Intel claims to be worried...

Timeline · Post by **Timeline** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:00 am

Intel apparently reported a big slowdown because more and more consumers are cutting bait on desktops and opting for iMacs & iPads. This could screw us big time if chip costs rise because Apple has a way of passing these costs directly to us big frame users. I have a pretty decent desktop now but the 12 core intrigues me. Unfortunately the cost, at the core speeds I would want, blow me out of the market. There was talk of Apple switching to AMD. That could be interesting but Intel has put major audio industry tycoons into developing better and better onboard SR audio development. I would expect better thing from Intel than AMD. Alan Sides is one of these people, Ocean Way Studios. I spoke with his about it at one point. More interim SRs would be nice and I'm hoping for 128 actually which RME supports. This SR sounds as good as 192 at 40% of the data load. Currently I have been using 88.2 and very happy with the results. I feel it's much better than 96k because it divides down evenly to 44.1.

Guitar Gaz · Post by **Guitar Gaz** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:40 am

I thought iMacs used Intel chips last time I checked - do you mean iPhones and iPads?

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:43 pm

>There was talk of Apple switching to AMD.<

AMD's core business is to second source Intel (a second source is required for most US Government and military contracts). All of these contracts limit AMD as to whom they can sell, what and how much of a license fee they pay to Intel.

AMD is not known for being a prime source with all of the R&D that requires. Although they do make some proprietary chips, it would surprise me if these talks went anywhere.

The one time a second source contract wasn't very well written, AMD made billion$ and Intel learned their lesson. I sat on one of the juries for that case.

FutureLegends · Post by **FutureLegends** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:14 pm

Also, the Mac Pros use server grade processors. And are super expensive because of that. I doubt that changes much because people by iPads instead of cheap PCs...

Prime Mover · Post by **Prime Mover** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:47 am

I think we can all agree that the writing is on the wall for desktops. Maybe not next year, maybe not even 3 years from now, but eventually, desktop sales are going to be so dismal (mac and PC) that the prices will be extremely high.

I think it's time we started figuring out alternatives to the desktop paradigm. Desktops obviously offer pros quite a bit of enhancements that laptops just can't hack, but it doesn't HAVE to be that way. Everything's going modular. Maybe someone will develop an external RAM bus, so that we could have a "RAM Drive" sitting on our table. Already with thunderbolt, we should be able to get close to SATA speeds with external harddrives. And I don't know about you, but most PCI functionality has already been replaced by Firewire and USB.

My MacPro is seriously outclassed by my tiny 13" MacBook Pro. When I think about which computer to open DP7... even without the 7GB of RAM, I go for the MacBook. In fact, since my re-install, I haven't even bothered installing DP7 on my MacPro!

The other problem with desktops is, almost everyone already has a laptop. So, what if you could make your laptop perform like your desktop? I think that would be worth a lot. My dream setup would be a dock that basically turns my laptop into my desktop. They already exist, except for the part about adding RAM, and thunderbolt/sata enclosures are still on the horizon. I've been tempted to go for it, but I think I'll wait until at least thunderbolt stuff gets figured out.

janzoulou · Post by **janzoulou** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:06 am

So, what if you could make your laptop perform like your desktop? I think that would be worth a lot. My dream setup would be a dock that basically turns my laptop into my desktop.

Never ever I want a laptop inside the control-room. I need silence and not a Fan in front of me, producing heat and noise.

Working on a laptop, recording 24 tracks at the same time and doing monitor - mixes? Huhhh.. that sounds weird to me.

Prime Mover · Post by **Prime Mover** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:47 am

janzoulou wrote:Never ever I want a laptop inside the control-room. I need silence and not a Fan in front of me, producing heat and noise.

Working on a laptop, recording 24 tracks at the same time and doing monitor - mixes? Huhhh.. that sounds weird to me.

Come now, that's easy: put some OC703 around the dock, $20. Funny you say that, desktops are traditionally a lot hotter and louder than laptops. Laptops need to run fairly cool, by nature, and can't have huge fans. My MacPro makes a lot more noise than my MacBook Pro. And the bulk of the noise from my MacBook is the hard drive.

