going portable.... ibook or powerbook?

firth5 · Post by **firth5** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:58 am

Hello All,

I've searched the forum, and can't quite find an answer to this, but I'm also new here, so I may have missed something.

Due to a heavy amount of travelling I'll be doing this year, I intend to switch over my system to an entirely portable one. But I'm unfortunately on quite a limited budget. I do both live band recording and write my own music.

I currently use: DP3 on a G4 dual 500, with a 2408 mkII and an MTP AV.

I intend to buy a (used) Mac laptop, upgrade DP, and get a firewire audio interface.

I would like to know if anyone out there is using an iBook with their DP on OSX, and if this is enough to record 16 tracks of audio at 24 bit. If not, I'll probably get the PowerBook.

Also, any recs on either the 828 vs. Traveller? I don't expect to need to use the Bus power, so other than the 2 extra Mic inputs, is there a reason to go with the Traveller?

Finally, I therefore have the following for sale, and am looking to purchase used gear. You can email me directly for inquiries regarding these items:

Selling:
G4 dual 500, 2 40 gig int HD, 768 MB RAM, 40x CDRW, Zip
2408 Mk2 with PCI card
Digital Timepiece
Like new 17" Dell monitor

Looking for:
Mac Laptop that will allow me to record 16 tracks of 24 bit audio
MOTU firewire audio interface

I also hope that I have not accidentally betrayed any etiquette rules by posting objects I'm selling....

Peace,

Eric Vesbit
firth5@yahoo.com

zerosin · Post by **zerosin** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:27 pm

If you don't need to run any OS X only plug-ins, I would get an older OS 9 bootable laptop, like a 1GHz TiBook and stay with DP 3. Dp 4 in OS X is no speed demon and running it on a laptop is even worse. That being said, a new iBook G4 or PowerBook will easily give you 16 tracks. You'll be even better off replacing the internal 4,xxx RPM drive with a 5,400 or 7,200 RPM drive. The 54s are a built-to-order option. Get an aftermarket battery with more milliamps for the faster drive though if you want to keep your uptime on battery power. If you get a new portable GET APPLECARE, and don't drop it or you can expect to pay a flat rate repair in the big bucks range. The screen alone on the PBs is about $1k.