G5 2.5 verses a top end PC desktop or laptop

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 11:02 pm

ultrasource wrote:AdamJay, the only reason I ask is because I am temped to add a pc laptop to the mix and can't find your setup for under a grand. if you could be so kind as to guide me in the right direction. Thanks....

yea mate.
i configured it at HPshopping.com

keep in mind that at the time there was a $100 Off coupon code for Pavilion notebooks that i found from Techbargains.com, plus i got it a month ago, prices change... mine had a free wifi option for example, and that option is now gone - though a free upgrade from 30gb to 40gb is available now and wasnt before..

anyways,
go to hpshopping.com - hp notebooks.
select and customize the Pavilion zv5000z

HP Pavilion zv5000z series customize notebook
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition
- AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3000+ 1.80 GHz
- FREE Upgrade from 15" XGA to 15.4" WXGA (1280x800)
- 64MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(TM) 4 440 Go +1394 & 5-in-1
- 256MB DDR SDRAM (1x256MB)
- FREE Upgrade from 30GB to 40GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
- 802.11b Wireless LAN
- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- hpshopping in-box envelope

$1103
minus $50 rebate (though i found a $100 rebate here.. http://h30014.www3.hp.com/offers/us/det ... d=322&sc=2 , the zv5000z DOES qualify for this better rebate, i checked with HP)
= $1003

you can find coupon codes @ http://www.techbargains.com/dealsearch.cfm?vendor=296

you should be able to find at least a $25 off code, i was real lucky to find the $100 off code when i did.

the way mine worked out was it was $1075 (thanks to the free wifi upgrade), plus there was at the time a valid $100 coupon code i got from the link above (it has since expired), making it $975.
less $100 rebate = $875

i opted the ram down to 256MB because HP rips you off with more ram, another 256mb would have cost $100 at hpshopping.com, i ordered that from newegg.com for $42 shipped.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Mon Aug 16, 2004 11:16 pm

also you can get a very similar price by getting the Compaq R3000z from hpshopping.com, its practically the same machine, but the looks are different. i got the HP instead because the $100 off code at the time applied to Pavilions and not Compaqs, and the HP has the loudest harmon kardon speakers i've ever heard. the first laptop speakers i've ever heard that had some bass too.

Frank Hoffmann · Post by **Frank Hoffmann** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:41 am

ryst wrote:Frank,
Thanks for the clarification. Now the question becomes....WHEN can we see Live supporting dual processors? If I can get great performance from my upcoming dual 2.5ghz now, then that means when dual processors are supported that might keep me from needing to upgrade my computer for a long time!

Sorry, but there is no answer to the "WHEN" because we don't know ourselves yet. We have many plans to improve Live's performance and double processor support is one of them. But we can't tell in which version you can take full advantage of double processors for rendering audio.

Frank

FaX-01 · Post by **FaX-01** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 12:13 pm

Frank will dual processor support also mean a possible Hyperthreading Enabled Version of Live 4.0 in the not to distant future ?

anonymouse · Post by **anonymouse** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 1:38 pm

AdamJay wrote:
anonymouse wrote:here's what I'm ordering today:

laptop with:
pentium m 755 2 GHz, Intel 855 PM 2MB L2 Cache
ddr 2gb sdram
NVIDIA® QuadroTM FX Go1000 128MB DDR
15.4" UltraSharpTM Wide Aspect WUXGA 1920 x 1200
60GB 7,200 RPM hdd
4x usb 2, firewire

how much did it set you back?

300,000 yen roughly, it is a dell precision m60

no doubt i could pay less, but in japan the options are limited for english OS and quality specs. plus, i've always been happy with dell, after having many of them over the years.

If i was based elsewhere i probably would have gone for a HPzd7000 or maybe a dell 9100. but this m60 looks like it will be good for 3 years. so everyday usage blah blah, i've justified it to myself.

I was toying with the idea of getting into the mac world, but decided against it based on the software i currently have, and that beside music apps, i need it for a whole lot of other things that i don't want to re-invent in a maccy way.

will be using it with my current inspiron 4150 1.75 ghz pentium 4-m ... so will reaktor, live, reason and traktor all humming away, should be a nice set-up.

my other temptation was a nord g2. but, reaktor on the new laptop will cover that. just hope i can avoid the temptation to also get sucked in by that red body, wooden knob and all that dsp power! nord is ridiculously overpriced in tokyo though; double mail order cost.

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 2:55 pm

I'm also looking to buy. But all these (confirmed) rumors of apple drives me insane. They always top their previous release. The g5 imac is not a new one off course and it's an old rumor. But they are demonstrating it at the next apple expo. no doubt about that.
Then this week some newspaper anounced that apple had filed a patent for some sort of tablet pc that looks like an ibookscreen.
And just now i've found a newsreport that apple filed a patent for a CHAMELIONIC ENCLOSURE.

They also have an old idea cold "the morphpad"
wich is a tablet designed for musical applications and such.

if you put all these things thogether any technology obsessed freak could lose it. so let me put them thogether. But before i do, keep in mind i have no idea what apple is up to. They are due to make a move.

