I need help picking a computer

[skippedthe90s]

I'm new to the forum, so I apologize if this topic has already been discussed ad nauseum. Anyway, I'm about ready to make the switch from my PIII PC to Mac.

Though I have decided that my next computer will be a Mac, I can't quite decide on which one to get. Initially, I thought I was planning to save as much cash as possible so that I could spring for the new G4 1GHZ dual processor. They look awesome, but man are they expensive.

However, I was recently poking around and saw the new 17" IMac, which appears to be quite cool as well. In theory, I would run it with Cubase or Logic (I'm using Cubase now, but thinking about switching to Logic) and the MOTU 896 or MBox (which, I heard is not the greatest). It seems I could get the IMac with an IPod and either the MOTU firewire card or the MBOX for close to the same price as just the G4 Tower and the 17" Apple monitor. The price difference is pretty big between the two.

Does it make sense to go with the IMac? Is the bus fast enough? How about the hard drive? I use both audio and Midi, so I need something that can handle a decent number of audio tracks and some decent plug-ins. Naturally, I'm looking for something that I can hold on to and be happy with for a good 2.5 to 3 years.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[cmchamp]

Yes, the 17" iMac should be fine. Has an 800MHZ G4 processor and I believe a 100MHZ system buss. Get as much RAM as you possibly can to start, don't worry about the internal drive because you will need to get an external FW drive. It is highly recommended never, NEVER record audio to your OEM startup drive. They are good drives, but it's way too much wear and tear on them.
Check out the cross-trade options at Apple for Logic. Might save you some more money.
I've had a G4-400 AGP for 3 years and am now experiencing it's limits. The last few projects I've working on have strained it's I/O capability as well as it's processing ability for plug-ins.
Smart move for the iMac, though. Presently there are too many issues popping up with the new MDD machines and PCI cards.

[Justin]

I'd stay away from the Mbox for now as it doesn't have a core audio driver that works 100% with other software. I know DP can access it in a roundabout way, but I've not heard many success stories of making it work with other vendors software. The 828 on the other hand is very friendly with various software packages.

Look into something like:
iMac 17",
MOTU 828,
Glyph Companion Firewire Drive,
Your software package of choice

If you already have a licensed copy of Cubase you may qualify for a competitive upgrade to another software product. Call your Sweetwater sales engineer and ask him to check into it. Several vendors have programs like this that can save you a good chunk of change.

[skippedthe90s]

Thanks for the advice; I'm pretty close to making the switch. Hmm . . . The thought of switching to Logic is intriguing. How steep is the learning curve for a Cubase user? Also, what about DP -- how does it compare to Cubase/Logic?

I assume I would need the FW hard drive regardless of whether I go with the IMac or the Power Mac (i.e., does the Power Mac have a more reliable start-up drive, which somehow makes it more suitable for recording).

Thanks again for helping out a newbie to the Mac world.

[Justin]

Either way you need a dedicated recording drive.
On the PowerMac you can add it as an internal drive, or you can use firewire.
Firewire is very popular right now as it's portable, and hot-swappable.
If you're looking for something simple, it'd be a Glyph Companion, which is quiet and sits on a desktop. If desktop space is limited, you could get an mProject or xProject drive that is rack mounted for a few dollars more. If you want a really nice setup, there is the Triprack, which gives you multiple hot swap bays and space to put a tape backup, cd-rw, or dvd-rw.

[bettinger]

Hope you don't mind my butting in here - but I'm even newer than skipped the90's, since I'm not very tech oriented and I need information before I can buy a notebook.

Am I right, that a firewire drive is an externally attached floppy(?) drive that is necessary to do live recording?

What is MOTU 828?

[jraoul]

First, some answers:

FW (Firewire) is one way that data can go in and out of a computer; USB is another, serial is another. It describes both the method (and suggests the speed) and the port (or socket) that you use. Most computers have serial ports, but data transfer through them is slow. USB version 1.0 is much faster, and Firewire and USB 2.0 are faster still.

You can have a floppy drive that plugs into a serial port, or you can get a floppy drive that works on USB. Either drive will accept the same kind of floppy disks, so if you are thinking of upgrading, your old floppies should still work (assuming your computer recognizes them, which is another story).

This discussion has been about external hard drives, which hold much more data than floppies (average floppy: about 1 megabyte; hard drives hold any amount -- these days as little as 20 megabytes and way up into the hundreds of gigabytes). Digital audio requires lots and lots of disk space, so large hard drives with fast access times (and the faster transfer rate of FW or USB) are required.

***

MOTU is one of the bigger manufacturers of music software and hardware for the Mac (and some of their products work on PCs, too). Their Performer software (now Digital Performer) was one of the first and is still one of the most beloved MIDI sequencing tools. In recent years they have moved into hardware, and the 828 is one of their most popular digital/analog or D/A converters. (The sound we hear, caused by air compressing and expanding at different rates, is analog; so is the way sound is stored on an old vinyl LP or a cassette tape. CDs, DATs, and computers work with sound as represented by a series of numbers (i.e. digitally) rather than a smooth progression of waves (i.e. analog). To get analog sound into a digital format, and back again, you need a D/A converter.

***

MY QUESTIONS: I'm going to be needing a laptop soon. What is the difference between a PowerBook and an iBook. Are there any particular models to steer toward or away from? I have Digital Performer, but will need everything else. Can Sweetwater give me a good package deal (laptop, system, MS Word, keyboard controller like Oxygen) or should I buy a la carte?

[Justin]

Jraoul,

Absolutely, call your Sales Engineer today and he or she can put together a turnkey system or a package deal for you on the entire works.