theres not much difference really...im running a system here: P4 3.4 ghz, SATA AND PATA 400 gb(2 HDDs), Corsair 2gb dual channel RAM, ati X800XT and motu 828...so till now, i NEVER had problems...forget about macs, really..i wanted to get them too..but look..u gotta learn the interface of mac too.

if you can't learn the interface of a mac in a couple hours then you have no business pugging in a computer. Its so freakin simple its retarded. I have 2 pc's now, and one mac and my mac is amazing for reliability. Yeah my new pc is much faster but the mac is so smooth and easy to use i can't ever see my not using it. If you think a pc will work for you and you can deal with driver downloads and crashes then i'd say stick with a pc. if you want a reliable slightly slower computer thats pretty much plug and play then a mac might be right for you.

Well I have toyed with Mac's OS and I agree with you. So even the G5's slower than a PC? And how much? It cant be that bad. As you said with all the driver dleds and such, it is constant upkeep with a PC and WINXP

its not a constant upkeep issue with the pc ay more then a mac, setup/backup/defrag/backup/defrag
if you PC works then you dont need the new drivers. if your not on the internet then you dont need microsoft updates. from the looks of your pc it should have no problem handeling PT le. if it can handel le then i dont see a reasone for an upgrade.

trust me... a dual 2.7 G5 is not slow....

regarding plugs i did a test..... i took 32 tracks in protools... all with waves ren eq and rem comp....

then i added 2 altiverb convolution reverbs on stereo aux'es..

on the master i finished off with lin mb comp and eq plus an L2.....

then i had used up one processor of a dual 2.0 G5!

regarding reliability......

5 years on the net with no viruses...... and no protection.... !

yeah, OSX is just amazing in terms of easieness and reliability, i did not got him to crash once since i am on osx i use macs for audio only since about 6-7 years, and they are plug 'n' play and reliable, i decided for mac because of easieness of use, i don't have anything in common with computers, except turning them on and using my fave apps LOGIC... making music. (and i never had regreds with this choice)

and g5 duals are definetely up for heavy auido work, there might be a millisecond race... but i give a shit about it, as long as my system works every day for long hours without crashes or other nasty computer hassle...

i say a mac is a good, quality investment for audio use...

and if you are interested to use logic or dp or peak next to pro tools, then you don't have a choice anyway...

Just to clarify I wasn't saying all pc's are faster than macs or that macs are slow. The fastest pc's, I've been told and read, are a bit faster than the fastest macs. And if you look at my post I'm more pro mac than pc.

yeah..... cool..... no flames..... 8-) 8-)

guys im saying that a $500 PC will beat a $500 mac in terms of preformance. as would a $10000 PC will out preform a $10000 mac, not by mutch but if you spent 10k on a pc then it had better make your coffee while its at it.

he said it was a stand alone work house type computer. there for one whould asume that he is not getting on the net with it. also my main point was that mabey he sould spend his money else where as if the system he is using is working fine, then there would be no improvement from upgrading.

jonnyc wrote: Just to clarify I wasn't saying all pc's are faster than macs or that macs are slow. The fastest pc's, I've been told and read, are a bit faster than the fastest macs. And if you look at my post I'm more pro mac than pc.

My favorite analogy regarding PC vs. Mac speeds is this one:

Think of a river. If a PC was a river, it would be narrow but deep. If a Mac was a river, it would be wide but shallow.

Sometimes waterway traffic flows better in a deep, narrow river and sometimes it flows better in a wide, shallow river. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what river works best for your navigation.

Ahh, the zen of computer hardware. -.- Ooooooooohm.

while that analogy sound good it is far from the truth.

I think it depends on what your intentions are when it comes to sharing your work. If you will be bringing your work to other studios or having others bring their work to you I would have to say Mac is the way to go. That's what the VAST majority of studios use. Simple fact, not a value judgement.

I held on to my Dell P4 for dear life (super stable and very capable), but I found I had to turn down work because most folks can't come over and just plug in their hard drive and go. I got a dual 1.8 G5 for a song and really like it. Now I don't even think about this common argument anymore.

