OS: Mac OSX 10.3.4 800Mhz 512MB RAM G4 iBook (work)
OS: Mac OSX 10.2.8 800Mhz 256MB RAM G4 Power Mac (home)
OS: PC/XP 803Mhz 128MB RAM P3 (work..thank gaud)

They all run Scratch LIVE great.

Mac OS 10.3.4 G4 Powerbook 800MHz, 1024MB RAM


running without any problems. i have used this setup on multiple occaisions for 6 hr+ gigs and have never had any issues during a live performance.

HP ze4365: AMD 2200+/ 512/ 40gb - (flawless)

OS: Mac OSX 10.3.4 1.25Ghz 1Gig RAM G4 Powerbook (Flawless)

PB 12" G4 867Mhz 640MB Ram 60GB internal drive OS 10.3.4 Mac music library on a bus powered 80GB HD.

SSL 1.1 rocks on and on to the break of dawn

Do you ever feel like you should have got larger than 12". I was thinking of the same a 12" powerbook but was not sure that if in time I would regret not getting a least the 15"

What external drive do you use? I was thinking about a Lacie firewire.

Thanks again.

I had that same issue MDX....but in the end I just went with the 15" and I am actually glad that I did! I am also running a LaCie Firewire and it is sweet!

MDX i wouldn't decide to a mac, cause the in my case the ibook 12" 800 with 640 mb becomes very hot after 3 hours.. so it can occur that the sound will drop out... i think the ibooks or powerbooks are not a good choice.. i often thinking about to sell my ibook.. but now i will try it with an cooler pad.. lets see..

You are right about the heat issue...but I think you will get this with all laptops....I have a Dell and an HP laptop that get very warm as well.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a rackmount PC?

to DJ MDX for portability and ease of use I chose a 12" PB I use a OWC firewire 80GB drive. ($260 with shipping) I wouldnt mind a 15" PB but the 12" works just fine.

Yes but the ibook doesn't work correctly after 3-4 hours.. the audio signal disappears... and in a club with for example 400 peoples thats not so good.. and i heard of some peoples here that they hat live sets in clubs for over 6 hours with no hiccups...

One of my friends owns an iBook, he has a special kind of case with some built in fans where you can put your iBook on, it makes sure it doesnt get overheated. We have played with his iBook and had no problems with overheating yet. BTW the audio signal will not come out of the iBook itself, if you use SSL it will come out of the SSL-scratchamp-box.

Yes nik39 but in my case after 3 hours the lable keeps turning and turning, but the audio is blown away... i think that maybe something is wrong... i bought a special kind of case with some built in fans, too.. i tast it tomorrow at home ... lets see..

the other problem of an ibook is that u can't use less usb buffer.. with my settings (usb buffer 8) the cpu usage is at 70-80% of my ibook..

are these overheating issues only happening with macs? I have a pc and with fs, ive never had overheating issues, but its always been a concern for me..... does ssl somehow use more energy than fs and therefore make things overheat? or if I havent had issues on fs, should i be confident I wont have overheating issues on ssl?

Well my machine (pretty slow) gets hot, hotter than during average use (texteditor, playing one mp3 stream) but thats simply because the cpu is working all the time during using SSL. This was also the same with FS as far as I can remember. But I never had any "over" heating problems. The cpu-fan will be on the whole time, but thats not a problem.

If you can do something CPU intensive (I mean like serious usage) for a few hours without overheating then you should be alright.

Try transcoding a dvd or something...

Toshiba Satellite A45-S151
Pentium 4 operating at 2.8 GHz
752 Mb ram
60 Gig hardrive

I'd like to know weather these heat issues are iBook-only or also extend to PowerBooks? Perhaps the alu casing cools better than plastic?

...I'm getting a 1.33 ghz 12" Powerbook this afternoon for DJ use...

heat shouldn't be an issue in either. i haven't heard any rampant problems of powerbooks or ibooks overheating so i would get what you want and can afford.

powerbooks are generally made for more demanding use, having more standard features (such as superdrive for burning cd's, etc) and they're usually have better components and have easier upgradeability than run-of-the-mill ibooks.

i use the 1.33 G4 MAC 17" and it gets hot, but only one time it got so hot, that SSL did not respond, and it was cause the club I was spinning in was VERY POORLY ventilatedand it was a super hot night. So after 2 hours my machine was scorching and I had never felt it that hot before, So I bought an iBreeze and it works so well I am sure I will never have another heating problem - it was only $29...

www.macmice.com

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I use a Powerbook 12" / 1.33 - its gets quite hot.... I haven't had any problems.... and have been in nice cool spots and warm booth situations as well. I always bring a piece of wedge-cut studio foam with me to put under the laptop. It helps to isolate the computer from vibration and gives you some air space under it as well for better cooling. If your laptop has a built in cooling fan... make sure its working!

That's a good idea. Maybe bringing two square strips of dense foam is even better. I usually like to set the PowerBook on something soft to avoid scratching (the SecondSkin protective sleeve, for instance), but temperature-wise that's like putting it under a blanket. The PowerBook's manual suggests leaving some room for airflow underneath the unit during heavy use.

lo-fi try the iBreeze it rocks

Word! I've been using that thing for 9 Months now, really keeps the PB cool at all times & you don't have to plug in another power adaptor, since it's drawing power from the usb port, and has a usb thru, so you don't lose any ports... By the way: good for other laptops as well!

p.s. get teh iBreeze here... www.macmice.com