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PC to Mac Ratio

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bosco0633

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Ok, im sure this has been discussed before but what the hell. I have been a PC guy since my first computer. I really like Vista, I think it is a very good program. I currently have 2 PC's now.

My current lap top was purchased last year and it is a good computer, but im finding some photography programs tend to slow down on my computer.

I am able to get a new computer come April. I have seen the new Sony Laptops are really nice machines with so much to offer. I can purchase top of the line Sony laptop for 1299 Canadian. It has all of the bells and whistles.

But......................................

There is that little bird chirping in my head telling me that I should be getting a Mac laptop next. I have been considering it, but for the same quality I can get a PC for half the price.

How important is the Mac for Photography??? Do I really need to jump ship or will a top of the line PC be ok?? I feel like im missing out on something not having the Mac.

I currently have Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop CS4, Capture NX, Photoshop Elements, Camera Control Pro, transer NX, Photomatrix software for the PC. This obviously plays an important role in my final decision but ultimately, most programs can handle dual platforms.

I can also run windows XP within the Mac by dual booting it.

I dont know, thoughts?????????????????????????
 
I work in desktop publishing/printing. So, I primarily work on Macs all day long, every day. Some PC work is mixed in here and there and actually seems to be gaining some ground. I'm surprised to see more designers sending in PC work lately. Especially since most of the design schools do not touch PC at all.

Other than a few small nitpicks, the Mac and PC are equal. Font management is one area that the Mac has the PC beat. For a photographer, this isn't really an issue.

Also dual monitor support is better on the Mac when it comes to profiling your monitors. You have to jump through some hoops to get it correct for both monitors on a PC. But it can be done fairly easy with a little profiling app from microsoft.

At home, I still use PCs and have no complaints. I truly couldn't care less which OS I am working with. Take it from someone who has been using both platforms fluently on a daily basis for years. At one time I would have said go Mac. But nowadays, the Mac vs. PC argument is nothing but a bunch of worthless drivel. Spend your money wisely.

--
Scott A.
 
We are Mac people: My wife with the PowerBook Pro, and i with the G5.

While the previous poster may be right as in they're about equal, there is one HUGE advantage that more than warrants the extra cost for the Mac. Reliability. I had PC's since the Commodore 64 hit the market. I have been Mac for three years. In that time not ONE crash. In that time I've had one or two programs shut down, only to be restarted and all work recovered. I used to get the heebie geebies every time I went to my PC wondering if it was going to give me fits that day or not.

Another great advantage is the new Time Machine backup system on Mac. I had a client tell me that he sent in an article seven months ago for a newsletter we publish. I asked him what date? I then went into my mail program; then entered the Time Machine; it pulled up my in box for that week. No email. When I told him that, he said he might have overlooked it. Right! It's amazing how the program duplicates the exact system that was in place that week.

Final advantage: Prestige. Man, you can tell people you own a Mac. And when you use it in public, that Apple on the back of the screen sends a glowing message to all that you are one savy s.o.b!

Duke
--



Photography: The most fun you can have with your clothes on.
 
--
'Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.'
===============
Nikon D300 - MB-D10 - SB800 - TC-14EII TC-17EII TC-20EII
Nikon 24-70(2.8), 105VR(2.8), 70-200 VR(2.8), 300VR(2.8)
http://wretchedradio.com
 
I'm no expert and can't comment on which system would be best to run that impressive list of apps you have, but I researched the heck out of PC/Mac laptops and desktops late last year and ended up buying a refurbished quad-core PC matched with a nice HP 2475W flat panel for less than 1/2 the cost of a 24" iMac.

I respect mac fans for liking the Mac OS and do agree that it's a superior thought out system. But in the end an app is an app and I really don't care about the OS. I bought Directory Opus 9 to manage files and run Firefox as a browser. Capture NX runs great on this machine and I have not problems with Vista 64. Yes, I have to run anti-virus software but on this Q6600 you don't even know it's running -- and it's only a cheap $500 machine.

I admit I would have liked to have an Apple for the coolness factor but I just couldn't get over the price. In the end I spend all my time in the apps so the OS isn't all that important to me.

But the best part is that PC's are so cheap these days I can afford to replace the $500 CPU (box) it every two years whereas I'd have a harder time justifying replacing a smilar iMac with such frequency.

The laptop argument may not be quite as stong in favour of a PC, but it's similar.

BTW, during my research I found it interesting that virtually everyone I talked to recommend buying Applecare extended warranty with a Mac whereas many PC owners seem to ignore extended warranties (so it seemed to me). Curious.

JMO.

--
Gary -- D300, glass & NAS -- and a preference for wildlife
http://www.pbase.com/garyirwin
 
I switched about 9 months ago from PC to Mac; I admin a mid size network at work of PCs (35 PCs, 4 servers). I had used PS, Illustrator etc on the PC, now on the Mac. Functionally, not a big difference. Note: there are some plugins that are only for PC, so if you rely on any specific one, check first.

I can echo 2 of the comments of a prior poster - the Mac just works better in terms of reliability, and the time machine backup system, which gave me the willies because there is literally no configuration of it (I admin BackupExec at work), is absolutely great.

