@dreamthemes said:

It's relevant to me-I am trying to weigh up which 64 bit platform i should go for. Apple is an expensive way to go, so if windows is a more open ended and powerful system, of course i will go windows,but i have very little tech knowledge. Thanks though DG

Brian, let me get back to your initial question. This is how a setup on Mac with lots of RAM and the use of Sibelius and Vienna Ensemble without Logic would work.

Due to limitations in a 32-bit system, it is not possible for a single application to load more than 3 GB RAM. It is indeed possible to load additional stand-alone instances of Vienna Ensemble, which will allow you to load the same amount of sample data again. If you want to open more than one instance of VE stand alone, you have to copy the Vienna Ensemble application and name it differently. The stand alone instances are not recognised from within Sibelius. You have to open them from the applications folder.

In order to communicate from Sibelius with stand-alone VE you have to use IAC or a different MIDI Loop back. Be aware that you cannot load the sound set if you choose IAC or a hardware MIDI-out. However, there is also a way to solve this problem. Open the sound set with the sound set editor or a text editor and change the entry PatchLoadMechanism from "Fixed" to "MIDI". Save the sound set with a different name. Now you can communicate from Sibelius over the IAC-Port with the Stand-alone Vienna Ensemble and the modified sound set takes care of the articulation changes.

The Sibelius and Vienna Ensemble setup guide is also available at this location: http://vsl.co.at/en/68/498/943/239.htm

Best wishes,
Andi

I'd add one more thing: Unique to Intel Macs is the ability to run OSX or Windows. So, if you prefer the MacOS but want to use Windows XP Pro 64 or VISTA 64 so that you can use the 64-bit versions of VE 2 or VE 3 you would have the option of going back to OSX when OSX compatible 64-bit versions of VE 2 and VE 3 become available.  

@stevesong said:

I'd add one more thing: Unique to Intel Macs is the ability to run OSX or Windows. So, if you prefer the MacOS but want to use Windows XP Pro 64 or VISTA 64 so that you can use the 64-bit versions of VE 2 or VE 3 you would have the option of going back to OSX when OSX compatible 64-bit versions of VE 2 and VE 3 become available.  

Brian:

You don't need a fibre channel card for a simple RAID 0 array for sample streaming - - you can make one with software. If you are formatting the disks for OSX, turn journaling off.  Although RAID 0 has no redundancy (if one of the drives fails, all data is lost) if the only thing on those drives are the samples then you can reinstall them from DVD or, if you've made disk images of the DVDs on a hard drive, from that hard drive. 

As far as Apple's prices for RAM, I think you have understated the discrepancies: 16GB of RAM (8 x 2GB sticks) costs $830.00 at Other World Computing, the same purchased from Apple is $3500.00. 16GB (4 x 4GB) from OWC is $1600.00, the same purchased from Apple is $4300.00 - - etc. etc. 

@stevesong said:

Brian:

 

You don't need a fibre channel card for a simple RAID 0 array for sample streaming - - you can make one with software. If you are formatting the disks for OSX, turn journaling off.  Although RAID 0 has no redundancy (if one of the drives fails, all data is lost) if the only thing on those drives are the samples then you can reinstall them from DVD or, if you've made disk images of the DVDs on a hard drive, from that hard drive. 

 

As far as Apple's prices for RAM, I think you have understated the discrepancies: 16GB of RAM (8 x 2GB sticks) costs $830.00 at Other World Computing, the same purchased from Apple is $3500.00. 16GB (4 x 4GB) from OWC is $1600.00, the same purchased from Apple is $4300.00 - - etc. etc. 

@dreamthemes said:

 When you say I've got to understand the discrepancies on Apple's ROM prices,are you implying that OWC 's bargain basement computers sticks are unreliable and a 'chance you take' compared to usings Apple's own?

Absolutely not!! RAM is a commodity made by only a very few companies in the world (e.g Samsung, Micron and a few others). What I was getting at in the statement you quoted is just how outrageously overpriced RAM sold by Apple is - - not that it has some "superior" quality.

Apple does NOT manufacture RAM, they simply put their label on RAM made by one of the companies that manufacture RAM and sell it at an exorbitant price.

The RAM you purchase from Other World Computing is of the same quality and made by the same manufacturers.

There is, however, a difference in the warranty. RAM sold by Apple has the same warranty as the computer in which it is installed - - 1 year, or, if you purchase an AppleCare extended warranty, 3 years.

In contrast, RAM sold by Other World Computing has a lifetime advance replacement warranty. In the unlikely event that you get a bad RAM stick or one goes bad, you call OWC, get an return authorization number and they immediately send you a replacement without charging you unless you fail to return the defective stick within a specified (30 days I believe) time period. In other words, the warranty offered by OWC is far superior to that offered by Apple.

I have purchased RAM from Other World Computing over the course of many years and NEVER had a problem. I have recommended OWC RAM to colleagues and they similarly have never encountered any problems. The college at which I taught for many years purchased RAM from OWC and had no problems. OWC maintains a testing lab engaged in testing all the RAM they sell.

Another fact is that OWC continues to stock RAM for almost any Mac ever manufactured - - for example, System 6 diehards will be glad to know that they can still buy RAM from OWC at reasonable prices for the Mac II manufactured in 1987, so you know that a number of years from now you will still be able to purchase the RAM you might need for a now current computer. 

When I say that RAM is a commodity, I mean that it is traded like a commodity and its price actually changes constantly - - I was once in a RAM trading room where I could observe the price of chips ticking up and down every second. Large companies bid on large quantities and the price is set by supply and demand as in any commodities market.