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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Which Computer?
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 16 2009, 01:33 AM
Okay guys so here is my problem. I have been cutting my parents yards and weed eating it for the entire summer and they promised me a new computer at the end of the summer for all my work. Well that time is coming close. Now I get payed $50.00 because its a huge yard that I'm weed eating and cutting with a push mower.
I have to buy the computer with the money they have been saving for me. And I am either looking at a 13 in. Macbook Pro or a Windows HP. Which one is better? Could some one tell me what which one is better for. I need it for school but I also want to start recording.
Posted by: Canis Jul 16 2009, 02:08 AM
I have the impression that Mac is a lot better to record with then Windows.
It's great for schoolwork as well, since it run text documents and internet browsers just as good as Windows 
The only thing is that Mac is slightly restricted when it comes to gaming. Other then that, I believe it's superior.
I'm not the best source though, these are just my personal experiences 
Posted by: UncleSkillet Jul 16 2009, 02:09 AM
Well I'm an IT guy, have been for about 15 years. If your just giving me the 2 choices I would go with the MAC.
I play no favorites when it come to the PC (Windows) vs MAC thing but I will tell you this. I have many certifications and one of them is from HP. I work on these laptop all the time taking them apart, replacing system boards or what ever to get my customers back up and running asap.
The new HP notebooks are gabage man so don't waste your money. Especially if your looking at the new Elite Books. They look great but I have never had more problem then with these new laptop.
If you want a laptop running Windows then look at another brand. The laptops made by Sony (running Windows) should treat you well for school and music. 
Skillet
Posted by: Emir Hot Jul 16 2009, 02:29 AM
Wow uncle, interesting post. Can you tell me what exactly doesn't work on HP laptops? I have one Pavilon looks ok for now It's not new, it's 2 years old and soon I'll need an upgrade. I was thinking to go for HP again but now after reading this I am not really sure
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 16 2009, 02:55 AM
I play no favorites when it come to the PC (Windows) vs MAC thing but I will tell you this. I have many certifications and one of them is from HP. I work on these laptop all the time taking them apart, replacing system boards or what ever to get my customers back up and running asap.
The new HP notebooks are gabage man so don't waste your money. Especially if your looking at the new Elite Books. They look great but I have never had more problem then with these new laptop.
If you want a laptop running Windows then look at another brand. The laptops made by Sony (running Windows) should treat you well for school and music.
Skillet
Thanks uncleskillet that was very helpful!
Posted by: UncleSkillet Jul 16 2009, 03:04 AM
Anytime man. I'm always glad to try and help.
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 16 2009, 03:07 AM
So a sony VAIO would be a good windows computer? Is there any other kind?
Posted by: UncleSkillet Jul 16 2009, 03:31 AM
It's not new, it's 2 years old and soon I'll need an upgrade. I was thinking to go for HP again but now after reading this I am not really sure Sorry Emir, I'm not trying to slam HP products or anything. They are really good usually. Pavilion is a desktop PC and I was making my comment more towards the newer laptops. I think a laptop would be better for him based on his comment about going to school and needing to record with it. He is a young guy on the go don't cha know.
It's just these newer Elite Books that I have a problem with. The touch pads have a defect out of the box on most models, proprietary HD that are going bad before there 1 year old, LAN port that stop working. Plus there a real pain in the butt to take apart compared to other models.
If you need another system and want to make it an HP I would be happy to comment on that model for you Emir.
For the most part I really like them (HP). They have lots of features for the price. Just not this series of models. Skillet
You want a laptop right? Sony is a good fit for you I think. Based on brand and usage anyway, I will look at a few others online and comment back if you would like. I do have a few questions for you.
What price range?
What do you need it to do?
I assume you have a USB device so you can record your guitar, right?
What software do you want or need to run?
Do you like gaming, music and need to hock it up to a TV or home entertanment center?
Any other information you want to give would help.
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 16 2009, 04:07 AM
It's just these newer Elite Books that I have a problem with. The touch pads have a defect out of the box on most models, proprietary HD that are going bad before there 1 year old, LAN port that stop working. Plus there a real pain in the butt to take apart compared to other models.
If you need another system and want to make it an HP I would be happy to comment on that model for you Emir.
