Yes, you’re spot on with this. I have done it. It takes time and a level of savvy (and patience in some cases) that people don’t always have. It didn’t work reliably forever in my case, though, and I constantly worried about crashing. It wasn’t any fun.
I know it’s case-by-case, but I’ve never once heard a horror story when a Mac is in play.
Look for a refurbished mid-2010 13" MBP. Make upgrades to RAM and SSD as you’re able. It would be plenty of muscle for today’s DJ apps.
Yep…I use both at the same time with zero latency issues and audio dropouts
I don’t agree. About all I do to my laptops is shut down a handful of unnecessary tasks that start with windows, update the drivers, and personalize the computer the way I like it to look. But then again you’ll likely do this with a Mac as well unless you really are clueless.
I don’t dual boot, and I multi-task like a mother during wedding receptions.
Some models seem to inherently have issues, though. If you go with a Windows machine, stick to a good business-class model. Those are typically built and serviced on a much higher level than the general consumer machines.
I’m considering a MBP because it’s definitly more likely that a Windows laptop becomes unstable. If anyone could give me a few scripts or anythnig else which would “guarantee” that a Windows laptop stays stable, I would happily accept it. But as long as it’s a game of luck, I’ll still consider a MBP.
Btw: I also had a T61 and it screw up after a year. Maybe I did sth wrong, but that’s the point in bying an overexpensive MBP. You don’t have to make up your mind about things like that. I hope…
It seems more that you already made up your mind a while back, and you need acknowledgement. Most people on production/DJ forums will recommend you a MBP anyway.
I’m a Windows user, and I’m pretty happy with that. If I could afford a MBP I would probably get one. But if I could afford CDJ’s 2000, I would probably get those too… You just have to make that decision for youself. Good luck on your decision.
[quote=““Patch””]
I don’t get problems with my Windows machines.
You have to take the time to learn how to optimise them. There are a MILLION guides on-line.
Start by making a new partition/OS installation for audio work (DJ’ing, production, etc…) and then strip out everything that is not absolutely necessary for audio.
What you end up with is 2 computers on the same machine - 1 for your day-to-day “computering” (shopping, e-mails, surfing, etc… Think of this as your daily runner, in car terms, a people carrier), and 1 for your audio stuff (this is your weekend car - you can’t go shopping in it, or pick up the kids, but it goes like shit off a shovel).
Take your new Audio Partition, uninstall unnecessary software, stop services, disable automatic updates/firewall, disable networking, turn off graphical enhancements/animations, stop system sounds… The list goes on. It all enhances your system, and makes it a more reliable machine.
[quote=“deevee”]And that my friend is the reason to buy a Mac in a nutshell …
[/quote][/quote]
That’s the reason not to.
I’d love a Mac. I just don’t like the way people think they HAVE to have a Mac to be taken seriously. If you can afford it, you should get one. If you can’t afford it, Windows will do the job perfectly well.
After having lots of problems on my AMD Quad Core notebook since the upgrade to Traktor 2.5 I’ve bought the Macbook Air 13" 2011 model with a 256GB SSD. Ever since no problems using the remix decks and effects on all channels. Running OS X 10.8.1, Pioneer DDJ-T1, Traktor F1 and live input.
Windows user here. HP Envy 14 Beats edition. Works fine with ableton, traktor, and maschine. works fine with wifi on. Running Windows seven, never once had the thing crash on me.
This is all out of the box to, I haven’t done anything to it.
The problem buying a windows machine is that windows comes pre installed by the manufacturer. This can be a good or bad thing, but is usually bad. To get the price down they load crap software you don’t need before you buy it. I have a mac, and Boot Camp Windows 7 for my CS courses. The windows 7 install is the best I’ve ever felt on any laptop. When I clean installed on my Asus ($450 AMD A6-3400) it felt exactly the same (Minus noticing the resolution difference a little.)
The biggest differences for me are Core Audio and that I can plug and unplug my midi devices without having to restart Ableton.
I have used windows and mac’s for DJing only ever had a problem once and that was with the mac, Traktor just randomly quite. Been using a mac for a year and a half and pc for around 3.
I personally don’t notice any difference really and both OS’s have there advantages.
part of the problem here is alot of ppl are comparing a £1000 macbook to a £300 laptop. if you compare like for like from good manufactures reliability is about the same.
