Ok, few more Mac/PC rumblings going on, and keeps reminding me to post this thread, which is sort of related.
First of all I’ve used both Mac and PC before and think both are great, no real preference.
I’ve had a bit of cash come up too, so for the sake of this argument, that’s not a major factor either, but it is a consideration of course.
Basically, I have had a shyte old desktop for the last 5 or so years. It was medium Spec when I bought it, let alone now. Due to small cash injection I have decided to update my set up.
MY requirements are:
Powerful enough to handle Video and Audio no worries.
Big screen
Small footprint, or neat solution
I’m unlikely to want to gig with it, and I probably will want it for general computing too.
Therefore I came to settle on an iMac 27", the i3 one probably.
This has no base unit obv, large screen, technologically capable and seems less likely to get buggy with malware etc from the sordid internet browsing it will undertake.
A few too many times over the years I’ve had to go and reinstall or pull back from a major meltdown.
And of course, it looks pretty too, not gonna lie.
My question is, am I gonna regret not getting an MBP, or is there a better solution out there. Essentially I am prone to snap judgements that I regret later, and wanted to put this out to the team.
If you had about £2000 and my requirements does this seem a decent enough way to go?
Posted this already but seems appropriate for this thread.
South Park Mac vs PC
I'm a computer tech / web developer for my day-job... so I will give my advice as best as I can..
Well first and foremost... if your not gigging with it... then you really dont want a laptop.
If you think that hey maby you wanna gig with ur new PC... get a mac book pro and be done.
Desktops are the best for general computing / home studio producing...
The biggest reason for this is that because laptops use smaller parts, get hotter and break easier. When they break, it costs more money to fix them than it does a desktop.
Now...
I totally hear you on the iMAC. I have been taking a long look at them for a while.... My biggest reason for this is that I want the ability to use logic when I want to... That is the ONLY reason I would consider spending the cash on a Mac. To use Logic...
MAC OSX is a great operating system and programs seem to run great on them...
However....
For a 2k budget... You can get a WHOLE lot more on a PC deskotp. So if you are running ableton or cubase... It makes more sense to just buy a PC. Not because it is better, but because you can get more bang for your buck and make your PC future proof.
For under 2k you could do an 8core intel, 2 monitors, great vid card, great sound card, win 7 64bit, 1 solid state drive for OS, 1 2TB drive for storage, dvd writer, 8gigs of RAM, sweet case, and everything else you need for the PC.
That PC I listed above is equivalent to a 4-5k MAC PRO. its future proof.
so when ableton 9 or cubase 6 comes out you are already above the standard.
Maby its just me but when I spend 2k on something I want it to be solid for the future.
I bought a future proof computer once… Its in the bin now
All good points UnitedVision.
Like I say money isn’t really a deciding factor so much, as clearly I could get more for my money with a PC.
I will end up using this thing as my main computer though, as I have a room set up with a desk and all my stuff, and I am always checking mails and stuff. To have a seperate computer for music just doesn’t really fit how I work.
That is the key thing really as over time I just know a PC is gonna get cluttered up.
In case its relevant I worked in sys admin for a long time as a unix support enginneer, then as a web designer etc so know my way round a filesystem.
As for futureproof, a very valid point. If I hadn’t been running Ableton 8 on this cruddy old desktop I have now, then I’d be a bit more worried about it I think. I imagine the iMac has plenty of lifetime in it yet in that regard.
But at the same time I do still have this nagging feeling that I might be better off with something more like what you said.
Why don’t you look into building a hackintosh… basically a pc but you can dual boot OSX on it. You need specific hardware but I bet it’s not that difficult to find.
[quote]bouffont (08/09/2010)[hr]Why don’t you look into building a hackintosh… basically a pc but you can dual boot OSX on it. You need specific hardware but I bet it’s not that difficult to find.[/quote]
its definitely not. i’ve been acquiring my pieces together for sometime now.
basically I have 2 solid state drives. 1 for OSX 1 for win 7. boot 2 what I want.
[quote]bouffont (08/09/2010)[hr]Why don’t you look into building a hackintosh… basically a pc but you can dual boot OSX on it. You need specific hardware but I bet it’s not that difficult to find.[/quote]
can u buy osx in the box?
from my point of view, if you don’t want to be a sys admin again than just get a mac 
That is kinda the driving force for me.
That or stop looking at nasty internet sites, but that’s unlikely to ever happen.
[quote]bangthedj (08/09/2010)[hr]That is kinda the driving force for me.
That or stop looking at nasty internet sites, but that’s unlikely to ever happen.[/quote]
dude, gat apple and you’ll never have to look at those sites again
[url=http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/gadget-sex/]http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/gadget-sex/[/url]
The evidence is overwhelming 
[quote]gofunk (08/09/2010)[hr][quote]bouffont (08/09/2010)[hr]Why don’t you look into building a hackintosh… basically a pc but you can dual boot OSX on it. You need specific hardware but I bet it’s not that difficult to find.[/quote]
can u buy osx in the box?[/quote]
Buggered if I know… if you can’t, I’ll bet you can buy it off ebay.
[quote]seanl (08/09/2010)[hr]from my point of view, if you don’t want to be a sys admin again than just get a mac
[/quote]
I agree with this statement!
[quote]gofunk (08/09/2010)[hr][quote]bouffont (08/09/2010)[hr]Why don’t you look into building a hackintosh… basically a pc but you can dual boot OSX on it. You need specific hardware but I bet it’s not that difficult to find.[/quote]
can u buy osx in the box?[/quote]
yes.nothing like a vanilla install of osx on a computer that will outpace any mac pro and comes with a better warranty.
[quote]howiegroove (09/09/2010)[hr][quote]seanl (08/09/2010)[hr]from my point of view, if you don’t want to be a sys admin again than just get a mac
[/quote]
I agree with this statement![/quote]
are you drunk
[quote]seanl (09/09/2010)[hr][quote]howiegroove (09/09/2010)[hr][quote]seanl (08/09/2010)[hr]from my point of view, if you don’t want to be a sys admin again than just get a mac
[/quote]
I agree with this statement![/quote]
are you drunk :P[/quote]
Nope.
Actually, I dont drink.
My bro builds Hacks and sells them and so long as you can find the osx drivers you should be able to use any hardware you like, there are some bits of hardware (mainboard) out there that will support boot the mac install disk with no need for any hacks.
In my opinion they are much better than having a pc but still not the same as having a mac. some in fact most hacks are faster than macs but still not as stable they don’t look as nice and are to much bother to build and set up.
when i switched to mac i did it for three reasons
- Stability
- Look N Feel
- Ease of use
and to be fair i got all of these and more.
If I had 2k to spend I would more than likey get my mate to build me a £1700 pc for production and video and spend the other £300 on a laptop for going on the internet!
[quote]jon_fisher (12/09/2010)[hr]My bro builds Hacks and sells them and so long as you can find the osx drivers you should be able to use any hardware you like, there are some bits of hardware (mainboard) out there that will support boot the mac install disk with no need for any hacks.
In my opinion they are much better than having a pc but still not the same as having a mac. some in fact most hacks are faster than macs but still not as stable they don’t look as nice and are to much bother to build and set up.
when i switched to mac i did it for three reasons
- Stability
- Look N Feel
- Ease of use
and to be fair i got all of these and more.[/quote]
mine is completely stable.a couple days ago i did pretty much the exact same one for someone using a mac pro case(picked up for 140 bucks),simple mod to the mobo plate and nothing but smooth sailing.saved him roughly 1800 dollars which he threw towards a barely used apogee Interface.everything works great.