Need new laptop: on and off topic

[kwyn]

OK. Old PC moved out in divorce... I've been a windows guy since 3.1 I'm really good with computers, but haven't had to be in a while. I used to build my own desktop windows PC's for gaming and such.

 

So a new windows laptop or go Mac???

 

Now I don't play games anymore. I have tons of family photos and movies (many in wmv format. can mac handle these easily?) that I want on my new latop be it windows or MAC.

 

On topic: I used Komplete 8 (galaxy vintage D), reaper, VB3... All these play nice with Mac???

 

Overall, what's a better laptop for a musician?

 

 

[johnchop]

(Prepare for "beating a dead horse" emoticons.)

 

The best laptop is the one that works for YOU.

 

As a gentle nudge... you need to show that you've done a minimal amount of research to avoid flames here. A quick trip to all of those products websites will show that yes, of course, they all run on Mac. Likewise, WMV... a quick google search would answer that question.

 

Anyway, if you're asking for opinions, well, everybody has one, and this is going to turn into a pretty "PC versus Mac" thread.

 

I've used a Windows desktop for music. I'm using a Mac laptop right now. They both did what I needed to do, and did it well.

 

-John

[kwyn]

Sorry. I know that the software I mentioned is supported, by "play nice" I meant to ask, are they "smoother" or simpler on a MAC (I only have windows experience)

 

I was asking for opinions I guess. For instance, it's pretty much the consensus around here that for vst organ VB3 is king (hoping that didn't open another can of worms). I didn't know if there was something like that for computers too.

 

 

 

 

[johnchop]

No, no consensus that I've detected. It's really all about the applications, and the applications should run effectively the same on both platforms (except for the little platform-specific hiccups that occur here and there).

 

The operating system is the operating system, and that's pretty much that.

 

OS X does allow some flexibility with MIDI routing and audio that's not baked into Windows, but if you're pretty much using one audio application (like a DAW) at a time, that's usually not a huge deal.

 

-John

[Philip Clark]

If it were me, I'd get a MacBook Pro.

[Les Mizzell]

I have both Mac and PC in my studio, but currently don't have a laptop. I've been spending a lot of time researching which way to go myself. My issue is that I've got a couple of business specific apps I need to be able to remotely manage a couple of SQL Server databases, as well as my music stuff. I just can't afford to maintain both PC and Apple laptops. It's not impossible to do SQL Server from the Mac, but it's difficult. Since that's a Microsoft product, obviously PC is a better choice for that task. So, I'm leaning PC myself, simply because of that.

 

Originally, (and I'm an old dude), I bought my software first. THEN I bought the box I needed to run it. Not the other way around. Back in those days, Macs were pretty much the only choice for music production. I was running the first version of Performer from FLOPPYS on an original Mac Plus with a 20 meg HD. That's obviously changed a bit.

 

From my research, personal experience, blah, blah

 

Most music apps are probably going to work better on an fresh out of the box Mac. It's just wired that way. Look up the technical reasons if you have to know. They'll work great on a PC as well, but the PC will probably need some tweaks first.

 

I'm seeing a lot of folks very happy with Lenovo T series laptops, especially the 530 the more memory and faster processor the better.

 

If anybody else can jump in here, it seems that a Texis Instruments chip-set is less troublesome that some others in the PC, so so you have to shop carefully.

 

Or, you can go with a maker that specializes in PC laptops custom built specifically for music apps.

 

There seems to be a few choices if you go this route:

http://www.adkproaudio.com/laptop3.asp

http://www.music-pc.com/laptops/

http://www.pcaudiolabs.com/rokbox_mobile.asp

 

Price wise, you're right up there with the Mac if you're looking at premium PC systems.

 

So, it really seems to come down to:

a. exactly what programs do you wish to run? Most (but not all), have versions for either platform

b. if you're afraid of tweaking some stuff at the registry and/or system level to help maximize performance and fix some potential problems, Mac might work better for you.

c. Price wise, you can spend way less for a PC system if you wish, but premium is the way to go, so that puts both products about equal as far as price goes.

[Markay]

If you plan to gig using a laptop a macbook with MainStage is the best option. You pay more for the laptop but save on software and Vst's. BUT MainStage 3 is only 64 bit. You can run VB3 using 3rd party software until such time as VB3 64 bit AU is available, or find a copy of MainStage 2.2.2.

 

For use as a DAW either PC or Mac will be OK. BUT Win 8 is also 64 bit, however it will run 32 bit apps. Or get Win 7.

 

Both Apple and Windows are 64 bit now so it is not question of if you will go 64 bit, but when. If you want to future proof your purchase then now is the time to go 64 bit.

[Tusker]

The good news is it's getting easier to get hardware to work.

 

I picked up a maxed out Macbook Air to replace my Macbook Pro. Sure the MBP is more flexible in the long run, but I looked at the inputs and outputs, and I won't need all that flexibility. (or that weight) Testing Mainstage and a few bread and butter synths which are already 64 bit. I'll add VB3, but only when we get 64 bit. Keeping things simple. With music apps an SSD is magic.

[kwyn]

Thanks. Great input

[Mr. Nightime]

I just picked up a Windows 8 machine. A Toshiba Satellite with a 3rd generation I5 processor, 6GB RAM, and a 750GB HD.

 

I installed the ASIO4ALL, and Catabile, and it looks like it will be a perfect fit. I've gotten the latency down to 1.5 ms. I'm going to do my first gig with it soon.