Ableton Forum

Another PC has died on me before its time so I am thinkinh about making the switch over to mac. I will almost exclusively be using Live as my DAW so want to make sure that Mac is the way to go. I was thinking about getting the following spec Imac:

2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive
ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
8x double-layer SuperDrive
Apple Magic Mouse
Apple Wireless Keyboard (British) and User's Guide (English)

I did post this on the KVR forum and someone mentioned something about live not being able to use more than 4GB of RAM - is this correct?

Basically I was after any advice or people's experiences of using Mac to run Live. With the above spec would anybody be able to speculate as to how many Midi tracks I might be able to use? The stuff I use is mostly the NI stuff particularly Massive.

If anybody could offer me any thoughts/advice I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Derj

Just one quick comment: usually Apple is very expensive for RAM, if you want to save money, get the minimum RAM delivered with the machine and then buy additional RAM from 3rd party stores...

Yeah that should be fine. And remember Windows runs on a mac so your getting the best of both worlds. Macs are slightly less hassle but i run both PC's and Macs and if you build a good audio PC it should be just as reliable as a Mac. You could probably build a far superior audio pc for the money your just about to plonk on a mac but you'd have to build it and also worry about virus/trojans etc.

8O wrote:Just one quick comment: usually Apple is very expensive for RAM, if you want to save money, get the minimum RAM delivered with the machine and then buy additional RAM from 3rd party stores...

+1

Thats's a great shout on the ram - thanks for that - should save me a couple of quid!

so u buy a MAC because another PC died? Well, its much cheapier imho to get spares for PC and upgrade it btw, especially if u buy a desktop computer and u can do nearly everything on ur own.

2nd thing, if u look in the "live performce test" thread, the macbook pros consistently perform worse than pc notebooks of same specs (RAM, CPU). So really think about if the nice design is worth the extra charge, imo u get for a dektop PC much more out of ur $, apart from design, which is subjective, there r not really advantages of MAC and OS today anymore

i also thinking of a new 2010 mbp.
good advice on ram!
but i dont want HDD anymore.
what about ssd?
should i buy with hdd and buy 3rd ssd?
how sdd reduce weight and how is the battery time compared to hdd consumption? (in % maybe?)
speed compared to an 5400 hdd?
thanks

luzil wrote:so u buy a MAC because another PC died? Well, its much cheapier imho to get spares for PC and upgrade it btw, especially if u buy a desktop computer and u can do nearly everything on ur own.

2nd thing, if u look in the "live performce test" thread, the macbook pros consistently perform worse than pc notebooks of same specs (RAM, CPU). So really think about if the nice design is worth the extra charge, imo u get for a dektop PC much more out of ur $, apart from design, which is subjective, there r not really advantages of MAC and OS today anymore

i hav to disagree. ive jut mopved from pc to mac. i hav windows on my new mac as well. i hav a motu 828 soundcard. this sound card always had issues on windows - audio dropouts, freezes, etc (nothing to do with live, as these problems occurred all the time, particularly when stream music). the motu card works perfectly now in osx, but when i go into windows 7, i still get the same issues.

windows 7 is excellent btw, but osx is just far more stable...mainly because the hardware and os work together seaminglessly, whereas on a pc there are so many potential hardware combinations, that you need to make sure you have the exact right setup to work with particular audio hardware and software. basically, you won't regret getting a mac. no more needs to be said.

I'm really just after a stable machine - I know it will cost me more and I could get a higher spec PC for the same money but that is useless to me if I am plagued by crashes etc. I just want a stable machine that will hang around for a few years you know?

+1 on the ram!
I see you go for a wireless keyboard and mouse. I used to have that, but changed to a wired mouse and keyboard, because I got crazy of having to change the batteries at the most inconvenient moments. Also it sometimes lost connectivity at startup! Unless you're sitting 3 meters away from your mac, you might as well get it wired... Saves you $$$ as well!

d-track wrote:i also thinking of a new 2010 mbp.

btw, rumour has it that quad-core MBPs aren't too far away...

fishmonkey wrote:

d-track wrote:i also thinking of a new 2010 mbp.

btw, rumour has it that quad-core MBPs aren't too far away...

Thats what I'm holding out for...

Nice iMac specs tho'---Really nice. DO IT




DO IT NOW

rumors
lol
i dont need 4 core, thanks

btw
if i do myself anything on mbp for example change ram, sdd etc then im gonna loose the warranty. even if its extended
huh?

RAM and hard drive are user-serviceable...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8FnACj25xM

great!+