Choosing A computer

[Danablos]

Hi guys been stalking the forum for A while..its wicked stuff!
Basically im gunna be buying a new computer and, gunna have about £1000 to work with..
Ive got my mind set on the latest iMac (2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5)
But just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions?
Im gunna be using it for mixdowns at first, doing the recording sessions elsewhere,
but it would be nice to know it has enough power to add a couple of audio interfaces, as i will hopefully eventually be using it for the whole shabang.

Cheers!

 

[Audiosprite]

What's the wattage on that mac's power supply?

 

[Danablos]

What's the wattage on that mac's power supply?

not too sure..
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac/select?mco=MjIwNTQyNjE
^Its the £999 one

 

[Audiosprite]

it says "Maximum continuous power: 205W," but i'm not sure what that means. i doubt that this £1000 computer is coming with a 250-watt power supply, but that wouldn't make me comfortable if it did.

i guess you just need to wait until a mac user pops in. ¯\(° o)/¯

 

[TheWinterSnow]

The all-in-one computers whether Mac or PC are not powerful enough for recording purposes (and are limited to USB/Firewire). And from the specs the processing realy wouldn't get you very far even in mixing/mixdown. I mean it would work for basic mixes, but if you are someone like me who can eaily rack up 60+ tracks not even trying and needing multiple eq's compression on each track, no, you will not have any sort of capability. For the price you are better off builindg your own PC or Hackintosh (or hell, do both, dual boot ftw).

 

[Jahbulon]

The all-in-one computers whether Mac or PC are not powerful enough for recording purposes (and are limited to USB/Firewire). And from the specs the processing realy wouldn't get you very far even in mixing/mixdown. I mean it would work for basic mixes, but if you are someone like me who can eaily rack up 60+ tracks not even trying and needing multiple eq's compression on each track, no, you will not have any sort of capability. For the price you are better off builindg your own PC or Hackintosh (or hell, do both, dual boot ftw).

+1. As far as price vs performance your best bet is to build.

 

[Danablos]

The all-in-one computers whether Mac or PC are not powerful enough for recording purposes (and are limited to USB/Firewire). And from the specs the processing realy wouldn't get you very far even in mixing/mixdown. I mean it would work for basic mixes, but if you are someone like me who can eaily rack up 60+ tracks not even trying and needing multiple eq's compression on each track, no, you will not have any sort of capability. For the price you are better off builindg your own PC or Hackintosh (or hell, do both, dual boot ftw).

I have looked at hackintosh but dont think I have enough know how to build one. What do u think is the best spec'd hackintosh I could build for around £900? (As i can get about 10% off from the apple store)
Cheers

 

[Danablos]

This is the best spec'ed pc ive found for around the same price.. Reckon this would make a good hackintosh? Im not that keen on building..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-970...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item27bbe7ee47

 

[AudioGeekZine]

not too sure..
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac/select?mco=MjIwNTQyNjE
^Its the £999 one

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this computer you selected. I don't know why these guys are leading you to think so. Any current iMac is a safe bet for music production.
There are lots of guys here using the 27" iMac and MacBook Pros for their studios.

Get it before it comes pre-installed with Lion so you won't have a ton of compatibility issues.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

This is the best spec'ed pc ive found for around the same price.. Reckon this would make a good hackintosh? Im not that keen on building..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INTEL-970...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item27bbe7ee47

who knows if it can be work with OSX
its more powerful than the iMac but you'll still need Monitor, mouse, keyboard and OSX 10.6 or Win 7.

 

[AdamWathan]

Yeah the iMacs are fantastic machines, you could never convince me to spend the extra cash on a Mac Pro given the performance of the current iMac lineup. You probably couldn't even convince me to buy an iMac given the power of the current MacBook Pros.

 

[egan.]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this computer you selected. I don't know why these guys are leading you to think so. Any current iMac is a safe bet for music production.
There are lots of guys here using the 27" iMac and MacBook Pros for their studios.

