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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Windows PC or Mac PC?
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10/18/2012 05:58:42 PM · #1
i searched the Forum but got a bit bogged down there so thought I'd start a new thread on what is probably an old topic. processing photos on my 8 year old Dell laptop is driving me insane so I have decided to bite the bullet and get a new computer. trouble is my want list is bigger than my wallet.
As II am likely to hold on to this for a long time I want the most I can afford in terms of RAM etc.
Asus CM 6870 has lots of power (i7 16 gigs and 2Tb.) is currently available for just under a grand. I have a half decent monitor to go with it and can upgrade that later. But I am tempted by the IMac. I can get a refurbished one on line ... (Or a new one) More bucks, less RAM...and a whole learning curve since I am a Windows person. Are they really worth the money? Are they easily upgradable? has anyone switched and regretted it? Really do not want to go over $1200 but could stretch that a little.

racked with indecision... Would appreciate any advice or reference to a good article that is not biased.
10/18/2012 06:03:20 PM · #2
Personally I am a PC fan....I build my own PC's to my specs and repair them if something goes out or breaks. I can't do that on a MAC because they are extremely propriatory. So my honest advice would be to go with a pc.
10/18/2012 06:09:39 PM · #3
Keep in mind that Mac hardware is essentially PC hardware, just with a different OS loaded. It is relatively high-end hardware, and thus the price. Honestly, both Macs and PCs are great choices, it's a matter of preference.
The fact that you are budget-conscious tells me that you will probably be better off with a PC. You also won't have the learning curve or the hassle of changing software licenses over to Mac.
10/18/2012 06:10:26 PM · #4
Had about twelve PCs before including a number I built and a £4k water cooled beast. All completely rubbish compared to my Mac Pro. Had a £3K Rock laptop too - 40mins battery life, awful fan noise, terrible heat, utterly unreliable. Used about half a dozen time before it stopped working, it went back to the manufacturer 4 times.

Windows just seems to get slower just by using it, updating the OS is a tedious (and continuous) nightmare and the interface horrible.

Went Mac - higher performance, better built, more reliable, an operating system that doesn't slow down, a better user interface and if you use other Apple devices, a seamless integration of all sorts of things between devices.

You'll find lots of people who went from PC to Mac, far fewer who go the other way. There's a reason for that.

For me, there is no comparison, even cost wise - my MacBook Pro was cheaper than my high performance PC laptop and out performed it in every way (including running Windows!)

Repair wise, I've had a graphics card go, which I replaced without issue.

Message edited by author 2012-10-18 18:12:52.
10/18/2012 06:16:00 PM · #5
The best Windows PC I've ever had is my MacBook. I have Win7, OSX Mountain Lion, Ubuntu and I can run most Unix programs too.
10/18/2012 06:17:32 PM · #6
I was under the impression that mac hardware was "apple only". It atleast used to be. At one time any parts that you got had to come directly from apple...I guess they have changed
10/18/2012 06:32:12 PM · #7
I like the Mac cause it doesn't take forever to turn on, it isn't constantly updating itself,and it just seems to work. Learning curve was not bad. The bad side is that things that should be easy to do are often obscure. Thank God for Google. Whenever I can't do something on the Mac, I always go there and get the answer.
10/18/2012 07:32:11 PM · #8
Originally posted by Paul:


You'll find lots of people who went from PC to Mac, far fewer who go the other way. There's a reason for that.

I recently went the other way after a decade of Mac ownership and I couldn't be happier. I honestly never thought I'd say that, but the integration you speak of was feeling more and more like a net I was caught up in, and I grew very tired of having the products I own constantly marketing sister hardware/software to me. Features disappear with every release, as they try to migrate you along their product line. Forget that.

I'm very happy with the performance, and all of the complaints such as "forever to turn on," "constantly updating itself," etc., don't mean much when my new ASUS has instant on and cancelling automatic updates are a simple setting away.
10/18/2012 07:53:26 PM · #9
I have built many PC's because it's fun, and gaming on them is great... Then I got a MacbookPro a couple years ago, it's also great and I really like Aperture 3. But now... the only computer I ever really use is my tiny little 11.6" MacBook air which I got used for $900, using it right now. It's simple, sleek, 2gb ram, and had a tiny 64gb hd that I upgraded through OWC to SandForce SSD which now reads over 512mb/second. The RAM is irrelevant as I can't overload this computer because any processes just page out to the SSD which is probably faster than the RAM...

let me tell you why this thing is amazing for photographers...

