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building a recording computer system

gilbert46

gilbert46

Sep 21, 2004
369
0
45
Sacramento, CA
#1
Im jumping head first into the deep end (hopefully) in regards to making a computer system to record.

I have an HP P4 3.5gHz at the moment but I am planning on selling it for a mac g4 1gHz.

the planned system is a
graphite g4 1gHz
m-audio 1010
1.5 gigs ram
200gig HD

Ill use the included software and/or garage band till I can afford protools or another high caliber software.

SO.......... Am I missing anything? Is this gonna work?

Im scared selling my 3.2 for a 1ghz. I know mac works different but its alittle scary droppin this kind of money.

Not that anyone here would, but please dont hold back. Im doing my own research here and I dont actually know much about this equipment. Im taking what I read on faith as credible and it is not always so. Im computer savvy, but not audio/computer or mac savvy.

THANKS !!!!!! :hyper:
 
#2
Just a question, Why switch over to a Mac if you are comfortable a PC? Sounds to me like you have the foundation of a good recording system. I know the Macs are cool and all but unless there is some application not avalible on the PC that you have to have, I personally wouldn't change os.
 
#3
Well, the Mac looks to be more suited for heavy image editing (hence the 1.5 gigs of RAM), and you don't really need a "hardcore" processor for image editing. A note about the RAM, I heard somewhere that the G4's can only apply 999Mb's to any given application, still a healthy amount, but you may want to check on that.

Also, you might want to wait for a little while, as Mac and Intel are starting to collaborate, and they might release and upgraded version of their computers soon. You may want to read up on that as well. (Doesn't Mac use their G5 line of processors in desktops currently?)

As long as you don't play many games, and all of your software will comes in Mac-compatible versions, I say why not. It will take some getting used to, but the Mac should serve you well for image editing/recording.
 
#4
As it turns out im not being given a mac so I will keep the PC system and beef it up instead.

My motivation to change was for processor effeciency (RISK) and Im told that the audio programs run better and perform better on mac.

Either way Im staying with the PC for the moment and puting the I/O card and another gig of memory in it instead.
 
#5
This topic has been covered enough that there ought to be a sticky at the top about it.

Macs are not better than PCs for recording. PCs are not better than Macs for recording. A lot of people will tell you one way or the other, but the reality is that PCs have been doing well at recording for years and Macs are in the majority of major studios only because that's how it's always been. Either format is going to give you far more power than you actually need, and give it to you inexpensively.

Your motivations should be platform familiarity and cost to you, in that order.
 
#6
MSquared is right. Once a company makes the "HUGE" investment in hardware AND software, they kinda lock themselves in. You should stay with the platform you know.

Note:

RISC processors only work for software SPECIFICALLY written to take advantage of them otherwise there will be little difference.

At one time the MAC ruled the audio and image world. but as soon as software makers ported over to the PC, the point was moot. I think it's like 8% Macs against 92% PC's out there as a whole. Upgrades to PCs are so much cheaper. Vendors can give u pretty much anything you need for the PC now. .
 
#7
You should probably put in a second HD just for audio files. Naturally, it should be a big one.

And no, a Mac isn't necessarily better. You can make a screaming audio computer wth a 3.2 GHz WinXP machine, if you set it up right.

Many people recommend uninstalling all software you don't absolutely need, and not hooking up to the Internet at all (unless it's your only computer, in which case you probably don't have a choice).

Also, whatever recording software you use, and whatever recording interface, be sure to read the directions carefully to see if there are any specific required software settings that improve performance. And there are various sites out there with generic tips for improving audio performance under Windows.
 
#8
Richard Lindsey said:
You should probably put in a second HD just for audio files. Naturally, it should be a big one.

-SNIP-

Many people recommend uninstalling all software you don't absolutely need, and not hooking up to the Internet at all (unless it's your only computer, in which case you probably don't have a choice).
Click to expand...

"tuning" your system will go a long way toward getting the most out of it. try Invalid Link Removed for some generic suggestions to get started...

also +1 on the second hard drive business, I 'd go as far as suggesting 2 extra.... 1 for a seperate operating system on it's own partition (Microsoft's recent stuff will create a boot menu so you can boot your machine from either partition and then you can use your existing system for games/internet/spyware-testing/whatever and your clean, tuned partition for recording) and the other hard-drive (on a seperate IDE bus from the OS) for your audio files....

by turning off XP's eye-candy and setting up the recording software properly (CUBASE SONAR 3.0) I've been able to get 39 tracks deep without trouble.

FWIW my system is probably pretty dated by most folks' standards;

1.7 gig AMD Athlon
384 megs of mixed ram
M-audio Delta 1010 + M-audio Delta 44
 

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