Mac vs. XP

[Addix Metzatricity]

Assuming that there are a few software synth people here... How would you rate, say a Mac G4 against an equally powerful PC running WinXP? From a musical/stability/ease of use standpoint.

 

Thanks in advance for any input/insight you can provide.

[schmoron13]

Depends on your resources...if you have the cash, you can't go wrong with a mac. As I am a little strapped, I went the PC route

[Addix Metzatricity]

Well, here's the deal... I built this computer. AthlonXP 1900, etc. etc... But this is my fun computer... As I'm getting more serious with my music I'm feeling that I should have a dedicated music workstation. I know absolutely nothing about Macs, and I assume that it would be (just like a PC) infinitely cheaper to build one.

 

Anyway, money's not the issue (mind you, I did not say money is not AN issue...), I'm more interested in the pros and cons of either/both.

[schmoron13]

First off, you can get professional sounds on a PC, but it tends to create more headaches (software hardware compatibilty, system instability, Windows issues)....Now the BIG diff is that you can't really chopshop a Mac...Apple holds such tight reigns on their prices that no one can build one for you for cheap, so you pretty much just cusomize one of their models to your needs....

 

2 good sites to check out for either mac or pc are:

 

pc: Carillon Audio Systems

 

Wave Digital Systems

 

Also keep in mind that if you want the best (supposed) then you need a mac to handle Pro Tools 6 which just came out this weekend

 

hope this helps

[etherize]

I know quite a bit about this subject but my friend Gianni can put it much more elequently.

 

[DJDM]

I have used Macs in the past but I converted to PCs several years ago.

My current set up is:

 

PC running Windows XP Pro

AMD 2100 XP

1 GB of DDR 333 RAM

Asus A7V333 Main Board

120 gigs of storage (Dual IBM 60s)

Nvidia Ti-4400 (for dual monitors)

M-Audio 2496 Audio card (averages about 8ms latency)

Midisport 8x8 (to plug in the hardware I never did)

 

Propellerheads Reason 2.0

Steinberg's Cubase 5.1r1

Sonic Foundry's Vegas Video 2.0

Sound Forge 6.0

Acid, (I never use this but feel obligated to have it... )

 

I have to say that Macs are awesome performance wise BUT they are falling behind in the hardware area lately. Motorola can't seem to keep up in the CPU power area. The Mac OS is far more streamlined and in some ways superior to PC. Unfortunately the cost of the equipment and the slower tech dev on hardware is creating a bit of a gap as far as I am concerned.

Most of the software listed above is very CPU intensive and needs all of the power you can throw at them. Here PCs excel as the cost of the performance to value ratio is unbeatable.

I'd have to say go PC as you will save money and if you tweak it right you should have no problems with XP!

You can get all of the information you need about the requisite tweaks here: MusicXP.net

For me it's PC all of the way.

You can follow the link below to check out some of my non commercial work.

Best of luck,

- DJDM

[Addix Metzatricity]

Schmoron: I was wondering about that... I hadn't heard of too many people building Macs, and now I know why...

 

Etherize: That's a commercial...

 

DJDM: I haven't had any problems with WinXP yet.. I've been running it for something around 6 months. I haven't gotten into using Reason, Cubase, or SONAR yet because I just don't have the hardware (musicwise) to really get what I want out of them. I'm using Fruity Loops, which is a bit amateurish, I think, but works great at the moment considering my lack of gear (I'm a bassist who's starting to dabble in synth). I think I'll stick with what I'm familiar with (and, of course, with what's cheap).

 

Thanks so much!

[Superbobus]

There has to be some prejudice thrown away.

I'm a Mac guy because of terrible Windows experiences (blue screens, viruses, BIOS fuck ups, you name it) but XP seems damn stable. Ugly UI but it works and that's what it's about.

Don't let yourself get fooled by the MHz, I men GHz thing. I don't know where Macs are now but that number has always been lower than with PCs but this is not the only thing that counts for speed.

Macs are always called "expensive" but with rock steady performance you win a lot of cash back! Of course with their ridiculous .mac (dot mac) policy, the "gaining" of Emagic (PC users go Steinberg all around me, not the Mac route, duh!) and the first stable Windows system, I see dark clouds appearing above Apple.

[progfusion74]

I am neither a mac, nor a windows guy in my non-music life (definitely a linux-head), but as a muso, I decided to go windows, cause the performance/cost benefits were much better (plus I have a philosophical issue with locked down hardware). In my hands both windows and mac's tend to be equally stable, so stability is not a concern. AMD processors are cheap and very fast, and I would certainly recommend an Athlon-based system. If you are not into building your own systems, look at a turnkey windows-based solution or a mac as that will give you minimum hassles.

 

prog

[jlahib.no]

i think the A vs B discussion is getting old and not really that much relevant. New comptuers are super powerful... but my old atari has good midi timing.. anyways.. I doubt you can go wrong with either mac or windows XP today.

I use windows XP pro with dual pentium 1000s.

I think i've had this computer for a year, and it hasnt crashed yet. But i managed withouth crashing with windows98se as well.

I had the computer built by a "stealth" builder, not a DAW builder. With my computer you can only hear a little wind when it blows out through the back, but thats it

[Addix Metzatricity]

I absolutely PREFER to build my own computers. This one is my greatest, I think... I love it, and haven't had any problems. I really have a problem with pre-built machines for the simple fact that I'm paying $1000-$2000 more for labor (labor? please...) and the name.

 

What I've gotten out of this is, the Mac/PC gap has been bridged... Much like the political parties... We have Republicrats using MSMACs.