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Guys, If you're recording on a Windows PC that's live on the internet and have all the required protection running you're asking for trouble.

If you are going to record, disconnect from the internet and turn off all your virus and malware/adware protection. You really should also shut of your restore feature as well.
Dig out the tweaks that are suggested for speeding up your PC anyway and disable all the un-necessary junk. There's a lot of stuff going on in the background using up horsepower that you don't need.
Ideally you should set up as a multi-boot, one for music and another for general stuff. I don't remember if you can set different parameters for each user with Windows but I believe if you log on as administrator you can specify what's going on with individual users.

What I mean by scan issue is the time it takes to scan the PC for spyware and viruses etc. and waiting for any threats to be eliminated.
Re processor. I have a brand new laptop. Dell inspiron 6400 it has a intel centrino duo processor running XP pro. 160gb internal HD plus a few 500gb externals. I am aware that I have probably too many programs and definately too much stored info etc. My music takes up a lot of memory.
I have noticed that during a scan (AVG security) everything slows down considerably and some programs stutter or do not respond. These scans can take a few hours to complete. I tend to leave PC during this period and wait until the scan finishes. It is time wasted.

That's the point Jim. Run a search for optimizing Windows XP for music and make those changes. Then, when you want to record you'll disconnect from the internet, then shut down the virus and spyware/malware/adware programs for your recording and music processing. Once that's completed start the stuff all up again.
You may have to physically hit a switch to turn off the wireless antenna if that's what you're running, or unplug your cable or DSL. If you're running on dial up, don't dial up.
That will stop all that scanning.
Keep in mind, the files stored on your computer don't slow it down, in themselves. What slows your system down when writting to the hard drive is if the file is spread all over the drive so the system has to search longer for it so...If you're adding and deleting lots of music you'll need to do regular defrags so the system can more easily write files to contiguous areas of the drive.
As to your scheduled maintenance, scanning & etc. Set up a time for that to start and operate while you're in bed asleep. If you normally go to bed at midnight, have the system start, say a half an hour later. When you're up after your sleep all that work is done and you won't have to put up with the starts and stutters except for the live scans of email, and downloads.

All stuff that isn't needed on the Mac.

Nor Linux.

Jim, the consensus, talking with some friends about your issue, is your best recourse is to dual boot with XP on 2 different installs on different HDs, one set up strictly for recording and the other set up for general use.










And then, a bit of a different view relating to another option I mentioned.



Hope this helps.

If someone is dealing with analog or auxilary computer technology, the best bet would be to think small.
I know that stereo seems to get in the way of a sound when it is a matter of just plugging an instrument into a mic or line-in jack.
I use stereo to make the sound fuller with the individual tracks that make up a song.
But having an mp3/wave setup, I switch the final track back to mono.
And I like the sound not to get lost with less of a speaker setup.
But programs like Reason or cakewalk is a different method.
A 4 or 8 track analog recording device may cut it as well as simply plugging in through a computer sound card and going through wave.
But everything now is geared for a computer.
Unless there is the most pristine recording enviroment for that analog recording, the sound faults all hang out when recorded digitally.

I have been thinking that as soon as my PC goes kapootz that I will switch to a Mac.
I have bought just PC's so far because I usually do not have the amount of money all at one time I would pay for a Mac.
But come hell or high water, I am going to save up for the Mac next time.
It may be considered hype that it is a computer for the artist.
But everyone I know of that has a Mac has it for a very, very long time.

Dak I think you have misunderstood my scan issues. I was stating that scans HAVE to be done sometimes and when the computer is scanning not much else can be done. This is time wasted. I try to scan when I am asleep or not at home but as these scans take so long to perform you never know when the PC is yours or running a scan. Perhaps I should think laterally and look for protection that does not interfere so much with the day to day running of a PC. Your thoughts on which protection programs to use would be appreciated. I must admit I have a real fear about viruses etc after my pal lost everything due to a virus. The silly man did not have a HD backup. Recently my desktop went whoopsy due to the internal HD malfunctioning, luckily most stuff was backed up. It has been a nightmare trying to establish exactly what is wrong with the desktop and fix it resurrect it. Hence me buying a laptop. Everybody I speak to has different suggestions as to what is the best security products. I have had issues with both Norton and Macafee. They want to rule the world and will not let you do anything without butting in.
Lyle. My laptop I thought was pretty much up to date and high end should I invest in a new processor on a brand new machine that has what I understood to be reasonable specs.

