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

[nate d]

Hey Kevin,
A Powerbook with Logic is a great choice! And you're on the right track - you should definitely get an external firewire drive to record your audio to. I have a 15" 1Ghz with an external firewire 400 drive. I bought a generic case which allows you to fit any regular internal drive into it. Costs less than $100 to do it that way with up to an 80Gig hard drive.

You'll also want to up your RAM. I have 768MB in mine and want even more.

As for lag - I have yet to experience any. I don't know how many tracks I've had running at once, but I've had a few complex pieces and my Powerbook didn't even flinch.

Hope that helps!