Big virus problem with PC’s OSX doesn’t have a big enough market share however locally is very unsecured.
doesnt matter if your on mac or pc do not use WIFI when DJing it is dumb, its a remote risk but a risk none the less. just don’t do it to yourself
HP Envy 14 beats i7. Wiped and clean installed Win7 to remove bloatware. Further tweaked services and process settings, it runs like a demon and has never let me down, even in gigs when I forgot the emergency cd’s 
Get it in the States for about £650
One other thing a Mac has going for it.
IF your laptop does happen to die, you can boot your hard drive via USB on ANY other mac (built within the past 6 yrs) you get your hands on and it’ll work without any driver installs, conflicts, windows repairs etc etc …
You can boot the drive of any PC via ethernet, it’s a feature from way back when called “Boot from Network”. OS X just enabled it across USB in the EFI framework.
Yes you can, and while it may “work”, 70% of the time you will not have full functionality, hardware dependent software will not respond, drivers will not work and you will get the occasional BSOD unless the machine you are booting into is exactly the same as your own (something that in the PC world is doubtful even with the same manufacturer never mind between them all).
The point is that when you boot off a USB drive on a mac, everything will work as though its your own machine with no extra steps needed.
If,for example you own an Asus laptop and try a network boot or dropping the hard drive into a Dell, most likely it will BSOD or require a ton of drivers before you get full functionality, thats assumming of course windows activation allows you to boot at all due to the hardware change limitations.
I’ve never had an incompatibility, with the exception of trying to boot my old 95 machine to retrieve some files. Windows comes with driver compatibility for most hardware shipped to that update point. I’ve done my Asus to my custom built desktop, my milk crate server to my desktop, my milk crate to my Asus, and my Asus to my Macbook. The key is to have a full clean install of windows, and not use OEM supplied drivers, as they can be unstable. That’s why I suggested a clean install of windows as a first step.
Hardware compatibility is Windows’ strong point, and as EFI loaders gain traction, you’ll see “Target Disk Mode” enabled under various names from many manufacturers. I know my desktop has it already, and it’s enabled because of EFI instead of BIOS.
EDIT: You seem to be confusing Boot from USB with Target Disk Mode also. Any laptop has the ability to boot from a USB drive. Any computer made in the last 6 years can do that.
You also don’t seem to understand that Windows Activation doesn’t care for 30 days. I have a legit upgrade copy of Win 7 from when I had been running XP, and ignored activation for almost four months, and all it did was remove my wallpaper and block my updates. Then I got free copies of 7 Pro from my school.
Target Disk Mode is the closest to a Mac equivalent of Boot from xyz drive on windows, and technically it is booting from USB.
I do mean Target Disk via USB OR simply installing your hard disk into any other Mac Computer. This is Something that I’ve almost never found that works 100% between the majority of Windows machines without any additional steps - something would always be missing be that a LAN driver, Video Driver, Wifi Driver etc etc …
Something would almost always need to be installed and just dropping a computer from one machine into another without additional steps would frequently result in BSOD’s or Unstability.
You could consider dual booting your PC with linux if you go PC route. Then, if Windows dies you still have a working OS from which to wipe and reinstall windows from the backup you already made.
I’m not a huge fan of Apple despite owning quite a few of their products. But the MPB is really good, I don’t have any problems with it and can count the number of dropouts I’ve had over the last 2.5 years on one hand.
What do you like more? Lego or Matchbox?
A lego car is either a pain in the ass because it requires assembly and does not look very sleek and shiny, or it’s a good toy because you can make a boat and a spaceship out of it too.
Same comparison. Windows has more flexibility/scriptability/hackability. A mac does what it does well, but never will do more.
When it comes to build quality, nothing surpasses a good IBM thinkpad
+1 I’ve owned several Apple devices but they never convinced me to become a fanboy. As an IT Pro I’ve been troubleshooting any devices you can think of (from industrial controllers to main frames) in the past 20 years. But after having so much annoying little once in a while troubles with Windows I bought a 2011 MBA 13". Still not a fanboy, everything you have to do to make the OS do what I want, needs to be done in a Linux terminal box. But 8 seconds after pressing the power button I’m ready to go.
@boarderbas: Spot on. It’s that flexibility/complexness of Windows which makes it incapable for some tasks. The new Windows 2012 Server can be installed as a command prompt only system (Power Shell), just like Linux. No needs for the fancy stuff that causes many crashes. 