I'm a P.C. user and have been all of my life. I am switching to make as I trying to start a company that will create music for its clients commercials, movies, etc.

Like I said, "I dont know MAC." If I were to get a Powerbook 15.2 in. with a 1.25G processor, 512RAM which I would plan to upgrade to 1G, and a 60Gig harddrive, would this be able to handle my music production needs.

Also, it appears that the M-audio Firewire 410 is not the first choice of audio interface, so what would be an alternative for a notebook.

Thanks a lot,

Gavin

that machine is fine. and checkout the tascam us-122

Check for a Firewire external drive too. It's better to handle audio files (faster)

Depending on how you'll work, watch for the drive to be or not port powered. If it is : have a back up battery handy all the time.

lepetitmartien, do you mean I should add another firewire drive besides the ones that come with the Powerbook already? If so, could you recommend a few just to get me on the right track?

Also, if you don't mind me asking, I have the option to get a PB with a 1GHZ processor for much cheaper than the new 1.3GHZ. Is there that much of a difference in speed as to justify the extra price.

Thanks a lot,
Gavin

Yes, he means a completely separate drive besides the one that comes internally with the powerbook (also, the one that comes with it is not firewire...firewire is an external port, kinda like USB). As for recommendations, it's cheaper to buy an External Firewire enclosure, which is basically an empty box with a firewire port on it. You can buy a regular 3.5" hard drive, (7200RPM recommended, that's how fast it spins) and put it inside the enclosure. I recommend Western Digital or Maxtor hard drives. Put the hard drive in the enclosure, plug the enclosure into your powerbook, and voila! Instant firewire hard drive!

The enclosure can cost as low as $40 and hard drive prices vary with size. I try to shop around at Pricewatch.

As to buy the more expensive and more powerful Powerbook: If you're working on a tight budget like I am ($30k/year for school), I would recommend the 1Ghz machine. It's what I have, and it's pretty amazing at how much it can handle. You'll want to pump up the amount of RAM in it as much as you can (I have 768MB in mine and it runs well, although the more you add the more you can do!). Along with the external firewire drive, you'll have a nice little machine!

Good luck!

Well, either I am still confused or I now get it. So your telling me that I need to invest in a firewire hardrive to save my audio files on right. Your not telling me that I need a new firewire port for my Firewire 410 soundcard. Because the Powerbook does come with firewire inputs (400 and 800) that I can plug the sound card into, right?

Im sure that I am completely confused but also sure that you can make it clear.
Thanks
Gavin

Hopefully this can also be answered along with my previous post. Why would I need the firewire hard drive? Why would I need the hard drive to be faster. This doesnt effect performance does it?

You don't absolutely need to get another drive. I, in fact, don't have one yet. But I do plan on purchasing one when I get more money. Basically, the hard drive inside the laptop is 4200RPM, which is pretty slow. Plus, it is your startup drive that runs your operating system, which makes it even slower for audio processing. Most applications will still work, but you will be limited as to how many tracks you can use. Having a fast, external firewire hard drive will give you more power for recording and using audio apps.



Right! You absolutely do NOT need to buy extra firewire ports. The 410 will work with the ports that come built-in to your computer.

I hope I'm not making this more confusing for you. Basically, you don't need to buy another drive. It's just recommended and will probably end up helping you out a lot and give you much better performance.

Nate D

Thanks so much for your help. If you've got time for one question I promise I will quite bugging you. So I assume that I would also install all of my audio programs and synths and whatever else I will use for music production on that external drive. The drive would not just be used for saving projects, right?

Computer Hardrive=OS and other basic programs
External Hardrive=Audio software, drivers, and saved audio projects

Does this sound right?

Actually, you'll want to keep your DAW software on the internal drive, as well as any drivers. Just use the external for your project/song files.