Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

Hi guys,

Sorry if this is a bit long-winded....if you want a quick sum, it is this: I want to upgrade from my Digi003 system to Pro Tools 10 and use my Mackie Onyx 1620i FireWire 16-Chan Analog Mixer as the interface. I want to record live shows mobile. Should i get a PC laptop or a Mac laptop??
A PC laptop would be much cheaper, but i'm concerned about PT stability (previous experience). A Mac laptop would be more expensive, but i also don't typically use Macs. And is it that much more of a guarantee of stability with the Mac??


More detail....
I'm a PC user but i just could never get any Pro Tools software to run stable on even my very high-end PCs...i tried replacing chipsets, motherboards, firewire cards, video cards, disabling NICs, disabling everything so the PC was basically useless, save for Pro Tools...and i STILL always had problems. So i bought a used Mac behemoth and everything has been running smoothly ever since. :-)

However, it is time to upgrade and i have a few questions--any help is greatly appreciated (i'm not an expert by any means).

Info:
1. I run my live sound thru my Mackie Onyx 1620i 1620 FireWire 16-Chan Analog Mixer, which i love. I want to use this for my inputs and run a single FireWire to my recording platform (i want to finally free myself from a Rack 003 or anything else of the sort!).
2. I want the ability to also record live (my soundboard, etc is mobile), so my platform is going to have to be a LAPTOP.
3. I'm a PC user first, so if i'm going to get a laptop, i'd like it to be something i typically use outside of recording as well. But i've had hell trying to run Pro Tools on any of my high-end PC's, so i'm completely open to buying a used (or new) Macbook for this; i just wouldn't get as much 'normal' daily use out of it...but who knows. Also, i want to try to keep costs down and a brand new, high-end PC laptop with Windows 7 is only about $600.

Q's:
1. PC or Mac laptop?
2. It's been a while since i've upgraded and i know Windows always had issues running PT....are there any well-known stability issues running PT 10 on Windows 7? I know it's probably possible, but it was with the Digi003 also and i never had much luck, so i'm very leery. I want STABILITY!
3. Will PT 10 run (STABLE) on a 64-bit Windows 7 machine?
4. I don't really want to be replacing this and that and be extremely particular about which chipsets to gamble with, etc....i'm done with that. Does that just leave me with a Mac laptop? Or have they had similar issues as well? My previous experience says 'no', but i'm not familiar with PT 10 and/or the new Mac OS's.

Thanks again in advance for any input!

ben.

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

Once you go Mac you never go back;)

Not the air laptops! Not built for the temps of high CPU usage apps


Chris

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

I have a low cost gateway desktop that came with 8 gigs of ram, windows 7. a Q series pentium quad core that screams along. Works great. I had a licensing issues because i use chrome. I use 32 bit explore on the iLok site and it works fine now. I have several drives since my computer came with slide draws that allow you to drop an SATA drive in there and crank away. I spent $600 on my computer, no monitor. I had an LG. It's a 2009 64 bit running win 7 64. I do very few of the optimizations for ProTools. I definitely use the best performance mode. I can go online while I'm working in ProTools without any problems. The firewire that is built in is useless but I can add a card and it works fine. I use pci audio anyways. I think you are better off with mac if you go with a laptop. Otherwise, it's a matter of taste and how much you can afford. I would probably go mac if I had 2 grand to really get the most performance. If it didn't last for over 5 years, I would never buy a mac again. I still have my older PCs and they all still run.

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

For a Pro Tools laptop I would suggest a Mackbook Pro.

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

Search user name EGS and check his signature. He has an HP laptop he has said works quite well with Pro Tools.

Wait one...here's his sig:

Win 7 64 / HP ProBook 4730s + SIIG FW / i7-2630 / 8GB / ext USB2 drive / 9.0.3 / Focusrite Pro 40

Cheers,

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

Get a late MBP(i7) and it will work...period. Get a Windows laptop without doing the homework up front......odds are stacked against(but getting one that is known to work....that's a good bet).

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

i play live shows with an mbox micro using a sony vz series 4gig and pro tools 8.4

my studio desktop computer is a vaio js series 8 gig pro tools 10 setup.

i've also completed an album with a dell 700m laptop (on spot recordings) in 2006 using pro tools 6.4 and mbox 1.

a pc can do the job, you just have to take the time to configure it.

ken
www.kensarmientomusic.com

Re: Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??
 

Yes it's stable and powerful, even at buffer 64. After first taking an Acronis Image, I uninstalled a fair amount of HP bloatware, and did the usual Avid optimizations. At the time I also considered a Mac, but got this HP rig for less than half the cost of a quad-core Mac. Works great !!!