Which computer would suit my purposes?

R

RJrules64

New member
I'm going to purchase a computer for mainly recording purposes, as none of the computers currently in the possession quite cut it. I will probably also use the computer for Uni. I've got a lot of options on the table at the moment, and I'm having trouble deciding, what do you think?

I record real instrument tracks rather than software instruments, I used to use Logic Pro but I recently switched to Pro Tools. My interface will probably be a Scarlett 18i20 by the time I buy this computer (unless someone here has something to say about that!)

I've considered the following:

Self-built PC
Macbook Pro
iMac

They all have their advantages and disadvantages.
Based on a little bit of research I have done so far, I think I need a fair bit of processing power RAM a soundcard and not much needed in the graphics area.

A self built PC is cheap, I can put one together for about $700. I can constantly upgrade it, and have the exact specs I need, including screen size. It loses out in portability-I.e using it for Uni, but Uni will only be this computer's secondary purpose, its practicality for recording comes first!

A Mac would be good to be able to revisit logic occaisionally, but I don't see this as extremely neccessary.
A Macbook pro would be great for uni, I'm not sure how well it would work with recording though. These are also much more expensive than a self built windows PC. I'm not sure what the specs are like, is it worth it? I generally prefer windows, but I have used Mac's just as much, and I wouldn't mind the switch too much.

An IMac has a larger screen size which would be good to have more plugins and mixers open at once, but once again this is an expensive option. It is also not portable, similar to a PC.

What do you think I should go with?
Thanks.
 
RJrules64 said:
I'm going to purchase a computer for mainly recording purposes, as none of the computers currently in the possession quite cut it. I will probably also use the computer for Uni. I've got a lot of options on the table at the moment, and I'm having trouble deciding, what do you think?

I record real instrument tracks rather than software instruments, I used to use Logic Pro but I recently switched to Pro Tools. My interface will probably be a Scarlett 18i20 by the time I buy this computer (unless someone here has something to say about that!)

I've considered the following:

Self-built PC
Macbook Pro
iMac

They all have their advantages and disadvantages.
Based on a little bit of research I have done so far, I think I need a fair bit of processing power RAM a soundcard and not much needed in the graphics area.

A self built PC is cheap, I can put one together for about $700. I can constantly upgrade it, and have the exact specs I need, including screen size. It loses out in portability-I.e using it for Uni, but Uni will only be this computer's secondary purpose, its practicality for recording comes first!

A Mac would be good to be able to revisit logic occaisionally, but I don't see this as extremely neccessary.
A Macbook pro would be great for uni, I'm not sure how well it would work with recording though. These are also much more expensive than a self built windows PC. I'm not sure what the specs are like, is it worth it? I generally prefer windows, but I have used Mac's just as much, and I wouldn't mind the switch too much.

An IMac has a larger screen size which would be good to have more plugins and mixers open at once, but once again this is an expensive option. It is also not portable, similar to a PC.

What do you think I should go with?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

You also have the option of, using a desktop for studio recording, a portastudio to live recording. To me, I am a desktop guy, you just get more power, more options, but, if you are going to take it out and perform, then a laptop has to come back into the equation.

On the PC side you can get a decent computer that meets your specs at Tiger for $500. Middle grade PC Asus builds decent MBs and I think it is a decent middle ground computer. Not like building your own and it is not the "high end", but should serve one well.

The nice thing about about Apple products, you know what you're getting and the price is pretty much fixed. I think the only deviation retailers have with Apple are what is bundled with them. But what you listed will work (do stick with the quad core CPUs to prove longer usability of the computer).
 
DIY for upgrading purposes = PC wins.

Unless you know for a fact you will need portability for recording, then just get a desktop. Will be cheaper and have greater hardware flexibility options. Unless you have a particular need, there's no compelling reason to buy a Mac over a PC if you're building from the ground up. Mac's just cost more money.

Your PC doesn't have to be huge. Look into the home theater style cases. You can have a full size power supply, and i5 or i7 processor with full (quiet) cooling aparatus installed, while also taking up no more space than a stereo receiver/amplifier.

[I post this for reference only, you will likely want an i5/7 Intel or AMD 8 core]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048...-windows-8-home-theater-pc-for-under-500.html

Also look into buying an off-the-shelf unit like the Dell 7xxx MT/SFF (micro tower/small form factor) series Optiplex, which is in a small case design but still offers good performance (and a warranty).
 
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I'd go for desktop unless you need to be portable, I recently bought a second hand dell which had been running xp and now is on windows 7, this allowed me to add more ram. I am running on 8gb ram and 6ghz processor power, most of my tracks are audio and the pc handles it really well. I paid £200 for my set up but I already had a good sound card. I found the Dell make to be really easy to upgrade, I also added a tb internal hard drive.
I used to use a laptop but the drives are slower and harder to upgrade. What I did do is use a good external hard drive for all the audio. that worked for me but when I tried to create a song with something like 15 or more audio tracks I got problems with clicks and drop outs.
 
Twampy said:
I'd go for desktop unless you need to be portable, I recently bought a second hand dell which had been running xp and now is on windows 7, this allowed me to add more ram. I am running on 8gb ram and 6ghz processor power, most of my tracks are audio and the pc handles it really well. I paid £200 for my set up but I already had a good sound card. I found the Dell make to be really easy to upgrade, I also added a tb internal hard drive.
I used to use a laptop but the drives are slower and harder to upgrade. What I did do is use a good external hard drive for all the audio. that worked for me but when I tried to create a song with something like 15 or more audio tracks I got problems with clicks and drop outs.
Click to expand...

Beauty of a desktop, you can get many drives inside and opens up the possibility to add an SSD for projects, then archive them to a larger external or internal HD. If you look at it, the SSDs do not have to be that large, but they are large enough for an albums worth (or two) of audio without problem. Even if you don't go SSD route, 1TB HD (500GB is enough) @ 7200 RPM is pretty cheap and like a 15 minute upgrade.
 
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