Mac or PC and other tough decisions

1

130R

New member
I am a newbie (to home recording) and have been evaluating different options over the past several weeks. Here are two typical options from a few dealers I like:

OPTION 1
Powerbook G4 1Ghz (or) G5 1.8
Motu 828 Mk2 Sound card
Mackie 1202 VL2 Pro
Tannoy Reveal monitors
Logic 6 Platinum software
etc..

OPTION 2
Music XPC Computer (please see: www.musicxpc.com
Midiman Omni I/O Bundle D66 (or thoughts of Yamaha 01X !)
Yamaha MSP5 monitors
Steinberg Cubase SX
(etc..cables, mics, headphones)

Right now I am leaning towards the PC option, but I have a demo for the Logic 6 tomorrow....

Any input/discussion is greatly appreciated!

David
 
130R said:


OPTION 2
Music XPC Computer (please see: www.musicxpc.com
Midiman Omni I/O Bundle D66 (or thoughts of Yamaha 01X !)
Yamaha MSP5 monitors
Steinberg Cubase SX
(etc..cables, mics, headphones)

Right now I am leaning towards the PC option, but I have a demo for the Logic 6 tomorrow....

Any input/discussion is greatly appreciated!

David
Click to expand...

The XPC is overpriced. Just buy a Shuttle kit and the parts in it, and save $500.

Even if you take it to a tech, I'm sure it still wouldn't cost you as much as those clowns are charging.

Actually, I think DAWBOX.com is doing the Shuttle kit now, and I know they're cheaper (and better) than MusicXPC.com.

http://www.dawbox.com

This from MusicXPC's website:

Q. Can't I buy a Shuttle chassis and put this together cheaper?

A. Some people may be able to do this, if they factor in their time at $0.00 per hour. The MusicXPC is not a bolted together set of components. We built this machine from the BIOS right up to the faceplate. The perception that anyone can bolt a product like this together is erroneous. It may look like a MusicXPC but 99 times out of 100 it will never work like one. It's a question of how much time you want to spend thinking about the computer as opposed to thinking about music.
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Horseshit. For the price you pay for one of these, you can get the newer SB62G kit with the 800FSB, not the slower 533FSB they're using, and you can get a faster cpu.

I know they seem to have a knack for marketing, but that's all it is. There's no reason why someone couldn't go and build you a Shuttle kit, visit MusicXP.org, and have it running faster and just as stable.

MusicXPC.com, talking about the "creator" of the system:

The MusicXPC represents the culmination of more than 30 years of his experience in the audio industry. Its time has come. Buy it, forget about the computer, and start making music again.
Click to expand...

I would have thought if he has so much experience, why not build something more original, like this.

Brzlian drew my attention to this one, and I've been lusting after it ever since. Too bad it's so expensive. But worth it, IMO.
 
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Re: Re: Mac or PC and other tough decisions

Polaris20 said:
Brzlian drew my attention to this one, and I've been lusting after it ever since. Too bad it's so expensive. But worth it, IMO.
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You forget the link or something? :p
 
Pick your software FIRST, then pick the computer platform to run it on.

Either will work well. It's the SOFTWARE that you will be working with and whichever one is the most comfortable for you is where you want to go....
 
Thank you for your input.

Will update after further evaluation.

Any opinions on Cubase SX vs Nuendo 2.0?
 
If you want something small that doesnt compromise performance you should get a shuttle cube computer.

Save a lot of money and go with the shuttle SN45g XPC with an AMD Athlon 2500+ barton. Overclock it (very easily done if you get the right chip) to 3000+ and higher speeds. For the money this gives you a great deal and not-compromised performance. No it won't be as fast as the 62g and a top of the line intel processor but then again that top of the line 3000/3200 P4 will run you $400-600 alone (barton 2500+ is like $90). Not to mention the 62g shuttle system runs more than the 45g as well. The performance difference won't be enough between the two to justify all the extra money.

An overclocked barton 2500+ has actually been done in a shuttle 45g before with temps being just fine, in case you are wondering.

Throw in some DDR 400 ram, nice big 7200 hard drive (or maybe two actually and forego a floppy), a cheap-o video card, cd burner, and an lcd monitor and you'll be set.

For me it will be a lot easier to haul around when i do my recording with my aardvark direct pro 24/96 than a full tower and will give me practically the same performance.
 
photoresistor said:
If you want something small that doesnt compromise performance you should get a shuttle cube computer.

Save a lot of money and go with the shuttle SN45g XPC with an AMD Athlon 2500+ barton. Overclock it (very easily done if you get the right chip) to 3000+ and higher speeds. For the money this gives you a great deal and not-compromised performance. No it won't be as fast as the 62g and a top of the line intel processor but then again that top of the line 3000/3200 P4 will run you $400-600 alone (barton 2500+ is like $90). Not to mention the 62g shuttle system runs more than the 45g as well. The performance difference won't be enough between the two to justify all the extra money.

An overclocked barton 2500+ has actually been done in a shuttle 45g before with temps being just fine, in case you are wondering.

Throw in some DDR 400 ram, nice big 7200 hard drive (or maybe two actually and forego a floppy), a cheap-o video card, cd burner, and an lcd monitor and you'll be set.

For me it will be a lot easier to haul around when i do my recording with my aardvark direct pro 24/96 than a full tower and will give me practically the same performance.
Click to expand...

While I agree the Shuttle with the Nforce2 chipset is a nice setup, I'd be quite hesitant overclocking an AMD in something that small, when both TOmshardware and a couple other sites have had heat issues with the small form factor PCs such as that.

I think the 2500 is plenty fast on it's own. Or perhaps the 2800 for $70 more.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Mac or PC and other tough decisions

brzilian said:
Woops ;)
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Jeez man, what's this world coming to when you and I see eye to eye on something?

I'm concerned....hahaha :D
 
I agree. I am curious to see where it ends up, that will take some third party confirmation.
 
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