PC or MAC?? - DPChallenge Forums

02/09/2003 02:42:09 PM · #1

Hey everyone ... i have always worked with a PC based computer ... and now that i'm getting more and more involved with photos and graphics software ... what is really better if any ... a PC computer? or a MAC? I'm thinking of getting a MAC laptop - so i had both platforms ... any suggestions? thanks!

02/09/2003 02:52:01 PM · #2

Whoah, platform wars here I think!

Photoshop is available for both Windows and MacOS, so if you're happy using that (and a lot of graphic designers are) you'll be pretty ok with either platform.

Being a PC user myself, I'd say there's possibly more software available for the PC.

cq107

02/09/2003 03:00:16 PM · #3

the mac laptop is great.... get it and get a wireless basestation for your house.... (I think the Apple laptops are leaps and bounds beyond the PC laptops... heck one lady even BAKED her powerbook and it still works!)

jblharshaw

Nikon D70

02/09/2003 03:02:45 PM · #4

Well, there may be more software available for PC, but Macs do have an edge when it comes to handling graphics. If you're getting a laptop, I would definately go with a mac, as the screen will almost assuredly have better color. I use both platforms regularly, and always use the Mac for graphics work, even though the PCs I deal with usually handle other things better.

CreativeFlyPhoto

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

02/09/2003 03:16:25 PM · #5

:o) .. thanks for the input sofar :)

... i forgot to mention .. i do use Photoshop 7.0 now for PC and CorelDraw occasionally ... I've used MACs before ... i would just like something i can tinker with and make sure i'm familiar with all platforms for potential and upcoming job ops :)

Fibre Optix

02/09/2003 03:37:46 PM · #6

I have to disagree with MAC being leaps and bounds over PC's. I was a die hard MAC guy in my graphic design (print) days. Now that I'm a web designer by trade I would'nt touch a MAC. So I think I can speak about both platforms.

The pros about MAC.
- Great components (DVD Authoring, USB, Firewaire). MAC pushes the envelope with hard ware. Not that PC's don't have these capabilities It just Apple are innovators when it come to that sort of thing.
- Design. They look great.
- For print design...........go MAC. Period. It's an industry standard in the Graphic design feild. Don't even consider PC.
-User - Friendly OS.

The Cons about MAC.
-Expensive.
-Upgrading is getting better but way more pricey than a PC. They might be innovators at Apple but your wallet will feel it.
- MAC has less than 5% of the computer market meaning less software and hardware to choose from.
- 97% of the world surfs the web on a non - MAC platform. Less than 3% of web sites are either designed for MAC or a even tested to see if they would work on a MAC.
- The operating system is heavy (OSX). You'll need extra RAM just to run it. MAC memory is expensive compared to PC.
- Software developed in 2003 for MAC will only support OSX and beyond so if you have OS 9 and below your screwed for updates. And vice versa. If you upgrade to X this year (No more dual modes in the 2003 version of OSX)your previous software is useless. Go get the OSX version of the software.
- multimedia runs better on a PC. Don't believe me? Goto a FLASH web site on a top of the line or a midrange MAC. Then Look at the same site on a mid range, not a high end PC. You'll see a huge performace difference.

As for Graphics? Both platforms are capable of doing the exact same thing. I've done it. Like I said previously if your a Graphic Designer (PRINT DESIGN)or plan on becoming one use a MAC.

For anything else go PC. Especially for Web Design and 3D applications.
Sorry MAC people, but as a Web Desinger Mac is a joke when it comes to serious coding.

Frank

Logitech Clicksmart 310

02/09/2003 04:04:25 PM · #7

I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you Mac fanatics? I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a Mac (a 8600/300 w/64 Megs of RAM) for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. 20 minutes. At home, on my Pentium Pro 200 running NT 4, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this Mac, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.

In addition, during this file transfer, Netscape will not work. And everything else has ground to a halt. Even BBEdit Lite is straining to keep up as I type this.

I won't bore you with the laundry list of other problems that I've encountered while working on various Macs, but suffice it to say there have been many, not the least of which is I've never seen a Mac that has run faster than its Wintel counterpart, despite the Macs' faster chip architecture. My 486/66 with 8 megs of ram runs faster than this 300 mhz machine at times. From a productivity standpoint, I don't get how people can claim that the Macintosh is a superior machine.

Mac addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a Mac over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.

CreativeFlyPhoto

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

02/09/2003 04:14:10 PM · #8

whoa! i really didnt meant to start a war ... but it's nice to know that it is kinda 50/50 and if i'm really comfortable with PC ... just kinda go with that ... a close friend of mine has MAC ... so i'll just play on his ... he's looking to get into graphics .. so we can play on his computer and i'll get the experience there :)

TerryGee

Canon EOS-30D

02/09/2003 04:14:55 PM · #9

I LOVE my MAC!!

02/09/2003 04:17:52 PM · #10

Just remembered my one experience of a Mac...

I designed a large 1.9 metre * 1.2 metre banner, which spanned a 313 MB PSD file. It opened in about 30 secs on my Celeron 900 with 512 meg. I took it to the graphic designers who were using a Mac (looked like a G3/G4 to me).

After waiting about 5 minutes for it to open (stuck at about 20%) the designer asked me to go back to the office and he'd call me later. I don't know how long it took, but I didn't hear from him for hours. :-)

Assuming the company had good equipment (it looked good, the CRT monitor was large) why couldn't it compete with my 2 year old Celeron 900?

