NEED HELP!!!!! BUYING NEW PC AND VERY CONFUSED!!!!

[JRod75]

First off Does PTLE/MBOX run better on MAC or PC? Next, I am going to buy the MBOX and a new Notebook and I am very torn between two models. I hope someone can help me out. I am very new to the ProTools community and I am very confused on what computer to buy, I read the compatabilty sheet, but there is so much information I'm getting a little lost. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The models I am looking at are:

Apple iBook G4
512MB DDR266 (256MB built-in)
• 40GB Ultra ATA drive
• Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• Keyboard/Mac OS X - U.S. English
• 14.1-inch TFT XGA display
• 1GHz PowerPC G4
• ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 w/ 32MB DDR video memory
LaCie d2 160GB FireWire Drive T6552LL/A

OR

Dell Inspiron 8600
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 705(1.5GHz), 15.4 in WXGA
512MB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms
32MB DDR NVIDIA®GeForce™ FX Go5200 AGP 4X Graphics
40GB Hard Drive
250GB USB External One Touch Hard Drive (7200rpm)


They are both around the same price I just don't know which one would be best.

[yin7yang64]

Whatever computer you get, you'll eventually have to do a bit of troubleshooting to keep it humming along...whether you use Pro Tools or not. You should go with what you know best right now: PC or Mac. If you have no or little experience with either, my recommendation would be the Mac. BUT...keep in mind that I am exclusively a Mac user and that's what I know best. My few forays into the Windows machine world where I work have always been uncertain and confusing. I often have a hard time troubleshooting simple issues on them. However, I'm sure I could have learned them as well as I know my Mac gear. My subjective observation is that Mac gear is more satisfying to work with as a user and troubleshooter.

Make sure you post this query in the Windows section for their input.

Oh, and the Mbox works beautifully for me on both OS X and OS 9. My work is primarily broadcast audio production projects, though. I'm not taxing the system as much as some of the music production users here.

[froyo]

Hello. I agree 100% with yin's advice above. Very well put. Pro Tools LE will run identically on both platforms. There are some differences. The Mac versions has more plug ins available (changing every day), will import audio from a CD and has a much tidier MIDI worflow. PC's in general tend to be faster and stronger than Mac's and with the VST wrapper you can now have a lot of plug ins (so can the Mac's).

All in all for LE I think you should stick with what you are comfortable and now. A PC based system may be able to give you more DSP power but for your work habits that may not be a dealbreaker. A Mac is generally simpler to operate and upkeep but more expensive to buy.

Stick with what you know and are comfortable with.

Good luck.

[JRod75]

Thanks!
I have never worked with Mac, but I had always heard that Mac was the best for recording and easier to operate (less hassle). I learn pretty quick, but I wanted to get both sides of the fences input before I take the plunge with the new notebook.

[Surf Twang]

I don't want to start yet another senseless Mac vs. PC war however it is my experience that Pro Tools LE performs better on Windows XP than Mac OSX. Mac OS9 is a different story. I use a G4 Mac with OSX in my studio and whenever I need to use many plugins I'll work with Logic Audio instead of Pro Tools.

[Infa]

I agree with Froyo and Yin,,,, Mac's just in general are better computers AS FAR AS what I'll do in one click takes a PC about 3 clicks, a quick look over here, then a right click, a left click, here a click, there a click, every where a click click !!!!!!!!!!!!
And things are just easier on Macs,,, period,,,, anyone that argues,, just ain't seen 2 experienced users, 1 on PC , and one on Mac side by side, doing the SAME thing.... Well I have, and just believe my words....

But I also agree with Surf Twang as far as I do not want to start yet another Pc vs Mac thing here.................
And as far as Pro Tools on OS X vs Pro Tools on XP,, I have seen/heard what he is saying is a tiny bit valid..
But I'm sure OS X will get it going with in a couple more updates here... And all it really is , is some minor stuff. And I'd rather put up with that in Pro Tools, and then when Pro Tools is off, there is no arguement in my mind that Mac is better, and easier to work on.......

HENCE ---- Get a Mac dude ---- and by the time OS Tiger comes out, and then Digi comes with their updates to support that,, then there will be NO touching Mac.. That is when I heard it is ALL gunna be running back to like the OS 9 days,, but with all the new features !!!!!

