Mac HD User Considering Switch To PC

[chris67]

Due to problems with my HD system I have come to a point where I am considering switching to PC. One of the main reasons is that I have found it very difficult to get spare parts for my MAC G4. And I fully beleive they are overpriced and hyped up as well.

My question is. Why did you guys chose a PC over the MAC. I never realised until 2 days ago that the hardware (cards) are exactly the same. When I bought my first Mix+ system I was fully advised not to go the PC route because of all the problems you guys are supposed to have. (is that true) When I bought the Pt's system that was also my introduction to apple Macs. Before that I had used PC's occasionaly for music but mainly for games and office work.

What are the advantages in your opinion

what are the disadvantages

any other suggestions advice would be most appreciated.
[img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

PS I kind of asked this question in an earlier post but didnt really get the answers i was looking for. Its mainly why do you guys use the PC instead of the MAC.

[chris67]

Sorry guys, no need to respond. I found an earlier thread that answered my questions.

[chris67]

???????? Yep spare parts. You wouldnt beleive how difficult it is to purchase a simple power supply!. Im the states I'm sure its as easy as buying a cheeseburger. In Europe not so easy! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[chris67]

Tron, the problem is my power supply has a maximum ouptut wattage of 126W. I need to get a power supply that is a minimum of 200w. There is nothing wrong with my current power supply. Apple have a policy that when you need a spare part it has to be replaced with the same type, and model. (I have to send my power supply unit to them or one of their approved dealers, and they will send me the very same one back). This would cost around £100. They will not give me a higher rated power supply unless I simply pay the full whack which is £300 + vat + Carriage. which i think is absurd.

All this is because I have recently upgraded to HD and it is still not working. After eliminating everything else it seems it could be my power supply doesnt have enough wattage to power the cards. The HD system draws more power than mix systems. So £300+ just to check to see if something would work is not my idea of a bargain. Consider the fact that the very same power supply for a PC would cost no more than £30.

You have twice commented on this post as if I am some kind of fool that has no idea what they are talking about. Your sarcasim isnt funny to me or anyone else. It wouldnt be so bad if you actually suggested a dealer or someone that you know is good. I asked no one to comment on the post, but you still felt the need. what part of my second thread didnt you quite understand. I could maybe explain it a little better for you if you wish.

Also go and see how easy it is to find a company with an apple mac G4 power supply in stock that isnt going to charge an extortinate rate.

[Wolfgang Eller]

Hello Chris

As far as concerned to Germany every Apple dealer has to have a service center which can help if there are any problems (My dealer would do it without charging me).
Does your system work with the core card only?
Is your G4 really aproofed (I can´t imagine that the smallest aproofed G 4/400 has just a 126 W power supply).
Anyways good luck.

BTW.: Do you really think you can get a original IBM or Dell powersupply faster or cheaper?

Regards Wolfgang

[chris67]

Hi Wolfgang, yes beleive it or not, I was one of the unfortunate people that bought a MAC with a total wattage output of 126 Watts maximum. AlthoughI didnt know it at the time. The amount of G4 4oomhz machines with my particular power supply I originally thought was tiny. But according to apple there are many machines out there with the very same power supply.

It seems so far however that I am the only one who has upgraded to HD and has come across this problem. If more HD users had this power supply in their MAC we would definitely have heard more about it. THAT IS if the power supply is the problem. I am still not sure.

Interesting that you should mention just trying the core card. Yes I have. I have also gone as far as disconnecting the scsi card, cd rom, and the extra hard drive but the system still freezes. However it could just be that the HD core card drarws more power than my mix+ system and all the peripherals connected combined.??

Digi have pretty much washed their hands on the whole matter. I have been out of action for over 3 weeks now and am no closer to a solution. Digi are basically trying to pass the buck on to the dealer. But the dealer only sold me the upgrade so I dont see why it is their responsibility whatsover. They never sold me the Mac or my original mix+ system.

My machine is fully qualified to run HD. Only a few days ago did Digi tech support mention the power supply. This means that they are aware of the potential problem with this particular power supply but I notice they dont mention it anywhere in the compatibility section.

My dilemma right now is do I pay over the odds for a power supply that should cost about $50 but will cost me $400 (approx) or should I buy a new MAC altogether?. I want the power supply , but if it is not the problem I cant get a refund on the power supply (according to Apple). And I have already purchased various peripherals (hard ware and software) to try and solve the problem. I wish now I just bought a new MAC form the very offset as this upgrade has turned out to be far more expensive than I ever imagined. ot the actual upgrade but the loss in revenue due to down time, and 2 remixes that I was commisioned to do but have now had to refund the deposits because I wouldnt have them to the labels in time.

I have an ultra fast Pentium 4 sitting right here, and that was originally why I posted. I considered switching to PC, but in the end it would just be to much of a hassle as all my music software is MAC, and I use logic as a front end.

I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have this amount of problems with the upgrade. Obviously everything else has been eliminated that could cause the problem, and I am now just left with the power supply to eliminate. But actually getting one is not easy. Apple Mac, and Digidesign are currently leaving a very bitter taste in my mouth. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[steve at Your Heaven]

Chris,
I'm sorry to hear you're having troubles. Since you physically removed all the other cards and still had troubles running, maybe a power supply limitation is not the problem. How about putting just the main HD card in the PC just to see if it works there, maybe even loading Protools too. A problem there would indicate that there's a problem with the card, rather than with the system. A short or near short in any card would overdraw the power supply, regardless of the supply or the total demands of cards installed.

As regards your loss of work, and if it runs ok, why not use it on the PC until you get the problem resolved on the Mac? At least you'll be able to get some work done, and physically switching one or two cards to re-test the Mac is not all that time consuming. I think you can load the Protools software on both machines, and all you'll get is an error message on the machine with the cards removed.

I hope this helps.

[Rock_Artist]

"The switch" to PC would be cheaper [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] but you'll miss:
- Plugins (some aren't available on PC)
- Post-Production/Video from the computer itself a bit more limited.
- Pro Tools MIDI OMS support.

If you use logic for midi only you can simply keep the logic on the mac and sync it to PT via MTC or SMPTE I do some sort of a thing like this here.
after I finish the MIDI parts I render them as waves into PT (if they're vstis or alike).

Still I think you should pay a bit more time to check the problem with the mac.
also you'll be better off with a new G4 (if you decide to keep using MacOS) since G4-400 is a bit weak for 96khz and above... (if you plan lotsa channels and edit densities).