Ableton Forum

I'm getting ready to buy a new mac upgrading from a G4 to a G5. I'm looking to make Live 4 the center piece instead of the Logic Pro I've been using. I have 3k to spend on a Mac, and am only considering a Mac.

My question is, for running Live, would I be better off buying the entry level Mac at 2k and spending 1k to get 2GB of memory or just getting the top of the line G5 costing 3k. Ie: do I get more Live performance bang for the buck spending on the processor or memory?

I would bet, with the VSTi's/AUs you will be using, I'd go with Processor Power. Apple announced a new liquid-cooled Dual Processor today that uses DDR 400 mHz RAM. The new RAM is a BIT pricier, and since the busses are faster, the HDs can stream audio faster, so you won't need as much RAM for AUDIO files.

If you get a Laptop, get RAM. Load all the clips in RAM instead of HD Streaming.

Good luck

kabuki wrote:I would bet, with the VSTi's/AUs you will be using, I'd go with Processor Power. Apple announced a new liquid-cooled Dual Processor today that uses DDR 400 mHz RAM. The new RAM is a BIT pricier, and since the busses are faster, the HDs can stream audio faster, so you won't need as much RAM for AUDIO files.

If you get a Laptop, get RAM. Load all the clips in RAM instead of HD Streaming.

Good luck

Either way it sounds like Live will really cook on that machine.

512 MB is appropriate.

rnbeatz wrote:My question is, for running Live, would I be better off buying the entry level Mac at 2k and spending 1k to get 2GB of memory or just getting the top of the line G5 costing 3k.

or you could just spend between $1000 to $1500 on a pretty nice pc laptop and have something way more powerfull.

unless you like spending shitload more to be able to do less - and knowing that people like me get a good laugh out of knowing that we can do more than you on out $1000 (or less) pc laptops.

not to be an ass, but $2000 to $3000 is a pretty friggin' ridiculous price to be spending on a computer.

Not interested in a PC for reasons un important to this thread. I want to thank the rest of you for your comments, this one offers me nothing useful.

Anonymous wrote:

rnbeatz wrote:My question is, for running Live, would I be better off buying the entry level Mac at 2k and spending 1k to get 2GB of memory or just getting the top of the line G5 costing 3k.

or you could just spend between $1000 to $1500 on a pretty nice pc laptop and have something way more powerfull.

unless you like spending shitload more to be able to do less - and knowing that people like me get a good laugh out of knowing that we can do more than you on out $1000 (or less) pc laptops.

not to be an ass, but $2000 to $3000 is a pretty friggin' ridiculous price to be spending on a computer.

Get the fastest processor you can !

It is much easier to add ram a bit down the road then upgrade to a more powerful platform. Unless you know for a fact that you cant get enough memory to even begin to do what you need to do NOW.

That said I would also avoid the first 'edition' of any computer especially a laptop, regardless of manufacturer. A proven stable system is worth more to you then a 'maybe - did they get it right - or did they skimp somewhere in the hope that it would be ok'.

Do some research, like you are doing here.

Good luck, I'm jealous

I've always bought the mid level Mac in the past. Is the 2Ghz the same one as before? I'm crimping along on a G4 400 with 768MB and need to purchase soon. If so, I think I will get the 2Ghz with a gig of memory. The new high end Mac is tempting but I don't have six months to wait for the verdict to be out on its reliability. Good point loophead.

I was just on the Apple site and this is the system I would go with if I were ready to buy right now:
Summary
• Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
• 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
• AirPort Extreme Card
• 56k V.92 internal modem
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Bluetooth Module + Apple Wireless Keyboard & Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $2,657.00

that leaves some left over for the upgrade to live 4 and maybe a new softsynth!
Wishin' I was you right now
peace

Suggestion: Don't buy your additional RAM from Apple. Try Crucial or Ramjet instead.

You'll save yourself some cash.

best,
Logicat

Well, 1GB is the minimum amount for the G5 to work halfway properly. I do not know but it sounds a bit strange to me to have fast processors but not allow them to work - because RAM is laking.
I think with a streaming application 2 GB is a good amount for the computer.

jeffrydada wrote:I was just on the Apple site and this is the system I would go with if I were ready to buy right now:
Summary
• Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
• 1GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x512
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
• AirPort Extreme Card
• 56k V.92 internal modem
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Bluetooth Module + Apple Wireless Keyboard & Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $2,657.00

that leaves some left over for the upgrade to live 4 and maybe a new softsynth!
Wishin' I was you right now
peace

d, I work in an advertising agency that buys a TON of the new G5s. After talking with the Support team (that services these computers), I have been assured that the G5 series has been the strongest, most stable and relyable computer Apple has made. The only issues I have heard of is the heat issue, which apple has addressed by introducing liquid cooling. From what I know, the only other company that is putting out stock liquid cooled comps is Alieware (although I'm sure that there will be someone here that will prove me wrong... ). I would DEFINITELY go with this rig.

Do you plan on performing live with this thing? That is the only senario that I can think of that would REQUIRE absolute stability, which we know is non-exhistant. even with the best computers.

Its a good bet.

I will not be performing live. I do use lots of samples and softsynths in Logic Pro right now. I don't expect that to change with Live. I've always had a system that was underpowered. I'm hoping to finaly buy enough power at least for a little while. jeffrydada, I am leaning towards the system you suggest but if I can get more memory cheaper, then maybe I will go for 2 gigs. I don't really know how much of a risk I would take by being one of the first to buy the liquid cooled version. I'm not convinced the risk is work the extra juice. I'm not sure I would notice the extra juice.

Does Live stream or read samples into memory?

"Does Live stream or read samples into memory?"

Either/Both.

There's a setting available for clips that, if enabled, will pre-load that clip into RAM. Otherwise the default is to stream.

BTW, rnbeatz, if you're currently using a single-processor 400 MHz G4 then I guarantee that ANY dual-processor CPU is going to blow your socks off. A friend just picked up a dual-1.8 G5 after using a 500 MHz G3 for a few years. It's a world of difference, partly because of the advantage of dual-processors over single in OS X, partly because of pure CPU speed, partly because of the other internal components that have also been improved (drive, bus, memory speed, internal bandwidth).

At the same time, even this "monster" system can seem a tad sluggish under the right conditions. In the end, it's a machine and I've always been able to do enough with a system to bring it to its knees. But what an enjoyable ride before that happens, especially because you're going to add a couple of GB of RAM.

I agree with your suggestion to get the dual-2GHz, rather than wait for the absolute-cutting-edge-Dual 2.5, in six months. Good luck and let us all know what you finally decide, especially after you set-up and begin using that system.

Best,
Logicat

Small comparison:
I just got an Alu 15" 1.33 stock(256 ram/60gb @4200) and own an ibook g3 700mhz w/ 640ram. Both run 10.3.4 and all.
I played the same arrangement in Live 3.0.4:
CPU Load on G4: 38%
CPU Load on G3: 31%

What make of that?????!!!!!!


But of course a dual proc IS THE way to go for audio.