I like the Mac so much in terms of just "it works" that I am now investigating a conversion to a Mac network . . . at work (its that good, and since I am the guy they call to fix every dumb problem that comes up on a PC, I would love to reduce my support time).

Then again, you like Vista and I hate it and no way no how am I switching to it at work . . . .
--
Mike Oliver
 
Besides what has been said so far, I wanted to try to answer your questions.

How important is a Mac for photography? Not more important than a PC. And through that I mean, that the Mac doesn't have a distinct advantage over the PC as far as photography goes, nor does the PC have an advantage over the Mac... especially since you already have the proper software and you wouldn't be using software that is specific to one or the other.

Will you be ok with a high end PC? Yes, for sure. You will be ok even with a lower than top of the line PC and it will probably be considerably cheaper.

Normally, people have chosen Mac because of the hardware, from an aesthetics standpoint, because the assembly quality and materials were superior; and they were. But, few people are aware, the actual components are no different than the PC ones. The reliability issues used to be more from an operating system perspective, because OSX was more stable than Windows XP for example. But since Vista, contrary to what mr. stupid nobody says, that gap has been closed considerably. Vista is far more stable than XP on a capable system. So people who switched to OSX because they were not satisfied with XP and now judge vista based on their experience with XP don't know what they're talking about.

Today, the build quality of PCs and laptops especially has seriously improved, and I have seen many models that are very appealing; some a lot more than Macbooks. But of course, it depends on taste and the degree to which you're comfortable with flexibility or lack of. For example, the new Macs i believe do not have a user replaceable battery.. or user replaceable anything for that matter, whereas with a PC laptop you can change your own memory, battery, hard drive and so on. Whether that is an important factor for you, only you know.

I have been a PC user forever, but I have often considered getting a Mac on the side. However, I never felt it gave me the degree of freedom I needed, in terms of both hardware and software, although I found some of OS features appealing.

Other than the exposure from friends who own Macs and Macbooks, my only extensive Apple experience is with the iPhone. Ever since I started using an iPhone, which I really like, I have started to read and be familiar with news from the Apple and Mac fields. I was very surprised to see how many problems exist with Apple products and how many bad moves Apple makes. Even more surprising is that Apple users just shut up and take it. They seem to be completely ignore that Apple plays them as it wishes. It's as if Apple was the farmer and the users were the sheep.

But anyway, I digress.

Are Macs nicely built machines with a nice user interface? Yes. If that is what appeals most to you, by all means go get one. Do they offer any other advantages over PCs given the price difference? In my opinion, no.

Will you miss anything if you get a nice looking PC laptop? No.

In any case, for photography purposes, get a machine that has plenty of ram/memory and storage capacity

By the way, that little bird chirping in your head is probably the voice of the many Mac fanatics out there who idolize their Macs and try to make other people feel bad for using PCs. So listen to it with care.

--
My blog: http://www.thebloog.com
 
I just wanted to add that if you do end up getting a PC, and since you already have other computers, you should definitely consider getting or building a Windows Home Server, like the HP MediaSmart for example. Actually, I think the new models will also be compatible with Macs so you should get one regardless.

That actually is a piece of advice for everyone, I just wanted to share. Other than getting the D300, the Windows Home Server is the best thing I've done.

--
http://www.thebloog.com
 
I strongly agree with the very last paragraph. Mac is the cool thing hands down and if you work for some art related environment, don't you dare getting caught without a mac, you would risk looked upon as non-pro.

Bottom line, if it is for your own use at home/office, then PC Vs. MAC is a religion like war. If on the other hand you need it for pro-graphic work out side your house, you better get a mac or you would not be taken seriously.

I own 4 PCs and 2 laptops - no mac yet but I know, one day I will have to have one just to justify the herds. As silly as it might sound, but this is the truth
--
Alan

...
A real artist is the one born to share
 
I do understand people over here who use their Macs on regular basis, and their fair feedback I consider absolutely valid, as they have knowledge and expertise in both PC and Mac systems. What I don't understand is that some people who do not have and do not use Mac somehow know better what Mac is about, and they bring their no clue philosophical or virtual evaluations, and even setup some kind of advisory - what to buy or not to buy..

I've been in computer/electronic environment from early 80s. I have iMac and MacBook Pro, 3 PC laptops, 2 PC Desktops just at home, plus the ones that are used for business, and having extensive background and degree in this field I would not draw any black or white conclusions. The only one really important point was not mentioned is that Mac OS and Windows have absolutely different principles and architecture, not to go deeper with analysis. The bottom line - both systems have pros and cons, but when you have 95% usage of HD capacity on Mac you don"t feel it, where Windows machine at that point is almost dead, not to mention all kind of spyware or registry related problems. You need no expertise to look up the content of system or system32 folders to have your own judgment. Anyways, I use PC for business and Mac for pleasure, entertainment, photography and video. Mac's matte LCD screens have lower response time ratings, but much better color gamut, and images look way better than even on PCs xbrite screens. And the new generation of MacBooks is even better. These are just my thoughts - no suggestions or advisory.
--
torhalik
 
wow, thanks for all of the replies. Truth be told, I am leaning towards another PC. I have this fear of going over to Mac for some reason. I just found this laptop by Sony. It was designed for photography people. It comes with the Adobe RGB Color Correct display!!! and adobe Lightroom pre-installed. Im not sure if I need to go this high end but man this machine is stacked!!!

