Your first consideration should be whether you need OS 9. All Macs introduced this year, including the 12" and 17" Powerbooks, the new G4 towers, and (probably) the new iMacs are OS X only. The only way they can run OS 9 apps is from inside the Classic environment. If you need to use a MIDI keyboard for input and playback in Finale, however, you will most likely find that the Classic environment won't do the trick. (With my setup, at least, MIDI + Classic = incredibly unstable, crashes constantly.)
Apple still sells some older OS 9-booting computers -- the 15" Powerbooks and last year's G4 towers -- but in the case of the towers especially, you are paying considerably more money for less machine. So if you need OS 9, you might consider a used 2002 Mac.
On Friday, February 7, 2003, at 04:04 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
To any of you Mac/Finale/Digidesign users:First off, are you *sure* you need PCI slots? Is it just for the audio I/O card? Because there are plenty of USB or Firewire-based alternatives that are every bit as good as (in some cases, better than) a PCI card. For instance, you might take a look at eMagic's EMI 2 | 6:
I know there are a few Mac gurus out there! My old 8600 Power Mac
finally died a grisly hard drive death and I need to replace it. I would
very much appreciate knowledgeable recommendations in the under 2 grand
price range.
I don't really need a dual processor, but I do need some speed, memory,
PCI slots and drive expandability,and as much audio connectivity as I can
get to do fairly small but quality audio/MIDI recording projects, with use
of some soft synth/sampler and FX plugins.
<http://www.emagic.de/english/products/hardware/emi26.html>
With the bigger 2002 dual G4'sThe 2002 MDD (Mirrored Drive Doors) G4s are indeed extremely loud, as several members of this list can attest. If you want to record in the same room as the computer, you may need to perform some extreme surgery on your Mac. See here:
I've heard the fans are loud, a consideration since my mic gear is in the
same room, and I find computer noise just plain annoying.
<http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20030206081739581>
Does anyone know if the new 2003 Power Macs have loud fans too?
The 2003 G4s are apparently much quieter. But they don't boot OS 9.
Again, you should really take a look at the USB and Firewire solutions available before you rule out a computer without PCI slots. Although, again, the new iMacs (probably) don't boot into OS 9. (I say "probably" because I've yet to see this actually confirmed -- but watch <http://www.macfixit.com> for updates.)It doesn't look like iMac would give me the audio ins and outs I need for everyday general teaching studio use.
My own advice:Have people found the dual processor Macs useful/problematic/overkill for audio and/or software applications? Your suggestions would help! Thanks,
- Don't get anything with a processor slower than 1 GHz.
- Find out if the software you use has been updated for OS X or works in Classic. (If it uses MIDI, it probably doesn't work in Classic.)
- Find out if the software you use will take advantage of dual processors. (Finale does not -- in fact, virtually all OS 9 software does not.)
- Determine whether you need the new hardware features Apple recently introduced on some machines -- Firewire 800, AirPort Extreme, built-in Bluetooth.
- Determine if a USB or Firewire-based audio I/O device will meets your needs.
If you don't need OS 9 (or if it turns out it still supports OS 9 after all), at $1799 the new 17" iMac is a pretty sweet deal. If you need PCI slots and FireWire 800 and you don't need OS 9, the new dual 1.25 GHz tower is a hell of a machine, and it just barely squeaks under your budget at $1,999.
If you do need OS 9, unfortunately your options are a lot less attractive. MacMall has the 2002 dual 1 GHz tower at $1,994 --but that's with the loud fans, no FireWire 800, no AirPort Extreme, and no Bluetooth. Some places still have the old 17" iMacs as well, for around $1,699 -- but there you're stuck with an 800 MHz processor, so I wouldn't go there unless you absolutely have to.
If I were you, I'd check MacFixIt and other Mac sites daily until someone is able to confirm whether or not the 1 GHz iMac will boot into OS 9. If it does, that may well be the way to go for you.
- Darcy
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[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Boston MA
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