Greg M
Senior Member
Simple question with a lot of parts. Consider price, speed, ease of use, available software, and final output.
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PC or Mac ?
- Thread starter Greg M
- Start date
John Zimmerman
Well-known member
Simple answer for me. Mac
Mikhail Bogdanov
Veteran Member
Good luck Greg!
It appears to me this thread is going to be a lot of fun to read. I'm a PC person since late 80's.
It appears to me this thread is going to be a lot of fun to read. I'm a PC person since late 80's.
Greg M
Senior Member
Care to share any of your reasoning that leads you to this simple answer?
Greg M
Senior Member
I keep hearing that Mac is better. I also hope it does turn out to be interesting reading and not a trade in flames.
Joey Pasco
Well-known member
I use a Mac (a Powermac G4 533mhz processor which I also use for video editing).
I use PC for simpler stuff, ie: internet, word processing programs, games. Little stuff.
i'm debating on whether or not to network my Mac w/ the PC (the PC is the family computer, the mac is mine). That way I would be able to access the internet w/ my mac, nearly eliminating my use of the PC.
Depends on what you're using it for, but I say Mac wins hands-down for anything related to creating art (visual arts, film/video, music).
Good luck!
I use PC for simpler stuff, ie: internet, word processing programs, games. Little stuff.
i'm debating on whether or not to network my Mac w/ the PC (the PC is the family computer, the mac is mine). That way I would be able to access the internet w/ my mac, nearly eliminating my use of the PC.
Depends on what you're using it for, but I say Mac wins hands-down for anything related to creating art (visual arts, film/video, music).
Good luck!
Greg M
Senior Member
I use a PC for everything. Could you explain why you make this statement? I only edit photos as far as art goes.
Steve Strawn
Forum Enthusiast
Ford or Chevy
Miller or Bud
Nike or Adidas
Burger King or McDonalds
Catholic or Jewish
More simple questions. I use both, and for photos it's a toss-up. Macs crash, PC's crash, and both will handle any file a digital camera can throw at them.
Miller or Bud
Nike or Adidas
Burger King or McDonalds
Catholic or Jewish
More simple questions. I use both, and for photos it's a toss-up. Macs crash, PC's crash, and both will handle any file a digital camera can throw at them.
deep breath OK here goes.
I've used PCs since 1985 and have owned a ton of 'em through the years. Right now I'm on a PIII Dell with 256MB RAM and, because I'm a camera addict, a 17" monitor.
I work from home but my department has all macs ranging from the iMac to brand new G4s. I also have an older powerbook at home to proof my webpages against.
Enough of the background.
I prefer PCs because I "grew up" with dos and installing hardware and prefer both the interface and the ability to work "under the hood" on the PC.
Several of my co-workers have machines that would do every bit as good a job but they are at the mercy of a repair disk if something goes wrong and have to call the university computing services to have new hardware installed or upgraded.
Bottom line. Both have probably equally good apps and, in the case of the Adobe group, pretty similar too.
IMHO it's really up to the user and his/her experience base and preferences.
That must be worth two cents!
G
I've used PCs since 1985 and have owned a ton of 'em through the years. Right now I'm on a PIII Dell with 256MB RAM and, because I'm a camera addict, a 17" monitor.
I work from home but my department has all macs ranging from the iMac to brand new G4s. I also have an older powerbook at home to proof my webpages against.
Enough of the background.
I prefer PCs because I "grew up" with dos and installing hardware and prefer both the interface and the ability to work "under the hood" on the PC.
Several of my co-workers have machines that would do every bit as good a job but they are at the mercy of a repair disk if something goes wrong and have to call the university computing services to have new hardware installed or upgraded.
Bottom line. Both have probably equally good apps and, in the case of the Adobe group, pretty similar too.
IMHO it's really up to the user and his/her experience base and preferences.
That must be worth two cents!
G
S
sean
Guest
I was a Mac guy for a long long time, got a Windows box in 95, sold my last Mac about 98. I'm a software engineer and have written lots of application and graphics software for many versions of both platforms' OS software. The main reason for my transition was financial; it was getting hard to find Mac programming jobs. But once my initial predjudices were laid to rest, I found I liked Windows well enough, and didn't see much reason to cotinue owning Macs.
Mac-heads will tell you things like "The Mac was designed from the ground up for graphics, and Windows wasn't", but this is about as up-to-date as saying "Macs now have color!" The truth is you can do anything you want with both, there is nothing offered on the Mac you can't get on Windows (except perhaps Final Cut Pro, a video-editing suite that is supposed to be the bomb, but I haven't used that myself). The Mac is probably easier for a rank newbie, but Windows machines are still much cheaper for equivalent power ('ware marketing!). In my opinion Windows is much better for power users, UNLESS you are an accomplished linux or other unix user, in which case Mac OS X is probably a better choice. Both Win2k/XP and Mac OSX are modern, stable, efficient operating systems. Mac OS9 and earlier are very primitive operating systems in many ways, and tend to crash a lot. Ditto Windows 95/98/ME.
