PC vs IMAC

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pjblues

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I am considering buying the IMAC G5 for audio recording in my home studio. It is advertisd as a good product for audio recording. I will also be buying the Digi 002 rack with Pro Tools. Does anyone have any experience in this areana?
 
I haven't used the iMac G5 for audio, but I have for video production. Its a good machine- quieter than most PC's.

Its probably not as good a processor as you can get in a similarly priced PC these days, though.

Take care,
Chris
 
That's part of the gigahurtz myth. Clock speed isn't everything.

G5s are fantastic for audio work.
 
I use a g5 imac and a 002r and could'nt be happier, i can max out the track count and use a good amount of plugs with no problems. IMO a great value and the fact its so light and has a small footprint is great for smaller home studios.
 
I just got my 002 Rack and Pro Tools and tried running it with XP. Had nothing but problems and errors (you have to set XP just right to get it to play nice with Pro Tools)!
So I bought a new iMac G5, unpacked it from its box, plugged everything into the back of it, turned it on, installed the software and everything works perfectly!!

I'd definately go the Mac!
 
I use two i-mac G5's--one for video using Final Cut and one for recording running Dp 4.52. I've never had any serious issues with either, although the DVD drive did fail on the i-Mac G5 1.8 GHz and was quickly replaced for free at the local apple store. Like many apple machines, the i-Mac G5 is somewhat "underpowered" when it come to RAM. So you will need to add more--probably an additional 512 or 1GB to bring the total RAM to 1 or 1.5 GB. I would also pick up a copy of Disk Warrior or TechTool. Eventually, as you record more and more, your machine will need maintainence and these plus the built in utilities will really help. You should also avoid the temptation of picking up an older i-Mac G5. The first models use an older fan system that actually makes alot of noise.
 
Yeah the fan noise could be a real bitch if you're a one room set up. I have one of the first imac g5's and it howls like a dog in heat. I'm lucky because I have a two room set up but if you're looking at one of the first gen of the g5's on ebay avoid it. And to add a little side note, I paid 2600+ for mine last year, and you can get a brand new 20 inch with the isight and remote faster processor more hd space all for about 700 less. Hell of a deal.
 
I personally hate Macs and everything they do so I'd go PC lol...
 
Docaroo said:
I personally hate Macs and everything they do so I'd go PC lol...
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Wow put a lot of thought into that one didn't you. If you're going to make a suggestion then at least give a reason why. What do you hate about them?
 
I don't have the time, but suffice to say - of my years doing Computer Science BSc and being made to work on macs alot, I hate them. They significantly reduce productivity and efficiency. I can't work nearly as fast on a mac as I can on PC. They are annoying to use, its like a PC for simpletons who have no idea what they are doing.

Stupid macs.
 
Bottom line: If you dont feel comfortable in a PC environment (meaning knowing how to service and maintain a PC) go with mac.

Performance wise, everything is pretty close right now although AMD holds the muscle crown right now with their dual core opertons.
 
Docaroo said:
They significantly reduce productivity and efficiency. I can't work nearly as fast on a mac as I can on PC. They are annoying to use, its like a PC for simpletons who have no idea what they are doing.
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What? You have never seen someone that knows what they are doing sit down behind a MAC. It's also kind of nice to have a product that works the first time you install that new sound card and recording software.

I have five computers running in the house, three out of these are Apple, and I gotta say that the majority of my time is spent on the Mac's.
 
Insightnsound said:
What? You have never seen someone that knows what they are doing sit down behind a MAC. It's also kind of nice to have a product that works the first time you install that new sound card and recording software.

I have five computers running in the house, three out of these are Apple, and I gotta say that the majority of my time is spent on the Mac's.
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Agreed. I've never heard anyone say they're less productive on a mac until now. I work with both and love my mac, my pc however is a nightmare every other week. Good thing I don't rely on my pc for music production, with the constant crashes I wouldn't be efficient at all. I think Docaroo is just trying to start war, its a little childish.
 
you'd be a fool to buy a G5 imac ... apple is coming out (rumoured) with an intel powered imac in January (originally scheduled for Q2 2006) at the mac expo show, and your G5 will be completely useless unsupported garbage in a year or 2.

and speaking of companies who have no respect for their customer: digidesign - who will abandon their hardware every couple of years and never upgrade drivers or write new drivers for any new OS.

so either wait for an intel imac & go with digital performer
or buy a pc and go with sonar
or cubase runs on either platform, but protools is pretty lame in comparison to the above 3 apps
 
disposeable said:
you'd be a fool to buy a G5 imac ... apple is coming out (rumoured) with an intel powered imac in January (originally scheduled for Q2 2006) at the mac expo show, and your G5 will be completely useless unsupported garbage in a year or 2.

and speaking of companies who have no respect for their customer: digidesign - who will abandon their hardware every couple of years and never upgrade drivers or write new drivers for any new OS.

so either wait for an intel imac & go with digital performer
or buy a pc and go with sonar
or cubase runs on either platform, but protools is pretty lame in comparison to the above 3 apps
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Why do fools like you get on here and say useless shit like this? You act like you have all the info yet you still need to stick "rumoured" next to it. So from what you're saying in a year or 2 I can't record on pro tools? Wrong buddy, in fact thats way way off. Man I hope someone comes on here and backs me up on how much of a dumbass statement that really is.
 
disposeable said:
you'd be a fool to buy a G5 imac ... apple is coming out (rumoured) with an intel powered imac in January (originally scheduled for Q2 2006) at the mac expo show, and your G5 will be completely useless unsupported garbage in a year or 2.
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I don't know if your release dates are right, but even if you're right, you're wrong.