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/09/2003 04:23:18 PM · #11

Frank,
As a production worker in prepress for over 20 years (I've used Mac, Windows, UNIX, and proprietary trypesetting systems), I'll give you one good reason for not using Windows in the print graphics envirenment.

When I go to print the customers file I usually get the message:
Printer [Customer's printer] could not be found -- default printer will be used. Text will be reflowed (emplasis added).
This is not so much of a problem for a business card layout, but when Windows rearranges a 24 page magazine it is quite a headache.

Additionally, any kind of troubleshooting or configuration is far easier on a Mac. If you're a pro, it matters little. If you just want to get stuff done, it's still easier on a Mac.

You Mac there is sick. If you go to the Apple Menu and run the Apple System Profiler utility, and save email me the report, I'll be happy to try and diagnose it. However, one thing Macs and PCs have in common: restarting once or twice will solve 90% of problems...

And as for the question of programs available, you only need one good one of each kind. Games is the major difference in favor of PCs.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/09/2003 04:32:58 PM · #12

Originally posted by PaulMdx:

They may not have had quite so much RAM assigned to Photoshop, or been running other programs at the same time, or been short of scratch disk space. Maybe it was shared and someone else on the network was opening another big file at the same time. Sometimes I make the mistake of trying to open a file before noticing how big it is. For your 313mb file Photoshop requires about 1.5GB of RAM and free disk space. Your PC may also use some previewing method...the key test would be to run a filter (like Unsharp Mask) on the two machines and compare.
In general, benchmark tests show small differences between Macs and PCs, but real-world performance is affected by so many factors that it is almost always a case of comparing "apples and oranges." Anecdotal experiences are frequently entertaining or tragic, but rarely a predictor of someone else's experience.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/09/2003 04:34:52 PM · #13

BTW I'm currently using a 1GHz Compaq/Windows 2000pro/Mozilla so I'm not completely anti-PC, just more often frustrated by them...

Chaszmyr

Canon EOS-40D

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

02/09/2003 04:44:26 PM · #14

I have both a PC and a Mac... I literally don't even use the PC! My Mac is an amazing machine that I couldn't live without.

jjbeguin

Olympus 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 ED Zuiko Digital

02/09/2003 06:08:38 PM · #15

Check this pagewhere PCs and Macs are compared in a totally unemotional way.

Chaszmyr

Canon EOS-40D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

02/09/2003 07:48:44 PM · #16

Originally posted by jjbeguin:

Check this pagewhere PCs and Macs are compared in a totally unemotional way.

Unemotional? Maybe. But not very completely. When you compare two different PCs speed is enough, thats not the case when comparing PCs and Macs. Who cares if a mac is a little slower than a PC? MacOSX is infinitely superior to Windows

Canon EOS-20D

02/09/2003 07:57:21 PM · #17

PhotosByAyme, I doubt you're going to get many helpful responses out of a thread like this, mostly baseless claims about how whichever computer the user happens to own is totally the best or how one specific system didn't match up to another, even though they had completely different specifications.

Just pick the platform you're most comfortable with and go with that. Or if you want to learn a new one, do that. But don't expect to come up with any concrete answer about which one is better...especially based on people's own opinions.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

02/09/2003 08:56:01 PM · #18

Originally posted by jjbeguin:

Check this pagewhere PCs and Macs are compared in a totally unemotional way.

The problem with this comparision is that the majority of the tests are heavily
biased towards disk performance, and in the mac case can be hugely improved
by a cheap disk adaptor. After that the mac outperforms the PC in all the
examples.

The point just being, that it is the system that matters and you are only as
fast as the slowest part

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

02/09/2003 09:16:08 PM · #19

It might be interesting to add hardware, platform, and editing tools to the camera info on the user profile page...

LindaLee

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

02/09/2003 10:34:11 PM · #20

I started a class at the local college in January, and for the first time ever in my life, used a MAC. I was looking forward to a very enlightening experience since I have heard so much about how great Macs are, and I have been tremendously disappointed. The ones they have in the art department at this school are the s-l-o-w-e-s-t machines that I have ever used. They're slower than my antique PC notebook! And, perhaps because I have 3 PCs at home, the Macs seem very counter-intuitive. So far a disappointing experience, but I have the rest of the semester to revise my opinion. Right now, I'll stick with my trusty PCs.

daysez

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/09/2003 11:17:37 PM · #21

IMO Mac's rule in image processing. But for any platform I do not recommend the LCD displays, I am told that they can't be calibrated.

Message edited by author 2003-02-09 23:20:40.

02/10/2003 05:40:56 AM · #22

Originally posted by Chaszmyr:

MacOSX is infinitely superior to Windows

May I ask why?

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

02/10/2003 05:46:19 AM · #23

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Your PC may also use some previewing method...

I was using the PC to design it from scratch, so it was opening it in the same way on both machines.

Originally posted by GeneralE:

In general, benchmark tests show small differences between Macs and PCs, but real-world performance is affected by so many factors ..

Point taken.

DigiPique

Apple iPhone 4S

02/24/2003 11:28:21 AM · #24

Mac vs PC Comparison is fairly useful. It looks at the topic from the point of view of a school's needs, but it has general applicability.

Geocide

Canon EOS-5D Mark II