-chameleonic enclosure (user adjustable lcd-lights on the outside of a computer wich can react to music or other actions)

-wireless tablet screen (wich could be the morphpad. Imagine being on stage with one of these)

quote from the article:

My guess is if Apple produced a tasteful implementation, the market would eat-up a computer that could morph about in function and appearance. Having some morphable laptop/PDA device that can change appearances to suit people's fashion might not be that crazy. After all, if someone told you in 2000 that Apple was going to make an MP3 player with some PDA features in trendy colors, name it after a pod, and that it was going to result in today's iPod phenomena, well, you might have thought that was a bit flaky. Yet today the marketplace is demanding flexible and fashionable technology devices. Apparently, Apple has the means to meet such demands.

please do me a favor and read this article

http://www.macobserver.com/columns/devi ... 0813.shtml

ryst · Post by **ryst** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 3:38 pm

Frank,

I totally understand. I am very excited about the possibilities of Live4 with my new Mac regardless if it supports dual processors or not. I know you guys are working your asses off and we, the users really appreciate it! If I ever make it to the Ableton Headquarters for a visit, ALL DRINKS ARE ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 4:12 pm

Reason and Live have the same implimentation of dual processor support. One CPU for audio and one CPU for graphics.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:47 pm

hoffman2k wrote:keep in mind i have no idea what apple is up to. They are due to make a move.

Indeed Apple does make leaps forward every few years, but to me, that is the problem with Apple. Their last leap forward was the Dual 2ghz G5. At the time of its announcement it blew every other desktop out of the water, it was cheaper than a dual Opteron system, and marginally faster as well.
However, the time it was "announced" and the time it was "released" were two entirely different dates, and by the time it was indeed released, the dual Opteron systems were not more expensive, but rather competitively priced. And since then have become more powerful.

Jobs; mention of dual 3ghz in 1 years time would have been a huge leap, had Apple actually fulfilled the projection (blame it on IBM and i'll just laugh, Apple knew it wasnt going to happen months before the dual 2.5 was even designed, which was months before WWDC).

So while Apple makes announcements of leaping forward, AMD and Intel slowly move forward. And anyone paying less than $3,000 for a computer will always get more for their money on the PC side of the market (in terms of raw processing power, OSX wins the OS debate, admittedly). The faster frequency in which you release new products makes new products old faster as well. Intel and AMD chips drop down to 1/2 their original retail value within the first year of availability.

are those dual 2.5ghz G5's shipping yet?

hoffman2k · Post by **hoffman2k** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:57 pm

The biggest move apple could ever make. is make their os compatible with any pc. Opinions will always be divided on the subject. But you gotta admit. they do make awesome stuff. to expensive for what it is. But stable.
I agree on the shipping and cpu remark.
they need to get their shit together.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:01 pm

hoffman2k wrote:The biggest move apple could ever make. is make their os compatible with any pc. Opinions will always be divided on the subject. But you gotta admit. they do make awesome stuff. to expensive for what it is. But stable.

absolutely. i've always said that if OSX was made for PC, no one would buy Macs. And if Macs had the raw power of PCs, no one would buy PCs.

ultrasource · Post by **ultrasource** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:09 am

AdamJay. Thanks for taking the time to provide me with that info. A friend just ordered a similarly spec'd machine and I can't wait to try it out before I buy it.
As for Apple....
I've always had a love/hate relationship with those buggers. They keep taking my money (or credit depending on how you look at it) because their machines are so damn solid. Not the fastest in the world but solid.
I'm also in-between with my feelings about porting OS X to the x86 chips....part of me just wants Jobs to cut a deal with AMD so I can get a sub-$2000 tower that's fast as shit. I think Apple should realize that a unique system architecture alone won't sell the G5. Don't get me wrong, I love mine but I felt like at least $800 of the total price went to the nice aluminum case.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 2:06 am

ultrasource, if you do indeed go with the HP zv5000z, i have some recommendations. Firstly opt down the ram like i mentioned before, its cheaper to buy at newegg.com and user installable. Go with the 256mb chip from HP and upgrade yourself. Same goes with the HD, get the cheapest HD you can. For some reason HP doesnt offer a faster speed HD option (they do on some of their other laptops though), and i will certainly be upgrading to a 7200rpm 60GB for $175 as soon as i can. Most live users want a faster HD anyway, and it really does help.

But also, HP just added an even faster processor as an option. for $225 more than the A64 3000, you can get the new Athlon 64 3700. which is actually a really good deal. the OEM price for a 3000 chip alone is $225, and the 3700 is $500, so the OEM price diff is $50 more than the HP upgrade price difference, a really good deal. So, if you can afford it - get the 3700, if you can't... you can always add that chip in later, it will probably be half that price in a year and i've taken apart the zv5000z, chip replacement is simple, it only requires a philips head screwdriver.

I expect to throw the 3700 in mine in a couple years, this laptop needs to last me about 4 years, and a $150 investment in 2 years will definitely help.

detroitechno · Post by **detroitechno** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 3:01 am

hoffman2k wrote:The biggest move apple could ever make. is make their os compatible with any pc.

I couldn't agree with that more. OSX on pc, the war is over.

jamief · Post by **jamief** » Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:35 am

I have just cancelled my G5 2.5. They couldnt give me a date when i would receive the machine.