[JRod75]

What kind of problems is Mac currently having with PTLE? Right now All I need to do is be able to record atleast 8 tracks of audio and edit them. Eventually I would like to turn this baby into a mobile recording demo/live studio feeding from my mixing board.

[Infa]

That is a great idea Jrod75,, I hope it all works out for you...

As far as the problems PTLE is experiencing with Mac OS X,,,,,,,,,, they aren't really problems as much as very, very, very slight "slugishness" compared to the way it operarted on OS 9...... Now everyone I know now with a CORRECTLY installed Pro Tools on a good enough supported Mac is getting FULL track count, no freezes, and wonderful amount of plug ins.....
It's just a little less "snappy" as we were used to feeling on OS 9.... And I guess they got it to run that "snappy" on Windows XP...
No big deal,,,,, it will get ironed out soon,,,, and even for now,,,,, it is still way fine for your applications. If you never used it before on OS 9,, then if we didn't say anything, you probably wouldn't even notice anything bothering you.....

[JRod75]

Thanks Infa

Take a look at this notebook and let me know what you think of it and how it would handle PTLE.

iBook G4
1GHz
768MB RAM
60GB Hard Drive
160GB External Firewire Hard Drive.

[Infa]

JRod75,,,, that computer is sufficent, and should work fine, as it is 100% supported by Digi.
Now just like anything else, if you can get a newer , better, faster one, I'd do it. But if you can't , that one you mentioned will work fine, and should supply you with a FULL track count, and a decent amount of plug ins...
If you must go with a lap top, I would recomend the POWERBOOK G4 1.33 Ghz , it would make 100% for sure you getting ultimate performance. I know its a little more money though, but you could go with the 15" display on it instead of the 17", that outta save you a little money...
By the way this all depends on which version of Pro Tools you plan on running via which Mac OS. I was just giving you all the info if you were going to run Mac OS 10.3.4 with Pro Tools 6.4 ....But if you plan to run Mac OS 10.2 with Pro Tools 6.1.2 then the story is a little different........... The earlier version of OS and Pro Tools, will allow you to run even slower computers.. But of coarse the faster ones can NEVER hurt..............

The number one rule is, when buying a computer NEVER think about "spending less money" just to get by.. It's always best to get the BEST that you possibly can,, break your damn pocket book on them things, even if it means that you can't buy anything else afterwards.. It would be better to do it,,, then save back up to get the NEXT thing you need, and then so on, and so forth......

Make sure to get one that can read and write, burn CDs at least(combo drive)... And if you can even DVD's as well(super drive) so you could back up ALOT of data.........

[monomaniac]

Re: NEED HELP!!!!! BUYING NEW PC AND VERY CONFUSED!!!!


DON"T PANIC!!!!!!It's all going to be ok. If you get THIS CONFUSED OVER WHICH COMPUTER TO BUY I WOULD SUGGEST A FOUR TRACK CASSETTE.

[Infa]

Funny monomanic ,,,,,, real funny.... (seriously that was funny I am not being sarcastic!!!!)...... BUT,,, come on man,,,, give the guy a break,,,,, he wanted some advice, and felt it was urgent..... We all sometimes get into that perdicament........

Oh,,,,,,,, and welcome to the DUC my friend !!!!!!!

[darkman]

i work 002r on the allenstein machine which specs can be found on the windows site. also lot of info on windows and tools. all goes well. i also work on mixplus tdm on mac. mac is is a little quicker as far as keyboard strokes but not much and in the end doesnt make much difference go with what you know.also i work on a desktop not laptop might be a huge difference between mac and pc but check out the windows threads all answers are available on the duc i found when looking for info on pc purchase.the only reason i went with windows and le was more power for less money.

[monomaniac]

Glad you appreciate my humor Infa and thanks for the warm welcome.

