mac or pc

[jezjonson]

Hi.
I have ALWAYS loved macs, but really need to get a new one cos the one I've got is 2GB RAM, but I need 4GB RAM and 2.4GHz to enable me to use The Bridge. Also, my current MAC is SLOW and latency is a massive problem when using Ableton.

I looked at the MACs on the Ozzie website and it seems that a laptop suitable would be over AUD$2000.
I then started thinking about PCs.

What do people reckon - Is Ableton just as good on the PC as it is on the Mac.
I can use my old Mac for other stuff like iMovie etc.

I could just use a new PC solely for Ableton and music stuff. What do people reckon? Mac or PC for Ableton and The Bridge.

Please explain your reasoning when you shout out MAC or PC.

Thanks in advance JEZJ

[Breaks Dude]

Could pretty much buy anything I wanted but last week I built a new i7 Sandy Bridge tower to run Live 8.2.2 (among other things). I have owned at least a dozen Macs and just as many PCs. I do not have problems running Ableton under Win 7-64 or XP, which is what I was using til last week. I also have an i3 laptop running Win 7-64 and Ableton 8.2.1 for live performance and it is dead solid stable.

As far as a laptop only discussion, I would take a MacBook Pro in a heartbeat BUT for my studio machine that never leaves the studio, it made way more economic sense to me to build a fast-as-hell tower with an SSD, lots of RAM and all the bells and whistles. And yes, I would also trust my i3 Win laptop for studio work, too.

Again, my opinion, but the internals of either machine are pretty much the same.

Lots of people are running PCs with success. I just don't buy the "stability" argument these days. Macs crash, too.

[blakbeltjonez]

i'm a Mac guy, but pretty comfortable with a PC. either one is just a tool to get something done.

yes, Ableton will run at least equally well on a PC no problem - don't know about nowadays, but at one point it ran better on Windows that it did on OSX. i would have no problems at all choosing a PC to run Live.

the other question you need to ask yourself is, what will you have to spend for software you need for either a new Mac or PC? i would assume you will use your current version of Live, but consider all your costs before you decide so you don't f*ck yourself down the road.

the other thing to think about is how fluent you are using Windows - that should not be an issue with most people, but if you're really into the way OSX works (i.e., you unconsciously do certain key commands all the time) Windows might be kind of a ball ache until you get used to it.

[michaeladam]

Honestly ? Just buy the most powerful and better specs machine your money can get, a soundcard and just do it ...
it doesnt matter if you are on a PC or on a Mac anymore ... Some prefer Mac Some prefer PC ... At the end, no one hear the difference ...

Hope this helps

M
Macbook pro 2.8ghz, 8ram, Live 8, M4L, Komplete, Duende Native, Touchable ipad, Apogee Duet 2, Focusrite VRMBox - Liquid Channel, Sony MDR V700DJ, HR 824 Mk2+sub, Novation Nocturn, Keystation 61es, Korg MicroKey

[d-track]

mac

[McQ714]

pc

[3phase]

Hi.
I have ALWAYS loved macs, but really need to get a new one cos the one I've got is 2GB RAM, but I need 4GB RAM and 2.4GHz to enable me to use The Bridge. Also, my current MAC is SLOW and latency is a massive problem when using Ableton.

I looked at the MACs on the Ozzie website and it seems that a laptop suitable would be over AUD$2000.
I then started thinking about PCs.

What do people reckon - Is Ableton just as good on the PC as it is on the Mac.
I can use my old Mac for other stuff like iMovie etc.

I could just use a new PC solely for Ableton and music stuff. What do people reckon? Mac or PC for Ableton and The Bridge.

Please explain your reasoning when you shout out MAC or PC.

Thanks in advance JEZJ

forget it and safe some money.. is also a myth that only the newest modell is suitable or that you need 15 inch laptops with extra grafic card.. the new 13" i5 is twice as fast as previous big models that was fast enough allready to produce music..

main music production advantage the apple os offers are the better audio and midi services..
and... when you buy a pc laptop that offers the same as the aplle one..

lightwight slim enclosure.. solid construction... illuminated keyboard, good internal soundcard .. 2 graphic cards that allow very long battery times when having disabled the big one.. quality chip set..pretty silent operation...

get an pc laptop like tghat and you will see that its really not much cheaper.. most of them in this league are even more expensiv.. easy to spend 5000 on a classy pc laptop.. and the miditiming still sucks

[Saxer]

i would never change the platform i'm familiar with.
and you have to switch all your plugins too (if you use 3rd party plugins).

[The Carpet Cleaner]

Mac

[doghouse]

If the only thing you will use the machine for is running Live, Mac or Win doesn't matter.

I much prefer Macs as a general purpose machine, but I have used Windows in the past for the reason you are facing: I needed a new music computer and the Windows machine was much cheaper (1/3 the price back in 2006).

I removed everything I could from the hard drive, kept it off the internet (for virus protection), shut off all the fancy graphics and it worked fine.

[3phase]

If the only thing you will use the machine for is running Live, Mac or Win doesn't matter.

I much prefer Macs as a general purpose machine, but I have used Windows in the past for the reason you are facing: I needed a new music computer and the Windows machine was much cheaper (1/3 the price back in 2006).

I removed everything I could from the hard drive, kept it off the internet (for virus protection), shut off all the fancy graphics and it worked fine.

have you ever measured the midiclock jitter you get out of such a laptop? you dont use external hardware or mutiple daws simultaniously? ok.. than it dont matters so much..

however the 1/3 price thing is really comparing apples with bananas.. highend windows laptops are the ones you have to compare with the probooks....not the tuperware stuff

[mihai]

get the best quality and performance you can afford.

[AceLuby]

If the only thing you will use the machine for is running Live, Mac or Win doesn't matter.

I much prefer Macs as a general purpose machine, but I have used Windows in the past for the reason you are facing: I needed a new music computer and the Windows machine was much cheaper (1/3 the price back in 2006).

I removed everything I could from the hard drive, kept it off the internet (for virus protection), shut off all the fancy graphics and it worked fine.

have you ever measured the midiclock jitter you get out of such a laptop? you dont use external hardware or mutiple daws simultaniously? ok.. than it dont matters so much..

however the 1/3 price thing is really comparing apples with bananas.. highend windows laptops are the ones you have to compare with the probooks....not the tuperware stuff

Not really... but whatever makes you feel better about your purchase. I've been using a windows laptop for 2 years that I got for $750 brand new. 4 gigs of Ram, graphics card, core duo (quads were quite expensive at the time), 500 GB 7500 rpm HDD, 17" screen... cheapest mac laptop is $1,000 and doesn't come close to the specs from a PC I bought two years ago for $250 less. If I want 4" less screen space w/ similar specs a similar mac costs $1500. Maybe not 3 times as much, but macs do cost twice as much as a similar spec'd PC. It's not apples to bananas, the only major difference is the operating system.

[3phase]

Maybe not 3 times as much, but macs do cost twice as much as a similar spec'd PC. It's not apples to bananas, the only major difference is the operating system.

can you show me such a half price as good pc laptop? but of cause the os is the main benefit of an apple computer.. thats teh one that allows you to acces the internet on public hotspots in bangkog with your music machine and gives you this 10 times better midi timing

[H20nly]

get what you want. they both work.