is there much Diference on MusiCPC M2 for a soft sampler Vs a dell,ibm, etc?

[keyjr]

i want to use kontatk 2 for live performance using my own samples at a very high sample rate .

 

 

will there be much diference betwen a same specs laptop from a dell or toshiba,ibm etc. or the

MusicXp M2 http://www.musicxpc.com/products/m2/m2.htm

[keyjr]

[midinut]

I'll try to keep this as simple as possible without getting too technical. The MusicXP machines are optimized for music production. This simply means they have no extra "garbage" installed like an off-the-shelf machine would have. Therefore they would be less likely to cause any sort of conflicts with music production software. Can you get the same results out of a Dell/IBM/etc.? Yes, if you know what you are doing. You yourself can strip Windows of much of the "garbage" I spoke of if you know what you are doing. Some of this may involve modifying your "registry" (which can really screw up a machine if you don't know what you're doing). There are many internet articles on "Optimizing Your Windows PC for Audio". The MusicXp people realize that there are lots of musicians out there that don't want to tinker with a bunch of Windows settings just to make their music software "play nice" with Windows and they market their machines to that crowd. If you aren't afraid of getting your hands dirty and feet wet, then you should be able to get real close to the same results out of a Dell/IBM/etc.

 

Hope that helps a little! Good luck!

 

ps - and I'm sure someone will be chiming in any time now with "buy a Mac" - just watch!

[keyjr]

wow .. .that helps a lot thanx

[midinut]

no problem ... and welcome to the forum

[Dick Ward MP Hall of Fame]

Buy a mac.

 

Eh, I don't really favor one over the other, but I just felt I'd help midinut's prophecy be fulfilled.

 

If you have the money to get a really good mac, I like them a lot, but I've not had a mac and a PC of similar specs to see which I liked better. Mac seems preferable to most music people though. Less stuff to muss around with.

 

I assume most VST stuff is compatible with both. Anyone know?

[Dick Ward MP Hall of Fame]

Buy a mac.

 

Eh, I don't really favor one over the other, but I just felt I'd help midinut's prophecy be fulfilled.

 

If you have the money to get a really good mac, I like them a lot, but I've not had a mac and a PC of similar specs to see which I liked better. Mac seems preferable to most music people though. Less stuff to muss around with.

 

I assume most VST stuff is compatible with both. Most of it seems to be.

[JeffLearman]

Mac seems preferable to most music people though.

I think that's a myth. It used to be true but I don't think so any more. It's true that with a MAC you don't have to worry about motherboard (MOBO) chipsets & design, but that's becoming less and less of an issue as MOBO manufacturers fix the bugs that cause problems with audio. Finally, if you peruse the software forums for Apple audio and PC audio, you find that the same basic hardware/software related issues appear -- latency, dropouts, etc. Everything but MOBO issues, of course.

 

Enough said about Mac vs. PC. Both are excellent for the purpose, although you have to be a bit more informed when buying a PC.

 

Midinut only mentioned the software differences. There are hardware differences too. "Same specs" for those different computers have different MOBO components, and that CAN make a difference (though, as I said above, the differences are getting smaller). Note the "Intel 865PE + ICH5 Chipset". This is a good chipset for audio. Others may or may not work as well.

 

7200 RPM disk drives are good for playing samples direct from disk ("disk streaming"). I suspect it's not really the spindle rate, but the fact that the whole thing is designed for higher rates that matters. I have an IBM T30 laptop with 5400RPM drive and it can't handle disk streaming. Yet, if you do the math, it's not the throughput alone that's the cause -- a 5400 RPM drive should be able to record 16 24-bit tracks without breaking a sweat. (I've recorded as many as 10 24-bit tracks. Yet I can't do disk streaming, using GigaStudio or sfz.)

 

I doubt it's necessary to have two disk drives, but it sure won't hurt.

 

I use my T30 live with NIB4 and soundfonts (though not with disk streaming) and it works great. I bet you could do just as well with any number of laptops, but it would be more of a gamble than the MusicXPC. As they say, "We back this with first class support for any problems you may have getting your MusicXPC going. Our service people are extremely knowledgeable and have many years of experience in music technology." You won't get that from IBM or Apple.

 

I'll be upgrading to an IBM T42p in a month or two. (Music is a secondary purpose, and I didn't pick the model.) But I'll be happy to let you know how it works. I'll even offer to load your software and give it a good shakedown, with a firm promise to delete it completely afterwards. It'd be a nice chance for me to try out Kontact, and compare it to Giga. If you're interested in that, we'd have to work out a few details so it would be completely legal and ethical. The demo isn't good enough, having only bass & drums.

[JeffLearman]

BTW, the M3 looks like a better deal. ($4K for the M2 -- thatsa lotta bux!) I don't know that chipset, but they say it's good for audio recording & production and it should do well. Plus, it's a Pentium M rather than a P4, and the general concensus is that the P4's were a disappointment in the performance arena. (You can't just look at GHz and get a clue between different processor types.)

 

The Pentium M is faster per GHz and uses far less power than a P4. Meaning, less fan noise and longer battery life.

 

Hmm, though -- unfortunately only 5400RPM drive. I don't know whether that would prohibit disk streaming.