Picking out a PC to run recording software smoothly.

[JimmyBlind]

2010 Macbook Pro/Mountain Lion/Logic.

Its like they were made for each other...oh wait! They were!

Not if you owned Logic 8 like I did. Logic 8 wasn't supported for the Lion upgrade from Snow Leopard. The OS upgrade was a poultry £20. The Logic 9 upgrade was £166 if i remember!
Logic 8, a £300 piece of sophisticated production software, had basically a 4 year shelf life.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/31 ... 5&tstart=0

We were all pretty vocal about it. Bottom line. I should've researched what Apple software was not supported under Lion before purchasing the OS upgrade. I just didn't expect a piece of software of that value & age to no longer be supported.

 

[Anonymous]

2010 Macbook Pro/Mountain Lion/Logic.

Its like they were made for each other...oh wait! They were!

Not if you owned Logic 8 like I did. Logic 8 wasn't supported for the Lion upgrade from Snow Leopard. The OS upgrade was a poultry £20. The Logic 9 upgrade was £166 if i remember!
Logic 8, a £300 piece of sophisticated production software, had basically a 4 year shelf life.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/31 ... 5&tstart=0

We were all pretty vocal about it. Bottom line. I should've researched what Apple software was not supported under Lion before purchasing the OS upgrade. I just didn't expect a piece of software of that value & age to no longer be supported.

That's a great thread.

Apple can be a prick and it will sooner or later (probably sooner!) turn its back on the dedicated setup I have but I see no reason whatsoever to stop using or upgrade it. I've been using L9 for a few years now and I can fly on it. Sounds as good as anything w/Apogee interface.

 

[JimAnsell]

i might be the only guy in the world who switched to mac and then switched back to pc....TWICE!
the first time after just a few weeks, and then the 2nd time i gave it about 4 months, before i went back to windows.
Both on macbook pros.
I don't believe the hype either.
As far as the virus thing... come on, is it really that hard to keep your pcs clean?

 

[JimmyBlind]

As far as the virus thing... come on, is it really that hard to keep your pcs clean?

That's an interesting point. Apple products are no longer the elite, virus-free machines of old. More & more households are investing in macs. With their growing popularity, so does the development of phishing & harmful software for Mac OS.

I seem to remember a few years back that one of their OS's was subject to a particularly nasty trojan. Apple purportedly changed their website marketing pitch for legal reasons to say, not that macs couldn't get viruses, but couldn't get 'windows' viruses like PCs.

 

[Code001]

Well, a trojan isn't a virus... It was also a flaw in Java, not exactly OS X itself.

 

[JimmyBlind]

OK.

 

[Jer]

This is a long standing issue that applies to audio/video composition/editing in general.

PC support will continue to evolve but will always be at a disadvantage compared to purpose built devices or Macs.

Your choices are accept the PC and its limitations, build a Hackentosh or get a mac.

 

[Halikus]

I say if going macOS build a hackintosh cos apple can fuck off with their extortionate hardware prices. 2grand mac = 700 in parts maybe less...

 

[JimmyBlind]

My brother built one. He's a games programmer. Pasted below is his response to an e-mail of me asking him how he did it at the time. It's a pretty old build now though. Hence his comments about the quad core intel chips at the end.

I bought more or less one of the configurations mentioned on tonymacx86.com

Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 motherboard
A Core i5 760 (professionally overclocked in the BIOS to 3.8Ghz)
An XFX Radeon 5770 graphics card
Samsung Spinpoint something or other 1TB hard disk
Sony Optiarc 7260S DVD writer

You have to make a few changes in the BIOS (AHCI mode, 64 bit HPET, and some other shit I’ve forgotten).

Then use the tools from that tonymacx86 site (the correct DSDT for whatever your motherboard is, iBoot, Multibeast, …) to install and configure Snow Leopard (or Lion if you prefer).

Once Mac installed, repartition the hard drive and install Windows 7 (with that latest Daz Loader).

There are some quirks with it. Sometimes Mac OS corrupts the CMOS and I have to restore it from the BIOS. I think it’s when it sleeps sometimes. Also, very occasionally the graphics card gives a load of static at boot up (a restart fixes it) and once in a blue moon it kernel panics on the loading screen.

