Which computer

jokesofme · Post by **jokesofme** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:40 am

ok so heres the thing i got some money that i want to spend on a computer which i would use for software synths and i would like to hook up my kurzweil to i just have no clue what to get and i was wondering which brand(which means mac or pc) would work better for synths? If you could send me a thread or help out in any way that would rock.

thanks

Altitude · Post by **Altitude** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 11:47 am

it makes no difference

CS_TBL · Post by **CS_TBL** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:11 pm

Pick fast mem, and lots of it.

Pick a fast HD, preferably 2 or 4 of them for RAID purposes.

My music PC cost less than 1000 euro ex VAT 3/4 year ago, and that's a dualcore 64bit i3.4Ghz with 4GB fast RAM and 640GB RAID0 HD's. (and all the rest, DVDrw, case, vidiocard, diskdrive etc., but no keyb/mouse). And that PC runs everything silky smooth. I estimate that for the same money you can have an even faster system today, or the same system but then cheaper.

I handpicked the PC tho, I don't care much for brands like HP, PB, DELL etc.

Post by **meatballfulton** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:47 pm

Windows PCs can be bought for slightly less than comparable Macs. Windows machines with less features/performance can be significantly cheaper but might not have the horsepower you want for music apps. There's far more freeware and shareware softsynths for Windows (check out http://www.kvraudio.com). Some commercial music software is Windows only (Acid, Sonar).

All new Macs come with Garage Band which is usable for recording, sample looping and softsynth hosting right out of the box (some softsynths are included). The onboard audio is very good, comparable to the best consumer soundcards for Windows.

Most important is what kind of computer do you use today? If you are already familiar with Windows, stick with it.

Thefumigator · Post by **Thefumigator** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:27 pm

Go for Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad after july 22, when intel cut its prices.

On a budget, you can go for an AMD Athlon X2 6000 now that AMD just cut its prices and announced further cuts soon.

If you can wait some months, AMD will release Phenom and that will make intel to cut prices again.

Absence · Post by **Absence** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:26 pm

I think a question that will make your decision easier is: "What software do I want to use?"

Once you answer that question, it is very likely that your platform question will be answered.

I like Macs for music quite a bit. I like Logic for recording, but if you've never used Logic, the learning curve is a little steep. I think it is worth learning just for a few of the softsynths it comes with (especially Sculpture). A Mac Mini with 2GB of RAM runs Logic 7 surprisingly well. My band has two of them.

I used Cakewalk Sonar on PC for quite a while. I recommend Steinberg's DAWS more. The learning curve is steeper on them, but worth the undertaking. If you get a PC, it is well worth the cost and effort to build your own and make it somewhat muscular. Remember that this is your music PC, so get what you need for your music, and forget the rest. You almost definitely want a mother board with built-in firewire, a RAID 1 array, and fast memory (all-important).

xpander · Post by **xpander** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:22 pm

i couldn't be happier with my computers: i have a 15" imac that can natively boot OS9 for old stuff, then a ginourmous 24" duo core 2 iMac for OS X, Linux and potentially Windows if i want.

computers are wicked, wicked fast now, chose your flavour. with horsepower as it is, i would chose a larger screen over a faster computer CPU- desktop space is a giant productivity tool for me.

big music apps: Digital Performer, Kontakt, Korg KLC-AE, MaxMSP.

mission control:

overall:

CS_TBL · Post by **CS_TBL** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:49 pm

One thing that bugs me is that virtual instruments aren't really scalable. A big monitor for large resolutions might be nice, but it also means that those pokey little buttons are even smaller, and that knob you want to move one pixel is also quite a pain. FM8 is truly terrible on changing numbers with the mouse.

RedSky · Post by **RedSky** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:14 pm

Is 400 GHz too slow for music applications? I've just got another G4 with 80 GB hard disk, but 400 Ghz processor.

>I originally wrote MHz- keep mixing them up cos I'm a tool.<

CS_TBL · Post by **CS_TBL** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:21 pm

Depends on how demanding you are.

Tidda · Post by **Tidda** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:28 pm

RedSky wrote:Is 400 GHz too slow for music applications? I've just got another G4 with 80 GB hard disk, but 400 Ghz processor.

That would be the fastest I've ever seen, have you traveled back in time?

Tidda · Post by **Tidda** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:44 pm

Seriously though, just find out which version of the software you want to use was current at the time the 400MHz G4 was the latest and greatest and you'll be fine. I've made music on an Amiga which ran slower than 10MHz iirc.

Tidda

guttermonkey · Post by **guttermonkey** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:00 pm

I'm running Logic 7 on a Tibook 667 without too many issues. I haven't maxed it out yet to know exactly what all I can do before running out of resources though.

I agree with Absence on this though, pick your DAW first and then pick the machine to run it. The workflow of some DAWs is really not for everyone. I can't stand Cubase, but I can use SONAR just fine. They all have learning curves if you've never actually used a DAW before, so be aware of that. Logic drives me nuts a lot of the time, but overall its probably the most powerful one I've used so far and recommend it for anyone that takes their project seriously.

On a sidenote, I can't possibly be the only one here who's been considering loading OS X on their PC to see how well it works...

RedSky · Post by **RedSky** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:00 pm

t3hsd · Post by **t3hsd** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:38 pm

as a mac user, I wish I got a PC because I can't use realplayer and lot of plugins. if I could choose again...i'd go PC