To Mac or not to Mac?

[tm486]

Hi,

I'm not going to read through the rubbish that is obviously going to be posted in this thread, but I wouldn't buy a mac simply for Logic, there is plenty of other great music editing software available to PC.

I will however, say that since using mac, I have sworn that I will never buy another PC again. Yes, the initial cost is huge, but you are left with something that is really good looking, and that does matter, not as much as performance and everyday usability, but it isn't something to be ignored, people make purchases every day based upon what looks best.

You are also left with something that will last. This essentially negates the price difference for me. I know people with PCs who use them exactly as I use my macbook pro, I've had my macbook pro for over 5 years, they have had their laptops for 2 years and i cannot use them, because they are so slow. after a few years, yea you can wipe it and start again and it'll speed up again, but why should you have to. My mac runs as fast today as the day i bought it.

Lastly, things like the magic trackpad make this laptop a dream to use. I have never found another laptop where i could use the trackpad and not a mouse, they infuriate me, but on this, i'd use the trackpad over a mouse anyday.

So i'd strongly recommend considering a mac, for someone who just wants a hassle free computer that just works, they can't be beaten. You get what you pay for.

Tom

Edited August 23, 2013 by tm486

[JamesFlashG]

I Vote Mac - a bit bias because i have only ever used cubase 5 on a rubbish laptop for PC - Mac use Logic so user friendly I spend my time making music rather than trying to get the DAW to do what I want. but tbh thats proberly down to me not the mac vrs PC things

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1377271206' post='2185679']
Interesting idea recording with linux I have a box with ububtu running on it and an old sound card might have to give that a go
[/quote]

Just a word of warning: I wasn't kidding about the extra time/patience for tinkering. You may have to install a different kernel (low-latency) to get the best performance, and you may need to spend a little time faffing around with the setup in [i]Jack[/i][i]CTL[/i] once you've installed it. That said, I managed to get it working so it can't be too difficult; if you go to the Ubuntu Studio website, there are some pretty comprehensive instructions. I haven't had the time to get fully acquainted with it, but [i]Ardour [/i](free multi-track recording software) seems to be pretty good so far.

[mushers]

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1377273554' post='2185716']


Just a word of warning: I wasn't kidding about the extra time/patience for tinkering. You may have to install a different kernel (low-latency) to get the best performance, and you may need to spend a little time faffing around with the setup in [i]Jack[/i][i]CTL[/i] once you've installed it. That said, I managed to get it working so it can't be too difficult; if you go to the Ubuntu Studio website, there are some pretty comprehensive instructions. I haven't had the time to get fully acquainted with it, but [i]Ardour [/i](free multi-track recording software) seems to be pretty good so far.
[/quote]
Thats what I love about the linux world, the no it cant be done on this os attitude doesnt exist
My daughter uses the that box and likes to have a play about recording her ideas all her friends think she is a wierdo for not using windows or mac
Teenagers lol

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1377274399' post='2185735']
Thats what I love about the linux world, the no it cant be done on this os attitude doesnt exist
My daughter uses the that box and likes to have a play about recording her ideas all her friends think she is a wierdo for not using windows or mac
Teenagers lol
[/quote]
Ha! Yes, there is no "can't-do" attitude - there's always a fix, you just might have to wait a couple of days for the developers to sort it out! (But there's usually a workaround in the meantime!)

In the same vein, my father has been asking me whether I could install Ubuntu on a really old laptop to revive it from the shackles of a knackered old Windows install. I was sceptical due to the laptop's age and spec...but just found out about Lubuntu this afternoon. So I think I might have a fix for him after all...

[flyfisher]

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1377268050' post='2185629']
I'd say this: it depends if you've got the time to tinker with Linux. You may not even need that much time: the modern versions of Ubuntu are phenomenally easy to get up-and-running.

[snip]

But if you have the time and patience to set up Ubuntu Studio on a PC, you can get more processing power for your money, and you may find the hardware lasts longer.
[/quote]

I've got an old 600MHz, P3 Dell box with only 384MB RAM running Ubuntu and it's absolutely fine for web browsing and email, which just goes to show that an efficient OS can give old PCs a new lease of life, long beyond the stage where bloated Windows won't run any more.

Really, the biggest issue with performance these days is the quality of the OS and it's very unfortunate that Microsoft has a business model that requires ever more features to be added to Windows in order to encourage people to keep upgrading both their OS and their hardware. It creates a really daft arms race where the consumer ends up requiring more and more power just to run the same basic applications.

Perhaps things will change now that Ballmer has announced he's retiring, though I doubt it.

[SteveK]

My mate's a mechanic - he gets loads of different cars that need fixing - he says the percentage of Skodas he gets is very small.
Reckon that proves beyond doubt that Skoda is the most reliable car.

[flyfisher]

Yep - proof if ever I heard it.

[Mr Bassman]

Get a mac, you won't look back

Mac mini less than £500

No more waiting for windows updates anti anti virus software slowing system down.