For the most part I really like them (HP). They have lots of features for the price. Just not this series of models. Skillet
You want a laptop right? Sony is a good fit for you I think. Based on brand and usage anyway, I will look at a few others online and comment back if you would like. I do have a few questions for you.
What price range?
What do you need it to do?
I assume you have a USB device so you can record your guitar, right?
What software do you want or need to run?
Do you like gaming, music and need to hock it up to a TV or home entertanment center?
Any other information you want to give would help.
Mainly I would say 600-1000 dollars. I'm going to be mostly using it as a school computer and gaming. Also I would like to eventually install a recording program. recording isnt a big deal at the moment its more about the speed of the computer and how well it works. I will be using a USB flash device alot and I will be doing music things such as itunes on it.
Posted by: UncleSkillet Jul 16 2009, 04:36 AM
OK Bro. You just need a basic laptop that is reliable and note going to break the bank.
No worries, I will look tomorrow but your probably looking at a Windows Laptop with that price range. That’s just my opinion at this point though.
I'll post again soon,
Skillet
Posted by: Emir Hot Jul 16 2009, 08:35 AM
On my laptop it's written HP Pavilion dv9000.
Thanks a lot for the comment, now I see the point.
Posted by: Fran Jul 16 2009, 10:27 AM
I've owned a couple toshiba laptops in the past and never had a problem with them. Those are 5/6 years old, when laptops were pricey.
Now I use a much more powerful & much cheaper Samsung, and I'm also happy with it. Though I have it since last Christmas, and I still don't know if it will keep being as reliable in the future as Toshiba's were.
I've also heard good things about Dell.
I've never used a Mac, so can't help there.
Posted by: David Wallimann Jul 16 2009, 02:11 PM
I recently switched from a PC laptop to MacBook Pro.
I love Mac, very fast, easy, clean and works all the time with no slow downs...
Posted by: jdriver Jul 16 2009, 05:44 PM
If you are already well versed in Windows you should stick with it.. I think Windows 7 is going to be a big improvement. However, if this is your first computer you should definitely try a Mac. You'll be laughing at your friends with all their viruses and trojans while you're happily working away. And anyway, Macs can run Windows at the same time, so best of both worlds. And Macs are well made, I'm typeing this on TiBook that is 7 years old!!
Just a note about HP... I have not used their products, but I work for a trucking company with ties to HP, and we haul hundreds of loads of bad (defective, broken, etc.) gear, to a several giant warehouses where they are reshipped to Mexico to be repaired, refurbished, or recycled. All brands have had their issues.. recalls, whatever, but still... 
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 16 2009, 06:15 PM
Just a note about HP... I have not used their products, but I work for a trucking company with ties to HP, and we haul hundreds of loads of bad (defective, broken, etc.) gear, to a several giant warehouses where they are reshipped to Mexico to be repaired, refurbished, or recycled. All brands have had their issues.. recalls, whatever, but still...
Thanks jdriver that helped alot. Okay so I have been recently looking at Sony Vaio's and they seem like good reliable computers.
Posted by: macseamus Jul 16 2009, 07:04 PM
Trey and others,
Can I just take this thread away from talking about brands for a moment..
My advice is, you need to think about, and then tell us, what exactly you want to do with your new laptop?
"School and recording" is not enough information. Although I have no doubt it will help a lot, my guess is that "school" is something of a justification for getting yourself a hot machine to record and compose on. If I am right then you really need to think about software and audio I/O.
Have you thought about that?
Here's a few things for you to think about and do some homework on:
* Most laptops have awful sound cards and no line input - what audio hardware are you considering buying?
* What software are you thinking of using? Are you looking at using free/evaluation versions for the moment?
You'll probably be wanting an audio sequencer, such as Logic, Cubase, and a bunch of software synths.
I have mainly used (in the last 5 years anyway) PCs running windows for audio work, so I can't tell you what is available for Linux or for MAC, other than Garage Band, and i have heard people do some funky stuff with that.
You might want to have a look at what is available on all platforms, bear in mind that purchasing commercial software will run you at least as much as you pay for the machine, in fact it's likely to cost you more.
