Help meeeee

Ryi · 08-11-2008, 03:18 PM

Hi. I'm calling upon the eternal wisdom of the MP forumz, as I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

I'm looking into buying a new computer, since the one I currently use is quite shit.
I use both mac and pc... mac primarily for video editing, and pc primarily for music.

I've narrowed down my choices to either:
a). hp desktop with 8GB RAM and 1000GB HD (2x500GB)
b). iMac with 2GB RAM and 320GB HD

Both are around the same price, same 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

Any thoughts?

WEABOO · 08-11-2008, 04:16 PM

As someone who uses both mac and PC, let me ask you this

What program do you plan on using, and do you pirate a lot of your VSTs (This is a serious question)?

aether · 08-11-2008, 04:35 PM

From the PC side of things, you have Sonar, FLStudio, Reason, Live, Cubase, and all the other PC-specific DAWs and trackers.

With a Mac, you have access to all of the PC programs as well as Logic and Pro Tools.

Also, how much software and sampling are you planning to use? If you're a heavy VST user, and you plan to store a lot of samples and recordings, you're going to run out of 2GB of RAM and 320GB of space in no time.

Ryi · 08-11-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chemist

As someone who uses both mac and PC, let me ask you this

What program do you plan on using, and do you pirate a lot of your VSTs (This is a serious question)?

FL Studio + Acid is what I generally use for music. Most of the time, I don't find the need to download cracked VSTs because I find that I work better with freeware/default ones, and I can't be bothered to wait for torrents. Mac is strictly for film work, which is what I'm planning on pursuing as a career.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy Lim

From the PC side of things, you have Sonar, FLStudio, Reason, Live, Cubase, and all the other PC-specific DAWs and trackers.

With a Mac, you have access to all of the PC programs as well as Logic and Pro Tools.

I've heard nothing but good things about Pro Tools, which is basically the reason why I'm looking at a mac. Logic... umm... I've used it... not really my cup of tea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy Lim

Also, how much software and sampling are you planning to use? If you're a heavy VST user, and you plan to store a lot of samples and recordings, you're going to run out of 2GB of RAM and 320GB of space in no time.

Right now, I'm running on a hp desktop with 512MB of RAM and a 200GB HD. I also have an eMac with 512MB RAM which I've upgraded to 640MB... and I can barely use Final Cut Pro (which I legitimately purchased... wrong wrong wrong) on it. Both are pains to make anything with it, so I'm really just looking for something that won't be as cumbersome.

You get more of everything with a PC, but there's so much more I can do with a Mac...

I'm thinking about going for the hp desktop and just upgrading my eMac (again). Besides, I can still run Adobe Premiere/After Effects for video stuff on a PC... although Final Cut is so amaazzzzing.

Thoughts? Also, what do you guys use?

WEABOO · 08-11-2008, 06:00 PM

If you do not like Logic, you are going to despise Pro Tools. Most electronic producers would agree with me that Logic is much more suitable for electronic music than Pro Tools, which is mostly geared towards live recording.

If you plan on using FL Studios and Acid, then I highly recommend you buy yourself a pimped out PC. For the price of a mac, you can get a top of the line PC.

And as for video production, Adobe Premiere 2 is a beautiful program, and is very similar to Final Cut. I think you would find very little difference

Ryi · 08-11-2008, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chemist

If you do not like Logic, you are going to despise Pro Tools. Most electronic producers would agree with me that Logic is much more suitable for electronic music than Pro Tools, which is mostly geared towards live recording.

If you plan on using FL Studios and Acid, then I highly recommend you buy yourself a pimped out PC. For the price of a mac, you can get a top of the line PC.

And as for video production, Adobe Premiere 2 is a beautiful program, and is very similar to Final Cut. I think you would find very little difference

Thanks a lot for your help. It's reassuring to know that Premiere is on par with Final Cut. I also thought Pro Tools was more of a "I-got-a-band-and-wanna-make-some-demos" type of thing... but JFK from MSTRKRFT keeps bending over backwards to get people to crossover to Pro Tools on his forum.

WEABOO · 08-11-2008, 06:18 PM

The thing is, MSTRKRFT use A LOT of analog equipment, such as MPC's and hardware synthesizers, so they favor Pro-Tools a lot more (Although Logic is also fantastic for live recording/sequencing).

If you are using FL Studios and Acid, I'm going to safely assume you mostly use VST's, in which case Pro-Tools is definitely not what you want.

Ryi · 08-11-2008, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chemist

The thing is, MSTRKRFT use A LOT of analog equipment, such as MPC's and hardware synthesizers, so they favor Pro-Tools a lot more (Although Logic is also fantastic for live recording/sequencing).

If you are using FL Studios and Acid, I'm going to safely assume you mostly use VST's, in which case Pro-Tools is definitely not what you want.

True true true. Man, it's nice to get info from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. Thanks again!

EDIT: They have a different hp with 6GB of RAM and a 750GB HD for $500 less. Should I save my money and go for that instead?

Warpticon · 08-12-2008, 08:00 AM

If you want to run a Mac for video and use Windows software for music, This is by far your best option.

ronji · 08-12-2008, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warpticon

If you want to run a Mac for video and use Windows software for music, This is by far your best option.

i don't know if i would say that's the best way to go. psystar is being sued by apple, so i am not sure they'll be around for long. sure, supposedly people actually made purchases and received product, but still.

that said, i've installed osX onto my Dell precision m4300, and it ran well. i also installed it on a built from scratch machine at home and it ran well. not everything worked, but success depends on your specific hardware and how far along the osx86 project has gone. this is not by any means a legal alternative, but it works.

i would go with the PC for all the reasons mentioned in previous posts.

PURPLE STRiKER · 08-12-2008, 12:56 PM

protip: get one really fast HD, like 160gb or so for stuff you need on the fly, and get a couple cheap huge ones to back it up for installs, less commonly used samples etc etc.

**helix eternal** · 08-12-2008, 02:02 PM

I would sacrifice the little bit of extra HDD space and RAM for a better processor. You'll get better results NOW and you can always add more RAM and HDD's (external's are great for files that you don't use often)

Definitely get the PC though, even though Mac's are fantastic, like chemist said you can use premiere for your video editing and it works just as well as final cut. The transition should be painless and then you won't have to learn new music software.

aether · 08-12-2008, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryi

EDIT: They have a different hp with 6GB of RAM and a 750GB HD for $500 less. Should I save my money and go for that instead?

If you can deal with less ram and less space, then go for it - from an economical standpoint. If I'm not mistaken, 4GB DDR RAM chips cost between $350-500. 2GB chips significantly less. Is the 750GB HD a single HD, or a 500 and 250? Either way, hard drives are cheap.

The additional $500 isn't really worth it if you can survive in the meantime, and 6GB of ram is already a power horse system. But then again, it's an HP.

Oh well.

Spend that $500 on getting Komplete 5.

WEABOO · 08-12-2008, 05:02 PM

I know this seems out of the question, but there is nothing better than just building your own computer. I'm having a guy I know build one for me, and I suggest you ask a friend or aquaintance of yours to help you out.

For the price you will pay for that HP you can have a powerhouse for a PC. I'm taking a TB of hard drive space, 3GHZ, Quad core, the works

PURPLE STRiKER · 08-12-2008, 05:10 PM

forgot to add, no ones really mentioned bootcamping into xp from a mac. the industry you're getting into muc like my own is 90% mac based, so I would reccommend switching over while you have the means too and just booting xp off of it for all your pc apps. (mac -> pc legal, pc-> mac illegal)