[Reesho]

In general...
In my mind there's no question that Mac is the preferable platform. And now with the encrouching Tiger OS 10.4, Mac is sure to become the uncontested leader in digital audio production even though presently PT must continue to play catch up with Steve Job's unprecedented innovative design team who seem to work at a breakneck pace. Check out Jobs keynote address HERE (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc04/). Macs have always used a core OS that I feel more secure leaning on while I'm recording. While I still use PT with OS 9 I use OS X for everything else. Simple, elegant, and doing what computers are idealy meant to do, Mac is the future and I would jump on it now and get ready for Mac PT7.

[tele_player]

I love OS X, but there's nothing in Tiger which will instantly improve the way ProTools works.


In general...
In my mind there's no question that Mac is the preferable platform. And now with the encrouching Tiger OS 10.4, Mac is sure to become the uncontested leader in digital audio production even though presently PT must continue to play catch up with Steve Job's unprecedented innovative design team who seem to work at a breakneck pace. Check out Jobs keynote address HERE (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc04/). Macs have always used a core OS that I feel more secure leaning on while I'm recording. While I still use PT with OS 9 I use OS X for everything else. Simple, elegant, and doing what computers are idealy meant to do, Mac is the future and I would jump on it now and get ready for Mac PT7.

[GORILLA]

In general...
In my mind there's no question that Mac is the preferable platform. And now with the encrouching Tiger OS 10.4, Mac is sure to become the uncontested leader in digital audio production even though presently PT must continue to play catch up with Steve Job's unprecedented innovative design team who seem to work at a breakneck pace. Check out Jobs keynote address HERE (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc04/). Macs have always used a core OS that I feel more secure leaning on while I'm recording. While I still use PT with OS 9 I use OS X for everything else. Simple, elegant, and doing what computers are idealy meant to do, Mac is the future and I would jump on it now and get ready for Mac PT7.


Jaguar........Panther.....Tiger........Leopard.... ....Lion.....tom cat......alley cat.....I just hope PT7 takes FULL advantage of one of these pussy-cats!!!!!

[Deb]

In your message you say that only a mac can import audio from a cd. Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't the pc import audio from a cd as well?

Thanks.

[froyo]

Hello. PC's can, and software that runs on PC's can. The Windows version of Pro Tools can't. You have to import it, using other software first, into your desktop or drive, then you can import it into Pro Tools. The only way to import audio from an optical disc into Pro Tools is if it's a -R or -RW disc (CD-RW, DVD-R, etc); then you can open the Workspace browser, open the disc, audition files and drag and drop directly into your session. However, those are .aif or .wav files (or others if it's a data disc), not .cda audio files from a Red Book CD.

[Allen Hallada]

In general...
In my mind there's no question that Mac is the preferable platform. And now with the encrouching Tiger OS 10.4, Mac is sure to become the uncontested leader in digital audio production even though presently PT must continue to play catch up with Steve Job's unprecedented innovative design team who seem to work at a breakneck pace. Check out Jobs keynote address HERE (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/wwdc04/). Macs have always used a core OS that I feel more secure leaning on while I'm recording. While I still use PT with OS 9 I use OS X for everything else. Simple, elegant, and doing what computers are idealy meant to do, Mac is the future and I would jump on it now and get ready for Mac PT7.


Jaguar........Panther.....Tiger........Leopard.... ....Lion.....tom cat......alley cat.....I just hope PT7 takes FULL advantage of one of these pussy-cats!!!!!




Good answer Gorilla! I see this as more of a problem for Digi than a solution. These guys still aren't able to get OSX working the way it should with PTLE so any new additions by Apple is going to slow down progress here as Digi has to work around all the new programming. The jump from Windows ME to XP wasn't as big as OS 9 to OSX.

Personally I like Mac's Panther and Windows XP on the right computer. My G4 1Ghz Powerbook sucks for processing power to the point I'm ready to trade it in, but my new IMac 20" 1.25Ghz runs great. Same on the Windows side, my P4 2.8Ghz is a piece of .... , and my AMD system is the best I have worked on.

I'd be buying a 20" IMac with OSX Panther myself and if I were buying a new laptop I'd be getting the E-Machines 6809 with an Athlon 64 3200 processor.
With the Athlon processor you will get about 4-5 x the processing power over an IBook at 1Ghz and more processing power than a G5 desktop. You also get all the wireless capabilities and more ports than you will ever need for under 1400.00.

Good luck either way,
Allen