iMac powerful enough? PC user looking to switch.

Question

Level 1

0 points

iMac powerful enough? PC user looking to switch.

Hi there,

I'm a longtime PC user who has been anxious to switch for the past 6 months or so. As a musician, songwriter, and semi-proficient sound engineer, I've been looking forward to utilizing Apple's Garage Band, Logic (if I can afford it!), as well as their legendary stability and superior interface.

Here's what I'm looking to do:

- Use MIDI keyboard to compose tunes in Garage Band.
- Mix in either Cubase (which I own) or Logic Pro.
- Have a computer that can last 2 - 3 years with good performance.
- Video performance/games aren't important to me.
- Typical home activities: manage photos, iTunes, etc.

I'm considering getting the iMac, based on the available hard drive size (250 MB), fast hard drive (7200 RPM), Superdrive, and up to 2 GB of RAM. I considered the Mac mini, but I believe the hard drive may be too slow, as well as the hard drives being too small. I believe the MacBook, besides being a bit too expensive, may not be powerful enough, based on sacrificing performance for portability.

Any advice here would be great. Is the iMac the best choice? Power Mac G5 seems unnecessary, iBook and mac mini not quite powerful enough, and MacBook Pro maybe too slick and small for my needs.

Thanks very much. I'm ready for the switch!

PC... blah. Windows XP

Posted on Apr 24, 2006 12:18 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Apr 24, 2006 1:54 PM in response to chicophi235

An iMac 17 inch or 20 inch with fully loaded RAM should handle your needs. It is indeed fast for all iLife applications. I am a recent switcher and I have a 17 inch iMac. It is great and it just works. Using it, is a pleasure. However if you are planning on using Logic pro or any other big time pro software , You might want to wait to see what the next gen powermacs have in store. I really can't say about Logic pro on an iMac coz I don't use it.

Reply

Answer 2

chicophi235 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 24, 2006 5:07 PM in response to Dineshbabu

Thanks very much for your input, Dineshbabu.

Any more opinions out there?

Reply

Answer 3

Apr 24, 2006 6:35 PM in response to chicophi235

I don't use Logic but I have a friend who uses it on a powerbook G4 and it does what he needs for the most part. I have a 17" iMac Core Duo and it runs circles around his powerbook. Needless to say logic should run fine on an iMac. For everything else it does it all with ease. If you do decide to get an iMac I would definitely recommend the 20" if you can afford to get it. The extra screen space and faster cpu will be help with what your intend to do. Also extra ram is a must, although I wouldn't order through apple it can be bought for cheaper elsewhere online.

Last is the Applecare protection plan, the three year warranty and the phone support is good especially considering that if anything on your mac fails you will have to pay for labor and parts. Just for your info to get a airport/bluetooth card replaced it costs almost $200 if its not under warranty, and the logic board replacement is well over $800. In my opinion the $170 ahead is well worth it considering the cost of repairs.

Good luck and hope everything goes alright, and if you have any questions remember that thats what these forums are for.

Reply

Answer 4

lenn5

Level 4

2,537 points

Apr 24, 2006 7:40 PM in response to Roadrunner2348

Just wanted to add one thing about warranty and applecare. Don't forget that if you purchase a mac with a VISA card, VISA will give you 1 more year of warranty over the standard Apple 1year warranty. Seems that alot of people don't know this about Visa cards. So if you buy a mac you are covered for 2 years. Just something to keep in mind. btw, keep your receipts.

Reply

Answer 5

Eric Lim

Level 1

75 points

Apr 24, 2006 9:03 PM in response to Dineshbabu

You are in a good hand of a great machine of all time.

iMac with the intel chip can perform all your needs and requirements. I have been using my G4 powermac for quite a while already and just got my new iMac intel.

You may need to put away the old PC mentality of upgrading of hardwares, etc. A mac can at least lasted for the next 2-4 years. Which save you alot of money in long run.

As for professional software like Logic Pro, you may need to check if Rosetta, the faith lady inside your MACOSX able to run it, else, you may need to wait till it is Universal.

Hope that's help you.

Reply

Answer 6

Jeff K-C

Level 2

175 points

Apr 25, 2006 4:29 AM in response to chicophi235

Welcome to the boards. Just wanted to say that I have been using Logic Pro for three years, and love it. First two years was on an iMac Flat panel G4, and then when Logic upgraded to v7, I made the jump to an iMac G5.

I have had no problems at all, and you should do quite well with an intel iMac.

Hope this helps,
Jeff

Reply

Answer 7

lenn5

Level 4

2,537 points

Apr 25, 2006 9:52 AM in response to chicophi235

Check out www.maccentral.com. They have a review of Logic Pro on intel macs.

Reply

Answer 8

chicophi235 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 25, 2006 11:00 AM in response to chicophi235

Thanks very much for all the input. I'm really happy to know I wasn't off-base with my thoughts that the iMac should work well.

Before I mark this as "answered," one last thing - the mac mini is most likely not powerful enough, right?

Reply

Answer 9

mac1245

Level 1

5 points

Apr 25, 2006 2:25 PM in response to chicophi235

mmm i think you should go for the imac cuz the mini has smaller hd and it might be halpful with your needs. its as fast if you get the core duo processor. i believe it has slower hard drive and cant recall if there is an upgrade for speed.

Reply