Mac vs PC for post processing

[bob williams]

All things being equal: processor speed, memory, hd capacity, photoshopetc., Is there really a difference between a Mac and a PC---specifically in the laptop world? would love to hear from those who have experience with both.


Thanks,


Bob

[Julius]

Both will do a good job but I feel that a MAC has much better resolution for viewing images.

[bob williams]

Thanks Julius

[Keith B]

I've worked at couple places that had PCs and they never seemed as fast as the macs especially with PS but I don't know enough about PCs to know if they were running properly. This is going back a couple years also.


The Mac interface has always seemed easier to navigate and tweak to me. My Mac is very low maintenance too.


With a mac you have all the option for editing software PC do and then you have a big plus in Aperture.

[WAFKT]

I've recently made the switch from PC to Mac. I wish I had done it years ago - the main reasons I never did earlier was the price difference between a new Mac and a similarly spec'ed PC, and software limitations. Software isn't really a limitation anymore, nearly every PC program I commonly use is now available for a Mac, and the ones that aren't, well it doesn't really matter because there's usually a better Mac only program available, and with the increasing number of Mac users out there the price of Mac software is very reasonable now (used to be that Mac software seemed to be $10 more expensive than PC versions - now they often come on the same DVD). It always seemed tough to justify the purchase of a $2000+ MacBook Pro when I could pickup a PC notebook for less the $1000. But after getting a new Mac I must say the cost was well worth it. I never knew what I was missing - a computer that just works as it should right out of the box. Ah? What a novel idea. Whenever I bought a new PC, I always seemed to spend at least a day and a half reformatting it and reinstalling the programs that I really wanted on it (rather than a bunch of preloaded shareware crap that you can never completely uninstall without a complete reformat). Then there was the task of downloading and installing all the updated drivers and frustration that seemed to come from not installing programs in some sort of magical order and then having to reinstall it again to get it working again. There was a bit of a learning curve to using a Mac because there are a number of things that are nothing like a PC, but once you get over that it's great. I love my Mac, you get what you pay for.

[zVp]

Both will do a good job but I feel that a MAC has much better resolution for viewing images.
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Resolution is dependent on the monitor, not the operating system.

[Fast Glass]

What I have noticed with Mac's PC's in terms of reliability is in the components. Now that they use the same components they are virtully the same now. Pre built PC's are usualy terrible! If you can build a computer that is the way to go. You can customize every thing and it's a lot cheaper too. It's really not hard to do, all you are doing is assembling some components and install the operating system and you have a computer that would rivall almost any pre built system in terms of reliability and performance. Just google How To build a Computer and you will be amazed how simple it is. I have built two computers myself, the first computer took about 3 hours to build and the second took about 1 hour.


John.


John.

[btaylor]

This is a pretty common debate and in the graphics/ photo editing industry Mac's have traditionally been the goods. These days however you can build a PC from scratch for much much cheaper than a MAC and get as good, if not better performance. (and it's not difficult at all as mentioned)


Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe you can buya Mac withouta monitorand add a better monitor later.Mac's makeexcellent LCDscreens (especially the new LED backlit screens) but there's better options out there for colour accuracy which is paramount for photo editing as far as I'm concerned. I just bought the new Dell U2410 IPS panel for a hell of a lot cheaper than a Mac screen and it's the ducks nuts (needs calibrating out of the box but most do).


You can always run the Snow Leopard operating system on a PC if you prefer it over Windows too.


I'm a PC user myself but am in no way against the use of a Mac. I think they're brilliantly setup for the user, with so much work going into making it an experience to use. There's certainly a few thing microsoft cantake from Apple'sproducts.


My 2 bob. Cheers.

[jamiethole]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe you can buya Mac withouta monitorand add a better monitor later.Mac's makeexcellent LCDscreens (especially the new LED backlit screens) but there's better options out there for colour accuracy which is paramount for photo editing as far as I'm concerned. I just bought the new Dell U2410 IPS panel for a hell of a lot cheaper than a Mac screen and it's the ducks nuts (needs calibrating out of the box but most do).


You can always run the Snow Leopard operating system on a PC if you prefer it over Windows too.

You can purchase a Mac without a monitor, the MacMini and the MacPro. Also, all Mac's have an additional video output to connect an extra monitor.


You can only run Mac OS X on a Mac or a "rigged" PC (which I wouldn't recommend).


The best part about the Mac is the same people design the hardware and the software. Things just seem to work on a Mac.

[Mike Coulter]

There are much better monitors out there for viewing images than what is supplied with the MAC. The MAC has a good monitor, but the PC is independent of the monitor you purchase. The Eizo's and some NEC's beat the MAC monitors hands down.


I like MACs a lot but not because of the hardware. Their value is in the OS. I can always build a PC that beats the performance of the fastest MAC available for a fraction of the price. You don't see too many serious gamers using MACs. For processor performance and graphics performance they build/buy PCs.