I know he's stated that this will be a stand alone unit, but I work with both Mac and PC and while my Mac can stand alone, because of OS issues, bugs, fixes, workarounds, iLoks, registration of software etc... I found that it took lots of extra time to make any change in my PC set up, including adding a simple plug-in. Connection to the internet is almost a requirement if you want to stay up and running. There's a reason DIGI is on 6.9 already.

Unless you have another machine with high speed internet connection and the ability to move large upgrades from the internet machine to the stand alone, you may be better off with a Mac. You're far less likely to get a virus or your stand alone is gonna be on the internet anyway.

That said, I just bought another PC for portable gigs and am very pleased with how its running PT. But though its processor is much faster, I still prefer to work on my 3.5 yr old G4 than my brand new PC.

Its your money and time, I've just gave you my .02

Phil

Totally off topic ..... Phil, how do you work between your PC and Mac PT rigs? Unless I'm missing something, they can't really share hard drives. Mac will read but not write to NTFS, and I don't think either will record or playback on FAT. Optical media is a pain. Please enlighten me!!

AG

frob wrote: guys im saying that a $500 PC will beat a $500 mac in terms of preformance. as would a $10000 PC will out preform a $10000 mac, not by mutch but if you spent 10k on a pc then it had better make your coffee while its at it.

he said it was a stand alone work house type computer. there for one whould asume that he is not getting on the net with it. also my main point was that mabey he sould spend his money else where as if the system he is using is working fine, then there would be no improvement from upgrading.

all computers should be on the net imo...... come on..... it's 2005!!

Poprocks,

Sorry if my post was unclear. I don't swap hard drives. I run PT Le on both machines and swap files. (Check the force Mac/PC compatibility button - "Save As" to a Cd or flash drive depending on size) Its all been plug and play with the Mac. When I tried to run both an Mbox and 002r on the PC I had to update to 6.4, update the plug in drivers, update the iLok registration for waves, etc... all time consuming. I plugged in the interface and was done on the Mac.

My PC was actually stand alone only because it was wired for LAN at the school I teach in and I was at home for the summer. I had to go through several different computers and very messy downloads, storage and transfer issues to get that machine operational transferring updates from another PC ( not from the Mac). I couldn't even use the USB modem interface I bought because the files were too large and wouldn't accomodate a dial up connection. (all I had available) Some of the updates are large files and required burning to Cd to eventually update the software. I dealt with the Blue Screen of Death on numerous occasions.

The original post asked if he should go to Mac from his current PC. They both work fine, but I stand by what I said originally- If he sticks with PC, in all likelihood he will be downloading updates and probably quite a few. He will also, in all likelihood, be spending time on the DUC to figure out what he needs to do. It will take more time than the Mac and susceptible to all the other PC virus stuff that lives on the internet. Anti virus software does not play nice with real time audio software IMHO (and other's opinion including DIGI).

I run a rackmount PC as a portable unit for live gigs and concert recordings with either the 002r or the MBox. I'm not displeased with the PC and I have more time than budget so I deal with it- it has come a long way and I won't bash it - I could do all the work in the PC format but I prefer the Mac. I hope my post is clearer now.

Phil

once apon a time mac where better then pcs. that is not the truth any longer. and honestly for a home computer i would use a mac if i could affourd it. and i would not use a mac in my studio untill i was forced to use pro tools. im not talking about le, im talking about a full HD or axel pt rig.

it depends on what your rig is made to do. mine is to start and finish a project. oh yea macs can read and wrie to fat. and when transfering files, i find a 1gb thumb drive is the fastest and easyest way of doing so. but once you up and running, leave the bloody thing alone. if it aint broke dont fix it.

I've been using macs and DP for 15 years or so- Since DP is mac only I haven't had a choice, unless I decide to switch programs. mac has the advantages of no viruses and not too many system conflicts as there can be in a pc. it has the disadvantage that there aren't as many programs available for the mac as for the pc. But since I run DP anyway, I have no choice...

Bottom line probaly is that if you like to tinker with computers, buiding them and taking them apart, you are better off with a pc. if you just want your computer to be a tool to do your music and you don't want to tinker with it, get a mac.