trenchrun Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 seriously... I use a 'lampshade' G4 1ghz with 750MB ram...(if i tilt the screen down the imac looks sad) and this great little computer runs logic7 express, 15-20+ tracks of mixed audio & EXSP24 with several plugins on each track (well, i need to start freezing some tracks after around 6-8 tracks..pain-in-the-ass) anyway..the point is..it works..i can make music on it...this guy has served me well..but it's time to move up. I can only get a 21" due to desk space (so no 27" i5 or i7) and a mac pro is a bit too much$$ for me.. so i'm looking at the i3 3.2 with 4GB (or more) ram. + a new full version of logic 9. obviously this will be an improvement....but how much? the new imac is way more powerful but i assume everything in logic9 needs way more power. will this be a HUGE improvement or will the performance stay relative....ie: will i still be freezing tracks? at what point with the new imac i3 start bogging down? any estimates? would it handle, say, for example, 10 tracks of audio, 10 EXS samplers, a couple softsynths, an ultrabeat, each channel with eq/compression/reverb/limiters/delays etc...? 64bit? what is more important: processor or ram? i'm not really sure what does what. anyone with an i3 running logic hard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewave Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I can only get a 21" due to desk space (so no 27" i5 or i7) and a mac pro is a bit too much$$ for me.. so i'm looking at the i3 3.2 with 4GB (or more) ram. + a new full version of logic 9. obviously this will be an improvement....but how much? Welcome to the Logic Pro Help forum. Congrats on your decision, you waited for a good time to update your system. Your looking at a massive improvement on all levels!! It will most certainly blow your socks off compared to the lampshade! Yes, its amazing that your stepping into a much more modern system, I did the same thing about four years ago. The i3 iMac is a good choice. I would say that the variables have expanded on modern machines quite a bit. The larger the processor the better, I would certainly look at a quad core machine if you could but I feel I am in the same shoes as you, I usually go for the economy model machine. This year I sold my C2D 2Ghz macbook and got the 2011 13" i5 2.3ghz Macbook pro only to realize that there is not quite enough power in there for all that I want to do and also the extra power needed to insure that it will perform years down the road. I quickly returned the 13" MBP and now am saving for the quad core 15" 2.0 ghz which actually uses something called power boost 2.0 to overclock each core up to 2.9ghz when need be! Also the new iMac due in a week or two, or so the rumor says. http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/19/imac-supplies-becoming-constrained-ahead-of-potential-refresh/ We will see what happens here. One question, have you bought the new machine yet and what is the audio interface that you plan on using with the i3 iMac? You should be aware of the issue of latency that happens with the firewire and usb interfaces. It does not bother some users, but it sure bothers others. Bret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchrun Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 thanks for you reply! no i haven't bought anything yet...i didnt realize the new imacs might be out so soon..perhaps i should wait a while longer? i would prefer to just get the 21" i3 but only if it will run logic9 well enough for my purposes (ie: around 20 tracks of audio, samplers and instruments + plugins, ideally without having to freeze anything). i wouldnt buy it if it did not run logic9 reasonably well. i have been using an old m-audio audiophile usb interface, it's done the trick but requires frequent rebooting. i have no idea how good or bad the ad/da is on it. i only ever record stereo (synths, guitar, vox etc) never bands or live drums. i will likely upgrade to an apogee duet2 or maybe something else will more i/o for future external hardware expansion. latency has never been a problem with my "current" set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewave Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 i didnt realize the new imacs might be out so soon..perhaps i should wait a while longer? i would prefer to just get the 21" i3 but only if it will run logic9 well enough for my purposes (ie: around 20 tracks of audio, samplers and instruments + plugins, ideally without having to freeze anything). i wouldnt buy it if it did not run logic9 reasonably well. I would be a bit skeptical of the i3 iMac if you want to do many virtual instruments, a quad core machine will handle about anything you throw at it. Check out the numbers here, you can compare the new sandy bridge model MBP to the 2010, and then apply that to the previous iMac: http://www.primatelabs.ca/geekbench/mac-benchmarks/ I will be waiting for sure, and I would highly recommend just waiting it out for a few days and see whats new. If you buy your Mac from an apple store you have two weeks to return it and get something to better suit your needs. Everyone is anticipating a sandy bridge processor and thunderbolt technology in the new iMac, it would be a huge plus for you to get that. I will probably end up getting the entry level 15" macbook since it will keep its resale value well, but I'm not going to rule out any of the possible iMac solutions for my studio. BTW: In case your wondering the macbook pro is so much easier to work on than the iMac. Did you know that you actually have to take off the glass to get inside it? That leaves many people that like to get inside the machine SOL! I for one don't like that idea. I hope that they come up with a better way to open the iMac, but for now the macbook is much easier to work on and get at it to update the RAM and hard drive/SSD. Anyway, there are lots of choices out there I hope you choose the best one that will serve you for years to come, Bret EDIT: I made a mistake earlier, here is the new link: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/19/imac-supplies-becoming-constrained-ahead-of-potential-refresh/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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