Pro Tools on a PC... LOL! Wait, em...

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

The only reason I never converted to PC altogether was I hated all of the things you had to defeat in a PC to make it optimal for running ProTools. Who wants to look at un-smooth text on the screen all day (defeat text smoothing required as an optimization to run PT on a PC) just to get ProTools to run well-- or defeating your Wi-Fi card. That all seemed silly to me. So I stay Mac.

There was a time when all the optimizations in Windows were essential for me to run smoothly. And for some slower systems it still is. Running an i7 Hexcore with premium hardware has relegated platform related errors to the past for me. Font smoothing and similar features are no problem. (Win 8.1)

[8dB.co.uk]

The only "optimisation" I do is switch priority to background services, and I also turn off transparent borders, as I find them distracting. Tom is totally right - even with a quad core i7, with at least 16GB of RAM, there's no need in my experience, to make Windows fugly or clunky to use, in order to get ProTools 11 running beautifully.

[NewdestinyX]

Okay.. I'll take you at your word - and yet I've heard others report otherwise.. And if it were no longer an issue, these drastic optimizations, why is there still 2 full pages of "crippling" optimizations in the current manuals for running on even their most fully loaded recommended PC?

On everything from a 2008 iMac to the $4K MAC machines of 2015 you can run PT12 - plug and play - no optimizations. That just seems the more logical choice for me. But truthfully the whole integration of the Mac iLife is what keeps me there more than anything else. Not a PC hater for PT.. Not at all.

[Shan]

I use both OS X and Windows on a daily basis, and there are just as many Avid recommended OS X Optimizations that need to be done as there are Windows Optimizations. The trouble shooting steps in the Windows Optimizations guide have an additional 5 points to look at over the OS X trouble shooting steps. I've never had to do all of the listed trouble shooting steps on either platform. OS X certainly isn't plug 'n play when it comes to running Pro Tools, and neither is Windows. I can attest that both my systems on both platforms run without any issues, other than known software bugs in PT of course. I even have an old Mac Pro running OS X, Windows 7, and Arch Linux. Some apps I use are OS specific, so that's what I boot into for the task.

Shane

[NewdestinyX]

Hey Shane. I respect your experience but you have to respect mine too. My PC consulting clients call me way more than the Mac ones for problems with PT. I assure you.. Mac is plug and play.. PC is not. Been designing and setting up PT systems for people for 20 years. My ProTools 10 manual for Mac only has sensible external drive type optimizations - nothing crippling to the functioning of the computer for other tasks. The list for PC is much longer and are work flow interruptions on the PC.

Maybe they've lessened the list over time. Maybe 12 has changed that. (I doubt it). The comparison I'm making is from 2013 manuals I have for both PC and Mac PT10.

Remember… I didn't say you couldn't have a completely functional system on a PC. But it better be a dedicated audio PC. And you not want to do any other office work on it.

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

But it better be a dedicated audio PC. And you not want to do any other office work on it.

This does not hold true in my experience. Without vigilance and some tech chops it is definitely smoother sailing to dedicate the PC to audio than not, but the way you phrased it implies that it is the only way to have a stable PT system.

[8dB.co.uk]

I've done side by side tests and used both platforms for years. There is no Mac / PC "war" regarding ProTools. Both platforms have their well documented issues. In fairness Windows users have had less issues due to successive OS updates breaking everything once a year. I've run ProTools on Windows since v6, and encountered no more problems than on OS-X. I do know people though on OS-X who are hardware locked to a certain OS revision and thus are locked to a certain ProTools version. Careful choice of hardware combination is required, but you really don't have to stick to the letter of the Avid spec.

[NewdestinyX]

Originally Posted by mesaone

This does not hold true in my experience. Without vigilance and some tech chops it is definitely smoother sailing to dedicate the PC to audio than not, but the way you phrased it implies that it is the only way to have a stable PT system.

C'mon, Mesa.. Ya gotta defeat the Wifi card in a PC-based PT system.. Are you kidding me? Right there in the manual. What am I missing?

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by NewdestinyX

C'mon, Mesa.. Ya gotta defeat the Wifi card in a PC-based PT system.. Are you kidding me? Right there in the manual. What am I missing?

One of my PC systems doesn't even have a wifi card, don't assume all PCs do. My second system (laptop) does have a wifi card, as most (all?) laptops do.

I've optimized my system, and I'm able to keep my wifi on. It's in the manual because a lot of people experience problems. II'm sure disabling the card is a good idea or even necessary on some PCs, but it hasn't been necessary for me.

And don't ignore the fact that wifi can be disabled and enabled at will. Turn it on when you need internet, turn it off when you use Pro Tools. Know how macs can turn off airport? Same thing with PCs.

[NewdestinyX]

Not a requirement on a Mac. Never has been, never will be. I just don't think PC motherboard architecture, BIOS and operating system were ever designed with audio workstations in mind.. But don't want this conversation to devolve.

I'm in the consulting business for audio clients. And I will never recommend a PC in any audio workstation. Because I don't want follow-up support calls that invariably happen. As I said in another thread, in my 20 years of doing this, I've had maybe 3-4 Mac support calls after the fact. The PC support calls were double and triple that and I just stopped setting up PC systems for people. Not worth it.

Macs are simply plug and play road warriors for PT audio. Too many variables with a PC. If you're a crackerjack hardware techie specialist type person and know your way around everything PC… I'm quite sure you can set up a perfectly stable awesome ProTools audio machine in the PC world. More power to you! You sure will save some money!