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First Windows Install for a Mac User - coupla questions

dtonthept

Active Member
Hi folks,

I'm just looking to install a windows OS on an external drive to run on my laptop so I can start having a play around, perhaps run VEP for a spell, basically to start to get to know Windows before buying a dedicated PC.

Couple of quick questions:

1) Buying windows - I'm seeing prices for Win 10 Pro go from $15 for OEM then $40 to $150 for end user license; is it shady to buy one of the cheaper versions, or do they all tend to be legit? Could anyone recommend a reputable good value place to get it from?

2) Mac users running windows - do you recommend Boot Camp or Parallels or anything else to set up a windows partition?

Any other tips and thoughts welcome too,

Thanks!

D :)
 
I run Windows 7 64-bit Bootcamp on my Retina Macbook, and I run Windows 7 64-bit on one of my primary workstations. When my laptop is in Windows mode, it functions exactly like the desktop, albeit not at as fast. I can't comment on Windows 10, but would definitely shy away from discount versions of the software. Personally, I can vouch for Windows 7 being solid and would recommend you grab that if you can. My VEPro's run swimmingly on both my desktops and laptop Bootcamps. Other thoughts: Stop thinking of Windows as some entirely different beast. Mac is a Unix system, no less complex than anything else; it just hides 99% of it from you to give the illusion it's still our Mac OS from 1984. It ain't. And if something's amiss, you don't have to jump through hoops to find the fix on Windows because it isn't pretending to be anything else. Truth be told, I've had more than 40 Macs and 200 PC's, and my PC's have always been more stable, more flexible, more powerful, and easier to maintain. Have no fear.

_Mike
 
Use boot camp to create a partition and install win 10. I got myself a win 10 pro license via eBay. No problems.

If you would like to clone the windows boot camp partition to an external ssd you will need a license of WinClone Standard otherwise your Vader helmet forces you to have boot camp on your internal drive.

The previous gen Mac Pros allowed to freely choose where to put boot camp.

And no to parallels or VMware these tools are more suitable for office work or testing/ software dev purposes.
 
1) Buying windows - I'm seeing prices for Win 10 Pro go from $15 for OEM then $40 to $150 for end user license; is it shady to buy one of the cheaper versions, or do they all tend to be legit? Could anyone recommend a reputable good value place to get it from?



D :)

The OEM versions I've seen in my area are around $125....I'd be cautious about a $15 copy.
 
You can download the Windows installer directly at Microsoft.com and just purchase a license key via eBay.
 
...if something's amiss, you don't have to jump through hoops to find the fix on Windows because it isn't pretending to be anything else.

This, a thousand times. Over the past little while I've been inching farther from MacOS and closer to Windows, and after about a year of pretty much being on Windows full time, this is the number one thing that I love. The thing that makes MacOS so great is also what makes it such a bitch: if something is wrong, it is so so so difficult to troubleshoot. Easy stuff is fine, but for anything out of the ordinary, you basically have to take it to an Apple Store, because users simply don't have access to so much of the OS.

Windows kinda lays it all out there, which can make it feel a little rough around the edges, but those rough edges give you something to hold on to when things go south.

To OP, though, I have to disagree with Mike here and suggest going with Windows 10 (Pro or Enterprise--avoid Home at all costs). As much as I love 7, it's reaching the end of its life, and within a year or so you'll probably find yourself on 10 anyway.
 
Just build my first Windows machine
That's great Leggy, I'd love to know what components you went with and how you're setting things up with your different software platforms; having read a bunch of your posts in recent times I think we have a lot in common with what we are trying to achieve :)
 
Thanks for responses everyone, I just got a nicely official USB Stick with Win 10 pro and a new 250gb ssd to install in a spare bay in my upgraded 5,1

Just tried Bootcamp last night and it says it needs to install from an optical drive, it was a bit late to make a workaround but it looks possible.

Really appreciate all the replies above, some very useful mindset advice in there!
 
To OP, though, I have to disagree with Mike here and suggest going with Windows 10 (Pro or Enterprise--avoid Home at all costs). As much as I love 7, it's reaching the end of its life, and within a year or so you'll probably find yourself on 10 anyway.

Agreed. I find the Windows 10 to be the better OS, too. Microsoft outlined improvements to Windows 10's handling of low latency audio here.
 
That's great Leggy, I'd love to know what components you went with and how you're setting things up with your different software platforms; having read a bunch of your posts in recent times I think we have a lot in common with what we are trying to achieve :)

Will do! I came up on Windows so it slowly coming back to me although it's been 10 years!! Excited to see if my Cubase performance is better than on OSX!
 
Will do! I came up on Windows so it slowly coming back to me although it's been 10 years!! Excited to see if my Cubase performance is better than on OSX!
That's great Leggy, I'd love to know what components you went with and how you're setting things up with your different software platforms; having read a bunch of your posts in recent times I think we have a lot in common with what we are trying to achieve :)

And here's my component list...

Corsair D750 Case
Asus Z170 Pro MB
i7 6700 CPU
Gigabyte GTX 750i GPU
32gig Ballistix Sport DDR4
Corsair RM650x PSU
Corsair H100i V2 Liquid Cooler
Samsung 950 Evo M.2

Everything is working like a charme. This things kills my Mac Pro 6,1 6 Core and came in at around $1200!!

Cheers!
 
Hey Leggy,

That's awesome - especially the price! Do you mind if I ask what the factors were behind your CPU choice?

And are you just running Cubase on here? I remember your thread from a while back about trying to link up PT and logic (I think) via rednet/Dante, curious to know where this fits into your workflow goals.
 
Oh and how's the noise when everything's in the case?

I just went with the i76700 because of its clock speed and because peeps on here seemed very happy with it for realtime performance. It outperforms my 6 core Trashcan by a lot!

SO yeah it will just be for my Cubase machine. Still using Rednet which is so great. ^4 channels from Cubase into my PT HDX 1 rig. Im planning on getting another HDX card soon and 2 more Rednet 5's for 128 channels. Just finished a record with this system and worked so great. Lets me compose tracks etc in Cubase and track audio in PT.

The case is pretty quiet, I mean its no Trashcan but I have a machine room so its not as much of a concern for me. If all goes well ill probably build another machine for my PT HDX Rig.

Getting used to Windows will probably the hardest things of all ;)

Cheers

Leggy :)
 
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