Now that I need a new computer: Which DAW and which computer

[andygabrys]

EDIT:

In my case, I run Logic (which has only been available for the Mac since 2006 btw) and I run it on a Mac Pro.

What I mean is Logic is ONLY available for MAC since 2006.

[andygabrys]

The machine you are using: did you buy a new or used one? In the latter case:ever had problems with hardware?

I took the plunge for a used machine in 2014 after having bought a Mac Pro 1,1 in January 2007. Even though the 1,1 can't be upgraded beyond OS X 10.6.8 it still runs flawlessly. I figured based on that experience that the machines have a very long life, which has proved to be true.

The good thing about the Mac Pro 5,1 is that its "modular".

You can buy new processors, RAM, Video cards, etc. from many aftermarket sources.
There are a million ports (USB, FW, etc.) on the machines which adds redundancy, and you can also buy PCI cards to add extra USB or eSATA ports (very inexpensively).
So its easy to deal with hardware problems, for much less than the cost of a new machine.

The same goes for Windows desktop machines that are built on a tower format. You can replace and upgrade things for a long time.

[mojobone]

Hi mojobone,
Thanks for your information! Very useful.
I'm not so familiar with 'RADAR system' and googling does not help that much (lots of information about radar-systems to make plains land safely ).
Any links or extra information on that?

The machine you are using: did you buy a new or used one? In the latter case:ever had problems with hardware?

Kind regards,
Hans

Sure, here ya go: http://www.izcorp.com/products/radar/

My machine is a mid-2012 Mac Pro with a dozen cores and 40G of RAM, a refurb from http://gainsaver.com

[harom]

Putting all your good advice (Thanks again!) together I will

• Buy a new Windows-machine (environment I know + bad experiences with second hand hardware in the past) that is expandable enough.
• Keep on learning about reaper because its logic fits mine, it’s very affordable leaving more money for the PC and/or VST-plugins and it is available in the two worlds (mac and PC).

At the moment I'm looking at the Dell 8910-Desktop because of the Quad-core i7-6700 processor, the max-RAM of 64 Gb it can contain and the extra hard disks that I may want to insert in the future... Also the reviews look very promising.
Did anyone already have any experiences with this machine?

[kclements]

Putting all your good advice (Thanks again!) together I will

• Buy a new Windows-machine (environment I know + bad experiences with second hand hardware in the past) that is expandable enough.
• Keep on learning about reaper because its logic fits mine, it’s very affordable leaving more money for the PC and/or VST-plugins and it is available in the two worlds (mac and PC).

This makes total sense to me.

I have been looking at Reaper as well - there are number of really strong benefits in Reaper, and someday I may switch over. Not today, but it is becoming an option for me. If I were just starting out, or wasn't "locked" into a DAW, I think Reaper would be my first choice.

kc