Would like to hear specifically from Cubase users who have switched from Mac to Windows.

Cubase
1

The pricing of the new Mac Pros is utterly comical – they’ve narrowed its focus and are casting off concerns of even the most fanatical non-part-of-a-deep-pockets-business users. So, I’m done with paying the embarrassing Mac tax and am looking into switching back to Windows after 6 years on Mac.

What I like about Mac is its stone cold reliability for me – I’ve almost never had an issue with the computer freezing, blue-screening, etc., aside from plug-in related issues in Cubase. Stability has always been supreme, and I run extremely huge scoring and mix sessions (easily 350 tracks, VE Pro, stacked to the limit with plugins and VSTi’s, etc.). I’m used to the ease of the Mac working great almost constantly. I’m not interested in a Hackintosh because my schedule is so stacked that I have little time or interest anymore to tinker about – I just need things to work (obviously there’s an initial setup and maintenance – I’m not talking about that). When I was on Windows before Mac I had great systems by ADK and ran into issues on a fairly regular basis at times – BIOS this, BIOS that, blue screens, etc. But that was over six years ago.

So this question is ONLY for people who have used or currently use both Windows and Mac: What is your experience on Windows currently vs. Mac as far as reliability, stability, and ease of dealing with, all with Cubase? I would like answers that reflect your true reality – life is too short for any kind of fanboy-ism, and I couldn’t care less what company I use as long as its the best for me.

2

Hi,

I’m using both system for several years. I strongly prefer Mac. As you said, an issue here and there, is still present today.

My setup is an older macBook pro as a master, which is running Cubase (and actually just sending MIDI data). And other Mac Pro as a slave which is running VEPro and taking care about al VSTis. I can imagine this slave machine could be Windows machine and in other studio I’m working in, they have a Windows slave machine with VEPro and it works perfectly fine.

3

Is there a reason why you prefer it over Windows for Cubase specifically?

4

Hi,

Because of stability and reliability. It’s not Cubase specific. If the system itself is not stable enough, any subsystem running on the system cannot be stable and reliable. “Taking care” about the Windows systems takes much more time, then macOS system.

5

Thanks Martin.

That’s the conclusion I’ve come too, as well. from talking to many Windows users now and based on my own Windows experience in the past. I might buy a new Mac Pro some time this year, but buy a base model (which is still embarrassingly expensive) and get a better processor and more RAM, etc., afterwards instead of paying Apple huge amounts more for the same thing. We’ll see, anyway.

I need ultra and constant reliability for my work…I guess that’s what the stupid “Apple tax” is for. It sucks because Cubase is snappier on Windows, too…Steinberg still hasn’t gotten the GUI together yet for Apple to be as fast and crisp as Windows, which is the one thing I really miss from when I was on Windows. Hopefully that will happen soon.

6

Hi,

My eyes are quite poor, so I don’t see the difference. :smiley:

7

I avoid the apple tax my building my own Hackintosh. Running 24/7 here with rock solid reliability. It took me around 2 days to iron out some issues, but that saved me around £4,000 for the equivalent iMac Pro.

8

I made the switch a long, long time ago, so, maybe that doesn’t really count anymore. At that time, I was strongly advised not to do it.
The switch was about as painless as could be. A total non-issue if there ever was one.

The ONLY issues I’ve had with my Windows 10 system are with Cubase 10 Pro and these issues have occurred only recently. Previous versions of Cubase ran outstandingly well and were rock-solid stable. No blue screens, no freezes/crashes. Nothing.

9

Steve – it’s truly totally dependable and rock solid? If that’s the case then I might look into. Two days to iron out issues initially is fine, but I would worry about maintaining it, etc. Can you run the latest Mac OS’s, or at least one behind? Do we know that we’ll be able to run them in the future with future Mac OS’s?

What is a good resource for learning about and how to build a totally Apple Pro-level reliable system? I’m interested now.

10

I do hear that from some people, but my own experiences before I switched to Mac, with two different ADK custom music PCs scares me a bit. Not an easy decision, all of this…!

11

Yes it’s truly dependable. And yes it’s fully updatable and everything works, from Thunderbolt to all Apple services etc. I couldn’t face switching OS to windows so gave this a shot. Best move I ever made. Many pros in audio/video are working on Hackintosh for exact same reason. You’ll find everything you need at tonymacx86.com. Best route would be to copy someone else’s working system. There are many examples and tutorials/guides on tonymac and lots of really helpful people should you need a hand.