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665751059
 
I fired Bill Gates last Spring (after 15 years and 7 PC's) and bought a Macbook Pro------What a hot rod!!!

It takes all of 27 seconds to boot up from a cold start and standing in line at an airport security checkpoint --waiting for a PC to boot is now history for me!!!!!
 
I've been in the computer world, both Mac and PC long enough. Below is the typical Mac-snobbishness/cluelessness to avoid :)

The hardware used in both machines tends to be very similar. Same processors, same hard drive manufacturers, memory, motherboards, etc...The difference is now in the software, and the true advantage that Mac has isn't reliability but the ability to run the Mac and Windows operating systems. I ran Windows XP for years without a single crash and currently I have Vista running which I had to restart my computer once (power surge).

The Time Machine back is cool. Personally I use Carbonite which is nice because any time you make any change it's backed up immediately and online so if my entire computer blows up I'm fine.

The final part...the prestige part...that's just utter BS. Self serving a-holes say things like that to justify paying 2-3 times more for a computer to do the same thing as a pc would do. Let's be real, PC's don't hold the bulk of the market because they are horrible machines. And to anyone who does photo work, the software is all the same. You can buy/build a pc of equal performance for less than what a Mac of the same level would cost you. The only prestige you'll get from a Mac is the nod or smile from a fellow Mac user, no one else cares.

One other big advantage the Mac has is 'security by obscurity'. More viruses are created for Windows based machines as well as spyware. The reason for this is quite simple Apple holds 9% of the market (amongst home users...much much less when it comes to the corporate world, and Windows holds 90% of the market. If you were going to invest your time time and money in creating programs such as viruses or spyware...you can bet that you'd go after where the bulk of the people are.
Duke Miller said:
We are Mac people: My wife with the PowerBook Pro, and i with the G5.

While the previous poster may be right as in they're about equal,
there is one HUGE advantage that more than warrants the extra cost
for the Mac. Reliability. I had PC's since the Commodore 64 hit the
market. I have been Mac for three years. In that time not ONE crash.
In that time I've had one or two programs shut down, only to be
restarted and all work recovered. I used to get the heebie geebies
every time I went to my PC wondering if it was going to give me fits
that day or not.

Another great advantage is the new Time Machine backup system on Mac.
I had a client tell me that he sent in an article seven months ago
for a newsletter we publish. I asked him what date? I then went into
my mail program; then entered the Time Machine; it pulled up my in
box for that week. No email. When I told him that, he said he might
have overlooked it. Right! It's amazing how the program duplicates
the exact system that was in place that week.

Final advantage: Prestige. Man, you can tell people you own a Mac.
And when you use it in public, that Apple on the back of the screen
sends a glowing message to all that you are one savy s.o.b!

Duke
--



Photography: The most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Click to expand...
--
http://novophotography.com
 
bosco0633 said:
I can also run windows XP within the Mac by dual booting it.
Click to expand...
You can also run the Mac operating system on a home-built PC that meets certain hardware requirements, although it's prohibited by the software license. Useful search terms, if you want to look them up so you can disapprove knowingly, are "hackintosh" and "OSx86".

It may also be worth considering Ubuntu or Fedora Linux. You can dual-boot with Linux and Windows, or if you've got some technical expertise (or access to someone else with the technical expertise) you can actually run both Linux and Windows at the same time through virtualisation. Some Windows applications can even be run under Linux using a system called WINE.

Although Ubuntu and Fedora are free (like most kinds of Linux), if you're going the Windows PC route at all, it's probably worth paying a little extra to have a friendly computer nerd install Ubuntu for you along with Windows, instead of paying a lot extra to get Windows installed on a Mac.
 
I relaly feel for Mac owners (they've had a 64bit operating system for what feels like ages, whereas Vista64 is still wet behind the ears yet CS4 is only 64 bits for PC ... LOL).

Well, being a PC user I like Vista 64 with 8GB of ram. I realize you can load up a Mac with the same amount (or perhaps more) of ram, and CS4 will use it for a scratch disk which will also speed it up immensely, but is it to the same degree as a native 64 bit app like CS4 is on the PC? That would be one thing that would make me think twice if CS4 is one of the main apps.

And as for the Mac snob appeal, wow, all I can say is I look at Mac users with a similar contempt with which I looked at Pentax users in the film days (idiot cameras that were fully automatic). Yes, it's very wrong; Pentax made plenty of perfectly good cameras with plenty of manual features, but I still look at Mac owners as guys or gals who are petrified of getting their hands dirty with the guts of the operating system and just want a machine that will give the least amount of headaches. Or kInda like someone who wants an automatic car over a standard. Of course I may be biased because I work in IT, and if computers worked the way they SHOULD I'd be out of a job :)
--

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those that believe there are two kinds of people and those that don't.
 
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