Get it before it comes pre-installed with Lion so you won't have a ton of compatibility issues.

+1. I still use my 2007 MBpro for full productions so any new iMac is going to be plenty powerful enough for most applications.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

The iMacs are finely powered, the only issue is because of the lack of PCI/e. The iMac will be everything as powerful as any other PC or Mac, but what happens if OP gets more into live recording or outboard gear and needs more I/O than 8in 8 out? Due to USB limitations you would have to get either a new PC or Mac Pro which in the long run will cost you more. If the OP has no worry about ever needing connectivity and just want a computer only for mixing, rendering, and recording up to 8 tracks and will never need anything beyond that, sure an iMac will do the job.

To the OP about the Hackintosh question, there is a company, can't remember off hand, that prebuilds barebones kits that are guaranteed to work with OSX, you can build your specs like mac and if you want to pay a little more they will assemble it for you, in the end you have a Mac for half the price. If yu do some searching for "Barebones Hackintosh" "Custom Hackintosh" you might find the place, that is if you are still interested.

I have to ask though, why you are dead set on Mac? without getting into the PC vs Mac debate, if you are on a cheap budget and don't have a specific reason for a mac (like a certain program or function and bragging rights about spending more on a computer) than a PC can do everything a Mac can do.

 

[AdamWathan]

There are plenty of Firewire options that offer more than 30 in/30 out. I have recorded 20 tracks simultaneously using my MacBook Pro and record 16 currently on a regular basis

 

[TheWinterSnow]

There are plenty of Firewire options that offer more than 30 in/30 out. I have recorded 20 tracks simultaneously using my MacBook Pro and record 16 currently on a regular basis

last time I checked the Macbook Pros did have firewire, but the iMacs did not, have they changed that recently?

 

[AdamWathan]

last time I checked the Macbook Pros did have firewire, but the iMacs did not, have they changed that recently?

Here's the current model...

I know the 2009 and 2010 models also had Firewire, not sure if they removed it on an earlier model for a year at some point.

 

[LeSedna]

There are plenty of Firewire options that offer more than 30 in/30 out. I have recorded 20 tracks simultaneously using my MacBook Pro and record 16 currently on a regular basis

Care to explain, Adam ?

+1 for the fact the iMac is enough. My 2009/2010 quadcore PC rarely hits more than 15/20% of CPU in basic ~60 tracks modern rock/metal songs. So these iMac are more than enough.

I really think that we are passing a period of time when computers have went on being more and more powerful while the need has not grown as much, they are now more than enough for most of our needs.

Unless you really want a Mac, building your pc is a very good option. You can have a beast for a cheap price, and even if you have a problem with a piece, and change it, it's still so worth it.

If you are interested by Mac and don't need it to evolve too much, and know its limitations, go for the imac. All in one with such a nice screen is very handy.

 

[Danablos]

I have to ask though, why you are dead set on Mac? without getting into the PC vs Mac debate, if you are on a cheap budget and don't have a specific reason for a mac (like a certain program or function and bragging rights about spending more on a computer) than a PC can do everything a Mac can do.

Im not completely set on a mac, But ive been learning on DP and Logic so I quite like those programs. I also like how well macs hold their value, im open to either pc or mac at the mo, just want to get as much performace and quality as i can for the money.

 

[Danablos]

Cheers for all your replys guys.
Still not too sure what im gunna buy yet and im not rushing as im not gunna be able to spend this amount of money again in a hurry. I think its going to be one of the following though:

The iMac i said about before:
http://store.apple.com/uk/configure/MC309B/A?mco=MjIwNTQ1MDA

The pc i said about before:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170656263751&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Or this hackintosh:
http://www.applehacks.co.uk/i5_Quad_Core_8GB_DDR3/p801222_3714111.aspx

More of your opinions would be very helpfull, its gunna be one of these as I dont have the know how to build..and it would probably just be allot of grief. Cheers!