G5 With Ibm Chips Options

[petra]

Hi,

I'm getting ready to buy a new computer for my future studio. After emailing, posting messages in forums, long considerations etc. it looks like I will go in the direction of a PC.

Why? I talked to an employee of Apple, and he told me that if I buy a G4 today, I should be ready to sell it when new processors come out at the end of 2003.

I wanted to ask Mac users, what do you think about this new, what I think they call "G5" and what is it going to mean for you? Will your current software and recording hardware work with the G5?

Also, how is Cubase SX with OSX?

Please elnighten me, I might still change my mind and go Mac if it makes sense.

Petra

[Presto]

As in any area of computing, you have to choose the software tool first, then the computer and OS, and any other equipment that it works with.

Cubase was brilliant when it first came out on Atari and Mac, but in my opinion it's lost alot of ground. If you go for PC, I should imagine its quite appropriate though.

Protools from Digidesign is used by lots of professionals in the music business and has been considered the best, but midi users seem to think its a bit lacking. If you don't just work with audio, and need midi, I should have a look at Logic as, judging from what people say on the French side of this site, I've a feeling that it's got more potential.

I'm a songwriter and use a G3, and its perfect for my OS9 Protools/Mbox setup. I'll only go for another computer when I get new software or an important update that requires it. Perhaps in a couple of years I'll get a G4 17" ibook.

I've had macs since 1984 and felt the need to change every 5 years, although they still worked fine! I've kept my last mac for everything besides music.

My son was brought up on Macs but got a PC because he wanted to borrow his friends' computer games (he says it was because it was more appropriate for the apps he thought he would have to use in his particular profession). I must add that it was also a little cheaper than an "equivalent" Mac, but it wasn't long before he had hardware problems.

In the music area the Mac and related audio equipment seem to be quite superior - most serious music amateurs use Macs (I may be biased there), and most professionals use Macs (that's the truth). If you only need lowish quality sound then you could go for the latest PC, but with a second hand G3 on OS9 you'd get much better quality anyway.

It all depends what you want. Some people would prefer to wait for a G6 because its the technical specifications they are after, and they don't need to actually do any serious work with a computer now.

I suggest you go and see your Apple salesman's boss, and tell him he should be more careful who he employs.

Macs and their apps have always been excellent, but although Apple is also great at marketing, they have always been very bad at the retailer end (at least in France). I once had to go for PCs for a big order for a new project at the university, simply because the Apple retailers didn't give me any help (perhaps I should have shaved more often and worn ties). The PC retailers bent over backwards to help. Many other departments followed my lead and Apple ended up losing a lot of their most faithful clients at our university. I think it was the same scenario elsewhere.

Still, if you want quality, and your project is not something nobody's done before, you shouldn't make your choice from what a salesman says.

You're quite right to use the internet for information and music makers' opinions. Beware of salesmen and sales hype.

Ah, just a thought: If you ask PC users opinions, they may not tell you of the problems they have for music, because they may think problems are normal. Mac users tend to be more demanding.

You mention IBM. I can't resist saying that IBM are quite aware they lost market share partly because of their snobby sales policy (also, right from the start of 'PCs', they couldn't be bothered writing an OS, so they just used a rather bad and 10 year old DOS from a bloke called Bill Gates). Oops, I'm going to get told off by the moderators - that's off topic

Almost forgot: tell us what you think you'd like to do with your future set up, and we can advise you. I don't have experience with OSX yet, but it looks quite promising for music. Anyway other members will advise you.

This post has been edited by Presto: Thu 30 Jan 2003, 22:06

[lepetitmartien]

Petra I think you should browse a little here in the beginners forum as some of your questions have already been overviewed there. Also check the OSX forum on the cubase SX issue. If a peculiar question has no answer, feel free to post a new subject on it. Easier to get answers to a single question. Remember you have other options on the mac than Cubase, DP and Logic (subsidiary of Apple now, think of it) are the pro contenders with Protools.

On the G5 or the next generation processor that we are desperatly waiting for SOME time now. I can't you the agenda of Apple. But one thing is sure, they can't wait till next year to provide us a quantum leap in power, or they will loose customers. they have to push the accelerator on the motherboards are some features are lagging, it's true.

