What new computer should i get?

twain_x26 · Post by **twain_x26** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:14 am

So what is everyones suggestion for the best computer to run live?
I plan on upgrading soon, and am looking for suggestions. I'll mainly be running live with reason rewired. I don't use to many effects, vst's, or AU's, When I do I mostly use amplitube and battery.
So what does everyone suggest? Powermac G5, alienware? what?
And PLEASE try not to start bashing macs or PC's. I'm just looking for opinions on what i should get and why. Not reasons why macs or PC's suck. They both have their shortcomings and highlights. There. Now that's settled. What should I get?
And if (or rather when) someone suggests I build a computer, be specific. What processor should I get, what brand of ram etc., how much etc. Because otherwise suggesting I just use my best judgement and build my own isn't particularly helpful. :)
Oh yes, and despite not using many vst's etc, I do need a powerful computer. I'll probably push it to it's limits anyways. (I seem to be better at this than most people. maybe I just do everything wrong. I'm not quite sure)
thanks

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:25 am

If you are in the US, i'm selling an HP that ties for the best performance of laptops running Ableton Live 4.

see some of the specs in my signature, and if you're interested Private Message me.

Staiolz · Post by **Staiolz** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:49 pm

I would just recommend some type of Mac, if you have the funds for a dual g5 then hell yeah go for it. I just don't have any faith in PC's anymore after using them for 10 years. I worked at a software security firm, and just knowing how unstable and inefficent windows was for work made me run to a mac. I know a PC can sometimes be faster at certain things. But in terms of efficency, I'd say go for the Mac. I'd get an Alienware to play some games, but a G5 to get my sh*t done.

Not stepping on AdamJay's toes here... a PC or a Mac could get the job done. It's just what YOU feel comfortable with.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:53 pm

Adam has toes?
.. Adam, can you confirm this please...

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:54 pm

11 of em.

malarky · Post by **malarky** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 10:28 pm

what platform are you currently using?
would you be confortable switching?
what sort of budget do you have?
desktop or laptop?

just to toss a few things from the top of my head, if i were to get something new today... i would get a laptop with some of the following specs.

amd64 cpu (fastest/newest one i could afford)
7200 rpm hitachi travelstar HD (have one and love it)
kingston ram (fastest / as much i could afford)
make sure it has enough usb and firewire ports for your needs (most new laptops should be well endowed)

..or you could just buy adam's laptop. looks to be a great system. go for it if the price is right.

jamief · Post by **jamief** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:50 am

AdamJay wrote:11 of em.

When my brother was born my dad told my mum he had eleven toes. She freaked !

jamief · Post by **jamief** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 12:00 pm

I,m looking to use a pc laptop while playing live and have the desktop mac as my studio machine. I travel a lot and the laptop will allow me to devlop some ideas while i,m away.
A nice Amd 3400 + wifi firewire equiped pc laptop can be had for about £730 ex vat.
Still like to work mac in the studio though for swiftness and familiarity.
Apples laptops are not justifying the price tag for me. i have owned apowerbook which ive now sold and had a lot of issues with it. Apple gave me a brandnew machine a year after my purchase. Quite remarkable as they are as tight as a nats chuff. Issues were with aluminium casing, screen marks appearing, firewire busses intermitttant. Total purchase inc ram and ext drive £2400 in 2001. Not particularly impressed with my experience's or the power output of the machine.
The current mac powerbooks still have the same buss speed 4 years later.
Mmmmm

Not buying another mac powerbook at this stage. Desktop machines are a different story looking pretty good waiting for the next revision or two before considering purchase though. Can get buy withmy Dual 1 ghz at the mo

tomlaw · Post by **tomlaw** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 4:06 pm

I too plan to buy a new laptop soon, for running Live and Reason, pretty much exclusively. I've decided to stick with Windows, though I'm not thrilled about it. I'm leaning towards the HP zv5000z, with an AMD 3700+ and 1g RAM.

