Gaming Computer vs Mac

[BONES]

I don't see that genre has much to do with anything. Production is production and it seems unlikely that either of those things are eating up too many CPU cycles.

I've owned 12 different laptops in the last 15 years, as well as having been issued 3 different high powered work laptops, and I've never experienced temperatures that I'd describe as more than warm on any of them, at any time. My Surface Pro used to get hot but it was running a 3rd Gen Core i processor in what was a very thin chassis at the time.

[Jac459]

I don't see that genre has much to do with anything. Production is production and it seems unlikely that either of those things are eating up too many CPU cycles.

Definitely not. As I told you already, if you listen to skrillex for example, it is not at all the same kind of sound and complexity than pop or rap or EBM. It is not a preferencence but a fact (i dont like skrillex by the way). I encourage you to listen to Two fingers or Amon Tobin, you will see what I mean.
For example, in pop, you use sidechain effects only when you are mixing, to unmask a voice, subtle compression or whatever equivalent.
In some modern genre, you can have 5 side chaining on a sound, for example to trigger a ring modulation when the snare kick in.... or create a resonnant filter or whatever other stuff you can imagine.
That's also link to the discussion on modulations, you don't have the same needs depending of the genre.
Another example can be Cinematic, in general you will use much more samples compare to electro where all the sounds will be generated.
Also all the sounds are not equals, granular synthesis and spectral doesn't have the same tool on cpu than a simple substractive synthesis. And NO, you can't create the equivalent sounds in substractive.

I've owned 12 different laptops in the last 15 years, as well as having been issued 3 different high powered work laptops, and I've never experienced temperatures that I'd describe as more than warm on any of them, at any time. My Surface Pro used to get hot but it was running a 3rd Gen Core i processor in what was a very thin chassis at the time.

Funny I was having the Surface Pro 4 and didn't had temperature issue.
Then maybe it is only gaming laptop....

[BertKoor]

a floor fan to move the air in a room consumes more than 100W.

Is this a floor fan?

This one is 35W. Probably 15 or 20W on position one.

... which is less than a 650w mini tower pc.

And I love my m2 mac. Where the 2016 mbp had to turn on its fans, this one processes it silently.

[sQeetz]

In his fantasy bubble BONES view of things might make sense.

[sQeetz]

And I love my m2 mac. Where the 2016 mbp had to turn on its fans, this one processes it silently.

M2 Mac mini FTW! It's silent and so powerful. I have yet to create a project that really taxes it.

[sQeetz]

On the subject of the topic: I can game just fine on my Mac? Parallels runs like a champ for games that are not Mac compatible. Steam runs more than fine emulated on Windows 11 on a Mac. I dare to say that some games run better on it than on a real Wintel machine...

[PAK]

550$ is a little ambitious, but for example you can buy this one and it should perform on par with mac studio.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/kcGjtn

£701.83 or (checks) ~US$878. And.. No Windows included?! The inhumanity! Granted though, you'd really have to stretch to get a $550 scenario anyway.. not least "ways" to import or otherwise dodge VAT.

As for "on par"? A 13500k is a well placed choice for value Vs CPU performance. Intel 770 vs M1 Max though? Apple's GFX might disappoint at times, but not quite by that much

It lacks other niceties too.. Max has 10GB ethernet as standard, and its Thunderbolt alone has 4x40GB/s bandwidth. Memory is 400GB/s Vs DDR4-3600 (As mentioned, Kontakt seems to be one app that gets a boost from more bandwidth.. ). Not to mention form factor, noise, power use etc etc.

Really, the more you compare the more you kinda conclude they're very different things. The only real take away being you can get equivalent / better PC CPU performance for less money, and just how much Apple overcharges for their internal storage. But these won't be news to anyone

Your "real" price would also be higher btw. The reason is not just the cost of Windows. You really wouldn't want to use some of those Amazon sellers linked either. EG The Zalman case seller, on Amazon, has a 68% feedback rating.. or "run in the other direction" as it's otherwise known.

If you browse components on Amazon now, they offer to import (from Amazon US) too. The irony being the imported price, with delivery, can frequently be less than buying local stock within your own country!

It's totally possible to assemble a decent PC for half a price of a mac. And no, it won't scream like a jet engine and it wont consume lots of power.

TBH, outside of the CPU and 2TB Samsung storage, I'm a bit underwhelmed at what nearly $900 gets you these days Relative to the highest end Intel/Nvidia stuff? Yes, it will use much less power. But, under load, a 13500k system still draws a reported 230 to 265W+ (Depending on DDR4 or 5.. ) So it's still quite a bit higher, which is where the cost of energy comes into things for some

[2DaT]

a floor fan to move the air in a room consumes more than 100W.

