the industrial design, and instant driver recognition, I cannot say it's performed enough to justify the price.

What's worse is now I'm considering upgrading to a desktop unit for the expansion (PCI slots, firewire, etc.), and processor capabilities. To stay on OSX I'd have to go Mac Pro and drop $3500 of money I don't have.

Thoughts overall?
go hackintosh.
i switched from windows to osx, hackintosh.
didnt cost me a dime. no reason to get a macbook when you can get 2x the specs for less the price of one, then hackintosh it instead.

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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by julienb » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:55 am

windows7 premium 64-bit here.
running on a core i7
4Go RAM

EVERYTHING works fine.
no problem, no crashes, nothing bad.
Julien Bayle
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art + teaching/consulting
ableton certified trainer
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nebulae
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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by nebulae » Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:08 pm

BTW, regarding higher latencies, that could be a firewire issue with Win7...I generally stay away from Firewire in Windows, and I'd stay away from USB on Mac, but that's just my personal preference with years of reports as to what works best on which platform. With my Native Instruments Audio Kontrol (USB2), I get pretty much the same performance on XP as Win7x64. (Interesting note there, the ASIO4ALL driver can get it down to 64 samples, whereas the Native Instruments Drivers can't get below 256!) As for my RME Multiface on my desktop, it's PCI, and I can get the same performance as XP.

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Re: How's Windows 7 these days?...Thinking of switching from OSX

Post by nebulae » Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:08 pm

Is there a handy guide on how to tweak Win7 for audio yet? Linkage?

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