12

Yes it’s truly dependable. And yes it’s fully updatable and everything works, from Thunderbolt to all Apple services etc. I couldn’t face switching OS to windows so gave this a shot. Best move I ever made. Many pros in audio/video are working on Hackintosh for exact same reason. You’ll find everything you need at tonymacx86.com. Best route would be to copy someone else’s working system. There are many examples and tutorials/guides on tonymac and lots of really helpful people should you need a hand.

13

Hi,

Sorry, I can’t help myself and I have to mention, Hackintosh is not a legal OS.

14

OK, thank you. I’m going to look into this option and hopefully not feed the insanely greedy Apple machine.

15

Well, no one’s perfect. :slight_smile:

16

I’m moving from Mac to Windows and i’ve been really surprised with Windows stability and the additional power for the money is most welcome. About 2 months in now.

Once i’m using any application there’s no difference as to what the base OS is unless you’re switching between apps or having to access the file system - everything else is identical!

17

I switched since OS 9. True, you had to tweak XP for audio a lot. But at least you could, to get maximum performance. mac is imposible to tweak since 9. Thats why you needed to spend even more money to get usable performance.

Win 10 pro is superstable and so is cubase 10. If you have problems it’s your videocard or a nonsteinberg plugin.

18

++.
BUT… Do give your self 6 months to study and learn about Windows in a systematised & professional way. My views based on 30 years of working with large scale deployment of both Win & Mac systems:

Under Steve Jobs, there was much truly excellent innovation for many years & yes, PCs and Windows were pretty bad for a long time ( I have the scars to prove it, running and maintaining both kinds of systems for many users, say 1998-2012 ish).

However, times have moved on - a lot. The innovation across-the-board from Windows-based computer manufacturers is now extraordinary (especially in the laptop area); Windows runs across multiple devices, laptops have touch screens, convertible form factors & without the need of Mac OS, iOS, WatchOS etc etc. Much of this innovation is led by Intel and AMD (not Apple as they might have you believe). Jonty does make them look nice however.

Where Steve once imagined an ecosystem to make it all easy to use (vs the bad rep of old Windows), now Apple perpetuate this myth and essentially try to ‘keep us all stupid’ and by only comparing Apples with Apples.

As music technologists, producers, composers, filmmakers & the rest, clearly we are not so stupid when it comes to some fairly advanced tech in our working environments, yet, this old business about MacOS vs Windows goes on. Apple tax = the cost of Mac OS. Hackintosh is a waste-of-time option, the worst of both worlds and indeed, illegal. Unix-based MacOS is of course, excellent, but Apple lock us out of any deep understanding of that.

In sum: take the time to learn Windows and indeed, how to manipulate it for your particular needs (exactly like a console, microphones, outboard equipment or any other complex /artistic systems). Win 10 is generally excellent, but yes there is a learning curve because while we have used MacOS we have not been able to learn much about the OS at all. Also: stay with ‘platform agnostic’ review and advice sites /resources; this is also very much more useful to compare ‘Apples with Oranges’.

My 2 cents. On Win exclusively now for a little over three years. And, in my experience Steinberg loves Windows (still running a maxed out 2010 Mac Pro on Mojave, all of the same software and plugs; but more as a time machine and System image; rarely gets turned on now).

19

Thank you for this. The more composers and editors I know that switched to Windows and report the same thing as you, the better I’m feeling about possibly doing it.

What would you recommend as far as a place to learn Windows 10 more deeply in the way you’re describing?

20

Fact that many have done it begrudgingly due to Apple limiting their upgrade paths and STILL ‘enjoy’ Windows OS is quite a testament too.

I got my Windows machine and felt depressed about it when it arrived, i was dead set against using it, 99% sure i was going to hate it - but i got it because i was really unhappy with Apples systems and pricing, so felt it only fair to test the waters elsewhere before throwing money into more Apple products. It was only a cheap i7 that i pulled from Ebay, and the whole system cost the same as a 128 to 256GB SSD upgrade on a Macbook Pro. It seemed to insane to not just ‘give it a try’.

Sure enough, it won me over in a week… Even first day i was thinking that it’s really not that much different once you’re working in a project.

Don’t get me wrong, i miss MacOS greatly, but for no logical reason. So, I can deal with that, i think a lot of Mac users would struggle however, and it is hard to walk away from things like iMessage/iCloud etc. if you use them.