Apple Computer Advice Please!

[Tenson]

What sort of audio work is the G3 iBook capable of?

I want to get an Apple laptop to learn more about osX. I know lots about PC based systems but not so much about Apples and a laptop would be nice.

I know it's not hi-fi but I need a fast reply due to ebay!

I want to run Logic Audio or Cubase SX... I don't want to do really heavy audio work as I have my main system for that but I want to do a bit of stuff... for example some live multitrack recording or a bit of mixing. How much stuff can the G3 do? Can I run a reasonable number of plug-in and tracks? Reverb, compressors, guitar amp simulators?

Thanks!

 

[TonyL]

I can't comment on the G3, but I've got a G4 iBook and it is superb - nothing I've tried doing so far in either Cubase (LE) or Garageband has tripped it over, and that's been several audio tracks, several VST instruments and VST effects running at the same time. It's good enough that I've just flogged the remaining music electronics I owned (I've got a Korg MS2000 on eBay at the moment!).

Tony.

 

[Tenson]

So what would be the difference between a G3 800MHz and a G4 800MHz? Thanks. What spec are you running btw?

 

[TubeMan]

The difference between the G4 and the G3 processors is that the G4 has what is called "Altivec" or as Apple calls it ."The Velocity Engine" written into it's architecture.

This enables Applications written to take advantage of it such as Adobe Photoshop to process large files much quicker than the G3.

If an application is not written for the Velocity Engine then there is little performance difference between the two chips.

If you are running processor hungry applications such as Cubase and GarageBand then maximising your RAM is more important.

GarageBand can stall on complex compositions that use a lot of software instruments if you don't have sufficient RAM or the hard drive is not fast enough, although having said that I have only seen it happen once.

For basic rough work a G3 stacked up with the maximum possible RAM would be OK for what you want.

You would need a iBook with a Combo drive for playing DVDs and installing GarageBand (get the iLife 05) suite which contains the latest versions of iTunes, GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto and iDVD

BTW OSX is fantastic especially the new Tiger version.

I would upgrade the OS to that ASAP as it has lots of enhancements to its CoreAudio framework which would really help with audio applications.

Cheers.

 

[TonyL]

What spec are you running btw?

It's a current 14ââ'¬Â G4 iBook (1.33Hgz) with 768Mb Ram. It runs Cubase / Garageband so well that I bet the G3800 would be perfectly usable.

BTW OSX is fantastic especially the new Tiger version.

I don't think Tiger is quite ready yet ââ'¬â€œ I've also got a Mac Mini and I tried that at 10.4.1 but thought it less responsive / stable than 10.3.9, so flattened it and started again. Both my Macs are now on 10.3.9, I'll think about Tiger again when it gets to about the .5 revision.

Tony.

 

[Tenson]

Alright I have won a bid on a G3 700MHz with 356mb of ram. I hope it will be enough for what I want to do. I think it will be, I don't want to do much, just learn OSX mainly. Besides its all I could afford.

What audio editing programs are there for the Mac? I am used to CoolEdit or Sound Forge but I can't see they do a Mac version of either. I know about Audacity, but it doesn't look anywhere near as capable. Or am I wrong?

Also what is the difference between OSX Tiger server and the standard Tiger? Are they completely different or is it like with windows where the workstation is just a stripped down version of server?

Maybe I should go to a Mac forum, but you seem to know!
Thanks guys!

 

[TubeMan]

The G3 was a good buy.

You need to check the OS version when you get it.
Go to the blue apple menu and choose "About this Mac"
The box that comes up will tell you which version of OSX you have.
It really needs to be at least 10.3. 10.2 doesn't really cut it these days.

As Tony says you need at least 10.3.9. This version is called "Panther"

I have a spare copy of this system I can send you free gratis if your Mac is not up to scratch due to me upgrading to Tiger.

Tiger server is a very powerful server suite designed for industrial use. I wouldn't bother with it unless you want to set up internet streaming, email servers vast network etc.

The workstation version is much more appropriate for home use.

I don't know an awful lot about pro music software. A good place to visit is

www.versiontracker.com

Do a search for "audio" and you should get loads of stuff.

I have found SoundsStudio 2.1 www.feltip.com to be good when transcribing vinyl to mp3 but it is far more capable than that.

Cheers.

 

[TonyL]

What audio editing programs are there for the Mac? I am used to CoolEdit or Sound Forge but I can't see they do a Mac version of either. I know about Audacity, but it doesn't look anywhere near as capable. Or am I wrong?

I've switched to Audacity, I also used to use Sound Forge on the PC, but quite an old version. Can't see a lot of difference myself, Audacity does everything I'd need and it's free. I have a Tascam US-122 USB MIDI / audio breakout box which works a treat with the iBook, it also came with Cubase LE, which as far as I can tell has pretty much all the functionality of SX.

Tony.