Ah, I misunderstood. I took it you were getting those problems while recording as well.

Warning! This is sort of my "Mac Sales Pitch". I've owned and used PCs and Macs for years (and Atari's before that). PCs can also be relatively trouble-free, but if you talk to the two owners, you will find Mac people are generally happier with their systems. I'm not quite sure why...


There were a few things about switching to a mac that I found either non-intuitive, or worked "different".

1. How the CD drive works: there is no hardware button on the drive shell like on pcs; there is a keyboard key specifically to close/eject the cd/DVD. Also, it was kind of weird that one way to eject a CD/DVD (or externally-mounted drive) is to drag the disk icon into the trash.

2. one-button mouse; immediately purchase a regular 2 (or more) button mouse. I haven't tried the latest and greatest Apple mouse, but so far, I've wanted to replace the stock mouse with a multi-button one.

3. The Finder is the equivalent of Windows Explorer

4. The "Dock" is roughly equivalent to the "Start Menu". You keep your common apps stored in the dock; but unlike Windows, you can just drag the file to the Dock or drag it off the Dock if you don't want it any more. You can move the Dock to the top or bottom or left or right side of the screen unlike the Start Menu. You can hide or show it, set magnification levels...it's actually pretty cool.

5. File compatibility. Most Mac audio programs can read/write .wav files if you choose that as your default audio file format. I still use aif, which is the Mac default. I don't use business apps on my Mac, so I don't know what file compatibility you'd run into with Word, etc. I do know that you can save most documents in PDF format without purchasing Adobe Writer (unlike on a PC). If you need that capability, it saves you the $200 Adobe license cost. I can also open up Zip files without purchasing a separate license for WinZip.

6. HD formatting. I bought an external USB 2.0 drive from Circuit City and never formatted it with HFS+ (the native Mac file format). It works (read/write) just fine for all my backups - and I HAVE tested restoring as well. No problems. Like most things on the Mac, I just plugged it in and it started working.

7. I've set up my wireless LAN so that my PC (wired) has a shared folder. My Mac (wireless) can attach to the PC folder and copy files directly to/from the PC to the Mac via wireless. No extra software needed. The PC can't read all the Mac files, but I think the Mac can read many PC format files (I'm sure there are exceptions).

8. The only maintenance I do on my Mac is something called "repair permissions" which is good advice when you install an new app. It takes about 5 minutes. I spend very little time troubleshooting or "improving" things.

I've never had a virus in about 12 years of using Macs, and most of them do connect to the Internet. I also don't open up attachments from unknown people.

Oh...I don't like the Mac's native email program as much as I like Outlook, or maybe I'm just so used to Outlook...

I use Internet Explorer on the Mac, just like on my PC.

I would recommend adding RAM from a 3rd party company instead of Apple. Crucial (brand name) is one of the best and is only about $50 for a GB these days.

You should go to an Apple Store and play around with one for about 10 minutes. After that, you'll see that there isn't much else to do but be productive with it....

Hi Larry thanks for the info. So what you are saying is that I will no longer need gurus to show me how to do this and that and apart from the something new to get used to factor it is a better bet than a PC. I can live with that. It is just a pity I did not know this info when I recently bought my new laptop. But two machines would not go amiss. Much much much food for thought.

I think both platforms have their usefulness. I do most of my email, Internet browsing, and business stuff (Excel, Word, Quicken) on the Gateway laptop I'm using to write this. My Mac is in the studio connected to the Internet via wireless. I mainly use that Internet connection for downloading application updates. I will occasionally burn a CD on the laptop, but 95% of my audio work is done on the Mac.

If there is a Mac equivalent to the Windows Registry, I've never used it. I don't know any Mac gurus...haven't needed to.

That's different from having questions about the application itself and you do have to watch which version of OS X you have and whether the application you're using works with that version.

For instance, Apple just came out with Leopard (OS 10.5) and hardly any audio apps are qualified for it yet, but updates are in the works. Kind of like Vista in that it's very new. However, Apple has CoreAudio and CoreMidi, so I'm not really concerned about losing audio functionality. Apple knows it's a big selling point for their computers. But those are the things you need to know about: if you were to buy a Mac today and Protools tomorrow, it wouldn't work very well until the applications are updated for Leopard - which WILL happen soon, I'm sure.

However, Garageband comes with all new Macs and you could certainly be using that on day one to make music. Apple's built in audio is not bad, but you'll still want an audio interface for Mics and Guitar input. Many audio interfaces (such as M-Audio) are plug and play with Macs.

