Advice?! High spec PC- sod it and get a Mac?

claypigeon101

claypigeon101

claypigeon101

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592
Hi guys,
I really need some help. I am a musician and have got a high spec PC at the moment (see my signature) and am running Cubase 5 and Reason 4 along with a Midi Keyboard and Alesis Multimix 12 Firewire mixer, if that means anything to anyone. If not dont worry, my point is I wanted to get my mixer to work as windows' main sound deely so it would handle all the system sound as well as work as a Cubase interface.
But it isnt working and win7 with firewire stuff just doesnt happen and im seriously considering sodding it all to get a Mac.
I already want a Macbook Pro (13" 2.66ghz got a good deal) for audio/music creation on the move but I would happily get a Mac as my main home system too (in a bit of time when i can afford it)
BUT

my main question is
Obviously i've spent cash on this system, AMD Phenom2 965 watercooled, antec p183 case, 4gb OCZ RAM, ga-ma790fx-dq6 mobo, ATI HD5870 1GB etc etc, and I want to know is any of this transferrable or worth transferring to a Mac?

I want it to work 100% for audio creation, which i know it will... but id also like to run bootcamp windows 7 64bit pro (which i have) for all my games which i dont want to go to waste, so for example could i use my HD5870 from my current PC in a new Mac with say a quad core chip and 6 or 8gb ram and it would make a decent gaming rig too?

Gaming is spare time stuff but I'd like the Mac to equal the performance of my rig, which is basically everything 1080res full settings, delish.

But yeah any advice or words of wisdom gratefully received, I basically am sick of PCs not working as they should and as much as Ive never been into Apple, i may be a convert...

sorry for such an essay. thanks guys
 
apple_man77 said:
I don't think your going to get the best of both worlds unless you spend a good bit more. Why not buy one of the 17" mbp i7's which would be perfect for taking out with you and also using at home.

It would suit your needs perfectly as a musician. It would play games pretty well but you could always buy a ps3/xbox 360 for gaming??
Click to expand...

Hey there. Thanks for the advice and excellent point. However, problem with me is I like a laptop to be portable, and many musician/producer friends of mine have said the 17" is a dog for music simply because it's SO big. But it would be the best of both worlds I suppose..
I just love the little 13" MBP's though, they are so smart and to be honest would look very cool just whipping it out in town or on the train or at a gig to record or work/show some tracks.

I could probably sell my system as is do you reckon and take out the 5870 and also flog the GPU that comes with the mac pro? My monitor is awesome I wouldn't want a new one so thats a bit saved too. I think for now I'ma go with the MBP and see how that goes... I wont be surprised if it changes me completely hahaha

Thanks all so much for the advice, any more please keep it coming!
 
"andy"
thanks so much that is a brilliant comment.
Firstly sorry by 'deely' I meant main sound card/output/interface, not delay, I just couldnt think of the word, sorry about that.
And yes I agree, I couldnt afford a Mac at the moment that would equal my PCs performance in games, media etc... however
I do NEED a portable music station, that's why I'm eyeing up the Macbook Pros, I will definitely use it plenty. And what Im thinking is it will probably become my main music system, the problem with my PC is that I cant get my firewire mixer (alesis multimix12 firewire) to work as a main audio interface, or in fact talk to the PC properly at all without bugging out totally. Now my method of rectifying this isnt just buy a macbook pro, but
1. i need a portable music station
2. i WANT a portable music station...and for me that plays a huge part in buying 'gadge'
3. my firewire mixer along with any other interfaces i want will communicate with the macbook good and proper like it should, none of this 'windows 7 doesnt handle firewire devices properly' garbage cos its true, win7 really doesnt handle them properly.
4. everyone i have read about basically says the multimix works fine with macbook pro.
5. I'm going to Logic Pro 9 soon as another DAW to add to my collection. Most people use Logic and I dont think Im going to invest in Cubase 6 that can save as a generic file to open in Logic, ProTools, Ableton etc. I will probably swap and change projects between cubase 5 and logic pro 9, I know cubase well so if i start things off in that and can swap to logic at a later date. VST only projects that I do a lot, I will probably stick with cubase cos it rewires with reason and i get a million synths.

thanks for all your help guys it's great to hear so many differing opinions and also excellent advice from experience. however I've got this good deal on this macbook pro, in case i havent mentioned, It's the 2010 model brand new, 2.66ghz core 2 duo, 4gb ddr3 1066 RAM, 320gb HDD, and a beautiful firewire 800 port (which i need a converter for) that should make sweet, component-on-component love with my mixer

any more advice guys keep it coming, you are brilliant.
thanks again
 
plus, dont wanna start a Mac v Windows war but

ALMOST EVERYTHING WINDOWS I HAVE BOUGHT/INSTALLED/USED IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS HAS NOT WORKED AS IT SHOULD IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

so my personal allegiance with microsoft is vastly declining.

and I have 2 ferrets and they advise me to get a Mac, so im afraid it's 3-0 to Jobs
 
also "andy" i should be able to get hold of an Apogee Duet...the pinnacle of audio-to-computer communication...a perfect collaboration of design, engineering and shiny, shiny white metal... should my mixer not work properly...
 
visibleman said:
Used a Multimix a few days ago and had similar issues; found out that you need to update to the latest firmware and use the latest Win7 drivers. It DOES work on Win7 though.

Edit - link i used, http://homerecording.com/bbs/user-f...ix-12-firewire-windows-7-bad-firmware-297280/
Click to expand...

YES that's EXACTLY my problem, I saw this forum before, should I keep going to service pack 2 or 3 or whatever it is on win7 at the moment and then try?

Exactly as that forum talks about, I can't get the firmware updater to work
 
apple_man77 said:
Having commented on here yesterday I've gone and purchased a 13" mbp with the 2.7ghz i7, 8gb of ram and 128gb ssd :-).

I'll have to yet an external hard drive next month for music and films but it was coming in at the same price as a fairly high end windows pc which I was 1 click away from buying !!!
Click to expand...

cool mannnn
lemme know how it performs!!!
 
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