iMac?

Daftendirekt

Hi,

I'm thinking about investing in a Mac, to run Pro Tools 8.

The Mac Pro is a little too pricey for me at the moment, so I've been looking at the iMacs. I mainly intend on doing some guitar-bass-drums-vocals-rock-band type recording with it, and maybe picking up Logic at some point for some electronic music production.

My question is, would the dual-core 3.33gHz processor with 8GB of RAM be sufficient? I'm not 100% what my plug-in needs are at the moment, but I'd like to be able to run a few without having the machine crap out on me. Would there be a significant advantage to splashing out on the the quad-core, or should I save the cash for a decent interface?

I'm a Mac noob, so any advice would be seriously appreciated. Thanks!


Edit: Probably should have mentioned, it's an LE system I'm going for.

Anima

Its generally a good idea to get the best processor you can within your budget and upgrade the other parts over time when you've cash. Thats because if you upgrade the processor, you generally have to change other things as well.

If its not that much more expensive to upgrade to quad, I would.
Cut back on the RAM if you have to, 4 gigs should be enough for the time being.

Jabel

Go for the Quad core, I have it and can't recommend it highly enough.
The current Mac Pro is way overpriced compared to the Quad iMac plus you're getting a beautiful 27" screen.
It's a no brainer really
Good luck
J

woodsdenis

Jabel wrote: »

Go for the Quad core, I have it and can't recommend it highly enough.
The current Mac Pro is way overpriced compared to the Quad iMac plus you're getting a beautiful 27" screen.
It's a no brainer really
Good luck
J

Good advice ! Apple seems to have solved the screen problem. check before you buy.

studiorat

Sounds like more than enough to get going on some music.

Have you considered using Logic instead? much better value for money than Pro Tools IMO. And gives you a better option for different AD convertors etc.

And that's from a Pro Tools user too!

If you are new to the software consider Logic.

woodsdenis

studiorat wrote: »

Sounds like more than enough to get going on some music.

Have you considered using Logic instead? much better value for money than Pro Tools IMO. And gives you a better option for different AD convertors etc.

And that's from a Pro Tools user too!

If you are new to the software consider Logic.

As a Pro tools user I would agree too. Pro tools is essential, only if you need it. Logic is much better bang for your buck. If you are doing a lot of live recording then maybe Protools, if you are songwriting, using VI's and recording one or two things at a time then Logic all the way. On the top spec Imacs Logic would be very fast.

ZV Yoda

woodsdenis wrote: »

As a Pro tools user I would agree too. Pro tools is essential, only if you need it. Logic is much better bang for your buck. If you are doing a lot of live recording then maybe Protools, if you are songwriting, using VI's and recording one or two things at a time then Logic all the way. On the top spec Imacs Logic would be very fast.

Good advice from Denis there…I wish I'd asked for advice before I went the Pro Tools route… by all accounts, Logic seems to be the way to go. I just assumed Pro Tools was best because I heard it was the "industry standard" when I was getting my home set up together a couple of years back.

Re the iMac, you’ll be fine with either spec, but as the others said, always get the best spec you can afford. I have an 18 month old 2GHz Core 2 Duo with 4Gb RAM & it's more than capable of running PT 8. Still, it does have its limits… once you start to stack up the VIs & reverbs, then it starts to stutter.

I’ve found it forced me to commit to audio sooner so I could free up processing power. It’s a very good discipline, so it’s a mixed blessing really. To be honest, the suite of PT Vis/plug-ins are OK on their own… I have some IK Multimedia stuff & that’s what really hogs my CPU

woodsdenis

You really have to examine what you want to do.

Protools: Started as an audio program and then added midi. Audio editing is much better and easier, midi and Rtas not as good.

Logic: Started as a midi program and added audio. Midi, Virtual instruments, AU, Native power much better and easier, audio editing not as good.

This my own opinion of course and I use the two programs. I use Protools HD not LE. I use it because I need to. The difference between HD and Logic is thousands of euros !!!

