Macbook or iMac?

[JayJaay927]

Is there anything I should be considering other than the footprint of which machine I want to purchase?

I am having problems with my windows machine (not related to protools) and want to change PC's. What am I not taking into consideration regarding this future purchase and protools M-powered which is not included in the footprint of the machines?

-J-

[Rock_Artist]

CPUs are the same.
Only real differences are:

- Bigger HD 3.5" (can be replaced by any 3.5")
- Graphics through nVidia/ATI chipsets instead of internal GMA950 by Intel.
(This is better for graphics or GPU work / OpenGL like FCP, Motion, Adobe AfterEffects etc...)

If you do music and no need for monster video gpu than Macbook is portable so you can use it anywhere you like.

[edgarbc1]

>> FW800
the big 24" imac has FW800.. i have heard about issues with PTLE on this
i dont think the money is worth it honestly.. id opt for the 20"

>> number of FW/USB ports
depends on your interface (whether it is USB or FW) the macbook may not
have enough ports to support what you need to have..

ie. iLok required for USB
typical FW external Hard Drive

is your interface USB or FW?
you may have to get a powered hub or daisy chain the FW devices which
may or may not have success.


I personally have the iMac (Jan2006). It has enough ports for my devices and
it works great..

goodluck!
EBC

[JayJaay927]

My interface is firewire. It's the 410.

Why is it sugggested to use an external firewire HD to record tracks to? Sorry, I am VERY new at all of this. Is that something that you all do, if not, why not?

-J-

[edgarbc1]

>> i cant remember a time when I didnt record to a 2nd drive
Im sure it can be done but you will take a hit in performance of
the overall system.


>> the disk head for 1 drive has to access stuff for the operating
system and the protools application and at the same time write (or read)
audio data down on another area of the HD platter for the recording (or playback)

this constant movement of the disk head degrades write/read performance...
with a 2nd drive that drive is dedicated to reading and writing audio data...
while the internal drive is dedicated to operating system and application tasks


>> Since you are new, try using your built-in drive for starting out.
And as you progress and feel the need, then buy an external drive..

(i recommend Other World Computing for mac/protools compatable external drives..
not the cheapest but i can depend on the quality without going to the most expensive brands)
before buying go to Digidesigns Compatibility pages on FW400 and FW800 external drives
and make sure you purchase the correct specficiations on your drive.


>> i do not recommend USB drives (neither does Digidesign) ive heard success stories
here on the DUC but also no-worky stories... caveat emptor

good luck!
EBC

[Allen Hallada]

I like both computers and use an iMac 20" Core 2 Duo on PTLE 7.3. Like RA mentioned the iMac will give you better video capability but I doubt you will ever need it. You can also get into a refurb Mac Book Pro for 1399.00 at www.apple.com under the Sale sign. These have the same ATI X1600 that the iMacs use which by the way is really not a high end graphics card anyways. Either way I highly recommend the extended warranty. Macs are not cheap to repair and sometimes cost as much as a new computer. For the money though, the MacBook is a great deal and will output to external HD monitors via Mini DVD to DVD.

Allen

[bean438]

Yikes! Can they really cost as much as a new computer to repair? That's kinda scary. I thought Macs were supposed to be the end all, be all second coming of Christ, they never crash, or break etc?
Well that's what my friend says anyways.
I must say though, he has a new imac 24", Presonus fire-somthing interface, and he uses Logicpro7, and to say I am extremely impressed would be an understatement.
Allen you are pretty level headed and logical. You recommend a mac laptop over windows at this point. Do you feel the same way about the new mac pro desktops? Is my friend overblowing the whole mac thing?
All his other friends also have macs, and they ALL drive Subarus. Any other car or computer is not worth the time of day and they get upset that anyone would eve dare to think anything different.
I can see an imac being expensive to fix because the mainboard and monitor are kinda one piece, but the mac pro would be built the same as a windows machine, only "better".
It's almost new PC time and I am leaning towards a mac but the repair comment scares me. So does the pricing of a new mac pro.
Logic had me drooling. Seemed to be a little more complicated than PT, but a one stop shop for all your (well mine anyways) recording/composing needs.

[joemusic]

Don't be afraid of the pricing of a Mac Pro. Apple advertises it as the first time that a Mac is cheaper than a comparable desktop made by err Dell or Gateway or some other Windows brand. It is, to my knowledge cheaper. Think of it this way, if you get the Mac Pro, you can have 3Terabytes of storage in the case alone. And it moves at 3gb/s, which in my opinion eliminates the need for externals, but I use them anyways, just in case of some kind of crazy Mac Pro short out.

It may seem pricey, but 2 dual core Woodcrest processors? Definately worth the money.

I made the jump, research it before you do, but my story is one of success.

[bean438]

Joe I hear ya. I have no doubt the mac pro is a fine machine. How upgradeable would it be say when the quad cores are out?
To me in the past Macs seemed overpriced for what you got. I agree that todays mac pro is a true value.
I am asuming the expensive repairs to a mac would be for notebooks or the imac with the mobo built into the monitor.
I am really interested in the Mac OS. Not because I think windows xp sucks or anything., All my windows machines have been built to "allenstein" spec. A clean install of XP, I keep it updated, and run antivirus, spyware blaster and all that.
I can honestly say windows has been rock stable. No BSOD or freeze ups. I dont see why people complain.
The only thing I dont like about windows is having to run anti virus, spyware, malware etc. Supposedly this is not necessary in OSX.
Did I mention Logic pro? MMMMMMMMMMMM. I know this is PT forum, sorry.

[joemusic]

Hot damn. I wrote a huge thing here, but it disppeared apparently.

Well, I'll summarize lol. Don't fear the quad cores, they're only like 30% faster, and the price difference is going to be pretty big from what I hear. I load up my Mac Pro currently with all types of plugins, and I barely see the system working.

The Mac OS is great, it's very easy to use and stays clean, IE no viruses/spyware or stuff

Check out Apple's website and look at the specs for yourself, you'll be truly intrigued by them.