At the end of the day, it's up to you. Do some homework on it. check out sites like notebookreview.com and notebookforums.com. Or just google the model name you are interested in and "review". READ those reviews. Ask questions on forums. Although be aware that you are going to get people saying Toshiba is great, HP is Ok, Acer is crap, go for a Gateway they're cool. etc etc.. IGNORE all of that nonsense.
Lots of companies have released lemons. There was a toshiba i was looking at a few years ago, because it was going cheap, but the trend in all the reviews was to talk about overheating, crashes and shutdowns, so it became clear that the model had a problem. Nevertheless, I know people who have other toshiba models on the road that have never let them down.
So the thing is, to set your eyes on a specific model, again bear in mind that even in the same model, there can be an AMD and Intel version, but once you have decided on a model you might like, check it out.
I assume you are in the U.S. so you have a huge advantage over the rest of us. check out sites like newegg, tigerdirect, best buy, jr and maybe b&h. Get an idea of prices and options on refurbished machines. Go down to your local store and try out the machines.
Have you any friends who have laptops? Maybe you could ask them to try out some audio software on their machine?
I can't stress enough that you are going to need audio hardware. Are you a guitarist? planning on recording guitar? then you could really use something like the UCG102. maybe you should get one of these first and use it to try out friends laptops.
At this point, despite what I said above, I feel compelled to note that I personally would avoid SONY like the plague. Even more so as you don't appear to have cash to waste on an undeserving brand name. BTW, I'm writing this on a HP Pavilion dv6700 SE Laptop. It runs windows vista, xp, and linux (various distros). I have used it to remix tracks imported from a Zoom Hard disk recorder, and i have also tried out guitar rig and the like. It gets warm when run hard, but that's not unusual. but i wouldn't really recommend it either, even if you could still buy the model. I (with +20 years experience) had trouble getting it to run XP.
I haven't used vista much, but that reminds me, you really would do well to check out support for windows XP before making a purchase.
I know i haven't really addressed your question of what is a mac or a pc better for, but really I don't think there is an answer to that one. anyway, given your budget, I have a feeling you'll be going with a PC.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 16 2009, 10:16 PM
Can I just take this thread away from talking about brands for a moment..
My advice is, you need to think about, and then tell us, what exactly you want to do with your new laptop?
"School and recording" is not enough information. Although I have no doubt it will help a lot, my guess is that "school" is something of a justification for getting yourself a hot machine to record and compose on. If I am right then you really need to think about software and audio I/O.
Have you thought about that?
Here's a few things for you to think about and do some homework on:
* Most laptops have awful sound cards and no line input - what audio hardware are you considering buying?
* What software are you thinking of using? Are you looking at using free/evaluation versions for the moment?
You'll probably be wanting an audio sequencer, such as Logic, Cubase, and a bunch of software synths.
I have mainly used (in the last 5 years anyway) PCs running windows for audio work, so I can't tell you what is available for Linux or for MAC, other than Garage Band, and i have heard people do some funky stuff with that.
You might want to have a look at what is available on all platforms, bear in mind that purchasing commercial software will run you at least as much as you pay for the machine, in fact it's likely to cost you more.
At the end of the day, it's up to you. Do some homework on it. check out sites like notebookreview.com and notebookforums.com. Or just google the model name you are interested in and "review". READ those reviews. Ask questions on forums. Although be aware that you are going to get people saying Toshiba is great, HP is Ok, Acer is crap, go for a Gateway they're cool. etc etc.. IGNORE all of that nonsense.
Lots of companies have released lemons. There was a toshiba i was looking at a few years ago, because it was going cheap, but the trend in all the reviews was to talk about overheating, crashes and shutdowns, so it became clear that the model had a problem. Nevertheless, I know people who have other toshiba models on the road that have never let them down.
So the thing is, to set your eyes on a specific model, again bear in mind that even in the same model, there can be an AMD and Intel version, but once you have decided on a model you might like, check it out.
I assume you are in the U.S. so you have a huge advantage over the rest of us. check out sites like newegg, tigerdirect, best buy, jr and maybe b&h. Get an idea of prices and options on refurbished machines. Go down to your local store and try out the machines.
Have you any friends who have laptops? Maybe you could ask them to try out some audio software on their machine?
