I compose a lot of music. I'm using east west symphonic orchestra, symphonic choirs, and ministry of rock. I'll be using Logic as my DAW of course but what I can't decide is...will a 21.5in mac with 3.06ghz core 2 duo, 8gigs/ram be adequate to handle all of this? (sometimes I have up to 35 vsti midi tracks) or do I need to go the long haul and shell out for a 27in quad core? the east west software recommends 2.5ghz core 2 duo. This will be my first experience with a mac as well.
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Looking to get an iMac, can't decide best configuration for my budget
- Thread starter 1manorchestra
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You can do what you need even on a very low poered Mac if you are willing to "bounce" (aka "freeze") tracks. This way they don't have to be rendered in real time. Remember that people used to do real work on the old G4 towers.
But you will want the 27 inch screen. Logic just eats up screen spaces and you will own this for a long time, buy it for the work yoou will be doing later. If you get the quad core it will mean you will not need to upgrade for a longer time. I think in the long run the quad will be more cost effective because it will save you from having to buy another computer so soon.
But you will want the 27 inch screen. Logic just eats up screen spaces and you will own this for a long time, buy it for the work yoou will be doing later. If you get the quad core it will mean you will not need to upgrade for a longer time. I think in the long run the quad will be more cost effective because it will save you from having to buy another computer so soon.
"You can do what you need even on a very low poered Mac if you are willing to "bounce" (aka "freeze") tracks. This way they don't have to be rendered in real time. Remember that people used to do real work on the old G4 towers.
But you will want the 27 inch screen. Logic just eats up screen spaces and you will own this for a long time, buy it for the work yoou will be doing later"
Agree with this poster.
For music production, you want as much screen "real estate" as possible.
I would argue that the larger screen will prove to be significantly more important than the differences in processor speeds.
RAM you can add later if you need to. I'd reckon that 4gig will do just fine for now.
But you will want the 27 inch screen. Logic just eats up screen spaces and you will own this for a long time, buy it for the work yoou will be doing later"
Agree with this poster.
For music production, you want as much screen "real estate" as possible.
I would argue that the larger screen will prove to be significantly more important than the differences in processor speeds.
RAM you can add later if you need to. I'd reckon that 4gig will do just fine for now.
thats sorta what i was leaning towards..get the 27 inch quad and be set for a while. I just needed that reassurance that my thoughts on this made sense to others as well (to help convince the wife =P)
For semi/pro production the quad i5/i7 is a must for the pro tools/advanced logic users.
I'm quite a heavy logic user and do ok with the c2d but wish I had gone with the quad core.
Hey I'm trying to do the same thing.however Im not sure if the iMac's one hard drive bay is adequate for the multiple VST plugins plus it running logic at the same time. I would imagine the hard drive would be going crazy trying to accommodate all those things. Should this be of concern? What are your thoughts?
The 7200rpm HD in my Imac Happily runs Logic 9 with multiple VST/AU.
I have about 30 tracks with some kind of FX/Processing on each channel on an average tune, with multiple instances of virtual instruments like massive or battery.
My Imac is the 21" 3.06 4 gig RAM
I also run pretty low latency. (64 samples)
The quad core is they way to go.
Like I said in my previous post, if your budget can accommodate then go for it.