Light, small, fits in the bag, usb, thunderbolt/hdmi port to go to big monitor or tv when needed, descent battery life, awesome crisp display (calibrated with spyder pro)

Due to the SSD I can hold down the arrow keys and rip through thousands of images on my screen as fast as I can click in full resolution straight from the camera, I can run Photoshop, Aperture3, and any number of websites all at the same time, while listening to music and it's never slowed down on me once. Granted my Air can't scream at intense video games like my i7 w/geforce MacbookPro can... but it actually defeats the Pro in all aspects when it comes to file transfer, exporting, editing, etc of photos due to the SSD. THe form factor for me is the deal maker as well, i love the tiny mobile light package, that can be plugget to a large monitor if needed.

If you are looking for good price, I recommend getting a cheap Apple MacBook Air, then upgrading to the aftermarket OWC SSD hard drive, this thing ROCKS!

If you decide to go PC, Great! Just make sure you get a good SSD!!!!!

Side Note: I am interested in trading my recently upgraded 15" unibody MacBook pro with 512gb OWC SSD, 8gigs of ram, NVidia Geforce card, and Intel Core i7, carry cases, mighty mouse, paperwork, cables, etc... for a good condition perfect working Nikon D700 body... any takers???!!! I am ready for FX!

Nick

Message edited by author 2012-10-18 20:00:18.
10/18/2012 08:39:09 PM · #10
Thread renamed to be more accurate :)
10/18/2012 09:02:34 PM · #11
Originally posted by Manic:

Thread renamed to be more accurate :)


Well done.
10/18/2012 11:19:02 PM · #12
Originally posted by Paul:

You'll find lots of people who went from PC to Mac, far fewer who go the other way. There's a reason for that.


For the record, I was a PC, then I switched to a Mac (bought a Mac Pro) about the time Leopard came out. After almost a year on the Mac, I went back to the PC and it was a relief. I found the Mac constraining compared to the PC (unless you went under the covers and used its Unix core). And even when on the Mac, I still had to run Windows anyway...too much good software left behind. For example, Ecco Pro--the best PIM and outliner ever written, and still the reigning champ 20 years after development stopped (and note it still runs under current versions of Windows just fine--whereas I can't even use my old Mac Mini in my exercise room to watch Netflix). I had to use my windows file manager too...I found Finder quite awkward and limiting (and I tried two or three third party finders). I also use a lot of shareware/freeware on the PC which have no equivalent on the Mac. I note also there's a lot of quality freeware on the PC...when I looked on the Mac, most of the same type of utilities were not free, or as good!

I did miss Spotlight when I went back to the PC (though like many things on the Mac, I found it a bit too shallow, and I had to buy a utility to beef up the search results). However, on the PC I found a free utility shortly after switching back called Search Everything which is instantaneous, as good as Spotlight, and actually better in some ways. (And it's free...an example of the above statement...whereas I paid $10 or $15 for the Spotlight add-on just to add more information to the search results, like the file path!)

Anyway, I'm happily back on a Windows 7 PC for the last three to four years. Bought it with 16GB of memory, and I can run EVERYTHING AT ONCE forever. Very stable, very flexible, and very fast.

But I say Mac or PC, whatever you're comfortable with! Both are good platforms -- just pick your software, then your machine!

Message edited by author 2012-10-18 23:20:31.
10/18/2012 11:19:09 PM · #13
thanks ! now I'm more educated and more confused.
no really, reading your input is a great help.
I'll let you know what I end up with.
10/19/2012 12:12:30 AM · #14
I've got a x64 PC running Mac on VMware.. and a few linux and old relic OS's as well.. Easy to use, runs smoothly.. I'm a PC guy but when I need the MAC, it's there
10/19/2012 12:19:57 AM · #15
As a forever PC owner, if I didn't have to rebuy all the stinkin big programs... I'd switch to a MAC in a heart beat.. My friend is a Graphic Artist and I've diddled on his OMG in my opinion MAC rocks the industry in as far as editing and artwork...
10/19/2012 01:16:47 AM · #16
As a IT Director and having had responsibility for computing for a few thousand PC users I use Mac personally (for the past 6 years).

We offered home PC's for the employees. I then decided to make iMac's and Macbook Pro's available for the first time. 70% of the employees chose Mac - 30% PC's. And here's the kicker: More than 70% of the service requests goes to the 30% share of PC owners.

On my office desk I use a Mac as well. It's nice to not have to worry about my own machine when there are so many PC's on site.

This is my own experience and I'm not against any operating system. Users pick what they prefer and I have full respect for their choices.

