Need Hardware Advice On Powerbook & External Hd Options

[kevin808]

Hi everyone,

Could you please help me make an informed decision? I am about to throw my PC out a frickin' window in favor of a nice new Mac. Ultimately I would like to get a Powerbook and run Logic Audio, but I am apprehensive about this setup thinking that maybe the Powerbook would be under-powered due to its slower Hard Drive RPM speeds (4,500, or 5,500), or mabey even the g4 processor. (I would like to get at least a 1.25Ghz or above)

I did a little research here and found that people are using external hard drives with their Powerbooks. This coupled with the fact that I have my wife’s 1Ghz iMac, and the new Logic Audio 7 Package uses other networked computers to help process effects plug-ins and other jobs within logic - is making me think a Powerbook is not a bad choice.

My main question is: Are Firewire 800 drives faster at delivering information than the Powerbooks own internal Hard Drive? I'm looking at a 200 GB LaCie FW 800 drive.

And what are some of your experiences with how your Powerbooks perform playing your tracks? Lag issues? No probelms - runs great?

I also just got a Roland MV-8000 Sampler/Workstation which will be synced up to the Powerbook via midi, and will be doing some of the sound rendering and effects.

Any advise or thoughts would be helpful and appreciated. Like everyone I'm just trying to have my cake and eat it too...

Thanks,
Kevin808

[kevin808]

Thanks a lot guys, your info was very helpful! I think I can safely go with the Powerbook as my choice and never look back.

I had the oportunity to go to a Mac Logic Audio 7 demonstration last night at Guitar Center in boston... This package is sick! I use logic 5.2 now on my PC, and used logic 6 for a month on my wifes iMac which I got as a trial with a training manual I bought. There was a huge difference between 5.2 and 6, there is a huge difference between PC and Mac and the intuitiveness of how things work, and how well things seem to play, and once again there is a huge difference between Logic 6 and 7.

The new plugins are sick. just sick. Not to mention support for Apple loops, and new EQ'ing Fx that basically do everything for you. The guy doing the demo played for us a recording of a male vocalist with a rough voice one day (Like he had a cold) and with a smooth voice recording from a couple days after. He ran both clips through the EQ, copied the profile from the second one and applied it to the first, and bam! Same vocal tone - exactly. Everyone in the room freaked out. He also did it with a guitar recorded with two different pickup settings and again it was like the same guitar, it was so easy.

And the new guitar Fx plugin is awesome too. It takes pre-recorded, uneffected guitar and makes it sound like it went through $5000 worth of rack effects.

I can't wait to put this stuff together!

Thanks again for your help!