I forgot there's an even cheaper route into the Mac world: the Mac Mini. $800 for a 2GhZ Core2 Duo. Get another GB of RAM for $50 and you're pretty much set. It also comes with Garageband. You can use your PC's keyboard, mouse, and monitor with it. It's a little more limited in expansion than the iMac, but certainly serviceable. I would recommend an iMac unless you just can't put it in your budget.

I don't know, Larry. Yes, the cost of "brand-name" PCs are moving into parity with Macs somewhat.
I don't think a Dell desktop with accessible PCI-E slots and room for a second internal disk drive vs. the integrated iMac that's not really user-upgradeable is quite a valid comparison.

I recently bought my daughter a custom-built PC system from PC Club. Pretty much like the Dell you quoted with Core2Duo, 20" monitor, etc. etc., the only difference being it has two 250GB drives. I paid $1282 for it.

I will admit I'm not hearing good things about Vista at this point in time. Fortunately I was able to get this computer with Windows XP, and she's had no trouble with it.

I use a PentiumD box for my audio projects. I should be able to pop a Core2Duo CPU into it as soon as the price on it comes down a bit more

Hi Pat Re Vista You will not hear anything good about it. It sucks period. I tried it for about 24hrs and binned it. I went onto several forums trying to solve the various probs and the advice almost to a man was bin it cause there are no fixes and many probs.

...and that's been the problem with comparing PCs to Macs all along: There aren't any "bargain basement" or "non-brand-name" Macs. They're all brand name, and none have Celerons, cheap cases, cheap RAM chips, flimsy USB ports, or cheap anything. They're built with quality parts and therefore tend to cost more.

Since you correctly point out iMacs don't have expansion slots, we could go back and forth on this since the Dell has no firewire ports at all, and some of the best audio interfaces are now using 2nd generation firewire at 800Mbps. I would bet that 90% of audio cards sold are either Firewire or USB, so the need for expansion slots isn't very high compared to computers a few years ago. There's also a factor of noise. How noisy are these PCs if you want to use them to record your acoustic guitar 5 feet away? iMacs are whisper quiet and if you look at one of the built-in displays, you'll see that they are really nice to look at: truly beautiful contrast, resolution, and brightness - not a bargain basement monitor there at all.

I will bet your PC Club PC will work just fine for a number of years. The question (which I posed above as well) remains as to how happy will you be overall with that system? Mac users tend to be more satisfied with their machines. Many people are perfectly happy with a low-end Kia car and it serves them well. They're emminently practical.

And that's part of the point...it's hard to describe, but I feel it's the little quality touches like the above that differentiate the whole philosophy of Mac vs PC. Mac's are built from the ground up with an artistic bent, not a business-use "what's the bottom-line" bent. A week after I first got my dual G5 tower, I opened it up and in about 2 minutes added a 2nd hard drive with no tools and had to review one page in the manual. I remember simply admiring the engineering quality inside the case. I haven't opened it since: I haven't needed to. I've never seen a desktop PC with the quality of the air flow components and duct work, the fans, the quality harness wiring, the fit of the internal components. It's simply engineered and manufactured well.

PCs will probably always be cheaper than Macs. Toyotas or Kia's will probably always be cheaper than BMWs. There is a market for both and satisfied customers of both, but I think you'll find BMW owners more likely to be proud of their cars' engineering... (no, I don't own a BMW...yet)

Hey...I gotta go eat some turkey. Enjoy the rest of your day!

How was your turkey? I had some too and it was great

Hey, I think Toyotas are damn fine cars; they're not fancy though, that's for sure.

I concur that Macs are built really, really well; and are worth the money you pay for them too. A motivated person with some computer savvy (and isn't in too big a hurry) can build a fine, very quiet PC for less. But I realize that many folks want to concentrate on the music, not the technology. I don't disagree with you and Jody, my opinions are just skewed slightly differently.

Cheers - Pat

Hi,

If you want to be good at troubleshooting software conflicts; if you enjoy the associated drama of being in turmoil, etc., etc., etc., it will be of benefit to own a PC. If you want to joyfully spend time doing what it is you want to do, use a Mac.

Oddly, now that I am waiting for my PC's to go kaputz so I can save up for the Mac, they are functioning quite admirably.
I can't explain my luck.
Other than some religious philosophers state that some of us bare the mark of Cain.

I have found though that the most cooperative PC's are the clunky, pre-millinium ones.