With Protools LE and Logic, PT LE would still come out more expensive and you would be tied to their interfaces. I would think in this instance Logic would be a better bet, but only you can decide what your priorities are.

In saying all of this I personally cant stand using Logic in any form but then again thats me, a lot of users swear by it.

Daftendirekt

Thanks for all the advice.

I haven't definitely decided to commit to Pro Tools yet. Logic is still a possibility. At the moment though, Pro Tools is the one I'm more familiar with.

I don't really plan on doing a lot of MIDI work (not now anyway), mainly audio recording/mixing. Eventually I'd like to get both anyway, but for now I know I'll be doing more live recording (I'm thinking about eight channels of input at a time) rather than song writing.

Probably should have mentioned in my OP that the quad-core I'm looking at is 2.66 GHz vs the 3.33 GHz dual core. How does the processor's speed weigh up against the number of cores? And is it worthwhile getting the 8 gigs of RAM?

Rockshamrover

I have the i5 2.66 27 inch with 4gb of ram.

Having no problems with track count or plug ins so far (touch wood)
I wouldn't be using 50 or 60 tracks though, more like 20.

I'm using Logic 8 as I want to hold off on getting 9 till I get more Ram.

The i7 is only a couple of hundred more than the i5. Worth getting if you are going to use tonnes of tracks.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

woodsdenis

http://store.apple.com/ie/configure/MB953B/A?mco=MTM3NDc2OTI

The 2.8 quad i7 if you can afford it.

Daftendirekt

woodsdenis wrote: »

http://store.apple.com/ie/configure/MB953B/A?mco=MTM3NDc2OTI

The 2.8 quad i7 if you can afford it.

Yeah, I was looking at that one too. I'm severely torn on this; I could probably stretch for the i7 if it's necessary. After reading people's replies, I'm kind of inching towards it. I've read that systems with more cores tend to be more future proof as well. Any truth in this?


(Thanks a million for all the replies, by the way!)

woodsdenis

Daftendirekt wrote: »

Yeah, I was looking at that one too. I'm severely torn on this; I could probably stretch for the i7 if it's necessary. After reading people's replies, I'm kind of inching towards it. I've read that systems with more cores tend to be more future proof as well. Any truth in this?


(Thanks a million for all the replies, by the way!)

Swings and roundabouts. A lot of the VI guys like Spectrasonics will go for speed over cores. The i7 imac is a quad core. It is a serious machine for the money when you compare it to the macpro equivalent. Any computer will be out of date in 18 months anyway, so they say. Max out the RAM if you can.

Daftendirekt

woodsdenis wrote: »

Swings and roundabouts. A lot of the VI guys like Spectrasonics will go for speed over cores. The i7 imac is a quad core. It is a serious machine for the money when you compare it to the macpro equivalent. Any computer will be out of date in 18 months anyway, so they say. Max out the RAM if you can.

Cool, I think I'm convinced. One final question: is it easy to upgrade the RAM?

If so, would it be worthwhile to go for the i7 with only 4GB, and upgrade later? Apple charge €180 for 4GB more, seems kind of pricey.

Anima

I've read that systems with more cores tend to be more future proof as well. Any truth in this?

Yes, the more cores you have the better off you will be in the long run. Processors aren't getting faster these days, they're just multiplying in numbers. So instead of one 2.4 ghz processor that was out 3-4 years ago, we now have 2-4 at roughly the same speed.

is it easy to upgrade the RAM?

RAM is the easiest part to upgrade. Its just a card that slots in, no hassle at all. Apple charge a crazy amount for upgrades, you could buy a stick yourself and install it easily. RAM is very cheap these days. You should try and buy as little as possible off them and just upgrade it yourself.

Rockshamrover

If you are going to get Logic, steer clear of the wireless keyboard with the new imac's.

It's a lot smaller than the normal wired keyboard and doesn't have a number pad. A lot of Logic's short cut keys can't be used on it, which is a bit of a pain.

Daftendirekt

Roysh, quad-core it is then! Thanks all.

coldwood92

You don't need protools

garageband is grand