What is an audio driver in a laptop, and how does it work?

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I am into music production, and I always see that macs are better for this than PCs, even when the on-paper specs of the PC are better.

Often, people refer to the audio-driver and something about coreaudio. They say that the audio is on top of the OS for PC, and within the OS for Mac. I am so confused.

Please explain like I am five.

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Macs are built as a singular unit with a comprehensive plan for the parts, so everything is built to mesh together (the entire Mac someone has in front of them is one puzzle). PCs are built for modularity, so companies that build audio cards and audio interfaces create their own software to fit onto it, like you would be able to put different clothes onto your body as long as they fit. But that means there is processing software interacting with the OS, whereas you wouldn’t really have that same step with Mac.

Still, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Mac is a clear winner, because there are certain “tiers” of product performance within Apple that would get outpaced by a PC that’s much more purpose-built (like skimp on a video card since you ideally wouldn’t game, design, or browse online on a production workstation). Additionally, you’re looking at processing speeds now that are higher than 5, 10, 15 years ago that it’s harder to perceive a difference resulting from latency

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