Wow.. Unnerving the depth of venom on both sides...

For the record I have both, and more than one of each.. They're tools for Eff's sake, not religious fundamentalism.

Anyway, if you are building a PC for audio here is arguably the most in depth discussion on the subject anywhere:-

http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat....&fpart=1#360675

It's really geared for Pro tools LE users, but it applies to anyone who wants a dedicated audio PC. Lots of advice on software setup, and hardware selcetion. What's more the components are proven to work in combination time and time again. That alone makes it worthwhile paying attention to.

The big thing you'll notice is that the Pentiums are very much out of favor. For sheer performance the AMDs are owning them totally.

Makes me sad Apple swapped to Intel rather than AMD. :-(

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller It frustrates me (and other people) to see get a mac posts in every pc thread. One is enough, you don't have to come in clusters mac fans (i mean, what is the value of 3 exactly the same posts?!? could you be any more constructive?!). And to repeat myself over and over untill you do seem to get it: If it was an option to the topic starter would have been asking you questions instead of ignoring you. Clearly it is not an option in this case, although it may seem like an option to you, it isn't for the topic starter whom we're talking about.

meh.. this is not worth my time any more..

to the post starter: go play with both in store. it's only worth it for the fact that you are spending a fair amount of cash.. it also depends on what you are doing other the music..

a mac is an alternative to a PC.. thats all were saying.. fucknuckle above seems to want to live in a world where you arn't aloud to be presented with choice.. and thats all we were offering. choice..

- out

quote:

Originally posted by DJMiakoda Memory 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz - 2 DIMMs, Intel Pentium 4 processor 640 (3.2 Ghz, 800 Fsb), 160 GB ATA Hard drive, Windows XP Pro....

Drop the ddr2 400mhz if your gonna get ddr2 and pay almost twice as much as ddr get 600+ as anything else performs about the same as ddr.

If i was building a audio pc it would be something like this

pentium d 940

2gb ddr2 667

2 250gb hard drives with 16mb cache

radeon x1600 video card

RME soundcard.

If you want more specific details on which brands etc PM me soo we can avoid the mac vs pc debate.

___________________
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"

ok i read this thread becasue i have same quetsion as the starter of it, so i was thinking about that amd 64 x2 +3800+ 2 gb ram, but is there anyone wh actually use this configuration to makin music?? if so , can you say us how many vsts you can use?? anyway ddr 4x512 on 400hz is good idea?? and last guestion becasue i get kinda curious about that mac thing, how much i should actually pay for mac which could have the same power as i mentioned at the beginning on pc, how mac actually works??

could i for example put into mac my soundcard and dvd burner from my old pcd???

___________________
crowdfunding for my new album on vinyl

Last edited by Mane on Feb-21-2006 at 20:13

you can't open up a mac's case at all, unless you have a special tool.

There are only a few parts that are available for the mac that aren't manufactured by apple, and they are rarely ever the same parts that would fit in a PC.

You would have to pay about 1.5 times a PC's price to get an equivalent powered mac, but a cheaper mac some say is just as productive and handy as a top of the line PC. You get a mac if you are a musician who doesn't want to bother mucking with computer stuff because the thing is designed so that you have to learn as little as possible about the computer. Musicians swear by them because of that feature, because it lets them do music without fighting computer issues, they are defintaly designed for media creation and practically force you to not mess with hardware or settings or anything like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0915 you can't open up a mac's case at all, unless you have a special tool. There are only a few parts that are available for the mac that aren't manufactured by apple, and they are rarely ever the same parts that would fit in a PC. You would have to pay about 1.5 times a PC's price to get an equivalent powered mac, but a cheaper mac some say is just as productive and handy as a top of the line PC. You get a mac if you are a musician who doesn't want to bother mucking with computer stuff because the thing is designed so that you have to learn as little as possible about the computer. Musicians swear by them because of that feature, because it lets them do music without fighting computer issues, they are defintaly designed for media creation and practically force you to not mess with hardware or settings or anything like that.

My mac has a handy little lever that opens the case, ram, hd, and expansion slots are extremely easy to reach.


Far as price goes its debatible with the new intel macs.
Dell:
Inspiron E1705 Core Duo 2.16 Ghz
2 GB 667Mhz RAM
WinXP Pro
100 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Wifi/Bluetooth
Price before coupons: $3743

Apple:
MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.16 Ghz
2 GB 667Mhz RAM
OS X
100 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Wifi/Bluetooth
Price (no discounts): $3199

Dell: You get a dim 17" Screen.

Apple: You get a bright 15" screen and iSight, OSX, iLife, Backlit Keyboard, Aliminum metal casing (Dells are plastic), MagSafe power connector, 6 pin bus-powered firewire (Dells have 4 pin no power), and optical digital audio i/o.

But remember that pricing is without any coupons, for the most part you can get a dell laptop at 20-40% off.

___________________
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"

those are impressive numbers for that laptop, wish I could afford a $3K machine, would definately choose that mac laptop over the dell, if I could pay more than 1600 for a laptop. There is a dell factory in my home town.

I was more referring to desktops though, buying all the parts and self assembling can get you a TOP system for like $1500, which would could cost almost double in the form of an equivalent mac. I realize the ability to open the case varies depending on the specific model, the tower style boxes probably crack open and the ones with the screens built into them probably need that tool.

Im not trying to say they are crappy machines at all, just that you cant upgrade them and you lose the price advantage that comes from competition between the part makers.

If i was building a audio PC this would be it.
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___________________
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes"

quote:

Originally posted by acell meh.. this is not worth my time any more.. to the post starter: go play with both in store. it's only worth it for the fact that you are spending a fair amount of cash.. it also depends on what you are doing other the music.. a mac is an alternative to a PC.. thats all were saying.. fucknuckle above seems to want to live in a world where you arn't aloud to be presented with choice.. and thats all we were offering. choice.. - out

In personal experience I did go to play with both platforms at the guitar center store, they both offer a studio with a super mac and a studio with a super PC.

I think if you have been a PC user forever, you'll find it less appealing to get a Mac, because is a different program (the OSX), said that you would have to worry not only about making music , but learning a new system, tedious if you ask me.

I would recommend the topic starter to stay with a PC if:

1) You are not looking forward to spend several hours to learn a new operating system before getting your hands dirty with music production.

2) If you have bought VSTs that are not compatible with Mac (you don't want to throw away your investment do you?)

3) If you are a FL user (FL is not compatible with Mac and that is the reason I'm not getting a Mac mainly).

4) If you are uncomfortable with having one button less in your mouse.

5) If most of the times to upgrade and/or get software, money is the issue (Mac stuff is always more expensive than PC's in most of the cases).

6) If you are planning to get rid of your computer when it gets old (2 Years old), Macs are far less commercial, I even know a guy here who lasted several months trying to sell his old macs to buy a new one, he has even posted in this topic.


Cheers

___________________
Der Mystik's Music