What I'm talking about is a dock that can be anywhere, out of sight, out of hearing. Your keyboard, mouse, screen... all external, all the same kind you'd use on your desktop.

Thing is, while laptops were originally designed as an 'all in one' solution, they've actually spawned a very modular era of computing, one that isn't all that unfavorable to pros. Now the typical laptop is no more than a motherboard, small hard drive, small monitor, and WiFi connection. You want to expand? Just hook in an additional piece of equipment. Not so far removed from the paradigms of analog signal flow and synthesis, it should be a fairly familiar concept for us. Need a better CPU? Replace the (cheaper) laptop, but keep your thousands of dollars of hard drives, audio interfaces, and 30" screen. Sure, you could do that with a desktop, but it's not quite as flexible.

The biggest benefit is, you can take your work with you, if you want. Sure, outside of the studio you're missing your instruments, your board, your hui, your monitors... but there are hours of things to do on a mix that don't even require any of those things. My headphones may not be a replacement for nearfield monitoring, but they'll get me by well enough to do take comping, make timing corrections in the rhythm tracks. In my experience, these things are over half the mixing process, and I can do them anywhere, far away from the stuffy studio.

Obviously, if you're a full time producer, with no composing, or self-producing, then you don't WANT to take your work with you, but I bet a good 75% of the people on this forum do their own material at least some of the time, and sometimes the best opportunity for that is away from the studio.

janzoulou · Post by **janzoulou** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 1:54 pm

What I'm talking about is a dock that can be anywhere, out of sight, out of hearing. Your keyboard, mouse, screen... all external, all the same kind you'd use on your desktop.

My desktop sits outside the control - room, together with interfaces, and power - supplys. Everything using a fan I placed out of the acoustically designed and decoupled room.

Yes I am producing and recording. At the moment a macbook pro could not handle all my peripherals connected to my desktop anyway. (2 main screens, a screen in the recording room and a 32" on the control-room wall between the spekers for ADR.PCI 424e, 2times 2408 and 3X RME ADI 8QS)

If I go outside I do use my laptop, but with a reduced system. For mobile recordings I use PCMCI and RME or go for a firewire solution (will switch to thunderboldt and Magma / PT HD for mobile soon)

I do need 48 outputs while mixing and got a lot of outboard which I am always using.

I agree for Producers, working lots of the time mobile a desktop may not be a good solution, but quite often they come to my place when it is about mixing and having an analogue summing and real outboard.

All the studios I know use desktops. Not because it is a stubborn decision, no it is just because it gives the only stable and powerful solution, working 12 hours a day on a machine which never fails, once there is a good system and set - up.

On my machine runs no email, Internet and other office - stuff. Just Audio and Video/ADR. My laptop I do need for office and networking. Therefore I don´t want to miss it and I am glad they exist...

I think it is a question of needs and philosophy of working. With my philosophy it does not fit to only have a Laptop. I would highly recommend Apple to build a Rack-version for the pro - users...

mikehalloran · Post by **mikehalloran** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 3:23 pm

>I think we can all agree that the writing is on the wall for desktops.<

Only if replaced by another rack mount. The XServ was a great idea, even if never a big seller. I would rather see the next MacPro take that form. It's not as if professionals have no idea what a 19" rack is for.

I think that many of us, if asked, would gladly move to a rack mount, if available, over a tower - long before we would consider a laptop in the studio.

For me, the iMac was a compromise made necessary by timing and budget. I expect to outgrow it in a year or two and there is no way for me to 'grow into' a laptop.

bayswater · Post by **bayswater** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:16 pm

Prime Mover wrote:I think we can all agree that the writing is on the wall for desktops. Maybe not next year, maybe not even 3 years from now, but eventually, desktop sales are going to be so dismal (mac and PC) that the prices will be extremely high.

I expect there will be a niche supplier, and someone will be making servers. I agree about price. I've been told by people I know at two large PC makers that they don't expect to be making desktops within 3 years, and one may not be making many laptops either.

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