I'll be in the market to totally upgrade my computer setup soon.....I never used a Mac product for anything, Music production, Internet browsing, DAW, etc, etc, ..what are the Benefits of using a MAC vs PC for Music+. Will some PC programs run on Mac & I hear it can run windows also? Also....would it be better to run a NEW DAW that can run on a MAC without using BOOTCAMP...after all whats the sense of having a Mac & using windows too? confusing??
And what would you recommend for a main MAC Desktop unit & why?

PS I use MIXCRASFT pro studio DAW programs .....here is what it says vs using a MAC...
"Mixcraft is a Windows based product that can be used on a Macintosh computer running Bootcamp."

what is BOOTCAMP?
Shortly after the first Intel-based Macs arrived on the market, Apple released a tool called Boot Camp, which lets Mac owners install and boot their machines natively into Microsoft Windows alongside an existing OS X installation without running two operating systems concurrently--perfect for running performance-

Thanx

These days there is not much between them as they now operate pretty much the same, (Although the 2 separate factions will claim there is, even when in reality there isn’t) however, the MAC is more expensive for the same performance but does have a premium feel. (Upgrades are a bit limited though)

Look at what software you want to use, and then check to see which platforms it is designed for, (Most music software will work on both) however, be aware that Apple will drop support for older software even if it is still popular to suit their purpose, whereas Microsoft still supports a lot of the older software.

Get a computer assembled for your specific purposes (Most online shops have a custom build section where you can choose the type of system you want, (Music in this case) and vary it to suit your needs)

If you have lot of older Windows software (Or love free stuff) stick with Windows as it probably won’t run on a Mac, (Even with a virtual PC install) so you will need a dual boot system, (You boot into either Windows or Mac at start up) with the Apple Boot Camp software installed.

Take your time choosing, and always allow for future upgrades. (Don’t buy a minimum spec computer to save money)

Just noticed your recent edit, so go for Windows as it will allow you to run the software you own OOTB.

Have fun

Bill

Bill thank you for your great reply I feel better now knowing the two Mac/PC in todays world are close....I still run Win7 guess I am so used to it,....but, I am a speed demon on my PC and I NEED TO CLICK & GO FAST I need a desktop computer that is "lightning fast" to jump from internet to programs, browsing, picture files, word processors etc, etc, etc, ...I'll do more research and read suggestions until I can make up my mind what to buy. Thanx

Happy New Year To you & Yours!

Hi

Keep your Win 7...
Some old Windows programs will not run at Win 8, 8.1 or Win 10...
Glad, I did NOT update my Win 7 to Win 10 when it was free...

Jørgen

My main reasons for using mac is logic x and mainstage, they are not available on windows..

A reason for using windows would be varranger. Or the huge amount of freely available programs for Yamaha

Next to that the strength of mac osx is in its real time kernel, where audio processing algorythms are part of the kernel... also there are no hardware compatibillity issues with macs. The overall user experience on a mac is much more fluent then on windows.. everything allways seems to work straight out of the box...

Windows has as an advantage that you can make all hardware in the end work with windows 10, some hardware just does not support mac drivers... altough keep in mind to that this hardware is often obscure and not seldom witouth troubles.. the strength of windows, allowing for custom builds is also its weakness as it has to support all the different hardware, where mac just supports the limited hardware used in their models.

It used to be possible to upgrade your mac yourself with extra memmory or ssd’s. This is not possible anymore, as everything now is soldered to the mainboards.. if i wanted a real powerhorse, i could build a hackintosh, which works just as good as an apple build mac.. and since your apple account works on them just fine, these are an option if the price of a mac is to high for you, yet you want to run mac osx and dedicated mac software.. just google tonymac if you want to know more about this..


My choice for Mac is mostly based on the extremely good user experience i have had over the years with it, not just for making music.. also with an ict background, its possible to get most of the window apps working under mac.. my current macbook is a 2011 build, and still feels fresh and new both the software as its physical looks.. and there even is a reasonable price paid for it on the 2nd hand market.. this and the kow price of logic my main Daw warrants the high price i payed for the macbook in 2011, which was €1600 at that time..

Will i stick to mac? Probably yes... the only reason i can think of for moving to windows is transforming my whole setup to Varranger... but i dont think thats very likely any time soon... just the sheer amount of work of registering all my software from mac to windows is enough to keep me away from that idea..

Thank you everyone I am now MORE Confused then I was before I started the thread its all good...all this needs pondering for sure..

Donny, just use the same approach you use with keyboards; buy one, keep it a month, then buy the other one.

chas

Chas you couldn't be more wrong,....I have 3 Computers, 3 laptops, and a tablet of different kinds all for different purposes all windows based. I'm sorry I asked,.....that said back to the Eagles game.

Donny, just pulling your chain.

chas

Agreed I tried win 10 on my laptop for an hour and quickly went back to Win 7