- The best graphics adapter it offers is a 64M NVIDIA GeForce 4 440 Go + 1394. Is that enough power? What if I want to add a 2nd (external) monitor?

- The best display is a 15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050). I figure it'd be nice to have that higher resolution. Will I be taxing the system too much to run at that resolution?

- Should it be fairly simple to switch out the HD with an Hitachi Travelstar (7200rpm), as recommended above?

- Is there any reason (in terms of musical usage) to choose XP Pro over XP Home?

For that matter, I'm open to pointers to other laptops that have similar specs. Like more RAM in the gfx card, and/or a built-in 7200rpm drive...

rikhyray · Post by **rikhyray** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 4:13 pm

Staiolz wrote:I would just recommend some type of Mac, if you have the funds for a dual g5 then hell yeah go for it. I just don't have any faith in PC's anymore after using them for 10 years. .

I had to laugh 10 years of pc, very brave, now when MS finally got it right you gave up ? While you suffered with PC I enjoyed Macs, now I have pc cause it performs better, dont give a damn about stupid brands, what works , I use it, these are only plastic, sillicon and wires, whatever the name.
Same goes for Allienware, you can get Clevo barebone they use, get all your specs you want, without the stupid Allien logo for 50-70% of their price. Get Adam`s pc o, otherwise IBM, Vaio if you want good built quality.

sqook · Post by **sqook** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 4:46 pm

- The best graphics adapter it offers is a 64M NVIDIA GeForce 4 440 Go + 1394. Is that enough power? What if I want to add a 2nd (external) monitor?

Unless you game, this should be plenty of power.

- The best display is a 15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050). I figure it'd be nice to have that higher resolution. Will I be taxing the system too much to run at that resolution?

Nah, that gfx card will probably be able to handle it. However, your eyes may not be able to handle 1680x1050 on a 15" screen so much....

- Should it be fairly simple to switch out the HD with an Hitachi Travelstar (7200rpm), as recommended above?

Yes

- Is there any reason (in terms of musical usage) to choose XP Pro over XP Home?

No. The only difference between XP pro and home is that pro lets you join a windows domain. If you don't know what this is, then home should be just fine for you.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:05 pm

forget using computers. just buy an abacus.

Damon_Chambers · Post by **Damon_Chambers** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:31 pm

i currently have a sony vaio laptop, and im buying a powerbook in a few weeks and ditching the sony and windows.

i have been in the IT industry 5 years now, and i dont want anything important like live running on windows.

twain_x26 · Post by **twain_x26** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:15 pm

I forgot to post waht I'm running currently. :) I posted in 2 forums and it slipped my mind that I hadn't written it out a second time.
Currently my shitty setup is a 1ghz emac with 768 ram, and a 828.
My computer is crap. That's all I need to point out. What i need to do kills the cpu before I even get started. Although i love OSX, and dislike using windows xp, I'm considering building a pc.
Oh yeah. And I'm looking at desktops since they're more powerful.
Ignoring os differences, which would i be better off with? A dual G5 or a single amd? is the single amd more powerful? Anyone used both in comparison?
yeah i know windows and viruses etc . . .

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:22 pm

twain_x26 wrote:I forgot to post waht I'm running currently. I posted in 2 forums and it slipped my mind that I hadn't written it out a second time.
Currently my shitty setup is a 1ghz emac with 768 ram, and a 828.
My computer is crap. That's all I need to point out. What i need to do kills the cpu before I even get started. Although i love OSX, and dislike using windows xp, I'm considering building a pc.
Oh yeah. And I'm looking at desktops since they're more powerful.
Ignoring os differences, which would i be better off with? A dual G5 or a single amd? is the single amd more powerful? Anyone used both in comparison?
yeah i know windows and viruses etc . . .

Athlon 64 3400 = G5 dual 2.5ghz IN ableton live 4
Athlon 64 3700 > G5 dual 2.5ghz IN ableton live 4