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Topic: iMac Questions |
James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 4:03 pm |
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I am right now running a sample program that was originally only made for PC ..It's GigaStudio ...I added a PC to run this program .. I am basically a Mac man,but have dated Mac computers ...I would like to update to an iMac....This is my situation and you guys tell me if there looks to be a problem ...
1) In my sample based programs , I set up the application on one hard drive, and keep my samples on a 2nd , 3rd, and 4th hard drive .... If I get an iMac, will I be able to set up additional hard drives, and MOST IMPORTANT, it looks like firewire , and USB is my only option since I cannot run HD's like I can on a Mac Pro ....Will the firewire and USB be fast enough for my samples ??.....
2) Running Logic 8 .....Can I run the application on one hard drive , and put all my vocals on another hd ?...Will the vocal HD ( external ) be fast enough for the vocals ???....
Thanks in advance ...Jim
PS...I'm trying to avoid buying another large Mac setup , and really don't want to start with a Mac Pro as I KNOW I will get too involved expense wise ...My PC's hold so many samples as it is that I have a HUGE amount of hard drives ..I"m trying to keep this iMac rig simple ....Thanks, Jim |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 4:36 pm
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James,
External drives are no problem on the iMac. The iMac comes with firewire 800, 400, and USB 2.0.
Transfer speed from either USB or firewire won't be the limiting factor, although I'd recommend a fast Firewire 800 drive for a program like GigaStudio or any large sampler that has to do a lot of streaming from the hard drive. I don't know if there are really fast (10,000 rpm) drives with a firewire 800 interface, but if you can find one, it would be a good choice.
It shouldn't be any problem putting vocals (or multiple tracks of any other audio) on an external drive. Any 7200 rpm drive should be able to handle that, including the internal drive. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 4:41 pm
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Thanks Jerry,
I'm sure the internal drive will handle the vocals, but I want them seperate from the application as well as if I go with samples, I want them seperate also ....Which is faster, and can pass more data ? ...USB 2, or Firewire 800 ?....which can be daisy chained ? ...Thanks, Jim |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 4:48 pm
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Firewire 800 is the fastest by far. USB 2.0 is (theoretically) slightly faster than firewire 400, but firewire is considered much more robust and reliable for sustained data transfer than USB. In practice, I've never had a problem with either, but for a big sampler, I'd go with firewire. Firewire and USB can both be daisy-chained, but separately, of course, not to each other.
What kind of instruments are you sampling? If a large part of your samples are acoustic piano, you might check out TruePianos from 4front technologies (http://www.truepianos.com/) It's a hybrid piano engine, part sampler, part synth, it sounds great, is very afforable, and is easy on the cpu, and doesn't require streaming from a big hard drive like other large sampled pianos. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 5:08 pm
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Jerry
Thanks for the info ..I've got a TON of sampled instruments ....and sample programs for that matter ...I will be running Kontakt on the Mac ...It's got more samples than other programs ..
I will also be trying to tie the PC in with the Mac somehow ...Not sure how yet ...I'll have to do more investigating ....I did so via midi on my other mac and PC's ....JIm |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 5:40 pm
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James, for an application as demanding as yours, you might consider the low-end MacPro instead of the iMac. It's more expensive at the outset, but if you compare the cost of external drives to the much cheaper and better performing plug-in SATA drives, it might be comparable. The MacPro can address 3 Terabytes of storage, and it's four drive slots can be easily set up as RAID arrays for better drive performance.
Just a thought. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 7 Dec 2007 6:13 pm
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| I was affraid I would have to opt for the Mac Pro....I will NOT do a RAID setup again ..I had a problem with a raid controller on my PC when I had a raid setup ,and now I can only run 2 H.D.'s on the system ....I do like the fact of running 4- SATA drives though ....I run a smaller 250Gig for applications, and then run 3- 750's for samples ....Maybe I will just get the Mac Pro and be done with it ....Thanks for your input ....Jim |
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