iMac or Big PC ?

[Tony]

Hello,

I'm looking for a new setup for produce techno ! Currently I use my Mac Book Pro with an additional 27-inch screen.

My problem is that I use Ableton x32, so i can only use 4 Go of RAM. And if i want to use more of 4 Go, i've to use Ableton x64, but, i've lot of VST that are x32 only. So i use, "jbridge" to be able to use x32 VST on x64 DAW. But I find it annoying to use the bridge, some vst bug, or are slow.

My question is, do I need to update an iMac or a large computer tower ?

Very difficult choice (and expensive), so i ve to make the right choice.

What do you suggest guys ?

Sorry if my english is not perfect, I hope I made clear phrases.

Best.

[Planar]

Sorry, I don't get the question. You want to upgrade because some plugins aren't available in 64 bit native versions?

Is your current machine limiting the number of FX and channels you'd like to use? That's reason to upgrade.

I'd actually suggest to keep running the 32-bit version of Ableton unless you're doing a lot of heavy audio work or you have no plugins that require a 32-bit host. I keep an eye on my projects RAM usage quite a lot and I'm rarely going over 1.5G for Ableton and I bounce a lot. I think at the moment running a 64-bit host is probably more effort than it's worth depending on the VST's you use.

If you want to upgrade, PC vs Mac is purely down to which OS you prefer. Windows is very solid these days and Win 10 seems to be another improvement from what I hear. Lots of people love OSX and it's probably a little easier if you're not technically inclined while offering the *nix back end if you are. Personally I don't like Apples disregard for backwards compatibility when they do OS updates. Hardware quality is purely down to budget, you'll pay about the same for an equivalent set of of components. You'll pay less for a PC if you want power at the sacrifice of a little quality. The one real advantage of PC is you're much less tied down by arbitrary limits Apple impose on upgrades- if you need more RAM you can have it, a better gfx card etc. so your system can grow with you.

[Wiu]

I run the 64 bit version of Ableton 9 on a Dell Windows 8 laptop with a fairly slow i7 processor and 8g of ram. Runs fine. Can't say I've noticed a difference sound quality wise if I'm being honest. The laptop's only a Dell £600'ish jobbie. I'm only using it because my Mac Pro died about a year ago and just can't afford a new high spec machine.

I'm no expert, but I can't see upgrading to a new machine will help jbridge work any better. I couldn't even get that thing working at all so just fucked off all the (mainly freeware) plugins that were 32 bit only. All my paid for plugins were already 64 bit compatible apart from Synplant. It was a glorious day when the 64 bit update for that came out. It amazes me that the uptake to 64 bit has taken so long considering the whole ram limitation thing. I'm by far an expert on these matters though so maybe anything over 4g isn't really all that more usable anyway? Certainly sound wise I've not noticed the difference like I say.

[Planar]

There's no sound difference between 32 and 64 bit plugins, it's just the accessible amount of RAM per process. you can run 32 bit Ableton in a 64 bit OS- the 4GB limit only applies to Ableton, not the rest of your OS.

I doubt many people are hitting the 4GB limit, but if all your plugs support 64 bit then you have no reason not to use the 64 bit version. On the other side of the fence, a bit-bridge is a bit of a nuisance that isn't worth it if you rely on a few 32 bit only plugs.

[1200]

I use PC platform for everything and have for some time. It really depends whats best for you and your budget. I really use very little to write and dj my music in comparison to a lot of people. I like to use live 9 suite and use all the stock sounds and modulate the hell out of everything. I mostly draw with the keyboard and mouse, I don't really use controllers or a push or anything... So, really its up to you! I feel the way I write music is the best for me and i couldn't imagine writing on anything but live. Do some research and be practical for what you need it for and I wish you luck!

[msl]

I'm still running in 32bit cause there is one old plug in I don't want to give up using yet (MadShifta)... I guess I'll switch soon though.

As for mac or pc, well less headaches with mac and generally more dependable.


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[CRDM]

My laptop died late last year. I got a laptop from chillblast in the uk, seeing as it has 8gb Ram I went with a 64 bit daw, most of my plugins were 32 bit only though but I just made the transition and started building a collection again. The only ones I do still miss are the variety of sound, but there's so many alternatives and new bits coming out I've got most my tools covered now.

I can't really comment on the 64 bit difference as it's an entirely new laptop, I can however run a lot more plugins if I want and it takes a lot to push it. That's with an i5, 8 gigs of ram and an ssd drive.

[ozias_leduc]

i got a big imac a couple of years back

i love it. works great.

i used to have a PC, so i do miss some of the freeware plugins

crash wise, things crash pretty much the same amount as PC

i just like mac because i'm lazy these days

[Mslwte]

i was very tempted to change the title of this thread to "imac vs Big Mac"

anyway..

