Which is best for recording & music, Windows or Mac? (also cost friendly)

TakeruInudo

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I've heard that Mac is better than Windows when it comes to music productions & recordings but I wanted your guys opinion on it. So what does make a computer better for recording & music production? I'm not familiar with this type of things so this would be much appreciated.

My laptop is old & close to it's death bed & I've been thinking of upgrading it but I just don't know what to get. I also Don't have a super lot of money either so a list of computers/laptops that are no more than $500. If there is one that is more than $500 that I should get (like to get it more than the cheaper comps/laptops) than could you tell me why in detail.

Thank you for your time!
 

Ghostysenpai

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Defender of Defoko
If you want cheap, mac is really not the way to go. You'll be fine with a regular windows machine to be honest. Not to mention if you plan to do UTAU work I can't stress how much better Windows UTAU is compared to UTAU synth.

I'd say get a Windows, preferably one with a good sound card. I'd also recommend, if you haven't already gotten a microphone or a gaming headset (depending on your budget) GET ONE. Don't use your computers microphone it is not worth it, the sound quality is horrible no matter if you use a Mac or a Windows.
 

TakeruInudo

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If you want cheap, mac is really not the way to go. You'll be fine with a regular windows machine to be honest. Not to mention if you plan to do UTAU work I can't stress how much better Windows UTAU is compared to UTAU synth.

I'd say get a Windows, preferably one with a good sound card. I'd also recommend, if you haven't already gotten a microphone or a gaming headset (depending on your budget) GET ONE. Don't use your computers microphone it is not worth it, the sound quality is horrible no matter if you use a Mac or a Windows.

I've been practicing with UTAU for a few years now & am hopefully upgrading my mic (most likely a Nady USB-1Cx). Thank you for your input, I'll be sure to look around for a Windows with good sound card, I took a peek at macs & didnt realize how super expensive they were 0_0
 
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수연 <Suyeon>

Your friendly neighborhood koreaboo trash
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Unless you have a $3K budget, don't even look at mac. You can get a machine of equivalent - if not better - quality of mac's highest line for like, half or a fourth the price. Also...
- the average windows machine can be upgraded (most of the time, if it's not a soldered component) where as with mac, what you get is what you're stuck with.
- windows utau is more versatile (resamplers and plugins for days, pretty much any bank you dl will work)
- plenty of daw software for reasonable prices (for ex. a daw i personally enjoy using - mixcraft - is $89)
- don't like windows but want to be able to use a mac-like environment? Dual boot windows and a linux distribution. Linux uses a similar kernel to mac's osx, so you can have a kind-of mac like experience for basic everyday computing even if you can't use mac software and need to Wine emulate for Windows software.

The only advantage of getting a mac would be that the os is made for the hardware it's built with and is generally supposed to be more stable because of it.
 
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TakeruInudo

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Defender of Defoko
Thread starter
Unless you have a $3K budget, don't even look at mac. You can get a machine of equivalent - if not better - quality of mac's highest line for like, half or a fourth the price. Also...
- the average windows machine can be upgraded (most of the time, if it's not a soldered component) where as with mac, what you get is what you're stuck with.
- windows utau is more versatile (resamplers and plugins for days, pretty much any bank you dl will work)
- plenty of daw software for reasonable prices (for ex. a daw i personally enjoy using - mixcraft - is $89)
- don't like windows but want to be able to use a mac-like environment? Dual boot windows and a linux distribution. Linux uses a similar kernel to mac's osx, so you can have a kind-of mac like experience for basic everyday computing even if you can't use mac software and need to Wine emulate for Windows software.

The only advantage of getting a mac would be that the os is made for the hardware it's built with and is generally supposed to be more stable because of it.

Thank you very much for your input, I understand better with details & this helped me a lot :smile:
 

Ghostysenpai

Ruko's Ruffians
Defender of Defoko
Unless you have a $3K budget, don't even look at mac. You can get a machine of equivalent - if not better - quality of mac's highest line for like, half or a fourth the price. Also...
- the average windows machine can be upgraded (most of the time, if it's not a soldered component) where as with mac, what you get is what you're stuck with.
- windows utau is more versatile (resamplers and plugins for days, pretty much any bank you dl will work)
- plenty of daw software for reasonable prices (for ex. a daw i personally enjoy using - mixcraft - is $89)
- don't like windows but want to be able to use a mac-like environment? Dual boot windows and a linux distribution. Linux uses a similar kernel to mac's osx, so you can have a kind-of mac like experience for basic everyday computing even if you can't use mac software and need to Wine emulate for Windows software.

The only advantage of getting a mac would be that the os is made for the hardware it's built with and is generally supposed to be more stable because of it.

Ok one thing that's wrong and I have to correct about this post is that you do get updates and upgrades for mac. I'm a mac user myself. Anyways yeah good points about everything else!
 

수연 <Suyeon>

Your friendly neighborhood koreaboo trash
Supporter
Defender of Defoko
Ok one thing that's wrong and I have to correct about this post is that you do get updates and upgrades for mac. I'm a mac user myself. Anyways yeah good points about everything else!
I'm talking about the hardware itself, not the software. The most you can do for a mac machine is upgrade the RAM and HDD/SSD and even those basic changes can be akin to "Operation" with the way they're put into the machine (everything is very compact and it's easy to jostle things unintentionally - AIO and thinner windows laptops can be that way sometimes as well, but you generally have more legroom). I'm basing this on what other users have said about upgrading their macs, so I can't speak from personal experience (we rarely serviced macs at the computer repair shop I used to work for and the few we did service was purely from a software standpoint).
 
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lunavi

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Defender of Defoko
I've been a Mac user for years, mostly because I got standardized on Mac a long time ago, and there's never been a reason to switch to PC -- there's pretty much nothing that I want or need to do that a PC can do for me and a Mac can't, and the few things I might want to do are too few and minimal to warrant the cost and effort of switching.

I think choosing computers is a matter of you do you. Do research, and go with what looks like it'll fit your budget and your needs. If you like taking computers apart, tinkering, upgrading, and replacing things, then a PC is definitely going to be more up your alley. As for whether or not Macs are better for music, I couldn't say -- I love tinkering in GarageBand, but I'm not a dedicated musician.

I do want to say, though, that while Macs do have a (well-deserved) reputation for being expensive, it is absolutely possible to be a Mac user without spending thousands of dollars on a computer -- that is, assuming you're one of those people who don't care about having the newest thing on the market. If you don't mind buying used, a used or refurbished Mac (purchased from a solid and reputable shop) can serve you very well for a long time, without costing an arm or a leg. I personally never buy new -- the most I've ever spent for a Mac is $900, after taxes. That's definitely a pretty sum of money -- more than I had actually wanted to spend on a computer -- but still a long way from what a new model of the same computer would cost (about $2,500, according to Apple's site.)
 
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