newbie to computer work

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jrlindhorn

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hi im just about to purchase a new computer and was wondering whether i should get a mac or a pc from the point of view of doing techno stuff on a computer. i was to mess around and get myself accquainted with the whole process.

also, i am looking for tips then whether mac or pc, on what software to use. i dont really want to spend a fortune yet (i should find out first if i am going to be any good at this before i invest a fortune and find myself in over my head)

all advice will be taken on board.

musics i likes include autechre, the orb, plastikman, aphex twin, dave clarke and so on...

cheers in advance

james
 
I moved here thread here.Its more apt for this part of the bullein board
 
Hi jrlindhorn and welcome.

There's a thread where people gave their feelings about Macs vs PCs : http://www.onlinedj.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=705

Hmmm...do you have any experience with computers, do you have some friends who got a PC or a Mac, so you could see a little bit how it works, and how the interface is.

I'm a Mac user since a long time, so I'll only speak about Mac. But Macs are more expensive than PCs, it's really a personnal choice, some prefer the mac interface, others PCs.

Most of the main apps are avalaible on macs, like pcs (rebirth, cubase, ....). You'll find more sharewares and "little" apps on pcs.

For the mac :

• softs : well if you like autechre (I'm a big fan too), aphex,..., you should look at softs like Reaktor and Metasynth, and the new Reason for sound design, there's also MAX but it'll be a little bit hard if you got no experience in computers and sound design.
• sequencer : all the major sequencers are on mac too, I'm using cubase since some years and like it

• macs : well you could go for an Imac, but you'll need some good RAM, 128 Mb would be a minimum.
• others : an USB midi interface and a cheap master keyboard. Better than the mouse to my point of view ! ;)

If you want to buy a mac, wait a little, the imacs will be updating very soon with surely bigger HD, more RAM, and more speed. There are actually some rebates on apple store, so wait.Don't go for the low-end of the PowerG4, it's a new line and need to be improved.

I'm sure some other members will give you some good advices for PCs stuff !

:)
 
If you choose PC (im a PC guy but i dont hate macs)

. do NOT choose AMD processors (Athlon and all). I DID choose Athlon because it was half the price, but I REGRET it. CHOOSE INTEL IPENTIUM III

. do NOT get the LATEST processor... you wont see the difference between the top Mhz and the one two steps below (and HALF the top price!)

. get an INTEL CHIP motherboard. Reason? Because a LOT of audio peripherals like the EVENT EZBUS and MIDIMAN interfaces use USB, and believe me, only the intel chip motherboards have a stable USB. Macs are good with USB, but most PCs are not, unless it's an intel chip motherboard.

. get at least 256MB of RAM, it's worth it

. get a fast Hard Drive (UDMA 100 is recommended) also make sure your motherboard can control this.

. IF YOU DONT CHOOSE LCD SCREEN: get a 19 inch monitor at least, as programs like Cubase and Reason have a TON of panels on screen and you can stach all of them. Then, BE CAREFUL, when you buy studio speakers, because they need to be MAGNETICALLY SHIELDED or if they are not, you need to put them away from the screen, or you will damage it.

. IF YOU CHOOSE LCD SCREEN you can put ANY speaker right on the sides of the screen without breaking it (since it's LCD, you dont need shielded speakers).


This will help ;)
 
thats great

thanks guys,

i may find myself going for the pc option due to price and all. and thanks for the tips. maybe in a little while i will change to mac, but i think the price seems a little daunting at the mo.

i am a pretty seasoned pc user and have played around with things like cool edit and enjoyed it (but felt massively restrained - no multi channels or something). im a bit lost on all the terminology as well, but i will pick it up as i go along i suppose.

i was looking at prices today and was going to plug for a athlon but now i shall look at the pentium. with a pc i can afford to get dvd and cdrw... what do you recommend from a sound card point of view?? and speakers... they had this option for an ungrade from basic 100w speakers to 4 point FPS 1500 speakers... for about $100 extra?? sound okay?

any good advice on pc software to start off with? considering the autechre love and so on. i figure once i get something i will just play with it till i work it out. cheers again.


james
 
PS

ps. is a 650mhz processor enough with pentium III or should i pay the extra $70 for the 800mhz? (it seems like so little but then again so do all these upgrades, add in tax as well it starts to build up pretty quick.. thats about it.

james
 
hey Mano what problems with USB have u had?
because i am curious, has it been with the K7 chipset motherboards and windows, and have u tried it with Win 2k? because my friend uses a K6 and has a few USB things hooked up and no problems what so ever with win98 or i should see why there is a problem with the K7 boards
 
ade: ATHLON man ATHLON... K6 chips are "ok"believe me i regret a LOT that I tried ot be cheap and got an Athlon.

all intel is the way to go it seems. They OWN most of the protocols and only them have th erights to include some features, which features are important for some sound devices to work correctly.

jrlindhorn: good choice. get the 800Mhz if it is 70USD more than the 650 definitly. do NOT get the "surround" crap man.. all you need is a good STEREO (2speakers) sound and voila. otherwise its confusing if you start building your songs with 50 speaker channels ;) my 2 cents. for th sspeakers, get yourself a pair of amplified monitors, YAMAHA, or EVENT or ROLAND. they make great "studio monitors" (this is what you wnat if you want great sound for your music).

good luck again
 
what hardware conflicts have u had Mano? because what u want to do intel might be the best option, but for some else Athlon will do.

