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PC or MAC/mixing/audio production.
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| FennecTheFox |
What is better to DJ with? A Macbook Pro or a PC laptop? Does it even matter anymore with Windows 7 out....Does Mac even have an advantage anymore when it comes to things like audio/video? I see a lot of professionals using Macs still.
I'm on the market for a laptop of some kind whether it's a MacBook or PC laptop. I use Xponent and Torq to mix. I'll probably run other audio software as well. Could not seem to find answers to this with the search function, though I'm sure this topic has been done to death.
Help appreciated. : ) |
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| woscar |
Yup, it has been done to death indeed. :p
I run Traktor Pro on my Macbook Pro and have had zero issues with it apart from some sudden audio dropouts that were caused by my external hard drive and not by the software or the laptop. I'm pretty happy with my Mac overall, not just with how Traktor runs on it (it ing soars), but with everything in general. You don't need drivers for anything, no viruses, it rarely ever crashes (I've had mine for 6 months now and it has not crashed even once), and the user interface is excellent. :)
So, from my experience, I recommend a Mac. ;) |
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| n3lly |
I'm not going to get into it but I say Mac as well . (i use a macbook pro 2008 model)
The way i always put it is if you have the money to blow on a mac. Get a mac. If you don't a laptop will do just fine, it might require a little more upkeep to keep it running perfectly smoothly, but that's not difficult to achieve. |
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| Gen3r4l1ty |
| Windows can be rock solid. OSX can be rock solid. Both can fail. Don't be fooled into thinking that Macs are these indestructible golden cubes that never need maintenance and are impervious to damage, and don't be fooled into thinking that every Windows machine is a bloated sac of virii. My iMac updates itself monthly and still has persisting issues, just like Windows. Windows, however, is much more easy to screw up if you don't know computers. Bottom line: go with whatever system you feel comfortable with, as both have a great selection of production and dj software. |
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| 19503 |
| ive had a macbook pro for a year now and i havent had any issues. no crashes nothing and things works fast and easy. except for me to things up using terminal commands to change the unchangeable lol (like the dock). then i reinstalled the whole ting in under less than an hour without any problems, great stuff imo. there are annoying things about its interface though. i hate the dock, and the menubar on top but that doesnt affect performance really. its just not how i would design it and its bugging me out. |
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| FennecTheFox |
I'm comfortable using Windows OS.
Never used Mac OS much, though I heard it's easy to use.
I'm just not sure why I would pay $1800 for a MacBook to DJ off when I can pay $1000 for a PC laptop that has better specs than the $1800 MacBook.
So Windows 7 and Mac OS are both stable and both OS can run the music software I need.
If there's no advantage for Mac then why do people pay more for less? (I'm not trying to insult the Mac users on this board) It's a legitimate question.
All of the reasoning that various people (in my life) have offered in favor of MacBook seems complete BS. Examples:
1.) "Macs have less viruses" Ok that's true, but I also know how to use an Anti-Virus program on my PC - where's the problem?
2.) "My MacBook lasted longer than my Dell PC laptop." Perhaps you don't know how to use Windows or treated your PC laptop poorly?
3.) "Everything runs better on a Mac" Show me evidence?
Just a bunch of 'blah blah'. Does anyone know of a good link that I can look at to study up on this debate? I'd really like to know more before I plunk down $1500~2k. |
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| discobiscuit |
I'm not a computer guru or anything but if pcs were as good as macs then why do 95% of live performers (who incorporate computers in some way) use a mac? Cuz they have cool apples glowing on them? Maybe...
I got my mac for the virus reason. I hated having to update firewalls, anti virus, and all that stuff all the time. I had all kinds of spyware, adware,malware, add-ons, and junk on my pc. It was a year-and-a-half old and ran like . I'm not a computer person and had trouble keeping up with the maintenance of a pc. I figured I'd spend a little more on the mac save myself a lot of trouble and for piece of mind.
Btw my MacBook pro was 1100... 1200 originally - 100 for student discount. Plus I got a free iPod touch ($200 value). I'm selling my iPod on eBay for 100-150 so technically I'm getting the mbp for 950-1000.
Plus the 2010 models come with 4g of ram (last years only had 2!)
I will say windows 7 is solid. Vista was a big piece of ! |
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| FennecTheFox |
| quote: | Originally posted by discobiscuit
I'm not a computer guru or anything but if pcs were as good as macs then why do 95% of live performers (who incorporate computers in some way) use a mac? Cuz they have cool apples glowing on them? Maybe...