My rig is already out of date. You’d be best off looking at that site, deciding on one of his recommended component shopping lists, and sourcing those bits and pieces instead. It’s all about Sandy Bridge these days, not those creaking ancient CPUs like the Core i5 that I’ve got.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

the extra monitor for MACs is what turned me off- their prices are astronomical!
I love having multiple screens and PCs are super cheap

As for Windows updates and printer software, why is that even hooked up? If you are serious about recording you need a separate PC for these things

 

[LowDesertSludge]

The issues with windows people have, aren't issues to me. Only ever using windows, I take it as it is, flaws and all. But you guys are on to something with running a separate dedicated machine. Viruses aren't an issue. I'm so locked down with my staring at naked women addiction on the innerwebz. I'm learning pro tools btw. Have a long time friend showing me the ropes. SONARx2 seemed beastly.

 

[se7en]

Windows can be fine for recording. I recommend using a second computer for your recording system, separate from your 'normal use' computer. Keep your recording computer off the internet, no need to be downloading every security update or have virus software running to slow it down. You can turn off all of the unnecessary background processes.

This

I've been using macs since the day they came out and I'm not a hater by an means, but IMO a dedicated pc is the way to go for recording. It's WAY cheaper to build one that's dedicated for it. Just get win7, get it stable with the hardware you'll be using and then you can disconnect from the net.

Exactly. No need to pay the 'Mac tax' to get a reliable system. Since you're thinking about Windows 7 - 64 bit, I'd go with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM (1600 MHz). You don't need more than 8 unless you're doing 3D graphics or video editing - in fact 16 GB's would just add more heat to your case. I'm running my DAW and Windows on a SSD - computer boots up in 10-15 seconds. I was able to put my machine together in 2 hours time and haven't had any issues since. If I can help you out more, feel free to PM me.

 

[LowDesertSludge]

Windows can be fine for recording. I recommend using a second computer for your recording system, separate from your 'normal use' computer. Keep your recording computer off the internet, no need to be downloading every security update or have virus software running to slow it down. You can turn off all of the unnecessary background processes.

This

I've been using macs since the day they came out and I'm not a hater by an means, but IMO a dedicated pc is the way to go for recording. It's WAY cheaper to build one that's dedicated for it. Just get win7, get it stable with the hardware you'll be using and then you can disconnect from the net.

Exactly. No need to pay the 'Mac tax' to get a reliable system. Since you're thinking about Windows 7 - 64 bit, I'd go with 8 GB of DDR3 RAM (1600 MHz). You don't need more than 8 unless you're doing 3D graphics or video editing - in fact 16 GB's would just add more heat to your case. I'm running my DAW and Windows on a SSD - computer boots up in 10-15 seconds. I was able to put my machine together in 2 hours time and haven't had any issues since. If I can help you out more, feel free to PM me.

Now you're speaking my language! 8 gigs of RAM and a 300 gig SSD shouldn't break the bank too terribly.

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Helps bring a lot into perspective.

 

[Kelly]

As far as the virus thing... come on, is it really that hard to keep your pcs clean?

Havent had a virus in 10 years on a pc. Stay away from porn...

 

[Code001]

I say if going macOS build a hackintosh cos apple can fuck off with their extortionate hardware prices. 2grand mac = 700 in parts maybe less...

Proof? Maintaining as many features as the iMac has (minus Thunderbolt) and without buying bottom of the barrel parts, the closest I can get is $986.05. Equivalent iMac is $1499.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116897 - 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820148540 - 89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822152291 - 69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127752 - 79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131981 - 139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817171060 - 39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009484 - 129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811147107 - 89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6826104368 - 49.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823109227 - 30.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833139027 - 14.21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833162082 - 30.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820208939 - 10.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835100007 - 8.99

 

[MississippiMetal]

I'm running a Windows 7 64 bit tower with a Dual Core E6700 Processor and 8GB of Ram. That's about the minimum i would consider for tracking if you plan on using any plugins.