For my music studio i am external equipment all the way because its easier to switch for Mac to PC if needs be or vice versa. I wouldn't use the PC as the core of my studio.

Also i need the to lots of things with my PC, i need USB and Firewire for video and cameras.

I am stuck with NT at the moment and it never crashes but 2000 will be next.
I still haven't got the new processor because i've been hanging out of prices to fall
 
grrr man believe me... it IS the athlon and the freaking VIA133 chipset of the moptherboard.. believe me

go get a PULSAR II card (yes, the expensive sound card) try it on a non intel machine, and you will see what i mean. Same with USB ADSL modems, same with EVENT EZBUS mixer... All those work PERFECTLY on an intel machine.

yes. believe me i did tests, and i know computers, its not the first one i have. Plus I tlaked to a lot of technical guys around and they all say the same hting (cheaper, does work ok, but.. but.. but...).

;) plus Intel Pentium IIIs are not that expensive (unless you get the latest model)
 
ManoOne, your killing me. :)

Which VIA133 chipset are you refering to? The original VIA133 chipset is for intel boards, so i'm a bit confused. I'm currently running 3 Abit KT7-RAID boards with 2 duron 800's and a Tuhnderbird 1.2ghz, all with (unfortunately) 128mb PC133. Now, I can't say how the PULSAR II reacts to this particular setup, but I do know I haven't heard of any serious compatibility problems. IIRC, EMC (may have manu wrong) will be shipping the Athlon processors in it's single processor SAN boxes. Speaks well for the stability (that idiots like Michael Dell still think is a problem).

What kinds of problems are you getting with your sound card? Perhaps it's a driver issue? Bios issue? For the longest time, people blamed the VIA chipset for incompatibilities with the GeForce256SDR. Was it their problem? No. Bios and drivers fixed the problem (not just a work around, fully functioning).

As for price, a PIII800 and a 1ghzT-bird go for roughly the same price... :(

The USB ADSL modems are all garbage. Not a single usefull one in the group. The problem with USB is that it's done in software. Yes, there is a hardware aspect to it, but it's mainly software. Does it work? Yes. Do software modems work? Yes. Do they suck compared to a hardware solution? Yes.... Busmastering NIC to DSL router works much better, in my opinion. Lowers your ping, too :)


-=Whittey=-
 
cheers for all the assistance

thanks guys for all the help. i will get back to you when i have invested and tell you hopw its all working out. tomorrow night im off to see christian vogel for hopefully some good banging tunes.

thanks again for all the advice.

james
 
check out the new Mac Prices at http://www.apple.com

also if u don't know abit make a cheap dual intel CPU motherboard so a kick a*s*s PC is possible i am looking in to it, i dual beast is possible :D
 
ade said:
... abit make a cheap dual intel CPU motherboard so a kick a*s*s PC is possible i am looking in to it, i dual beast is possible :D
Click to expand...

mhhh... well Win98 is not good at managing two processors at the same time, unless you are doing 3D rendering. I think this is going to confuse our friend more than anything ;)
 
Win98 :( i was thinking more on the lines of win2000, i think it will over take win98. I really wouldn't bother with win98 unless for games, but Quake 3 has dual CPU control for faster game play

I don't want to confuse our friend here but there are lots of possibilies

if u want a Mac wait until the summer because there will be another price fall
 
ah well

i believe that i could wait always. the next price cut is just round the corner and they have it such that damn prices drop as soon as you buy. in fact i heard a comedian do a routine just a few days ago about the way those computer folk hold a better pc just under the desk so as soon as you have h\walked out the door they bring out the better model. its like swimming against the tide. damn them all :)

james

oh and yessum, i is confused about what you are saying... should i get windows 200 if i get pc. or is it bugg-ed? is 98se a better option?

cheers
 
personally i wouldn't bother with win98, i'd use the pro versions NT or 2000, more difficult to configer but a lot better, i know Mano won't agree here but i think NT/2000 is far better than 98.
 
nono

I DO agree, win2000 is better than 98

BUT.. But I know too many friends in music who had to move back to 98 for many reasons. drivers, compatibility, audio problems, you name it. I didnt witness anything, I just know they had to move back, and that NT/2000 doesnt have a great reputation with musicians.
 
but i really think its the companies un-willingness to provide pro level hardware and drives for a pro OS, i don't think 98 stands up to the demands placed on it.
Also MS should update NT4 for directX8 and USB/Firewire compatibility, because apart from that it's not a bad platform, it works well enough.
 
ManoOne said:
get a 19 inch monitor at least, as programs like Cubase and Reason have a TON of panels on screen and you can stach all of them.
Click to expand...
How true it is. I have a 19" monitor and I wouldn't give it up for anything. ( **except of course for 21"** :D )

I setup a couple of progies on my friends pc with its 14" or 15" monitor, and let me tell you it makes all the difference in the world.

Buy the 19 incher. Your pockets might hate it, but your eyes will thatnk you. ;)
 
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