Now, which one you want really boils down to wheter you like to do things the way Steve (Jobs) likes to do them. If you like this way, then you'll like using the current Macs. They will in fact cost you more, but they're pretty to look at and fairly complete packages.
If you don't like the way Steve works, you may not like using the current Macs.
Windows does now and likely always will have much more software available for it. A lot of the extra choices aren't very good, but you are much more likely to find a tool for the task you have in mind. Windows also enjoys support from just about every manufacturer of other computer-y device made, from digital cameras to MP3 players, printers, etc. With very rare exceptions, you can use all these items with your PC. Only a few of these also support use on a Mac. A Mac enthusiast will likely argue you wouldn't want any of the devices that don't support the Mac because they're inferior, and this is sometimes true, but only sometimes. The one device I can think of that only works with a mac is the iPod, which is a very nifty well-done device but hardly the only hd-based MP3 player (certainly the priciest though).
As for things like performance; I think Wintel boxes will always have an edge, particularly when you do a price/performance breakdown. Millions of Intel chips vs. thousands of PowerPC chips makes this so. Both platforms offer choices that give you loads of power; my P4 1.7 handles the 6 megapixel images from my D60 quite nicely. I'll upgrade when this ceases to be true (and it won't cost me much).
Hope that helps; there is a lot of religion around this question, so be prepared for that.
Mac-heads will tell you things like "The Mac was designed from the ground up for graphics, and Windows wasn't", but this is about as up-to-date as saying "Macs now have color!" The truth is you can do anything you want with both, there is nothing offered on the Mac you can't get on Windows (except perhaps Final Cut Pro, a video-editing suite that is supposed to be the bomb, but I haven't used that myself). The Mac is probably easier for a rank newbie, but Windows machines are still much cheaper for equivalent power ('ware marketing!). In my opinion Windows is much better for power users, UNLESS you are an accomplished linux or other unix user, in which case Mac OS X is probably a better choice. Both Win2k/XP and Mac OSX are modern, stable, efficient operating systems. Mac OS9 and earlier are very primitive operating systems in many ways, and tend to crash a lot. Ditto Windows 95/98/ME.
Now, which one you want really boils down to wheter you like to do things the way Steve (Jobs) likes to do them. If you like this way, then you'll like using the current Macs. They will in fact cost you more, but they're pretty to look at and fairly complete packages.
If you don't like the way Steve works, you may not like using the current Macs.
Windows does now and likely always will have much more software available for it. A lot of the extra choices aren't very good, but you are much more likely to find a tool for the task you have in mind. Windows also enjoys support from just about every manufacturer of other computer-y device made, from digital cameras to MP3 players, printers, etc. With very rare exceptions, you can use all these items with your PC. Only a few of these also support use on a Mac. A Mac enthusiast will likely argue you wouldn't want any of the devices that don't support the Mac because they're inferior, and this is sometimes true, but only sometimes. The one device I can think of that only works with a mac is the iPod, which is a very nifty well-done device but hardly the only hd-based MP3 player (certainly the priciest though).
As for things like performance; I think Wintel boxes will always have an edge, particularly when you do a price/performance breakdown. Millions of Intel chips vs. thousands of PowerPC chips makes this so. Both platforms offer choices that give you loads of power; my P4 1.7 handles the 6 megapixel images from my D60 quite nicely. I'll upgrade when this ceases to be true (and it won't cost me much).
Hope that helps; there is a lot of religion around this question, so be prepared for that.
Mikhail Bogdanov
Veteran Member
Thanx Steve,
I thought about mentioning a religion, but was a little bit scared (some folks at this forum take things very personally sometimes).
Regards
I thought about mentioning a religion, but was a little bit scared (some folks at this forum take things very personally sometimes).
Regards
For price and speed - PC is ahead
For ease of use and reliability - Mac may be better. Windows is not always reliable and some rock bottom price PCs are not the same quality as Mac.
For available software and hardware add-on is definitely PC ahead by many times.
Final output of printout? That depends more on the printer. PC may have a edge in color calibration software and printing software though.
Warning - Don't get a Mac with LCD nor any PC with LCD either graphics editing. Latest Mac comes with a LCD though. No LCD can display all 24bits color yet. They claim so but many colors at very high and very low brightness level are indistinguishable on LCD but distinguishable on a monitor.
Warning - PCs have too many choices. If you make a bad choice it can be way inferior to a Mac.
David Dodd
Leading Member
I've been using Mac OS X for the last year, and it's crashed only once during that time. Yes, I am sure Photoshop for Windows runs fine, but there's more to working with photos than editing; I've got a firewire card reader that uses one of my Mac's two standard six-pin firewire ports; nothing makes web pages more easily than iPhoto; my two Macs share files over wireless Airport with no problems at all; my desktop Mac has built-in DVD recording, which along with Apple's free iDVD makes making DVD presentations of my photos a snap.
