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  #1  
Old 12-16-2006, 09:18 AM
jjhuntfox jjhuntfox is offline
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Location: Portland,OR,USA
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Default PC Geek Needs Advice

Greetings,

I've been running PT on windows for years. Still have my 001 and now I have a 002R. I'm looking at the Macbook and the Macbook pro. (Because the laptop I bought to run with my 002R is, after 6 months of work, incompatible) I want to use the 002R for mobile recording. I need enough computer to be able to record 10+ tracks and it need it stable, stable and stable. I do a lot of live recording.

I have a number of very stupid questions. I know nothing about macs. I hope these questions haven't been asked to death already.

1) Macbook or Mackbook Pro?
2) I know they can run OSX and XP but how?
3) Do I have to buy all new aftermarker software like, MS Office etc.
4) Can a Windoz guy make the switch and not feel dirty in the morning.

Thanks

John
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  #2  
Old 12-16-2006, 10:13 AM
CME CME is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

1. A believe the Macbook or Macbook Pro comes down to: expansion and ports, the Pro also having the faster processor options, and bigger screen. I would probably spring for the Pro if I could, 17" ideally.

2.&3. If you want a dual boot mac you can use boot camp from apple. It's a free download I believe. It sets up two partitions on your hard drive one for XP an one for OSX. You'll need a copy of XP for this. The second option I believe is called parallels. It allows you to run OSX and XP simultaneously but it costs and still need a copy of XP. Not sure how well it works with Pro Tools. But several people were running PTLE on Intel Macs via Boot Camp before the Universal Binary version came out. Again not sure if there were any issues but it could be done.

4. Yes. I bought a mac mini when they first came out to give it a try. Kicked myself for months every time I fired it up for not switching sooner. Moved up to a G5, now waiting for the 8 core Mac Pro to show up, and enough money to be in my savings account. Thinking the Mac will be there long before the cash.
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  #3  
Old 12-16-2006, 02:21 PM
New Hope Media New Hope Media is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

If you need to run XP I'd be using Boot Camp as Parallels has issues with peripherals and, as it's running in emulation with OSX will have a performance effect on the Mac and we all know that ProTools needs every bit of CPU power it can get.

Having said that I'd be running ProTools in OSX anyway. I've just switched back to Mac after being solely PC for the last twelve years. I prefer ProTools under OSX but have Boot Camp and can run it in Windows XP as well. I have a large collection of Windows software Photshop etc, and I'm happily using it in XP and switching to OSX for PT and other software.

As for MS Office, yes you will need to buy a Mac version for OSX but if you have the XP version you can install it to run with Boot Camp and XP. I haven't run into anthing that causes me grief under Boot Camp except Power DVD, which isn't a 'biggy' as OSX had a built in DVD player.

New Hope Media
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Old 12-16-2006, 03:27 PM
jjhuntfox jjhuntfox is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

Thanks for the info. Do I need 1GB of ram like the PC / XP Laptops need? Or are the MacBooks ok with PT with 512?

How do you switch between OSX and XP if you are using boot camp? Is it a reboot and select the OS you want?

Thanks again.
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Old 12-16-2006, 04:19 PM
CME CME is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

I'd recommend at least 1 GB with any system running PT and more is better to an extent. And yes you have to reboot and select the OS if using Bootcamp.
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  #6  
Old 12-17-2006, 08:30 AM
jjhuntfox jjhuntfox is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

I'm thinking I'll wait till after Christmas and see if there are any "deals" on a Macbook. I may spring for the Pro but I'm leaning towards the less expensive. I'll mainly just be tracking on it and not using it for editing or mixing. The next mobile gig I have is in January anyway and my crummy current laptop, M6811, will manage two tracks at maximum buffer for at least 60 min.

Is it likely there will be "deals" on the macbook or macbook pro after xmas is over?

Is it time for the next generation of the Macbook? How long have they been out?

Thanks again!

John

PS, I'll have to stop hanging out on the Windows side now...
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Old 12-18-2006, 02:47 PM
jjhuntfox jjhuntfox is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

I thought of a few more questions...

What kind of performace can I expect from a 2Ghz Macbook with PT?

Will I need to do any tweaks when I install PT?

What kind of general software comes with a Macbook or is it all what I choose to buy?

Thanks
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Old 12-18-2006, 07:50 PM
sunburst79 sunburst79 is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

Quote:
I thought of a few more questions...

What kind of performace can I expect from a 2Ghz Macbook with PT?

Will I need to do any tweaks when I install PT?

What kind of general software comes with a Macbook or is it all what I choose to buy?

Thanks
I believe you can get 48 tracks with to original DaveC test. There a post here some where that states that.

Other than turning off spotlight indexing and disabling sleep there is not much else you have to do.

I've seen a post about turning off the Sudden Motion Sensor and using something called CHUD to disable Processor napping.

My personal opinion is unless it was causing problems turning off the SMS in a note book is silly.

Unless you feel A hard drive crash is a good thing

I have a core duo Macbook Pro 17 and had no problems running Protools.

It was flawless out of the box.

Your new Mac should come with really just about every program you could need. If you use MS Office in the real world you might want to give OpenOffice a try its compatible with most MS office formats and its Free.

So far OpenOffice is working for me.

I traded my MBox on a 002 so I don't have a current Dave C count or Dverb test results. ( The 002's on a PC at home and I'm hoping Santa drops a MBox Mini for the Macbook Pro)

The only Software I bought for my Mac so to speak was "MacDrive" which installs on your PC so you can access Mac formatted hard disks E.G. A Mac formatted Firewire audio drive.

I really don't have anything bad to say about the Mac and Protools.
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  #9  
Old 12-26-2006, 10:29 PM
jjhuntfox jjhuntfox is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

Thanks to everyone for the information.

I have zeroed in on a Macbook. I don't think I need the Pro unless someone can make a convincing argument; keep in mind I'll be mixing on my PC with dual 21" flat screens.

What do you do for external hard drives? I have a Lacie D2, a Seagate and some Bytecc enclosures. Will those work?
I'll need to format them for OSX or can I stick with NTFS?
Do I need to buy MacDrive so my PC will read the files?

Thanks,

John
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  #10  
Old 12-26-2006, 11:33 PM
Craig F Craig F is offline
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Default Re: PC Geek Needs Advice

Quote:
What do you do for external hard drives? I have a Lacie D2, a Seagate and some Bytecc enclosures. Will those work?
I'll need to format them for OSX or can I stick with NTFS?
Do I need to buy MacDrive so my PC will read the files?
lately I have had problems w/ LaCie drive so I treat them like the plage they are.

you will need to format them Mac HFS+ journaled

one the bennifets of 7.3 is the PC can now work directly w/ HFS+ formatted drives


side note, new Mac models usualy come out in the first part of the year that push prices down on older models
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