Pc better for vdj
If by chance you think you might want to use vdj at some point, then get a pc.
I don’t like the way the mac handles video with vdj.
spend as little as you can while still meeting the requirements for your controller.
-2gb ram is a minimum
-anything over 1.8ghz is fine as far as cpu goes
-on board video is fine
-screen size 15"+ necessary
-you can even get a small enough hard drive these days i think 320gb is standard.
my point is, spend 400$ today on a perfectly fine machine.. and in another 2 years spend another 400$ for a PC that will have double the specs your old one had. and youve still saved 200$.
macs are overpriced and very proprietary.
im not anti mac, im just anti spending $$
^^^
Kinda what I was trying to say (without getting into a mac vs pc flame war)… good words DJ AveNew
An interesting note… in the “show me your setup” thread, there are a lot of PC laptops pictured…so I’m guessing you should be fine with whatever you buy…(obvious “don’t” laptops notwithstanding)
+1 for saving money!!
- MBP 13’’ is the best budget option - get the cheapest (from the Pro series!). I have this one.
- The new Air is great, but is more expensive - the advantages over the MBP 13’’ are worth the extra cash, but there’s a huge drawback - no backlit keyboard. Just because of the keyboard, it’s a no go for me, despite the better screen resolution and the SSD.
- The best possible option - the 15’’ MBP. Costly, but best for DJing purpose. Period.
Windows PCs will work fine too - use the M$ every day at work(just don’t enjoy it). The “cheapest route” is a wise approach, especially if you are practical type of person. Don’t hesitate if you feel it would right. Second hand Dell Latitude is definitely a good (had few Latitudes). Low-end models is bad as reliability is important.
my $0.02 - Apple OS X on Mac Book Pro is a pleasure and the preferred option for me. Again the primary reason is simply PLEASURE. I’m not practical - I look for things I enjoy, not that just work.
HTH
MBP 13". You can get more powerful PCs, but OSX is a huge advantage. For example, the built in audio drivers actually work with DJ soundcards at low latency from the word go.
I think we both know who won that battle 
Post Tone: as non-confrontational as possible…
This is a mystery to me since I’ve installed various soundcard drivers without a hitch on multiple PCs…if I’m reading your comment right, mac users don’t install an Audio8DJ driver? it’s built in to OSX?
I don’t doubt the mac’s popularity within the DJ/Producer community, but the comment implies that working low latency drivers are somehow non-existent in the PC environment.
Sorry to beat this dog Karlos…but I think you get what I’m sayin’.
Some folks would have you believe DJing with a PC is the most horrible experience ever…and I just don’t think this is the case cuz I’ve been playing DVS systems on PCs since Final Scratch 1.0 (circa 2001) without issues.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the uniquely friendly community here at DJTT, yet this type of blatant incorrect generalization continues (seemingly unchallenged)
EDIT: (thinking about the comment now… it has nothing to do with the DJTT community being friendly… everyone actually is quite friendly here… no issues with that)
Thinkpad.
Nosferatu, there’s really no point to defend one or the other. Practically both work and will do the job.
It’s really not about Mac can and Windows can’t do the job - they both can. It’s just that one is Unix, the other is not.
OS X is Darwin based. Memory and process management are very well designed. The entire microkernel and kernel drivers module design are superior, the network layer is taken from FreeBSD - nothing better than that. The underlaying API is mostly coming from the NextStep OS, which is written by the team behind BeOS.
I have professional experience with Windows, Solaris, AIX, Linux and FreeBSD as Application, Database and Network servers. Also played with others. I’m a Software Engineer and I’m managing enterprise software projects for the past 6 years and I’m getting dirty into how these beasts work. Deep dirty at times.
Engineering wise, OS X/Darwin is a state of the art OS. On top of it runs a very nice UI - like it or not is subjective. Due to legacy and backward compatibility reasons, Windows cannot become as good OS as OS X is (not to speak for FreeBSD, Solaris, etc).
MS’ Engineering Team is very capable and I respect them a lot.
EDIT: And BTW, I’ve checked your dream setup - Latitude is actually my favorite laptop, before I had MBP. I still think it’s superior to the MBP in many aspects. It just lacks OS X … and the backlit keyboard
Cheers!
mbp
this has been ask too many times, please search the forums.
My advice, buy what you can afford.
Get good at djing, make some money and buy better gear. If you dont know jack about computers goto the website of the software you plan to use and see the min specs to run it…GOOGLE is your friend, plus its free to search.
Thanks…
however… my point was actually more simple than that. Most folks won’t know their Debian from their Red Hat…
Clearly you know what you’re talking about (and being an information security auditor, I appreciate that immensely..especially for geeking out on DJTT) I was just trying to say that PCs shouldn’t be discounted simply because they’re not macs, since, as you said…
“Practically both work and will do the job”
Don’t worry about being a Federal Employee. I used it and got a nice 13mbp for $1042 for a basic unibody.
linux 4 lyfe nyukuh
EDIT: Hackintosh???
[quote=“Nosferatu, post:32, topic:15193, username:Nosferatu”]
Thanks…
however… my point was actually more simple than that. Most folks won’t know their Debian from their Red Hat…
Clearly you know what you’re talking about (and being an information security auditor, I appreciate that immensely..especially for geeking out on DJTT) I was just trying to say that PCs shouldn’t be discounted simply because they’re not macs, since, as you said…
“Practically both work and will do the job”
[/quote]Did you go to college from Comp Sci? I’m starting in the spring and I’m not sure if I should really pursue it. I feel like all the studying would kill any time I’d have to really progress in this hobby.
Linux as a workstation was a nice playground for me. Learned a lot by running it as primary workstation for few years through my CS education. IMO, it’s not as mature as Windows or OS X for straight forward work - have to put too much effort into keeping it up-to-date, running and fully functional. I also miss the commercial apps. Vendors usually don’t do ports for Linux. Emulation – too much of a hassle with questionable end results (usually lacks stability & functionality - e.g Audio emulation sucks! ).
Hackintosh - I have limited experience with it. Besides that it’s not very legal, I’m a little bit concerned with the maintenance updates from Apple. When setting up the Hackintosh, you add & replace drivers and alter system properties. It’s bound to create issues with updates – of course, they could be handled. Have friends who do it and enjoy it a lot. They all claim that it runs better than any other OS on the same (decent) comp 
. Yup it’s an option to run OS X on non-apple HW.
For out of the box windows func. with really low DPC latancies get an HP Envy (u can buy it with TSD), buuuut i have only read a few reviews, not my personal experience.
For real out of the box funciolaty get a MAC!
It’s all about time management… I have a friend who in addition to DJing is also a Chief of Neuroscience (read “brain surgeon”)… he finds the time.
Up until recently I held a 10 yr residence at a local club… now I’m back in the studio (check out Soiree Records [Detroit])… all while maintaining my “day job”.
knaumov has an intense job, and he seems to be current with the DJ culture…so I don’t think you should have issues with college and DJing…heck, aren’t there parties at your college??? Not everyone can have DJ Superstar status and fly around the world…
Sorry man, that was quite a bitter post of mine! Just remembering the experience of trying to get my Audio8 to work with my mate’s PC, had horrible crackle at max latency and took some fixing.
I guess what I was really trying to say is that the plug and play compatibility of macs is better, but it came out sounding like there’s no way to make PCs work for DJing 
^^
No worries mate…
Perhaps if my travels land me in your neighborhood we can order up a couple of full English pints!