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That's what I'm trying to figure out. Why do most live performers use MAC over PC? Most reasons I've been given seem flimsy and I wouldn't doubt that some people use MAC because they 'look cool' |
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| djkatmaus |
Macs were originally designed for music and video production because they had faster processing, better audio and video and graphic cards, and typically more ram. PC's were designed for every other use like everyday office work. In the early nineties almost all music/video producing software was mac use only. Up until a few years ago if you made music you used mac. Nowadays both platforms do both. IMO I still say the mac is faster, and I don't need to go and download drivers to make stuff work. Honestly, I have been using Macs since 1991. Started using pc around 2005. The think about viruses is this. All hackers know the everyday world runs pc. So for them it's easier to write virus codes, spammers, malware, etc. Plus Mac uses a different type of script for its OS, which is to hackers a waste of time.
Unfortunately most people do buy macs because they look cool, or because their friends have one. Etc. Etc. Etc. It's funny how many of my friends have one and only use it for photos and facebook. A $400 pc laptop can do the samething at half the cost. |
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| Polt |
It's all a matter of preference these days. It use to be a bit different before when Apple used PowerPC processors. Now the internals of a Mac are the same as a PC. When you choose mac vs pc, you're really making a choice of a) operating system and b) design of the physical machine.
It's entirely possible to have a PC that never gets a virus or crashes. Sure, there may be more viruses out there targeting Windows, but it's not as if a virus can magically get onto your system.
If you want a Mac, get a mac. If you want a PC, get a pc.
One potential reason for heavy mac use in the DJ world is that some of the most popular DAWs are either exclusive to the mac or run better on it. Logic is an apple product, and from what I've heard, Pro Tools runs significantly better on a mac. |
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| FennecTheFox |
| quote: | Originally posted by Polt
It's entirely possible to have a PC that never gets a virus or crashes. Sure, there may be more viruses out there targeting Windows, but it's not as if a virus can magically get onto your system. |
Since Apple's market share has gone up I heard there's more and more people making viruses for Mac these days. If their market share continues to grow it's only a matter of time before Mac becomes flooded with viruses just like Windows, but probably not nearly to the same extent.
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One potential reason for heavy mac use in the DJ world is that some of the most popular DAWs are either exclusive to the mac or run better on it. Logic is an apple product, and from what I've heard, Pro Tools runs significantly better on a mac. |
Excuse my ignorance but what's "DAW's" I don't think I'll be using either Logic or Pro Tools.
I'll be using Torq for now and later probably Reason, Ableton and Serato, but that's a ways off. For now It's just Torq and my PC seems to run it just fine. Though I'd be very interested to know if Mac can run it better. |
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| Polt |
| quote: | Originally posted by FennecTheFox
Since Apple's market share has gone up I heard there's more and more people making viruses for Mac these days. If their market share continues to grow it's only a matter of time before Mac becomes flooded with viruses just like Windows, but probably not nearly to the same extent. |
Even if people create more malicious programs to target Mac OSX, it still doesn't change the fact that you, the user, need to actively be a participant in getting the virus on to your system. If you boot up a newly purchased PC for the first time and connect it to the internet, and don't do anything else, a virus won't magically appear on the system without you doing anything.
| quote: | | Originally posted by FennecTheFox Excuse my ignorance but what's "DAW's" I don't think I'll be using either Logic or Pro Tools. |
A DAW is a "Digital Audio Workstation", audio editing program.
| quote: | | Originally posted by FennecTheFox I'll be using Torq for now and later probably Reason, Ableton and Serato, but that's a ways off. For now It's just Torq and my PC seems to run it just fine. Though I'd be very interested to know if Mac can run it better. |
That's the whole thing I'm trying to get at. It shouldn't matter what OS you're running. It's all about hardware. If you buy a mac that is faster than your pc, it should run faster than your pc. If you buy a faster pc, it will run faster than your current pc. If you were buy a mac that is slower than your pc, it will be slower than your pc.
You asked in an earlier post by people would pay more for a mac. Besides the software OS exclusivity I mentioned, some people just like the Mac operating system more than Windows. Does that make one better than the other? No. But to those that specifically chose mac > pc, the difference in price is justified because they get the experience they prefer. |
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