[Planar]

I can't really comment on the 64 bit difference as it's an entirely new laptop, I can however run a lot more plugins if I want and it takes a lot to push it. That's with an i5, 8 gigs of ram and an ssd drive.

Just to be clear as I think some people are confused at 32 vs 64 bit daws/plugins. 64-bit doesn't make your DAW run faster or sound better, the only difference is the amount of RAM it can use, you would literally have no difference unless you're close to the 4GB limit in your projects.

[bergertron]

I run the 64 bit version of Ableton 9 on a Dell Windows 8 laptop with a fairly slow i7 processor and 8g of ram. Runs fine. Can't say I've noticed a difference sound quality wise if I'm being honest. The laptop's only a Dell £600'ish jobbie. I'm only using it because my Mac Pro died about a year ago and just can't afford a new high spec machine.

64-bit Windows 8
i7 processor
8gb of ram

sounds good to me, What spec was your mac pro if you call it high spec

[msl]

There is no quality difference between 32 and 64bit, just the ability to access more ram, so useful for those that run large sample libraries, east west, etc.


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[Wiu]

There's no sound difference between 32 and 64 bit plugins, it's just the accessible amount of RAM per process. you can run 32 bit Ableton in a 64 bit OS- the 4GB limit only applies to Ableton, not the rest of your OS.

That explains it! Good thing I didn't do an 'analog fanboy' thing and pretend that I could hear a difference. That would of been awkward.

[Wiu]

I run the 64 bit version of Ableton 9 on a Dell Windows 8 laptop with a fairly slow i7 processor and 8g of ram. Runs fine. Can't say I've noticed a difference sound quality wise if I'm being honest. The laptop's only a Dell £600'ish jobbie. I'm only using it because my Mac Pro died about a year ago and just can't afford a new high spec machine.

64-bit Windows 8
i7 processor
8gb of ram

sounds good to me, What spec was your mac pro if you call it high spec

It was high spec when I bought it 8 years ago. It was 8 core and 8 gig ram Mac Pro. I loved the thing. In all years I used it for music production it crashed a handful of times. Logic 8 was so fucking stable. I miss it. Ableton crashes quite often. Never quite sure if it's a PC issue or an Ableton issue though. Or maybe a combination of both? Either way, I think it was the graphics card that died on the Mac Pro, so probably quite fixable if I had the spare money.

[Lost to the Void]

You could always build a hackintosh and run dual OS

[Mattias]

There's no sound difference between 32 and 64 bit plugins, it's just the accessible amount of RAM per process. you can run 32 bit Ableton in a 64 bit OS- the 4GB limit only applies to Ableton, not the rest of your OS.

That explains it! Good thing I didn't do an 'analog fanboy' thing and pretend that I could hear a difference. That would of been awkward.

[delve]

j_bridge v1.6b3 runs fine for me, I don't know what kind of problems you're having? gui a bit glitchy and sticky? All you need to do is click on the "settings" button inside ableton's plugin editor's window at the bottom of each plugin, that is acting weird and click on & off till all the bugs are worked out. J_bridge saves your settings into a folder on your computer. From where the j-bridge saves the "settings", that folder then can be copied and saved for your later installs. Therefore, eliminating the hassle of going through your old plugs and re-debugging them. Most plugins however, do use a lot of the same settings.

[CRDM]

I can't really comment on the 64 bit difference as it's an entirely new laptop, I can however run a lot more plugins if I want and it takes a lot to push it. That's with an i5, 8 gigs of ram and an ssd drive.

Just to be clear as I think some people are confused at 32 vs 64 bit daws/plugins. 64-bit doesn't make your DAW run faster or sound better, the only difference is the amount of RAM it can use, you would literally have no difference unless you're close to the 4GB limit in your projects.

I know 32 bit and 64 bit doesn't affect sound quality whatsoever, I was just saying I can't comment on the difference in performance as it's a whole new laptop, I can't tell the difference that 64 bit makes performance wise as the lappy feels better as a whole. But yeah it's good to put it out there, I don't get why people think it might affect the sound though.

[Planar]

Seems we've both miss-read each others posts today

A couple of other posts have hinted at it as well, so definitely worth having it pointed out. Audio doesn't need any more myths.

I don't get why people think it might affect the sound though.

Lots of people using audio software aren't technical and 64 is a bigger number than 32, so it must sound twice as good! I actually suspect some people think it has to do with the audio bit rate, which it doesn't.

[CRDM]

Seems we've both miss-read each others posts today

A couple of other posts have hinted at it as well, so definitely worth having it pointed out. Audio doesn't need any more myths.

I don't get why people think it might affect the sound though.

Lots of people using audio software aren't technical and 64 is a bigger number than 32, so it must sound twice as good! I actually suspect some people think it has to do with the audio bit rate, which it doesn't.

We have

Yeah exactly, I think they might be confusing it with oversampling as well.