Buying a new computer

[Slov]

I know these kind of topics are annoying but I would really need some help here

I want to buy a "new" macbook and since I don't really have a lot of money for this kind of stuff I want to get as much as I can for around 100 euros. I know that's -really- low but still ...
I mainly want to use it for Logic Pro, I'm not really into gaming much. All it basically needs to do is run Logic smoothly. Right now I have an OLD macbook and all the info I know how to get is this - 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4, Memory 1GB, 10.5.8. It's so old it can't even play youtube videos normally even if I set the quality on 240p.
However it does run Logic 8 "okay", but as soon as I get over 4 or 5 tracks it's done, especially if the instruments have a lot of reverb and stuff added, you get the idea. It also has only 50 GB of memory so I can't even install the whole Logic (that I have on another computer that I can't really use, that's why I'm buying a new one), let alone the VSTs etc.

So I'd need a macbook with as much memory as possible that can run programs like Logic. I've done some research and found this:
http://www.bolha.com/racunalnistvo/pren ... 1354022000

Now would that be a good deal? I don't wanna get screwed over.. It says something is wrong with the motherboard and the only affect of this is that it can't be used without a cabel (the battery isn't working), but is that really all?

[delinquent]

Would a hackintosh be an option for you? It's a little more work but your potential savings are monumental.

[Slov]

Would a hackintosh be an option for you? It's a little more work but your potential savings are monumental.

what's that, like a homemade computer?

[Hoax]

'hackintosh' is mac os not on a mac (x86)

logic isnt the be all and end all of production you know

[Slov]

'hackintosh' is mac os not on a mac (x86)

logic isnt the be all and end all of production you know

what do you mean? It's a pretty good program.. even -way- too professional for someone like me

[Aura]

http://www.falcon-nw.com/

Nuff' Said

[Phytotron]

Good job reading his post, Aura.

Currently 100 euros is equivalent to about $130 US dollars. Dude, you're unlikely to find even your current Macbook at that price, let alone anything better.

And never buy anything where there's a question about the motherboard or logic board, or whatever.

Ignore the hackintosh thing unless you're an uber-geek, and I know you know even less computer stuff than me. And the potential savings are not "monumental," all things considered.

And I'm not sure you'd even find even a stop-gap PC laptop at that price that would be a worthwhile step up from what you have, anyway, especially when you take into consideration the cost of all the man hours you'll have to put into switching over. Trust me.

So, I think your best bet is probably to save up.

[sinewav]

'hackintosh' is mac os not on a mac (x86)
logic isnt the be all and end all of production you know

what do you mean? It's a pretty good program.. even -way- too professional for someone like me

What Hoax means is that there are literally dozens of other DAWs that do the same thing Logic does. So if you are limited on money and/or hardware, simply use a DAW that runs nicely on what you have. Or alternatively, use an earlier version of Logic, one that fits your computer's specifications. Speaking of specifications, if Logic is your main reason for upgrading then you only need to look for computers that meet the minimum system requirements.

Keep in mind, a lot of new software (including music software) is just bloated crap. I started writing music on a computer that had a 166Mhz processor (not 1.6Ghz, look up the difference if you need to). Producing multi-track audio on a computer has been around longer than you. Just use different software tools and be creative.

[Slov]

What I forgot to write in the first post is that I actually have a pretty nice computer with Logic 9 on it and with over 100 GB of instruments on it. But it's an iMac and it's my brother's so I can't really use it as much as I want to. And I've been making music on it for almost 6 months now so it would be kinda hard to just switch to another program + it's kinda perfect for what I need it to be.
So what I'm trying to say is that I don't "really" need an alternative, just wanted some advice on it (not really sure how to word this lol).

My current laptop actually meets the minimum requirements for Logic 8, actually it's quite better than it "needs" to be but it still starts lagging like I said..

I'm really sleepy right now so sorry if my post doesn't make any sense. And Phyto thanks for that, I won't buy this one. That motherboard thing sounded really sketchy, glad I asked about it here.

I'll start saving up.

[delinquent]

Perhaps you would do well to trade in your existing macbook as well.

Ignore the hackintosh thing unless you're an uber-geek, and I know you know even less computer stuff than me. And the potential savings are not "monumental," all things considered.