Is this a floor fan?

[PAK]

Too many fan boys in this thread.
(pauses for applause)

Thank you, thank you.

[BertKoor]

a floor fan to move the air in a room consumes more than 100W.

Is this a floor fan?

Looked in some shops, all of them are 50 W or less
So you can save energy by buying a new one.

Also, a lot of the consumed power is turned into heat. Not something you want in already hot room.

[2DaT]

Looked in some shops, all of them are 50 W or less
So you can save energy by buying a new one.

Also, a lot of the consumed power is turned into heat. Not something you want in already hot room.

Right, I think it consumes around 60W, which is very close to a whole PC. It's not that much. Proper AC would consume much much more.

[CrystalWizard]

My opinion: get a system you are already familiar with.

i traded a bunch of hours editing a podcast for a 2020 Razer 15. What an absolute piece of crap! it does one thing well- graphics (which is why i traded for it) and some things ok. Actually, it does two things well, it can heat a cold room. the battery puffed up almost double size, this broke the trackpad. it has the distinction of being the only computer that i've used (in 20yrs) that has completely bricked on stage. It's useless right now as it went from running hot to running burning hot "i'm going to fry hot" lately and i'm thinking it may need the heat sinks repasted and set. i have a stand for it but i think it needs to sit of an air cooler. just a sample of 1.

[BONES]

OK, so it seems like Razer is a poor choice. I've not had any experiences with them, they are way too expensive and I've never seen them with the sorts of massive discounts I normally go for.

For example, in pop, you use sidechain effects only when you are mixing, to unmask a voice, subtle compression or whatever equivalent.
In some modern genre, you can have 5 side chaining on a sound, for example to trigger a ring modulation when the snare kick in.... or create a resonnant filter or whatever other stuff you can imagine.

To what end? Do you think anyone notices? We can all do pretty much anything we want but that doesn't mean we should. For me, doing things efficiently is a vitally important part of getting the best result. The more you complicate things, the harder it is to get it all right. The album we are just finishing off now, for example, contains what are easily the least complicated mixes we've done in 20 years and, as a direct result, it's the best sounding album we've made. There is not a single synth or guitar part on the whole album with EQ on it, for example, and all the drums on every song have a simple stereo output, not separate outputs for each drum. It feels completely counter-intuitive but it has worked amazingly well. The mixes are punchy and clear as crystal, while still maintaining the massive wall of sound we like.

Another example can be Cinematic, in general you will use much more samples compare to electro where all the sounds will be generated.

We use a lot of sample-based instruments. I'd say that almost half the sounds in any given song will come from them, from Hexeract, Concept 2 and Monoment Bass, through to our guitar and drum VSTi and plenty of Kontakt libraries from Heavyocity and others. Some you'd pick straight away as samples but a lot of them you'd probably think were standard VAs.

That's probably because I don't think about genre when I'm producing, I just make the music I like. It ends up being whatever it is and I find a lot of sample-based instruments to be more inspiring than many other things. Genres are for other people to worry about, they are for marketing purposes, they have no bearing on my work.

Also all the sounds are not equals, granular synthesis and spectral doesn't have the same tool on cpu than a simple substractive synthesis. And NO, you can't create the equivalent sounds in substractive.

Of course you can. Look at DS Thorn, it sounds broadly like any normal V/A, yet it uses spectral synthesis. Granular is harder but there are so many granular effects around now that you can easily enough turn anything into a granular type sound these days.

Funny I was having the Surface Pro 4 and didn't had temperature issue.
Then maybe it is only gaming laptop....

At the end of my session last night, on my Asus ROG 2-in-1, I rendered 4 songs and then thought to check the chassis temperature and it was barely warm, despite having spent the previous 8-10 minutes running all 14 threads at 100% capacity. I couldn't hear the fans, but they were working because there was warm air coming through the top vents.

[Pictus]

(...)It's useless right now as it went from running hot to running burning hot "i'm going to fry hot" lately and i'm thinking it may need the heat sinks repasted and set. i have a stand for it but i think it needs to sit of an air cooler.(...)

The original thermal paste is probably dry now, repaste with PCM based thermal paste.
https://youtu.be/2BhKx0iQ4K8
https://youtu.be/rpjbhf6Tpqw

[CrystalWizard]

(...)It's useless right now as it went from running hot to running burning hot "i'm going to fry hot" lately and i'm thinking it may need the heat sinks repasted and set. i have a stand for it but i think it needs to sit of an air cooler.(...)

The original thermal paste is probably dry now, repaste with PCM based thermal paste.
https://youtu.be/2BhKx0iQ4K8
https://youtu.be/rpjbhf6Tpqw

thanks Pictus. i was wondering about liquid metal?