Either package will do well. Anyone that tells you a Mac doesn't break is not being completely honest. You are correct that upgrading hardware is not always a cheap thing when you're limited by Apple. That said, that's what helps make it a reliable platform that many enjoy. I prefer pc but am not rabid about it either.

In the end, your choice of Mac vs Windows has more to do with what work flow you prefer. When one makes that sort of investment you want to make sure it has that new car smell when you drive it. Leave the spinning hubcaps for the wankers.

I will say, that a DAW computer built by a professional company with experience and good support is very very hard to beat. I have heard very good things about the Rain systems in the last year so you chose a quality player in the game. Maybe there is a DAW builder that uses Mac out there. I don't know of one but I'm not all knowing either.

Not much help probably but with the two options you listed, it's going to be difficult to objectively give you a definitive answer.

To be fair to Apple, you should look at a Mac Pro desktop system for the most horsepower. It's not cheap, but it falls into the 'latest & greatest' category. I agree with Jack -- either OS will work great, it up to you about the workflow.

I'm an Apple guy. I'm one of those people who never had a problem with my Apple hardware. I know people who had a drive go bad, used cheap RAM and had problems, or had a USB card go bad -- but not the issues of my PC friends.

For some perspective: I use an Apple Mac G4 desktop system that is 8 years old, a 5 year old iMac G5, and a new MacBook Pro. I retired the desktop system from recording 2 years ago, but it still runs the most recent OS (however, not Snow Leopard). The iMac and MacBook Pro handle the recording now.

I'm a PC guy most definitely. When I built my current one, to get the equivalent hardware in a mac was roughly TWICE the amount of money.

To be honest though that imac 27i5 DOES look amazing. For $2500 USD it doesn't seem like a bad deal. I have a 22 inch screen and I thought that was big, can't imagine a 27.

my verdict - PC, upgradeable
Mac, retire

I hate the Mac OS though, drives me nuts after being on a PC forever. A PC case will take up considerably more room than that mac all in one thing.

But if something breaks on the mac, you pretty much have to bring it in. If something breaks on a PC, you can rip it out and replace it yourself for not very much money.

TheJackAttack wrote: Either package will do well. Anyone that tells you a Mac doesn't break is not being completely honest. You are correct that upgrading hardware is not always a cheap thing when you're limited by Apple. That said, that's what helps make it a reliable platform that many enjoy. I prefer pc but am not rabid about it either.

In the end, your choice of Mac vs Windows has more to do with what work flow you prefer. When one makes that sort of investment you want to make sure it has that new car smell when you drive it. Leave the spinning hubcaps for the wankers.

I will say, that a DAW computer built by a professional company with experience and good support is very very hard to beat.

I have heard very good things about the Rain systems in the last year so you chose a quality player in the game. Maybe there is a DAW builder that uses Mac out there. I don't know of one but I'm not all knowing either.

Not much help probably but with the two options you listed, it's going to be difficult to objectively give you a definitive answer.

Exactly as TheJackAttack said.

To add a bit on top....

I've been on both formats ( mac and PC) and I don't believe the mac high raves anymore. If you are going with logic, go with mac. If you are on a PC based DAW software ( Sonar, Samplitude), PC is your choice.
I have an Element and an ION. RAIN is really nice.

I also have an i7 365 PCAudioLabs and it is really nice.

Pro built DAW computers are the way to go if you have the cash. When you open them up, you go, ooh... nice work! They are quite and smooth running. Both companies have incredible support, however I'm putting PCAudioLabs on my top list because their support wins hands down from my personal experience.

The aluminum casing Rain talks about is something to consider if you are really using power and need better heat distribution. However, with the upcoming SSD, it may not matter anymore.

Hope that helps.

Choose your app, then the computer to run it on.

The software I prefer for Audio and video is Mac only.

8)

chose the application
chose the operating system ( the application may do that for you )
then chose the hardware

" The software I prefer for Audio and video is Mac only. "
???
which audio software
and I guess you mean FCP

Kev wrote: chose the application
chose the operating system ( the application may do that for you )
then chose the hardware

Kev is right, deciding comes first. Go with your gut and your experiences. Don't let someone tell you otherwise.

I did, I'm happy for it.

Macs don't cost more necessarily. They are stable. Are they infallible? Definitely not. What they do have as an advantage is that they don't have options upon options of hardware that may or may not be compatible. Either your hardware is designed to work with Mac or it isn't.

I love OSX. It's a great OS. Mind you I also love Windows 7. As much as Win7 is trying to be OSX for PC, it's a great operating system and long needed.

The thing that would be the deciding factor for me is upgradablity. You can't do much to add to an iMac. You have PCIe slots wth the Rain. The Mac equivalent (Mac Pro Dual Quad) although extremely powerful would be about $1000 more. So, with that in consideration, the Rain is a better buy imho. It's always nice too to have as much of your add ons internal(hard drives, dsp cards). You can't do that with an iMac.

If I had a choice, I would use both.

Because macs are now intel based -- The amount of compatible hardware is increasing dramatically. A tip I'd give for anyone getting a mac tower is getting their basic model, then buying your own 'goodies' on top of that. It takes the same hard drives (mostly, to the point that you aren't limited), memory, and now video cards... This can save a ton of money, as you don't need to buy everything from them at the time of purchase, you can save a ton of money by supplementing the base system with aftermarket "pc" parts.

This is something many people don't realize. Of course an iMac isn't eligible for this, as it's basically a laptop built into a nice ldc screen.

I think you might be happier with pc though, since you're more familiar with it, and the software inside of it. That's just my opinion though. I might be the only mac guy to make that suggestion.. lol

TheBeaver wrote: Because macs are now intel based -- The amount of compatible hardware is increasing dramatically. A tip I'd give for anyone getting a mac tower is getting their basic model, then buying your own 'goodies' on top of that. It takes the same hard drives (mostly, to the point that you aren't limited), memory, and now video cards... This can save a ton of money, as you don't need to buy everything from them at the time of purchase, you can save a ton of money by supplementing the base system with aftermarket "pc" parts.

Sure, but only if you are buying a Mac Pro. There is only so much you can add to an iMac/Mac Mini. Hard Drive, RAM and that's it. You can't add a video card or any pci cards. Unfortunately the cpu speed also goes up with the hardware so if you want the extra cpu power you have to get the one with a larger hard drive and RAM on the "base" model. And, if you do get a Mac Pro, the "base" model is upwards of $3000. I'm not slaggin' Mac. That's just the way it is with them.