Windows vs Mac

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by EGS

No Windows "version drama" as compared to Mac. All Pro-Tools versions from 12.5 and up work on Windows 10 and also on Windows 11. The various Windows 10/11 build-versions do not break compatibility.

Windows invented version drama. Vista. Millenium. 8. And many people are still afraid to go to 11.

As already mentioned, many issues with Mac stumblings come from those too anxious to update, and they do so prior to qualification.

I recently constructed a PC and the documentation I had to maintain in order to assure compliance and compatibility between components was nothing short of insane. For another build, I had a 3rd party handle everything. It failed twice within a few minutes and had to be sent back. I had tech support on speed dial, not even kidding.

So, yes, we have reports of good and bad on both sides, but to call PCs free of drama... I'm sorry but that's just hilarious to me. My family has had PCs in our house since the '81 so it's not a new topic.

[EGS]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

... to call PCs free of drama...

I never said Windows is "free of drama". But I will suggest (again) that since Windows 10 came out in 2015, there's been less OS "version drama" as compared to Mac.

[LDS]

There was an interesting discussion about it on the Pro Tools users Facebook group a week or so ago. Avid have gotten quite particular about what releases of Windows they qualify with each Pro Tools version as it can really mess with aspects like the video engine.

Apple definitely change and update their OS more than Windows... but that shouldn't be confused with it being less stable. Avid's compatibility docs and list of supported systems are pretty clear. If you stick to them in either case, you are home free in terms of a stable system.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by kw88keys

Hello all,

Just an observation, but it certainly seems like there are more issues running PT on a Mac than there is on a PC with Windows 10. Regardless of the forum, I see more significantly more Mac issues than Windows issues.

I have often thought I should change my set up to Mac, but the overwhelming number of issues with various versions of Macs discourages me from changing.

I must say that, though I have had the occasional issue with PCs, it was usually the interface or something non-Windows related. Am I missing something? Has Windows, in the past 5-8 years, become the more stable platform? Of course I realize that there may be a higher percentage of folks using Macs, which would tilt the number of issues, and perhaps this is the case in my empirical assessment of problems related to both PC and Mac. Is there a compelling reason to go from PC to Mac?

In reverse order No if your windows machine is running PT fine why switch? Especially with PT not running natively on Apple silicon.......

That said I am not sure your assessment of the relative number of posted issues is actually even valid ...............


For example the fist page in the Windows forum here vs the first page in Mac OS forum

Mac OS first page shows 3 threads with an issue listed in title






Windows OS shows 8 threads with an issue listed in title HUMMMM?

[kw88keys]

Hello K Roche. Thanks much for time you took to display the two lists! An interesting aspect of the two groups is the time frame. I've had to do a lot of data studies in my profession and an insightful way to look at this would be within a given date range. I notice that the date range for the Mac spans from Mar 9 - April 2 on one page. On the Windows page, the span is from Jan 31 - Mar 29. Just a simple conclusion is that there are fewer discussions about Windows than Mac in a given time (which probably falls in line with the mix of system usage of each in the ProTools community). It would be interesting to see the number of incidents for each that have been denoted for the past 12 months or year-to-date. However, with this weighting of the data from the two pages, I would probably (and prematurely) conclude that Mac and Windows have about the same number of incidents as a percentage of systems used, which falls in line with what I think I am seeing - each platform is very viable but has issues unique to that platform. I am not a programmer so I look at these issues with less than a basic understanding of all that is involved to make ProTools or other similarly complex programs work but it astounds me daily that these programs work at all without constantly crashing considering the programming involved and the functionality that is present.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I just retired my previous DAW PC. I'm comfortable on both Macs and PCs, and have owned and used both for years.

Last December, I purchased a 16 GB / 512 GB M1 Mac mini and an Avid Carbon, and it is much faster than my old quad core 32 GB i7 3770K / HD4 Accel system. Sessions that system struggled with run like butter on the M1 Mac mini, and with only ~25% CPU use. There's also zero fan noise, and I can run everything with a 32 sample buffer setting. I was impressed enough that I bought a Mac Studio just as soon as they announced them. It can run even larger sessions with even more plugins running than the Mac mini can, and it's going to be my main DAW computer going forward.

Ultimate 2021.12 running on the Mac mini, and now the Mac Studio, has been very stable for me. I've had far fewer issues with this setup that I did with my previous DAW PC. It's not the same software version, and it's a different generation of processors, but the fact remains that in my experience, the latest generation of Macs work fantastic with the latest version of Pro Tools, the occasional plugin incompatibilities aside.

