What computer should I use for pro tools. Mac or PC?

[charlie2]

Hi everyone.

I finally got the east west collection. I'm about to try one program on my old dell, but I'll have to get a new computer later on to hold everything. I need the new one to fit pro tools, eastwest, finale and microsoft word.

Visiondaw computers were looking good at first, but others have been telling me to go mac because I'm using pro tools.

They said they ran into problems with windows 7 and pt. Anyone know anything about this?

I also remember there were problems with snow leapard and pt. Is that all cleared up?

I want to go 64 bit. Any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help.

[mazz]

If you want to go 64 bit right now, Windows is the way to go, although some applications and plug ins aren't 64 bit yet so they may not work in the 64 bit environment. We're in a transition period with all this stuff and Apple seems to be lagging a bit (no pun intended!) when it comes to 64 bit compatibility and their OS.

You'll want to go to the PT user's group forum for ultra detailed info, I understand that particular forum is the place to be for all things Pro Tools. I don't use Pro Tools myself.

Good luck!

Mazz

[orest]

What I've heard is that Mac OS 64 bit system is optimized to 98% and PC 70% something?

[mazz]

I think I should have said that in my experience, some companies developing for audio software for Mac have been slow to enter the 64 bit world. Digital Performer is not there yet. I'm not sure if ProTools is 64 bit on either platform yet.

[mojobone]

As far as I can tell, Sonar is the closest to being fully 64-bit compliant, but if you rely on third-party VSTs for mixing or instruments, it's on a case-by-case basis, and will continue for a while, yet. I don't know of anyone running 64-bit P/T, but 32-bit P/T will run fine on a 64-bit OS, if you have the right mobo, chipset and interface hardware. The Avid, nee Digi, user group will have the skinny.

[charlie2]

I'm not sure if ProTools is 64 bit on either platform yet.

Pro tools is not 64 bit yet, but I'm thinking I need to position myself for the future and go 64 bit.

or maybe I shouldn't be focusing on this too much?

[crs7string]

Charlie,

As you probably already know, the biggest advantage of a 64 bit environment is access to (theoretically) infinite RAM.

I'm using SONAR 8.5 in a 64 bit Windows 7 environment. All the software that is 64 bit is running great (Kontakt, PLAY, all the Spectrasonics stuff, Ivory.) Not all of my software is 64 bit so Sonar "wraps" the 32 bit plug ins to work in the 64 bit environment. This is where the problems pop up on occasion.

Fortunately, one by one, virtual instruments are becoming 64 bit.

I think it is wise to think ahead with technology. However, I would not try to operate in the 64 bit environment until most, if not all, of your software is ready.

It is great to have the headroom of 12 gig of RAM and all of it accessible by the large sample playback instruments. Kind of like living in a house with very high ceilings!!


Chuck

[ernstinen]

As you probably already know, the biggest advantage of a 64 bit environment is access to (theoretically) infinite RAM.

I think it is wise to think ahead with technology. However, I would not try to operate in the 64 bit environment until most, if not all, of your software is ready.

It is great to have the headroom of 12 gig of RAM and all of it accessible by the large sample playback instruments. Kind of like living in a house with very high ceilings!!

Now, THAT is the kind of post 'I' personally need! I'm thinking iMac at this point, with a budget of about $1300. BUT, I recently bought a 24" monitor, and really don't need the iMac monitor. New Mac Mini? I use Digital Performer, and PT just for mastering.

Being a "Technophobe," as Mojo graciously labeled me (he's RIGHT!), I don't quite understand this battle between a 32-bit and 64-bit "environment." Could you, Mr. 7string, or someone else explain this to me? I understand sampling rates etc., but not this computer stuff.

Thanks in advance,

Ern

[t4mh]

Heehee!

This such a difficult subject to explain without diving off into the deep tech waters of how and why!

The easy answer is that you can do more music with MORE RAM! As you add RAM, your computer becomes more and more stable and you can have more and more VSTs or audio tracks running at the same time. More processing can be done because of more ram available to the CPU.

A 64 bit Operating System can have or handle more ram than a 32 bit Operating System. Twice as much. You can take a brand new chipset and load an older 32 bit Operating System and it won't handle as much ram as if it had a 64 bit Operating System. Kind of stupid thing to do huh? I've seen people do it simply because they liked Windows XP Pro. I did too but its old stuff.

Current Popular or at least widely used 64 bit Operating Systems are:
Vista Business 64 bit (on the way to the dust bin)
Windows 7
Snow Leopard 10.4 or later ( latest is 10.6.3 )

The Downside....

64 bit being newer, not everybody's devices like audio interfaces, external drives and software VSTs have 64 bit compatibility. A user should do some research on anything they are considering purchasing.

HTH
Keith

[mazz]

It's a little bit more than twice the memory addressing ability:

"What's Different About 64-Bit?

While 32 bits of information can only access 4 GB of RAM, a 64-bit machine can access 17.2 BILLION gigabytes of system memory, banishing any limits far into the future. This also means that your video cards and other devices will not be stealing usable memory space from the operating system. Windows 64-bit Home editions are still limited to 16 GB of RAM for licensing reasons, but the Professional and Ultimate versions can use up to 192 GB of RAM, so keep that in mind when building that killer system."

Quoted from here:

http://lifehacker.com/5431284/the-lifeh ... ng-systems