Best Setup for Audio Editing? Budget $2k-2.5k

[lonerzombie]

Hi There,

A friend of mine wants to get a new mac for all his audio-editing projects (he mainly uses Garageband but really pushes its limits). He's willing to spend around $2,000 to 2,500. He's eyeing the 27" iMac (for it's massive screen size) but wonders if the recently bumped MacBook Pro's would be better (downside would be buying an external monitor and smaller HD).

Unfortunately he isn't happy to wait until the next iMac refresh, so that's out of the question.

What setups should he consider? How much RAM should he get? I appreciate any and all advice, the audio-editing world is foreign to me and I want the best for him.

Thanks all.

 

[Sackvillenb]

Any iMac will be fine, they are all quite powerful.

The 13" Macbook Pro's are quite good as well, but I would try to get at 15" because of the quad core CPU's.

However, if you're getting a Macbook Pro, make sure you upgrade the hard drive speed to 7200 rpm. Makes a big difference.

For either iMacs or macbook pros, I would recommend getting 8 gigs of ram. You can get away with 4 but 8 is better. Of course, on the iMac, you can get more than 8 gigs quite easily (and fairly cheaply if you do not buy the ram through apple).

Finally, get a good external audio interface, although your friend may already have one.

And that's all you need!

 

[Ingot]

I bought a 27" two years ago for this very purpose. If your friend is using a music notation program like Finale or Sibelius then the screen size is important. I use Sibelius and the large screen is very helpful. I use Logic Pro 9 for all my composing along with third party software from EAST WEST Quantum. I need more screen size than just the 27" that I have. I have quad core i7 with only 8gb of ram. Will go 16gb soon. 2 tb of hard drive space as well. Cost me $3200 CAD but worth it back then.

Logic cost me around $500 which is very cheap compared to buying pro tools. I too thought about macbook pro but for most of the time it would be sitting at my desk so I opted out for a larger capacity machine and bigger screen.

My thoughts for my needs but your friends' needs may be different.

 

[lonerzombie]

However, if you're getting a Macbook Pro, make sure you upgrade the hard drive speed to 7200 rpm. Makes a big difference.

If he goes with an iMac will a 7200 rpm drive still make a big difference?

Thanks for the tips, I'm thinking he'll want to go with the 27" iMac as a big screen is such a boon, and those Cinema Displays aren't cheap. I've read that OWC RAM is the classy option, as long as I can install it without too much hassle (i'd rather not void any warranty he chooses to buy).