[kw88keys]

Hello Phil, yes, the processor technology for both PC and Mac has really improved over the last, let's say, 10 years. Until last year, I was running a PC with a 2010 AMD processor and constantly running CPU usage of 25-60% with multiple VIs running, though a stable system for operation. I purchased a new computer with the AMD Rizen 5900 12 core 24 thread and all SSDs last year. What a difference - seldom above 7-8% and very fast and solid. Now Intel has come out with a processor that apparently tops the 5900 so competition keeps pushing improvements. It just keeps getting better regardless of the operating system. To get back to my original question to the forum, in our current market between PC and Mac, the choice between the two seems to be more a matter of user interface preference than performance and reliability.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by kw88keys

Hello K Roche. Thanks much for time you took to display the two lists! An interesting aspect of the two groups is the time frame. I've had to do a lot of data studies in my profession and an insightful way to look at this would be within a given date range. I notice that the date range for the Mac spans from Mar 9 - April 2 on one page. On the Windows page, the span is from Jan 31 - Mar 29. Just a simple conclusion is that there are fewer discussions about Windows than Mac in a given time (which probably falls in line with the mix of system usage of each in the ProTools community). It would be interesting to see the number of incidents for each that have been denoted for the past 12 months or year-to-date. However, with this weighting of the data from the two pages, I would probably (and prematurely) conclude that Mac and Windows have about the same number of incidents as a percentage of systems used, which falls in line with what I think I am seeing - each platform is very viable but has issues unique to that platform. I am not a programmer so I look at these issues with less than a basic understanding of all that is involved to make ProTools or other similarly complex programs work but it astounds me daily that these programs work at all without constantly crashing considering the programming involved and the functionality that is present.

Yes I noticed the time frame difference and of course there are obviously many other variables and factors that just glancing at the two pages may not accurately convey or represent.
Like how many issues are posted in threads that do not state an issue in the title. etc. etc.
And then yes another unknown (as you mentioned) is the ratio of Windows to Mac users there are running PT. My suspicion (and only suspicion) is there more on Mac ??
And obviously another is the numbers of functioning stable systems on both platforms for which there is no forum posting happening ..

I agree I think both platforms are viable and both have some platform issues, but then also user error complicates any viable analysis

And of course Apples switch to Silicon and Monterey has likely caused an up tic in issues (note I am still running an Intel Mac on Catalina). Which is very stable for what I do

But the reason I posted those pages ,, was that it did not seem to reflect your original supposition

Just an observation, but it certainly seems like there are more issues running PT on a Mac than there is on a PC with Windows 10. Regardless of the forum, I see more significantly more Mac issues than Windows issues.

[kw88keys]

Hi K Roche
Thanks much again for your comments. Your responses, and those of the other contributors, have done much to help clarify for me some of the considerations when choosing the preferred platform. I was initially wondering if converting to Mac would be significantly beneficial. Having no experience with Macs, it was my hope to tap into the guidance of those that were familiar with Mac - or both. At this point, I am content to stay with PC but do not think that PC is optimal over Mac - nor the other way around. For me, there is ONE compelling reason to stay with PC. I don't think I would have the mental acuity to unlock the confounding mysteries of the the names and release details of the Mac OS versions!! One needs to be a zoologist and geographer to begin to understand this ;-) Thanks again to all for the input.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by kw88keys

Hi K Roche
Thanks much again for your comments. Your responses, and those of the other contributors, have done much to help clarify for me some of the considerations when choosing the preferred platform. I was initially wondering if converting to Mac would be significantly beneficial. Having no experience with Macs, it was my hope to tap into the guidance of those that were familiar with Mac - or both. At this point, I am content to stay with PC but do not think that PC is optimal over Mac - nor the other way around. For me, there is ONE compelling reason to stay with PC. I don't think I would have the mental acuity to unlock the confounding mysteries of the the names and release details of the Mac OS versions!! One needs to be a zoologist and geographer to begin to understand this ;-) Thanks again to all for the input.

Ha! yes Zoogeology . Unfortunately I have been exclusively Mac since 2003 so I am by no means capable of informed comparing the workflow differences of the two platforms. I am guessing things like the integration of the software in Mac is simpler to use. But for straight Audio use as I said if you have a stable PC I would not consider switching (if at all) until Pro Tools will run natively and we are a few versions into that. My system is very stable, and I will stay with until PT is native on Apple Silicon. The only downside is that the 10th gen Intel i7 chip gets hot and the iMac fans start to ramp up noticeably (especially with video processing)