[lojo]

unless you need something only a pc can provide, Mac is the answer IMO, although Im sure running windows on a mac is fine, ive never needed to do it

There are lots of mac haters, but then again there are lots of precision haters also

[Marvin]

I've owned both Macs and Windows machines. Our first windows 'machine' had XP on it. Within 20mins of us having it, it had a virus. The only web pages we'd been on were MS to register the machine and Norton to update definitions. It was a continual PITA. Lasted 2 years at most before a hardware failure. Next machine, iMac. It still works and has for the last 5 years without doing any 'maintenance' to it. It's only problem is the screen has become slightly faulty and to replace it costs too much. We now have a Laptop running Windows8. Within 2 months of having it, it crashed completely and had to be completely wiped and reset. Not that it actually had anything on it, we put no files on it, didn't set up email on it, just used for web browsing. It's still probably the most obstructive machine I've ever had the misfortune to own. Hence we now also have a MacMIni. Cost not much more than the laptop, including getting a screen for it, I loathe having to use the laptop even more now. Just my experience, but I would never opt for a windows machine if I have the choice.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='jaydentaku' timestamp='1377263511' post='2185525']



[font="Calibri"][size="2"][size=2] [/size][/size][/font]

[size=5][font="Calibri"]This is just diabtribe.[/font][/size]

[size=5][font="Calibri"]Chucking terms around? When I refer to a windows fan boy, it’s just that, a windows fan boy. An avid ‘windows can do no wrong’ fan boy. That is NOT a windows user.[/font][/size]

[size=5][font="Calibri"] I am a windows user. I am a PC user. I am writing this on one now. I like PC’s, I have a windows 7 system, a windows 8 system and we run server 2003, 08/08 r2 and 2012. I manage all exchange iterations from 2003 up until 2013. They all have their quirks and benefits. BUT, I prefer OSX, it is simple (for me) better. I am not being blindly pro apple here. It is just what I have experienced and it comes from a balanced and non-bias background. [/font][/size]
[size=5][font="Calibri"]I do however get frustrated by these Anti apple rants by people who clearly don’t have all the facts. The OP wants an honest opinion, not some anti Apple waffle full of misinformation or indeed an anti pc waffle full of misinformation. I could pick your post apart, but I have fuffing clients ringing me telling me their pc isn’t working as it should. [/font][/size]
[size=5][font="Calibri"]If anybody has any genuine, none bias experience of PC or Apple, who has some kind of credence to what they are saying, I am sure the OP will appreciate their time an effort. [/font][/size]
[/quote]

Did you have to shout?

Personally I would have a mac if I could afford it but I have a windows laptop, while it can be unreliable it costs half a cheap mac and (when it is working fine which is 90 percent of the time) can out perform the top model macs.

The only real difference is price, tbh though.

[Damonjames]

When we moved to the uk last year we bought our first iMac, after years of being a pc guy and building my own high spec gaming pc.
At te the end of the day I agree no platform is perfect, I get the occasional glitch with the mac, but the biggest difference I have noticed is the 1. You have to pay for everything you want to download ie no freebies like with pc. The upshot is that as a general rule, everything works! I lost count of the number of times I tried to download something on pc to have it not work.
I'd vote mac, but that's jus my 2 cents

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1377279463' post='2185826']
I've owned both Macs and Windows machines. Our first windows 'machine' had XP on it. Within 20mins of us having it, it had a virus. The only web pages we'd been on were MS to register the machine and Norton to update definitions. It was a continual PITA. Lasted 2 years at most before a hardware failure. Next machine, iMac. It still works and has for the last 5 years without doing any 'maintenance' to it. It's only problem is the screen has become slightly faulty and to replace it costs too much. We now have a Laptop running Windows8. Within 2 months of having it, it crashed completely and had to be completely wiped and reset. Not that it actually had anything on it, we put no files on it, didn't set up email on it, just used for web browsing. It's still probably the most obstructive machine I've ever had the misfortune to own. Hence we now also have a MacMIni. Cost not much more than the laptop, including getting a screen for it, I loathe having to use the laptop even more now. Just my experience, but I would never opt for a windows machine if I have the choice.
[/quote]

While I've no doubt that is all true, the difficulty for anyone seeking this sort of advice is to decide how representative it is.

My file server PC is a windows XP machine built by me in 2002 using an ASUS mobo, AMD CPU and 512MB RAM. It started off with 2x80GB hard drives in a Raid1 array and over the years I've added additional drives and it currently has 2x 1TB hard drives. It has never missed a beat and is still in daily use.

All my other PCs are Dell and are also running WinXP. The newest one is 2007 and all are still going strong.

I'd say PC reliability is mainly to do with how they are used and abused, which is always a risk with so-called multi-purpose machines.

