iMac vs PC

[sickgod]

Hi everyone... I m pretty new to the world of mixing and production, and the biggest question that has been giving me nightmares is which platform and DAW to go for. I ve been using cubase SX3 for the past 6 months now on a windoze platform but i have been learning mixing/production on an iMac using Logic Pro 8. I like the ease with with things can be done in Logic but don't really know if i should invest on a Mac. Can someone please help me out of this dilemma. Is PC better or iMac????


In case anyones interested, you can check out my band 1833 AD at:

www.myspace.com/1833ad

 

[Metaltastic]

Up until recently, I would've recommended a PC cuz of how many awesome free plugins there are for it...but now that I've heard how good the stock plugins in Logic apparently are (including Space Designer for impulses), I'm thinking an iMac with Logic Pro 8 and Voxengo Elephant (one seriously badass limiter for loudness maximizing) would have you set!

 

[Metaltastic]

But on the other hand, you can still get a PC that's just as powerful for WAY less money, and run the almighty Reaper on it (legally) for $50...

 

[JBroll]

Another one of these...

Let me just summarize the rest of what this thread would become, so that we can ignore it while you go look at the last ninety-thousand clusterfucks that happened when PC/MAC discussions popped up:

PC hardware is typically cheaper, but Windows blows; Macs are more stable, but the Fisher-Price interface turns you into a vagina. There aren't any good plugins for Apple DAWs, except for those good ones I don't remember, and youcan'tliekplayfucknFarcry6.3andshitsotheirgay. Nothing happens while people who don't know what they're talking about jerk off on their keyboards for about three pages, and then real discussion starts up again before I sidetrack it into a Linux discussion because I am a fucking nerd. People get drunk, unrelated pictures are posted, someone throws a hissy fit and never returns, and this post reaches a fatal self-reference as everything ends here.

Jeff

 

[Unavailable]

/thread

 

[James-Doolan]

Can we put up some sticky in regard to mac v PC threads im freaking sick of these 90% of the time its just bashing by both sides with no useful information.

Like if someone is asking about a mac thats cool likewise if someone wants to know about a pc thats cool those threads have some usefull info in them but whenever the "which is better mac or pc" question pops up it rarely ends well and id personly like to see these threads banned from the forum. No offence to the OP but these threads always leave a bad taste in the mouth and I think the forum would be better off without them. Maybe im way off here but thats just how I see it.

Edit: Woops JBroll already said it better than i did but yea Sticky & Ban?

 

[sickgod]

I can understand how you feel JBroll.. but i just wanted to know what would be good for me.. i already have 2 PCs, one on windoze and the other running ubuntu. i just wanted to know what sounds better cause i wanna use it only for mixing/production purpose...

www.myspace.com/1833ad

 

[poidaobi]

Another one of these...

Let me just summarize the rest of what this thread would become, so that we can ignore it while you go look at the last ninety-thousand clusterfucks that happened when PC/MAC discussions popped up:

PC hardware is typically cheaper, but Windows blows; Macs are more stable, but the Fisher-Price interface turns you into a vagina. There aren't any good plugins for Apple DAWs, except for those good ones I don't remember, and youcan'tliekplayfucknFarcry6.3andshitsotheirgay. Nothing happens while people who don't know what they're talking about jerk off on their keyboards for about three pages, and then real discussion starts up again before I sidetrack it into a Linux discussion because I am a fucking nerd. People get drunk, unrelated pictures are posted, someone throws a hissy fit and never returns, and this post reaches a fatal self-reference as everything ends here.

Jeff

 

[Chryst Krispies]

Macs are more stable, but the Fisher-Price interface turns you into a vagina.

Jeff

QUOTED FOR TRUTH!

 

[SocialNumb]

I didn't say anything.

 

[006]

Wow...here we go AGAIN.

 

[beyond dead]

lol

get both
you will regret either or as both have advantages

 

[tdr]

I use an Imac as my DAW, I am quite happy with it, it has enough power to get the job done. One thing to keep in mind though is the expandability issue, basicly it is not possible to expand your system. No pci-e slots, no eSata. So firewire audio interfaces are the only way to go and external usb drives.

 

[greyskull]

hold the phones...
so far this thread has been dare i say it, almost impartial... and the mud slinging has been fairly minimal, well done!!

To be honest use what ever works for you,
metaltastic made some very good points pro and con either way.
I use pro tools on a mac; but whatever floats your boat and gets you making good music is whats right for you

 

[dubbingmixer]

Just ordered an imac for my home studio yesterday, rather more of an impulse buy. I've defended the PC as my DAW for a very long time, and I've slated the Mac for years on end... For my job, I use a Digi 003 Pro Tools system on an imac G5. I put that mac under serious strain in my work.