Upon your case, everything depends on what do you want to do with your mac. In the opposite ot he PC world, Presto is perfectly right on this, users tend to use their mac a long time (the 5 years span is common) and usually (nothing is perfect in the world) without a major glitch (I won't start a Mac/PC fight, it's futile, and out of our purpose here Maybe a little walk on the switch part of Apple.com would be enlightning. Apple has many defaults, but they don't have to bogus users experiences to suit their marketing strategy. People use to love their mac, even if sometimes grass is greener elsewhere.

Should you buy now or not? Well, if you want to DO womething NOW, then go for it. Else wait a little until this summer/autumn thing should start to really move there. But for the date, ask Apple, you know as much as we do
Only remember that in computer, while you wait, you have job you can't make done. If you buy now you can use your computer right away. Especially now as the driver/software questions in OSX are about to be solved quickly (major softs lagging behind: Protools (whole family), DP, Motu drivers, the plug-ins are upgrading fast)

btw Down By The Water is a beautifull song and welcome on board!

[rickenbacker]

Two points in quick reply, Petra:

1. Cubase SX on OS X is great. I love it and haven't touched Logic 5.5 since I got SX. Very easy to use but still very powerful. Hooked together with Reason, it's a fantastic set-up.

2. As soon as you walk out the shop door with any computer, your new purchase is already out of date. PC or Mac, it's always the same. There's ALWAYS something better coming soon. True, if you wait until the end of the year, everything might be different. But then salepeople will probably be talking about what's coming in the next six months and how cool THAT's going to be. Like LPM says, whatever you want, get it now.

And it's certainly true that Mac users have less problems with hardware, drivers, bugs etc than PC users. For instance, in a recent manual for a USB audio interface I was testing, the PC installation section was over 30 pages long; the Mac's section was 3 pages long.

[lepetitmartien]

the PC installation section was over 30 pages long; the Mac's section was 3 pages long.

It's not a bug, it's a feature

That said, no mac/PC bashing, it's no use

Thanks Rickenbacker!

[rikibacardi]

MMMMmmmmmacintosh !

afriad it's a dark time for mac users, Apple seem to be suffering the same delusion they always have, a little great technology followed by a flawed plan to control the computing world.

[PlasTree]

Here's the deal. I don't care if pcs have 3 ghz processors in them. They're still pcs. I don't think I need to elaborate in that area. And now, macs are pretty frickin fast. Dual 1.42 for $2700! That's seriously fast and very affordable. And, if you're just working on audio, you can't possibly need more than that anyway, unless you mix songs with 10 reverb plugins going at once. I use an old single 867 for my mixing, and that thing rarely runs out of juice.

Yes, the G5's will probably blow away previous systems, which will be great, but to buy a pc instead just because you can't wait is a big mistake. C'mon! We're talking about pc's here! Sheesh.

[gdoubleyou]

Apple doesn't want to control the computing world, they just want to capture the high end.

Apple is a much smaller company than Dell, or HP. They can make a good living catering to people with money.

The PC music software industry is on life support, Steinberg sold for a mere $25,000,000, Apple hiring Sonic Foundry's development staff, Emagic bought by Apple.

On the PC side it's hard to get users to pay $700 for an app to install on a $600 computer. Steinberg was the marketshare leader, they had about half of the PC market and over one third of the Mac market.

Their biggest problem is software piracey. Even though the total number of Mac users is smaller, the percentage of Mac users who BUY music software is higher. The Demographic for a Mac user is different.

Macs are great for music and graphics, You can get the same thing done on a PC if you learn every detail of your hardware. I own both. You have to decide PC cheaper , more time spent on research and maintenance. I prefer to spend that time making music, hardware compatibility is a no brainer on a Mac.

[lepetitmartien]

Please, the thread is NOT on Mac/PC bashing… or I'll close it (I know, the temptation is great). And we are going (slowly) away of Petra's problem

Now Petra, look into my eyes…

you will buy a mac
you will buy a mac
you…

[Synthetic]

in the big picture... the end result is all that matters whether it came from a Mac or PC BUT... which would you enjoy using more? that is the choosing factor in my opinion... ideally my main computer would be a mac with a PCI card holding a 1+ghz pentium to run those all important little apps that music equipment manufacturers send with gadgets that only run on PCs with no mac support (such as my DX synth plugin card for my Yamaha CS6x)