Pc To Mac Switch, System and software questions Options

[jakeupson]

I have been a PC user for many years and am tired of all the problems with it. I read the article in the July issue of Electronic Musician on building a personal studio. They described a system with a PC running Gigastudio and the main computer a Mac G4. I plan on purchasing the system described.
Base Configuration: Dual 1.25GHz-512MB-
120 GB SuperDrive
ATI Radeon video card
Extra RAM: 512MB 266Mhz PC2700 DDRRAM
SCSI Card: Adaptec 29160N Ultra-160
1 st Drive: 60 GB ATA, System Drive
2nd Drive: 73 GB SCSI 10k RPM , Audio Drive
Rack Chassis: Marathon G-Rack
Audio Hardware: Frontier Design Dakota/Tango24
Misc. Hardware: TC Electronics PowerCore
Sequencing Software: MOTU Digital Performer
Cost: $ 8295.20
Vendor: http://www.wavedigital.com/
My question's
Has anyone purchased a computer from this company? or know anything about them?, Is the cost resonable?.
I have seen a software program called Virtuial PC that is designed to run PC software on the Mac. I have a lot of music PC programs, will they run on the Mac with this program. If so, mabey I can run Gigastudio this way.
Thanks for any help .

[Synthetic]

wow... that is quite a list and chunk of money you are talking about

i have never dealt with that company but I might suggest another company that should have most if not all those products and they offer the best customer support of many of the online retailers I have dealt with . Try www.sweetwater.com and don't hesitate to call them about any questions. And seeing that you are going to be spending a good deal of money... they may be able to work you a nice deal. They assign you a sales rep based on your music needs and they are quiet informative and personable.

As far as Virtual PC goes... yes it does run PC apps but sometimes certain apps fail to recognize external devices on the mac and some apps just don't work well at all... plus the emulator is much slower than using the real thing. I am not sure I would even mess with it.

[gdoubleyou]

The only thing you have to wait for is OSX compatibility.

I would hold off on the SCSI, to see if you really need it.

I sold my UW SCSI setup after I purchaces my ancient G4/400. I tested 50+ tracks before I got bored.

I've seen reports of over 80 tracks with IDE.
Recording 8-16 tracks at once should be no problem with IDE.

The newest Macs have two IDE controllers, and supports 4 drives. Not sure about the specs, check the Apple site.

The Raedeon supports two SVGA monitors, you will have to buy an adaptor because only one comes with the computer.

Should be able to use a pair of drives as a RAID.

The Superdrive is a DVD/CDR burner, great for backing up. the 120GB drive is probably an upgraded IDE drive.

If you already own sequencing software you can get a crossgrade from MOTU for $349. I got mine at Guitar Center.

Nothing wrong with keeping a PC around to run Giga.

I don't think virtual PC supports midi.
But I do have a buddy that get's 24 tracks of ACID, but the GUI gets sluggish but it works.

I'd look around and price the components individually.

If you're a stundent or Know one you can get an academic discount on the software and hardware.

Macs are so easy most people configure their own, unless they are getting a full blow Pro Tools or Avid system.

[OptikSynth]

i'd suggest waiting 'till OS X is really a usable option. i was a pc user for a long time, and i'ved fallen in love with OS X... but OS 9 really isn't too much better than 98/2000/xp. wait 'till this whole audiounits situation is figured out, and all the software you need is on OS X. i've been doing only instramentals laitly with peak and reason to avoid going into os 9 for dp3

now having said that, if you're not picky about how complex your multitrack software is, and you don't mind spending more money later on major software upgrades, bias does have peak and deck, which is all you really need.

anyway that's my $.02.