EDIT: It's worth mentioning that my primary use of the Mac is Photo editing, music recording and film editing. And I do run the entire IT infrastructure of a company from it with full control of VMvare, servers, domain controllers, usage, ERP etc. - without running windows on it.

Message edited by author 2012-10-19 01:19:35.
10/19/2012 06:09:56 AM · #17
I switched to mac in 2008 for my home computer (imac 24 in) and never had a problem with it (still using it). It had never happened before to me that I didn't need any HW upgrade or assistance on a windows pc for over 4 years. Nor I ever had a crash or the need to reboot or use "safe mode" or worry about viruses (yes, there are also mac viruses, but they are rare).

Even if a Mac pc may cost more than a Windows pc with same specifications, I think it is cheaper if you consider the loss of trouble.

Learning curve is easy, and whenever you can't figure out how to do something, google is there for you. I know advanced mac users that do very nice things with their computers, but I am fine with the basics. The only annoying thing is that all the shortcuts are different from windows (which I use at work), and I gave up trying to remember them when I started messing between the two systems (and I prefer to be able to use shortcuts at work).

10/19/2012 06:19:09 AM · #18
Mac. I switched 2 years ago, never looked back, would never go back.
10/19/2012 11:04:39 AM · #19
Mac. I switched 3 years ago, never looked back, would never go back.
10/19/2012 11:49:35 AM · #20
Point and Shoot or DSLR?

Frankly Mac's and PC's have a very different target market. If you want to stretch the limits, get a PC, if you just want to push the button and not worry about settings, go for a Mac.
10/19/2012 12:36:24 PM · #21
Micro four thirds......panasonic G1 ( for now) but when I upgrade I will probably stay with the four thirds for size and convenience.
I love photography but am not a pro.... i earn my money as a nurse.
Reports here have me leaning twords Mac. the imac has a good size screen for my aging eyes and though not as portable as a laptop it is light enough and unencumbered by wires, so could be moved about the house fairly easily. I like to work at the dining room table but we do occasionally use it for guests...
i already have an iPad with a card reader and can sync it to the iMac, download pics in the field and have them on the computer when I get home.
10/19/2012 01:07:25 PM · #22
I switched to mac book pro in 2009 and did not regret.
I really do not know much about hardware, but I noticed that Mac is faster, I can work with several programs simultaneously and the screen is much better than than my old computer
10/19/2012 01:17:52 PM · #23
Originally posted by montrealmaggie:

Micro four thirds......panasonic G1 ( for now) but when I upgrade I will probably stay with the four thirds for size and convenience.
I love photography but am not a pro.... i earn my money as a nurse.
Reports here have me leaning twords Mac. the imac has a good size screen for my aging eyes and though not as portable as a laptop it is light enough and unencumbered by wires, so could be moved about the house fairly easily. I like to work at the dining room table but we do occasionally use it for guests...
i already have an iPad with a card reader and can sync it to the iMac, download pics in the field and have them on the computer when I get home.


Your response seals it for me. You are a Mac user, and have no justification for the power, flexibility and complexity of a PC.
10/19/2012 01:23:51 PM · #24
Thanks Cory....I think...
You are right of course. ;)
10/19/2012 01:35:28 PM · #25
I run a PC,but i m a power user. I put together parts to build a very high performance pc at an 1100$ budget. You couldn't get a machine that fast at that budget with a MAC - infact given the budget and configuration, MAC is a different beast all together. I also have significant investment in PC software, and i enjoy using it all. I m no afan of certain restrictions that MAC users face as far as choice is concerned.

The one thing that i m not looking forward to, that i m told MAC has a significant advantage in , is the moving to the next OS. When i make the switch to win8 (yea its gonna happen), i dread the transfer. MAC OS also color manages significantly better (its automatically really) than Windows.It really doesn't freeze as often, and if your purchase it, has pretty reliable non oem dependant customer service. Something goes wrong? They fix it. no problemo. I also really like the seemingly less restrictive interface Mac has compared to windows.. It has potential to be more messy, but also naturally enables you to quickly customize certain Adobe products.

If you are not PC heavy in terms of software and can afford a MAC, i suggest getting a MAC, you'll enjoy how artist oriented it is and you can certainly get great hardware if you can afford it. If you're very familiar with swapping hardware, can take advantage of such things, and like to customize things yourself, ild suggest a PC.

edit: Cory, i wouldn't call MACS weak or non-complex 0.o

Message edited by author 2012-10-19 13:41:00.
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