Computer / Software

With 64-bit quad-core processing in every model and the ability to run both Mac OS X and Windows, is the Mac Pro the computer all musicians have been waiting for?

AMD's dual-core Athlon CPUs are proving popular with those seeking the ultimate in desktop PC performance for their money, and this machine from PC Audio Labs shows why.

Apple's first Intel-based laptop was introduced earlier this year. Is this the portable Mac musicians and audio engineers have been waiting for?

When is an iMac not an iMac, but still an iMac? When it's a new model featuring an Intel processor. We test Apple's first Intel-based Mac and see what the future holds for Mac musicians and audio engineers.

Hate mixing by mouse? Intatouch's neat monitor add-on allows you to draw control data directly onto the screen.

Dual-core processors hold the key to unprecedented performance with music applications. But how do systems based around Intel's Pentium D, like this one from Millennium Music, compare with their AMD-based rivals?

Dual-core CPUs promise a huge jump in performance at a modest price, while RAID disk arrays can provide both faster and more secure storage. Scan Computers' Athlon-based system features both technologies.

Apple's loop-sequencing application has grown up, with the addition of sophisticated recording, editing and mixing facilities, a powerful waveform editor, and many of Logic's most sought-after effects.

We test another customised keyboard aimed at Cubase users.

Apple have long been criticised for charging a premium for their products, making the Mac platform a more costly choice than the alternatives. With the newly released Mac Mini, Apple hope to change this perception, but is there enough Mac in the Mac Mini to make it useful for musicians?

The AMD Athlon 64-based music computers from UK retailer Dawsons Music offer performance comparable to the very fastest Pentium 4 CPUs, and are ready to take advantage of 64-bit music software once it becomes available.

Intel's Prescott Pentium 4 chips have proved too hot for many music PC builders to handle, but Philip Rees have used them to build machines that are both powerful and impressively quiet.

AMD's Opteron range of CPUs are popular with musicians and ready for 64-bit computing — so how does Inta Audio's Opteron PC compare with typical Intel machines?

Apple's original iMac marked the beginning of a turnaround for the company, and despite the consumer-oriented nature of the product, iMacs have found a place in many a home studio over the years. With the iMac range finally inheriting a G5 processor, have Apple created the perfect entry-level machine for demanding Mac musicians on a budget?

Computer specifications have changed radically in the three years since Carillon launched their first music PCs, but the company's signature metal rackmount case and attention to detail still sets them apart. Their powerful Core 4 machine offers support for three monitors, plus a huge 400GB RAID 0 hard drive array for audio data.

Most of the major Windows sequencers now support dual processing, and if you want the ultimate performance, machines like Red Submarine's dual Xeon PC could be the way to go.

Gmedia continue their quest to render the best of the world's keyboards in software form. But will it give OSCar fans a case of the grouches?

Although Centrino laptops have advantages in terms of weight and battery life, standard Pentium 4 CPUs still offer the ultimate in performance, and Nu Systems's desktop replacement machine is a processing heavyweight.

Few products have been hyped as much as Apple's new G5 range of 64-bit personal computers — but how good are they for making and recording music in the real world? We test the 2GHz Dual Processor model...

More and more musicians are turning to systems based around a laptop PC, and Intel's new Pentium-M processor — as found in this model from Maxdata and SME Solutions — seems to perform well with music applications.

INTA Audio's music workstation boasts some of the latest PC technology, including hyperthreading, dual-channel DDR400 memory and Serial ATA, making it one of the fastest systems around.