alright here it goes....

[McQ714]

honest opinions.

i've always been a hardcore PC lover for the most obvious reasons.
i need to know what advantages you guys still see on either side in the mac vs pc debate and please don't give me the bullshit "it just works". is there a midi or audio advantage? what does the mac give you in return for the high premium they've placed on their hardware config?

here's the scenario...

i really want a new laptop
build is as follows:
latest gen i7-2820 2.3 ghz
8 gb ram
750 gb hard drive (pc 7200 rpm - mac 5400 rpm)
full HD screen (screen size would be 15.6" on pc or 17" on mac because i need an express card slot)
video card would be radeon hd on mac and amd firepro workstation card on the pc
ports (usb 3.0 for the pc or thunderbolt for mac - seems there is no good use for thunderbolt yet???)
dvd for the mac and blu-ray for the pc
price about the same between the mac and pc here but the hardware advantage obviously lies with the pc

obviously i'd get rid of bloatware if there was any but HP has been pretty good about it lately.
everything else is pretty much the same (usb 2.0, firewire, backlit keyboards, rugged build, blah blah blah, etc.)

will be used for live, maschine, and traktor along with my extensive vst synth and effect collection.
won't be used much for recording at home. i still have my custom-built pc for that.

[stringtapper]

If you're already using windoze at home then I'd stick with it just for the ease of using only one OS. For me the benefits of an MBP wouldn't outweigh my need for sanity in using one OS. My OS choice is Mac, of course.

[agent314]

One nice thing about MacBooks is that they're all the same, so if you forget your charger at a gig or randomly need to drop your HD into a new machine and start fresh because your mobo dies, you have a much better chance of finding an exact replacement in a pinch than you do with a PC.

I hear audio response times are slightly better on OSX, but I haven't personally tried it myself

[McQ714]

both good points so far.. what else you guys got?

[condra]

I use both, but prefer OSX for audio work, and actually most things apart from gaming and gambling.

Core Audio kicks the crap out of ASIO etc, and Macs come with pretty good onboard soundcards. I can use my mac for music without an external soundcard, and still get good sound quality and latency.

OSX boots up in around 28 seconds.

OSX doesn't suffer from background processes, notifications and weird internet stuff to the same extent as Windows.

OSX is very elegant. It's quick and easy to manage and preview your sample library. Likewise, it is very easy to install and manage applications and plug-ins.

Apple hardware looks great, and wears well too.

Once you go Mac, you never go back... it tends to hold true. I've converted a good mate, and a girlfriend, and both of them love OSX.

[Angstrom]

I actually use windows myself, or it uses me.
One of the two.

[RECYCLE BIN]

I love my Macbook but all the VSTs and VSTIs (paid or free) I've collected when I was on a PC are of no use on this thing. And the choices of AUs avalaible are very slim as far as being FREE.
But as someone mentioned above, OS X does start up so much quicker than WINDOWS. And Core Audio does kick ash.

[Semuta]

I am a Windows SysAdmin, so I use windows on a professional basis. Certainly in terms of software flexibility, I think Windows is the winner.

Over the years, I've owned both for audio performance and production. I used Windows laptops for a while, then I switched to a powerbook right at the end of the g4/5 era. I loved the powerbook though it was underpowered considering the cost.

I went back to Windows right after the Intel Macs came out, and used a dell m1330 for a few years.

These days I'm back on Mac, and here's the thing I like best:

For all that my current MBP has only slightly better stats on paper in terms of cores/memory than my old m1330, Ableton can get up into the 80-90% range in cpu usage before breaking up. I couldn't run my dell past 60%, mainly due to DPC latency and the associated cpu spikes. My perception is that the Mac is much more stable in terms of cpu spikes, throttling, etc. I feel like I get a lot more usefulness out of whats in the machine than I did on Windows.

Barring some unforeseen development on the Windows roadmap that will yield more stable performance for streaming tasks, I'll stay with Mac for the foreseeable future simply to avoid those unpleasant surprises I used to get from Windows. I do miss all of the awesome freebies from KVR, but at the end of the day, they certainly aren't a deal breaker....

-S

[andydes]

I use both, and the only problem I have is that the cmd, alt, ctrl, etc. keys are all mixed up between the 2 systems. And things like @ and " are moved about.

Fuck OSX vs Windows arguments. I have computers to use the actual programs (which are usually identical) not to play with the operating system.

[JuanSOLO]

....Ableton can get up into the 80-90% range in cpu usage before breaking up.

SAME HERE^^^ and I like these results

I have computers to use the actual programs (which are usually identical) not to play with the operating system.

I was thinking the same thing.

[skamunista]

I currently work at home on an imac but might need a laptop soon because i'm a student teacher. i can get a pretty heavy discount on a thinkpad (under 800 for a 14.1" t420 i5/4gb ram), but my current old laptop runs my second/mobile copy of live lite pretty terribly AND doesn't have all the instruments on my mac version. That combined with the problems with plugin compatability and different shortcut keys is enough to make me think that i should instead pay 2 or 3 times more for a mbp...

Is it difficult to use different environments for composing and performing? in the short term i would be treating ableton as a hobby and perhaps doing some sampling or djing with my band... so simple that i could probably do it with my old laptop for the time being if i can find a scarlett i816.

I'm competent in windows, linux and osx and as a teacher in the future it's looking like i'll end up with an ipad as well... should i just wait a year, see if i actually do become a teacher and then stay in the one ecosystem?