For each project I use at least 50+ tracks, each one with at least 2 plugins on the insert chain, Not forgetting an extra Video Track at the same time. However, somehow the Mac hangs on in there. It only seems to get really shitty when the system is clogged with projects and the main hard drive is getting short on space. (Under 100gb or so)

My home studio is probably just a little bit older than the imac but definately better specs on paper... 64bit dual core etc.. I share it with the old man, for music production. However since day one it has been a right royal pain in the ass. I'ts gone down the shop countless times for fixes and upgrades, formats....It's just getting to the point where I cant even load a simple song on any of my software without it having one hiccup in the first 2 minutes.. I've just frankly run out of patience. I can't be fucked to defrag, format or upgrade and pay extra any more. I've lost out on insperation and time so much... time to put the fucker out of it's misery.. I'll keep you posted on how the Imac works..

 

[trym^^]

the only downside i see now one and a half years after the switch
to logic 8 and imac is the lack of expandability. no uad cards.
but oh well, i love osx and logic just works. people say my workflow
improved alot. and friends convert after sessions here lol. nuff said.
no regrets at all.

 

[ze kink]

Just ordered an imac for my home studio yesterday, rather more of an impulse buy. I've defended the PC as my DAW for a very long time, and I've slated the Mac for years on end... For my job, I use a Digi 003 Pro Tools system on an imac G5. I put that mac under serious strain in my work.

For each project I use at least 50+ tracks, each one with at least 2 plugins on the insert chain, Not forgetting an extra Video Track at the same time. However, somehow the Mac hangs on in there. It only seems to get really shitty when the system is clogged with projects and the main hard drive is getting short on space. (Under 100gb or so)

My home studio is probably just a little bit older than the imac but definately better specs on paper... 64bit dual core etc.. I share it with the old man, for music production. However since day one it has been a right royal pain in the ass. I'ts gone down the shop countless times for fixes and upgrades, formats....It's just getting to the point where I cant even load a simple song on any of my software without it having one hiccup in the first 2 minutes.. I've just frankly run out of patience. I can't be fucked to defrag, format or upgrade and pay extra any more. I've lost out on insperation and time so much... time to put the fucker out of it's misery.. I'll keep you posted on how the Imac works..

Did you get one of the new models that came out yesterday? Just checking that you didn't accidentally order an older one, or at least got it with a discount.

AFAIK all modern Macs are at least 64bit dual cores BTW. Pros are better of course, and they just got updated with some new processors. Those new 8-core models must be quite crazy!

 

[sickgod]

I agree expandability is an issue. Thats exactly whats making me shy away from a Mac. i don't wanna be outdated on the technology front by the time i make the payment and get my new baby(iMac) back home.

 

[James Murphy]

Macs are more stable, but the Fisher-Price interface turns you into a vagina.

right.. and that'll be the same interface Windows has been copying for... oh, i don't know... since it was CREATED???

jesus titty-fuckin' christ, what the hell is so fisherprice about an interface with which you can do abso-fucking-lutely everything which you can do in literally every other OS(and which started life as THE FIRST GUI on the planet, from which all others followed and borrowed/stole heavily)?? after that it's down to wallpaper and the appearance of icons.. wallpaper is personal and icons can be changed as well.. but having said that, stock XP icons look more "fisher price" than anything i've ever seen short of the stock linux icons (c'mon, that happy little penguin is straight outta some children's book).

what the hell Jeff, you just want an interface where you have to know advanced Boolean Algebra to operate it... c'mon, admit it!


addendum - common stupid misconceptions about macs:

• you can't right-click. - yes the fuck hell you can... and the same kind of menu pops open with the same options as does on windows.

• there's not much software - yes the fuck hell there is.... 10's of thousands of titles. yes there's 100s of thousands of Windows titles, and about 3% or less of them are worth a fuck.

• they aren't expandable - yes the fuck hell they are.... Sonnet, amongst other companies, market good mac upgrade kits.

 

[dubbingmixer]

Did you get one of the new models that came out yesterday? Just checking that you didn't accidentally order an older one, or at least got it with a discount.

Yeah, fortuantly the was complete luck. I finally decided to buy one 5 minutes after they announced the new models..

Did you get one of the new models that came out yesterday? Just checking that you didn't accidentally order an older one, or at least got it with a discount.

I agree expandability is an issue. Thats exactly whats making me shy away from a Mac. i don't wanna be outdated on the technology front by the time i make the payment and get my new baby(iMac) back home.

Expandability was an issue for me. However the imac I have bought is slightly futureproof and will be able to perform the tasks that I need it to use. My imac also has the ability to go up to 8 gb of RAM

As for software upgrades: As far as I am aware, Digidesign haven't even got their act together and released a 64bit platform of Pro Tools. I think we are also at a point now where computer hardware is getting way ahead of software development, and along with the economic times, developers are going to have to work with what they have got.