Pro Tools 10: Windows 7 or Mac OS X Laptop??

[addovox]

Hi guys,

Sorry if this is a bit long-winded....if you want a quick sum, it is this: I want to upgrade from my Digi003 system to Pro Tools 10 and use my Mackie Onyx 1620i FireWire 16-Chan Analog Mixer as the interface. I want to record live shows mobile. Should i get a PC laptop or a Mac laptop??
A PC laptop would be much cheaper, but i'm concerned about PT stability (previous experience). A Mac laptop would be more expensive, but i also don't typically use Macs. And is it that much more of a guarantee of stability with the Mac??


More detail....
I'm a PC user but i just could never get any Pro Tools software to run stable on even my very high-end PCs...i tried replacing chipsets, motherboards, firewire cards, video cards, disabling NICs, disabling everything so the PC was basically useless, save for Pro Tools...and i STILL always had problems. So i bought a used Mac behemoth and everything has been running smoothly ever since.

However, it is time to upgrade and i have a few questions--any help is greatly appreciated (i'm not an expert by any means).

Info:
1. I run my live sound thru my Mackie Onyx 1620i 1620 FireWire 16-Chan Analog Mixer, which i love. I want to use this for my inputs and run a single FireWire to my recording platform (i want to finally free myself from a Rack 003 or anything else of the sort!).
2. I want the ability to also record live (my soundboard, etc is mobile), so my platform is going to have to be a LAPTOP.
3. I'm a PC user first, so if i'm going to get a laptop, i'd like it to be something i typically use outside of recording as well. But i've had hell trying to run Pro Tools on any of my high-end PC's, so i'm completely open to buying a used (or new) Macbook for this; i just wouldn't get as much 'normal' daily use out of it...but who knows. Also, i want to try to keep costs down and a brand new, high-end PC laptop with Windows 7 is only about $600.

Q's:
1. PC or Mac laptop?
2. It's been a while since i've upgraded and i know Windows always had issues running PT....are there any well-known stability issues running PT 10 on Windows 7? I know it's probably possible, but it was with the Digi003 also and i never had much luck, so i'm very leery. I want STABILITY!
3. Will PT 10 run (STABLE) on a 64-bit Windows 7 machine?
4. I don't really want to be replacing this and that and be extremely particular about which chipsets to gamble with, etc....i'm done with that. Does that just leave me with a Mac laptop? Or have they had similar issues as well? My previous experience says 'no', but i'm not familiar with PT 10 and/or the new Mac OS's.

Thanks again in advance for any input!

ben.

[crizdee]

Once you go Mac you never go back

Not the air laptops! Not built for the temps of high CPU usage apps


Chris

[soybalm]

I have a low cost gateway desktop that came with 8 gigs of ram, windows 7. a Q series pentium quad core that screams along. Works great. I had a licensing issues because i use chrome. I use 32 bit explore on the iLok site and it works fine now. I have several drives since my computer came with slide draws that allow you to drop an SATA drive in there and crank away. I spent $600 on my computer, no monitor. I had an LG. It's a 2009 64 bit running win 7 64. I do very few of the optimizations for ProTools. I definitely use the best performance mode. I can go online while I'm working in ProTools without any problems. The firewire that is built in is useless but I can add a card and it works fine. I use pci audio anyways. I think you are better off with mac if you go with a laptop. Otherwise, it's a matter of taste and how much you can afford. I would probably go mac if I had 2 grand to really get the most performance. If it didn't last for over 5 years, I would never buy a mac again. I still have my older PCs and they all still run.

[sunburst79]

For a Pro Tools laptop I would suggest a Mackbook Pro.

[The Weed]

Search user name EGS and check his signature. He has an HP laptop he has said works quite well with Pro Tools.

Wait one...here's his sig:

Win 7 64 / HP ProBook 4730s + SIIG FW / i7-2630 / 8GB / ext USB2 drive / 9.0.3 / Focusrite Pro 40

Cheers,

[albee1952]

Get a late MBP(i7) and it will work...period. Get a Windows laptop without doing the homework up front......odds are stacked against(but getting one that is known to work....that's a good bet).

[legacygt777]

i play live shows with an mbox micro using a sony vz series 4gig and pro tools 8.4

my studio desktop computer is a vaio js series 8 gig pro tools 10 setup.

i've also completed an album with a dell 700m laptop (on spot recordings) in 2006 using pro tools 6.4 and mbox 1.

a pc can do the job, you just have to take the time to configure it.

ken
www.kensarmientomusic.com

[EGS]

Originally Posted by The Weed

Search user name EGS and check his signature. He has an HP laptop he has said works quite well with Pro Tools.

Wait one...here's his sig:

Win 7 64 / HP ProBook 4730s + SIIG FW / i7-2630 / 8GB / ext USB2 drive / 9.0.3 / Focusrite Pro 40

Cheers,

Yes it's stable and powerful, even at buffer 64. After first taking an Acronis Image, I uninstalled a fair amount of HP bloatware, and did the usual Avid optimizations. At the time I also considered a Mac, but got this HP rig for less than half the cost of a quad-core Mac. Works great !!!