It's a given that it's more work than building a Windows box, but I bumped a copy of Leopard onto my old laptop, it worked after three tries. There's a list of recommended components that make up a decent HT, most of which can be purchased at a fraction of the retail price if you know where to look.

The reason I suggested that the savings be monumental is the gravitation of equipment. It may be in the near future that Apple develop their equivalent of the ultrabook (I still don't see that much of a difference with an ultrabook) and that software then developed becomes, again, too hefty to be supported by elderly macs. The hackintosh could potentially last much longer, eliminating a need or want for upgrade. And then, when the time to upgrade arrives, simply find new hardware, rather than a new system altogether.

[Jonathan]

Currently 100 euros is equivalent to about $130 US dollars. Dude, you're unlikely to find even your current Macbook at that price, let alone anything better.

It's worse when it comes to Apple. Over here the EUR prices are the same or slightly higher than the USD prices. It helps that VAT is included, but even with the recent bump that only accounts for 21%.

I kinda agree with sinewav. New stuff will easily wow you, and it is more capable by many measures. But in the end people who know what they're doing will end up producing good results given almost anything. Also, a few decades from now you'll be looking back at our 'latest and greatest' stuff with contempt. Did we really do that back then? Turns out a good deal of the 'progress' is just going along with current fads.

Also, with computers being much more powerful than they were not too long ago, we don't get results that are as much better. Partly because it makes programmers lazy (if it runs well enough on target hardware, that's good enough, even if the code isn't very efficient), partly because it's hard to extract the 'full value' from it. Say, if you quadruple the number of pixels, you only double the resolution, and the actual value is much less than that. It's okay to do it, but not nearly as essential as we'd like to think.

[delinquent]

^^
This is the reason why I want to get into software development. I am determined to build an operating system that will make use of what's to come in the hardware world.

Having said that, I've only gotten as far as graphical designs of it, I haven't even begun to think about programming it.

[sinewav]

Slov, you should post some of your tunes. Also, if your computer is bogging down after 4-5 tracks, you might be doing something wrong. There may be a more efficient way of using you tools. Do you use a global effects bus?

[Slov]

Nah trust me you can't even imagine how bad this computer is, I'm pretty sure it's just too slow for it. It doesn't freeze or anything, just Logic pops up a message that says something like "The system is too slow". I can have a lot of tracks and instruments and effects etc. but when I want to play it all together it just stops. Like I can arrange them so it only plays 1 instrument, and have like the rest on the other side of the screen.. don't really know how to explain it well, but whatever:P

That's very nice of you to ask but I suck so bad I rather won't show them haha. It's also hip hop and I don't really know anyone around here that likes it so..xD

[sinewav]

Ok look, you're not going to like what I have to say, but you need to get your priorities straight. If Logic and your 100GB of VST's won't allow you to create music, then you need to ditch that stuff for a DAW that will. This next sentence will be in bold, italicized, and underlined to stress how important the concept is. Creativity is overcoming limitations to realize ideas.

This gets right to the heart of Hip-hop culture and Rap music. The originators of rap didn't have expensive computers. They didn't access to recording studios. Most of them didn't have access to musical instruments. What they did have in the ghettos were turntables and boom-boxes. Early "rap beats" were created through beat-juggling and sometimes breaking open a cassette and splicing together a "loop" of tape to be played on a boom-box. In the absence of instruments, the playback devices of the time became "musical." It allowed a new group of people to be creative with music in absence of instruments and recording studios. This is the essence of creativity and why Rap music was so revolutionary and explosive.

Your current computer is faster than anything I've ever owned, yet I have hours of music to show for it. Even if you think your music sounds bad, it's more important to engage in songwriting, to explore music, and create. Overcoming limitations also empowers you with a sense of accomplishment. It feels good!

Here is an example of doing more with less. A few weeks ago I decided to play around with a VST host named Tunafish written by Bram Bos (who also wrote one of the earliest PC drum machines back in the 90's). Tunafish can play VST's, but it also comes embedded with some basic sound samples (rather low quality IMO) so you can make music without VST's. And, the entire program is less than 3MB! I decided to try and write a song using only the stock sounds and effects. What came out is a pretty decent track that you could easily rap over, haha. The point of this story is, I have a completed musical idea to listen back to and I didn't have to "upgrade" anything to do it. I used what was available.

Now get to work.