I don't know how long it will take for audio software vendors and audio driver vendors to get their code ported to Intel-based Macs, but until then you'll be running an emulated DAW (and until the drivers are ported, the audio interface would be a doorstop). Trying to do significant recording under such conditions would probably border on Seppuku. :D

My advice is that if you're considering an iMac for audio, buy it now while it still uses the G5 processor. In a few years, you'll be ready for a new machine anyway, and you'll get to skip the growing pains of running DAWs on Intel-based Macs. Just my $0.02.
 
jonnyc said:
Why do fools like you get on here and say useless shit like this? You act like you have all the info yet you still need to stick "rumoured" next to it. So from what you're saying in a year or 2 I can't record on pro tools? Wrong buddy, in fact thats way way off. Man I hope someone comes on here and backs me up on how much of a dumbass statement that really is.
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don't put words in my mouth. what i'm saying is that a couple years down the road, apple will not support your G5 imac any more - in case you missed it, apple is switching to intel - and the same thing will happen when they last switched CPU platforms: had fat binaries for a short while and then told everybody to upgrade or tough shit. you don't have to be a genius to see that writing on the wall, the same thing is going to happen again.

of course, you can still use protools, but don't expect any OSX upgrades, and certainly no driver updates from hardware vendors

if you wait and buy an intel imac, the support for it will continue far longer than if you get a G5 imac. what i'm saying is not only obvioius and self-evident but it has already happened the last time apple switched CPU platforms.

the only dumbass around here is you. but be it from me to diswade you, go right ahead and buy your G5 imac and experience the obsolescence for yourself - i really don't give a fuck what you do
 
dgatwood said:
I don't know if your release dates are right, but even if you're right, you're wrong.

I don't know how long it will take for audio software vendors and audio driver vendors to get their code ported to Intel-based Macs, but until then you'll be running an emulated DAW (and until the drivers are ported, the audio interface would be a doorstop). Trying to do significant recording under such conditions would probably border on Seppuku. :D

My advice is that if you're considering an iMac for audio, buy it now while it still uses the G5 processor. In a few years, you'll be ready for a new machine anyway, and you'll get to skip the growing pains of running DAWs on Intel-based Macs. Just my $0.02.
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hahaha! software developers knew well in advance of the time steve jobs announced (earlier 2005) apple is switching to macs. the rumor is that apple has progressed much faster than they expected and intel macs will be SHIPPING in january (1 month away) rather than the orginally scheduled summer 2006.

so you'd better like what you've got right now, if you're gonna buy a G5, cos at the end of 2006 (1 year from now) you will be left high and dry by apple, just like what happend last time they switched CPU's. and i guarantee you, every software and hardware vendor is exclusively developing for the intel platform and merely making fat binaries right now, not at some point in the future, but RIGHT NOW. buy any new software from apple recently? guess what, all fat binaries. everybody knows apple depends on hardware sales for profit, and they'll do what it takes to force all G5 user onto the intel platform - just like what happened the last time they switched CPU platforms.

the second apple announced the intel switch is the second their G5 hardware sales should have dried up, but thanks to hopefully dreaming delusional asses like you, they're still selling the very soon to be obsolete G5 hardware and laughing their asses off.

when i buy my next mac, it's gonna have an intel CPU. because, if nothing else, i'll be able to run XP & Linux and just about any other OS i want - something that has never happened and that WILL NEVER HAPPEN with a G5.

if you *LOVE* the G5, then buy it - chump. the rest of us, those with more than 2 braincells to rub together, will wait for an intel mac.

btw, the intel mac (3.6Ghz) sent out to developers kicked ass on the top-of-the-line G5 dual CPU powermac by over a 50% margin on most benchmark tests. why anyone would want a slow crappy G5 is beyond me... especially now that intel has dual core CPU's. after all, the reason apple is switching to intel is cos the PowerCPU sucks.
 
If you want Pro Tools, I'd go Mac. Lord knows that stuff designed for Apple does not play well no PC. However, that's a lot of money to invest. I'd really love to try a G5 and Logic system, but that's $3500 that I don't have.

On the other hand, PC's are incredibly cheap. You can build one that'll keep up with a G5 for most all of your recording needs for under $1000 easily. Add $300-$500 for a sweet LCD and you've still got another $1000 to spend on your DAW/interface. Don't worry about XP being stable though, worry about the audio drivers and your software. I was lucky in that EMU has great product support and keeps their software up to date. Unfortunately, Cubase has been very buggy ever since I've used it, and I've had to play around with others before moving to Sonar.

Bottom line: Ultra-high end performance and stability nod goes to Mac. MUCH better value and software selection go to PC's.
 
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