[barkin]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1377264346' post='2185546']
Macs are essentially ,closed' systems, so Apple maintains strict quality control over all aspect of what's running on them. This is the main basis for their supposed reliability.
[/quote]

Not really. Anybody can write software for MacOS, but it's easier to write stable software, that works as intended, when the hardware it's to run on is a known quantity.

[flyfisher]

Are you suggesting that Apple hardware is somehow a more 'known quantity' than PC hardware? Even if that were true, what sort of application software has anything to do with the underlying hardware? Isn't that the job of the OS?

Here's a bit of insight into Apple's closed system philosophy: http://www.infoworld.com/t/mac-os-x/apples-operating-systems-fortresses-or-prisons-194412

[amewse]

I have used both Mac and PC machines over the last 23 years as a professional designer and illustrator. I can honestly say that I have found no real difference in reliability between them. I have always commissioned bespoke PC builds rather than buying off the shelf, that way you get what you want and can buy the best components available at the time. A bespoke PC will still be cheaper than an equivalent Mac. I currently use a top end imac running Parallels and a Bespoke PC for some jobs. Both work well, are fast and stable.

Historically, the only problems I have had have been hard drive failures, on a Mac G4, a PC and a recent warranty replacement on the hard drive on an iMac. My business partner has had hard drive, screen and disk drive failures on the same spec imac bought at the same time, from the same supplier, so I think reliability is largely down to luck! Macs look great but you pay for it.

[paul_5]

I've used Windows and Apple machines for music production for years. Imy experience. A Mac will do exactly the same as a Pc and vice versa. The Mac will do it in a fraction of the time though, as you don't need to allow for reinstalling drivers or removing and refitting and reconfiguring hardware etc... I seem to remember doing this A LOT on Windows machines.

[Skol303]

http://cs.calvin.edu/documents/christian/ecosessay.php

[ras52]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1377335101' post='2186289']
[url="http://cs.calvin.edu/documents/christian/ecosessay.php"]http://cs.calvin.edu...n/ecosessay.php[/url]
[/quote]
Superb. Once a Catholic...

[geofio]

I have just purchased a new Mcbook Pro Retina 15. Intel i7 quad core 2.6ghz, 512gb flash drive, 8gb ram, nvidea gt650m graphics which has been overclocked for the 2.6ghz retina 1gb memory gddr5. i use for eveything including audio recording Logic pro 9 and logic x, various softsynths and plug ins, works like a dream no problems what so ever, lot of money to buy but have to say worth every penny if you want hassle free top notch quality recording, i have tried pc recording , one word nightmare !!! GET A MAC cheers George

[PauBass]

[size=4]I like both [/size]

[size=4]I've had my HP desktop for a few years now, over 5, and I have never, never had a problem with it, believe it or not. Well only the SD card slot failed but that was covered by the warranty.[/size]
[size=4]We also have one of the Macbooks aluminium unibody and within a year the battery died and after 4 years we had to had the keyboard [/size]replaced[size=4] as it stopped working, no liquid damaged or anything, just failed. It wasn't a cheap repair and I wouldn't think on a £1000 machine you'd be spending that kind of money not that long later.[/size]
[size=4]As much as I like the Mac and how smoothly it runs, this has put me off a little bit. Would I buy another one? Not too sure to be honest. [/size]

Edited August 25, 2013 by PauBass

[discreet]

One factor to take into consideration is this: who else uses your computer apart from you? Around seven years ago I had a PC that was also used by the current mrs discreet and young master discreet. They both cheerfully installed software more or less at random, refused to keep the desktop tidy (just like in meatspace) and I had constant problems with software compatibility issues, crashes, and so on and so forth.

Now I have my own Dell PC in my own studio/office which I have set up exactly how I want it. I use it for FL Studio, internet and email only. 'Er indoors and the boy share an iMac, and the boy also has a plethora of gaming devices and a Nexus. There is no need for them to use my PC any more.

Since then I have had NOT ONE single reliability issue, BSOD, lock-up, crash or compatibility problem. What does that tell you..?

PS: The iMac, which was bought brand new, has been returned TWICE due to the hard-drive going tits-up for no good reason. On both occasions the current mrs discreet lost all her information because she can't be bothered to back up her data. Ha, ha, ha!

Edited August 25, 2013 by discreet

[flyfisher]

Good points. I reckon the use and abuse of computers is by far the biggest factor in their reliability or otherwise. Unfortunately, this makes it very difficult to judge the relevance of all these undoubtedly true anecdotes.

[theyellowcar]

*wades in*

I've personally never owned a Mac but I have used them in the past for some light video editing. My experience was good, but the cost will always be higher than the equivalent hardware in a Windows machine.

THAT SAID, if I could afford/justify it, I would definitely buy in to the Apple ecosystem - the components might not be bleeding edge (technically) but the overall package of hardware, aesthetics and simple software will deliver an experience that's much more pleasing than the most expensive Windows machines.

This post was written by a Windows system builder from an Android smartphone (before you get any ideas!!)