multi use computer? good idea?

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rtcmusic

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I have decided to buy a mac G4 to use for some home recording. I also want to use the same computer to do other things such as internet, photoshop, and writing documents. Is this a good idea? I am willing to buy a 2 X 160Gb hard drives instead of one. I have also heard of spliting one HD into two separate ones.

Thanks
Randal

by the way this is a great forum for a beginner like me! Thanks!
 
When I say I would but 2 HDs I mean one for my music and one for other stuff.
 
I don't know.

I would dedicate one full fledged computer for music only. The last thing you want is to have another application to crash your machine with an "invalid page fault", or "kernel32 could not be loaded", or "fatal error at wherever" or some other such garbage that is caused by another application running in the background to ruin hours and hours of work.

Besides running a dedicated computer I even disconnect my internet connection while running a recording session.

Plus applications like virus scanners, pop up blockers etc. that run in the background, will degarde system performance. And recording takes up mucho system resources.

Sorry, but I would go with a dedicated computer. But that's me.

Good Luck.
 
I would not run any programs the same time as recording though.
 
Yeah, but if you have other things programs installed, you will inevitably have something running in the background.

Also, with the recent proliferation of popups, spybots, hijacked homepages, etc, that are out there, I would be real leary about using the same computer for music and web surfing.

Hay, it may work for you, but I tend to be twice shy when it comes to stuff like this.

My house computer recently got zapped because my kids go out and surf and download and God knows what else. Well, despite my very updated anti virus, I got bombed with pop ups, hijacked webpages, and tons of crap like that. I needed to install a new hard drive and could not restore any info from my old hard drive(of course my last backup was about a year ago).

Not trying to scare you, but be real careful. Anti Virus programs alone are not cutting it anymore. If you must utilize a multi-use computer, invest in anti virus, pop up stoppers, and most importantly nowadays a good firewall.

Good Luck.
 
Anyway, to answer your original question:

Multi Use computer is not a good idea and I think anyone else on this board will tell you the same.

Again, good luck.
 
Well, since you would have 2 harddrives, load an OS on each one and make it a dual boot computer. If you are doing professional recording I would say have one computer dedicated to recording alone, but if its just small time or a hobby, why have a seperate computer?

I do own a Mac(i do design work) as well as a windows box but just a question... do you really need a mac when you can get a pc at a third the cost with a monitor?
 
I'm in this situation now: one home PC (WinXP) used by wife and daughter for internet, games, word processing, etc., and me using it for all that as well as recording/mixing.

If I could afford a 2nd PC (and find space to put 2 of 'em) I would definitely do it because a multipurpose PC does invite all kinds of wierd and mysterious problems. I usually have to reboot before working on music.
 
Thanks for the threads! I'm getting some good input here. I am not using this computer for professional recording. It is just a tool to use so I can continue my music hobby as well as writing and photography.
For those of you who also have multi use computers: In what ways does not having a "music only" computer effect your music recording?
 
well i use my comp for recording and everything else.....I dont have many problems however i would SERIOUSLY HIGHLY AND UNDOUBTEDLY SUGGEST you get a zip drive or burn work to cds and what not just in case you erase a program and it takes dlls with it.
 
Personally I have one computer with two OS Hard Drive.

If I'm just casually recording or working with just MIDI I'll use my all purpose drive (which I have a fair bit of crap loaded onto) which I use for browsing/graphics etc. I'll use my second HDD if I want to just soely work on audio all day. It is XP Home optimised so there is next to nothing running in the background and only has audio applications running on it.

PC vs. Mac, that's a whole other debate, but consider this.. it has been said before. A PC can do pretty much everything a Mac can do at a fraction of a cost and then you can use the money you save to buy other stuff such as recording gear/photography gear. With the better gear you will see a much better result than using a Mac, but again that is person opinion. I don't want to start the way again.

Porter
 
One computer is fine for a home recordist. Yes, it would be great to have a dedicated system JUST FOR RECORDING, but unless you can afford two computers (and all of the other gear you need) your money is much better spent on decent microphones and preamps, a good monitoring system, and room treatment. When you get to the point your computer is the weak link in your signal chain it is time to upgrade. Until then, spend your money where you most need it.
 
do you really need a mac when you can get a pc at a third the cost with a monitor?
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I am not very informed with computers. I was told to get a mac when dealing with audio and graphics. Is there a web site where they sell PC's as fast as a G4?
 
you dont NEED a mac and you also dont NEED a pc....adat is still around and people still use reel to reel. as for specs....go to mac's website and then to a dell website or any computer store and cross reference to see what you come up with. personally i prefer pc
 
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