PC's can do all these things, but as easily and make it so much fun?
David
J
James Sarantis
Guest
I've used Macs for 11 years and pc's for 7 years. The Mac is definately much more enjoyable to use. You asked about price, etc. When all is said and done, it's the experience you have on a tool that you probably use almost as much as your camera if not more. I spend a lot of time tweaking my photos on the mac and I love it. It's so intuitive. It's a joy to work on and on the other hand the PC's are more work to me. One thing I can say, everytime I show PC users what the Mac can do, they always get an envious look on their face and start asking about the details of getting into one.
Once you've had Mac, you won't go back.
James
Once you've had Mac, you won't go back.
James
Mario Jesmanowicz
Well-known member
I have a pc, the only thing I will give MAC is the ease of use this is what my system can do comparing to your MAC:
Dual AMD 1800+, 1GB of RAM, GeForce3 Ti500 (great for MORE games)
100GB Hard drive for about $700 more I could have real RAID 5 SCSI. I also have Firewire, USB, DVD recoreder, 32 CD-R, Nic to my own LAN, I dont' care for wireless (even though for $100 more I could have it) I want 100mb switched network at home
SB Audigy sound card, Printer Canon S800, THX certified speakers from Klipsch... and it was around $1500 with spekaers. So I am not sure where the MAC's edge is. and I did try dual G4 and it does not even come close to what 2 AMD's can do in Premiere and Photoshop. This is a big difference, I can make whatever I want from my PC, that is why a lot fo people have minimum specs PC and some have ULTIMATE PC that still cost less than a MAC. More software to choose from.
Dual AMD 1800+, 1GB of RAM, GeForce3 Ti500 (great for MORE games)
100GB Hard drive for about $700 more I could have real RAID 5 SCSI. I also have Firewire, USB, DVD recoreder, 32 CD-R, Nic to my own LAN, I dont' care for wireless (even though for $100 more I could have it) I want 100mb switched network at home
SB Audigy sound card, Printer Canon S800, THX certified speakers from Klipsch... and it was around $1500 with spekaers. So I am not sure where the MAC's edge is. and I did try dual G4 and it does not even come close to what 2 AMD's can do in Premiere and Photoshop. This is a big difference, I can make whatever I want from my PC, that is why a lot fo people have minimum specs PC and some have ULTIMATE PC that still cost less than a MAC. More software to choose from.
Greg M
Senior Member
I'm about 5 years behind you.
I love to pull apart my PC and upgrade it myself. As a matter of fact, I want to build a dual processor machine later this year so that I can print and continue to work at the same time without my computer slowing down. It really will make a difference since my Epson 870 takes sooooo long to print.
Definately worth 2 cents. I guess that the Mac advantage is more myth then reality.
Paul Howard41457
Member
I have both a PIII 500MHz with Windows2000 and a 450MHz G4 with OS10.
Photoshop for the mac (os9.x version) is essentially the same as for Windows. I find the mac slower to use (speed and I don't prefer its interface). The one mouse button is very annoying. The mac does manage color better but this is a minor point. Some people REALLY prefer the mac, but the bottom line is both machines will let you do the same thing, its just a matter of preference.
OS 10 is pretty cool and I think has real potential. It also is stable, something OS9.x never was.
If you use a PC for serius photo editing use Windows 2000, or XP. These OS's almost never crash.
P.S. A PC is cheaper in the long run, especially if you can swap a motherboard yourself.
Paul
Jason Conner
Forum Enthusiast
That's true. Macs are Catholic and PCs are Protestant. With Macs, Apple tells you how to achieve salvation and dictates what you buy. With PCs, it's up to you to figure it out and save yourself.
It all depends on your personality. If you don't want to think about it or dig into specs and prices, then get a Mac. You'll pay 2x price for a 0.5x machine, but you won't have to think about it. If you are ornery and independent, and want to really learn about computers, then you'll be much better off with a PC.
It all depends on your personality. If you don't want to think about it or dig into specs and prices, then get a Mac. You'll pay 2x price for a 0.5x machine, but you won't have to think about it. If you are ornery and independent, and want to really learn about computers, then you'll be much better off with a PC.
Jason Conner
Forum Enthusiast
You must be kidding me. Macs are about as unreliable as computers can get. Worse, Macs users don't know computers, so when they break they don't have the dimmest clue how to deal with it.
OS X? A Unix operating system, a server OS? A hacker's paradise. All those ignorant Mac users to get root on. Cracks me up.
OS X? A Unix operating system, a server OS? A hacker's paradise. All those ignorant Mac users to get root on. Cracks me up.
Greg M
Senior Member
I've thought that this "Mac is superior" was a myth. Maybe not in the past but definately now. I am not knocking the Mac but it does seem that the PC has overcome the advantages that the Mac once had. If I am wrong then please show me the error of my ways.
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