I can't stress enough that you are going to need audio hardware. Are you a guitarist? planning on recording guitar? then you could really use something like the UCG102. maybe you should get one of these first and use it to try out friends laptops.
At this point, despite what I said above, I feel compelled to note that I personally would avoid SONY like the plague. Even more so as you don't appear to have cash to waste on an undeserving brand name. BTW, I'm writing this on a HP Pavilion dv6700 SE Laptop. It runs windows vista, xp, and linux (various distros). I have used it to remix tracks imported from a Zoom Hard disk recorder, and i have also tried out guitar rig and the like. It gets warm when run hard, but that's not unusual. but i wouldn't really recommend it either, even if you could still buy the model. I (with +20 years experience) had trouble getting it to run XP.
I haven't used vista much, but that reminds me, you really would do well to check out support for windows XP before making a purchase.
I know i haven't really addressed your question of what is a mac or a pc better for, but really I don't think there is an answer to that one. anyway, given your budget, I have a feeling you'll be going with a PC.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
Recording is really a side thing for me. I dont really know much about recording programs. School wise I will be writing term papers, essays, researching on the internet things like that.
Posted by: macseamus Jul 17 2009, 04:45 AM
OK I was wrong so..
I would say then that a MAC or a PC will give you all those functions equally.
Like was mentioned earlier, the MAC will give you the choice of MacOS, Linux or Windows, where as the PC only Linux or Windows. If your budget stretches get a mac. if you think recording might become more than a side thing, consider a PC.
Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jul 17 2009, 04:50 AM
I would say then that a MAC or a PC will give you all those functions equally.
Like was mentioned earlier, the MAC will give you the choice of MacOS, Linux or Windows, where as the PC only Linux or Windows. If your budget stretches get a mac. if you think recording might become more than a side thing, consider a PC.
Thanks man! Yeah I just got done chatting with my mother on facebook and she was actually on my uncles new macbook pro. and she said she has basically decided for me that thats the computer im getting haha.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jul 17 2009, 11:03 PM
That's great man, congratulations! MacBook Pro is a great machine I'm sure you will have some serious fun and do some serious work with it!
Posted by: UncleSkillet Jul 18 2009, 12:14 AM
That's good to hear! Congrates on your soon to be MAC. I think you will be very pleased with it.
Posted by: sted Jul 18 2009, 10:48 AM
Great thread guys. I learned a LOT from these discussions, and now we know that skillet is an IT man im sure he will get bombed with computer questions 
Posted by: tonymiro Jul 18 2009, 11:29 AM
The Mac is a good choice Trey - congrats.
One thing to check on it though for recording are the USB and Firewire connections. I think the latest macbooks have fewer USB connectors - on some it's down to 1 - and there have been many forum posts elsewhere concerning the chip Apple (and a lot of other laptop manufacturers) now use for their firewire interface.
On the subject of Sony Vaios...
My wife and I have three Vaio laptops that we use for work. Out work includes professional proofreading of academic texts, research and publishing. The Vaio is fine for all of these purposes and so should be more than ok for school work. We also use our Vaios professionally for music and media production/broadcast and training. Again we have had no real issues despite us putting some heavy demands on them. WRT production and training - students often bring their laptops with them. Of those, imhe, the ones that have given me fewer issues to deal with in order to get up and running for audio work have been Apple, Sony, Toshiba and IBM Lenovo.
Build quality - for a laptop - is good as are the aesthetics and the screen on some. They are not cheap though (we get ours at a discount as we 'know' Sony Europe well) but you pretty much get what you pay for.
With any laptop though I would suggest that you use an external audio card and also consider an external harddrive to stream audio i/o.
Posted by: audiopaal Jul 18 2009, 12:36 PM
Buy the MAC, you'll not regret it
I've ordered a Macbook Pro 15" as well, from work..
They look cooler, have less virus, the performance is usually better and takes better advantage of the memory.
I'm an IT guy as well, been working for a while with Dell, HP and other computers..
But I'm also an educated Graphic Designer, and have always loved working on Mac's
It's still a matter of taste though, as some people like regular computers better and some like Mac better..
Congratulations on whatever you choose mate
edit: Oh, I didn't see you're already getting the macbook 
Congrats again
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