Should I go Mac or PC. Neither!! 2796

Romeo Rondeau

Not to jump in at the end or middle, but this has been so off topic I don't know where to start, so maybe, with the OP's question.

There is no right or wrong or "best" computer, weather its PC, Win or Lin, or Mac, weather is IntelMac or straight Apple. There are advantages to each and all, but downsides as well.

I for one use PC, but I have used Macs alot, especially in digital audio. I'd say that having one of each is key, you don't lose out on any business and you get the chance to use PC versions of PT and Mac versions, and see how they communicate, cross platform, something no one has mentioned yet.

I for one do not like the way the new MacIntels have been doing thus far, no support for a lot of pro audio applications, but that also can be said about the Intel 64 bit chips.

This is all preference and very dependant on what you need to do with your studio, or what you plan to do in the next few years.

PC's are going to be variable in all situations, since you can piece together everything the way you want it. This is very good, since you can weed out bad parts immediately but also bad, since a problem could occur that no one has encountered yet.

Macs are going to be solid, right out the box, and ready to go, with the purchase of Logic, they have created Garage Band, free with OS X, making this a key step in being a DAW favorite. Thing is with Macs, you're not going to upgrade these babies too much, you might snag up a couple HDs and some sticks of memory, but you're not replacing the whole motherboard or even a CPU, just ain't happening, at least not yet.

So, do you want to upgrade and use the same machine for 5 years, knowing it inside and out or do you want something ready to use out the box, but is replaceable in 2-3 years?

I for one see too many dissadvantages and advantages on both, therefore, it doesn't matter to me. Mac's have a long time standing in this domain, therefore the BIGGEST of the BIG are going to be using them, mostly solely. The MID-RANGE guys are using the combo of PC & Mac, and the smallest guys are going to have to choose one or the other or wait to get the second and make wise choices with software and interfaces.

This is very dependant on what you want to do, but I think WinXP is just as stable as OSX, if you know how to install your OS correctly and do not, I repeat DO NOT buy from a distributor, ie. Dell, Compaq (are they still around?), Gateway, etc.

I for one would never buy from them, except in a small business situation and they were all used for mainly office tasks.

The reason? Pre-Installed crap, and not just software, but the OS is setup for a 6 year old, and usually has about 20 to 30 extra process running in the background sucking the life out of your computer the first time you boot. As well, you probably have another 20 to 30 processes running from the startup or all the crap pre-installed software. As well, Dell has been known for weird wiring techniques used to keep people from upgrading outside of Dell, like reversed wired AGP slots. This isn't as common as it used to be, but I still don't like the practices.

If you build from the ground up with PC, you'll have a lot less to worry about and you can configure the HDs to cluster size for the audio drive(s) and the right cluster for OS drive, that way your digital audio is recorded in the correct chunks it needs. Also, you can eliminate the crap out of the OS if you don't need them, like all the networking crap in XP Home. If this is solely a DAW, it shouldn't be connected to the internet, therefore, no need for that junk. Now, in a multiple rig studio where you need to communicate with the mixing room from the recording room, you will need to have XP Pro to work smoothly. I have seen Home perform quiet nicely on a LAN but Pro seems to handle this slightly better.

Like said before, its going to be very dependant on what you want to do and what people want you to do for them.

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As for all this hogwash and bullox on Linux, its server material, end of story.

Linux is not up to par to handle DIGITAL AUDIO, at least not now and DEFINTELY NOT AS A WORKSTATION.

Who ever said that should be soaked in BIO DEISEL and lowered in a deep fryer. But I'm not here to start arguements, the main points have been pointed out (no pun intended).

PC (WIN) & MAC (OSX) both support two major software-hardware suites. The first being Pro Tools, the second being Nuendo (Cubase as well). Cross platform, so this makes it easy to move from one to the other if you have to. Nuendo has a network ability to allow multiple users to work on ONE project at the same time on different stations. A definite plus for the multiple rig studios.

Linux does NOT support neither ProTools nor Nuendo (or Cubase for that matter) which is a major lack in PROFESSIONAL AUDIO.

I wouldn't even tell a client I used a Linux bases machine, not cuz they'd laugh (oh they would) but the other small percent would be like "Is that the new plugin for ProTools?"

Most do not know what Linux is, and a good reason is that you need a programming degree to get it to work the way you want it.

With WinXP, just a little know how and being able to read, you can get it working the WAY YOU WANT in a couple hours, out of the box. OSX is ready to go, but CoreAudio seems to be having some issues.

Linux, well, you'd have to read at least one book on it, just to understand how to add your hardware to the system, then another one on how to use the added hardware with the software, and finally, read a book on how to re-program the application so that it works with your hardware.

I'd rather work on music than program my DAW half the day.

Linux is better for Sun, let them use it to run the multi-user workstations, and networks and internet backbones, but please do not compare them to a DAW, they're far from it.

As for Linux having a help menu, ha! You have to be joking. Anyone using Linux either has a degree in programming or is a network manager. These people already know what they're doing, no need for a help file. This is why Linux will not be in every home, ever. And why Windows and Microsoft will continue to reap the benefits. They include a help file for the help file, and they usually have people who just compile help topics all day long, instead of one programmer that does the whole thing, its 300 people working on sections and parts.

Linux doesn't have a solo solid platform, too many different versions, therefore what works on your Redhat may or may not function on a different version of linux. Also, if your system is setup perfect for linux, and you give someone a program, they install it on their linux machine, its not going to work the same. Why? You have different hardware then the other person, which is why XP is much better, it includes basic drivers (hey, better to start with the basics then to completely miss them) so you can at least use your hardware.

With that said, Linux shall forever remain as the backbone of PC's and computers, but will not take over until you can over-throw an empire the size of Intel-Microsoft.

Thanks,

PhobikONE