PC to Mac
- Thread starter corey l
- Start date
You are comparing a 2003 Machine to one from 2009. In 6 years we have had a hell lot more in innovation and performance. It's all really in how you build or update your machine. I have a 2007 PC and it's much better than my friends new mac since i keep updating it. Like CDCosta Said, It's all just personal Preference.
I prefer the pc. First of all you can get more hard drive space and ram for less money (my laptop I bought last year cost me around 700, they wanted 2000 for a mac of the same specifications). Although i will say this, Final Cut Pro is probably the MOST amazing editing software. I try ulead, and adobe premier and avid....they just don't live up to it man and it is the ONE thing i'd consider getting a mac for, if I had the spare bells.
I honestly don't get how people get an efficient media workflow in Windows. You have to manage drivers, codecs, all that stuff. I mean, is there even a lossless format you can save your work to without buying one? The Mac platform is constructed to be a tool for media production. I can't live without QT ProRes, QT Animation, QT H264, etc. The simplicity of the FCP package, like Final Cut itself or Color, is just outstanding.
But I guess it's a personal reference... If you want to defrag, reinstall, search for drivers, codecs, be my guest. I'm saving time.
But I guess it's a personal reference... If you want to defrag, reinstall, search for drivers, codecs, be my guest. I'm saving time.
RAM and HDD's are both user-serviceable parts (they don't void warranty if you replace or upgrade them yourself) and are exactly the same as PC RAM and/or HDD.
Personally, I can't work for more than 5 minutes in Windows without wanting to throw the computer across the room. And since I have a lovely 27" i7 iMac, I'd rather not throw it anywhere. The Mac OS, and Mac applications, are the primary reason for me preferring the platform. They rarely make me want to kill anyone. I think this is a good thing.
Oh, man, seriously, you guys wanna have this debate? Please, let me squash this for you. I've gone back-and-forth between the two, and they will both get the job done. However, this is about SO much more than just personal preference.
First of all, there's something to be said for the fact that everything is proprietery-lisceneced for the Mac. On a PC, it can sometimes be a hassle, making sure everything is compatible -- this software doesn't work with that hardware, that hardware doesn't work with that motherboard, wait, which driver am I supposed to download? For crying out loud, with a Mac, it just all works.
However, if you know how to get through it, you can get through it. I've never needed to bring a PC in for any repair or installation or anything.
The flip-side of that argument is that the very thing that makes PC's relatively more difficult to work with is exactly what makes them preferable to work with. When it comes to variety of software and hardware to choose from, there is no comparison. Your PC can be perfectly tailored to exactly what you want. And again, if you know your way around one, you can do it all yourself.
So, in a nutshell, PC's are for people who know how to use computers, while Mac's are for people who need someone else to wipe their ass.
But that's not what really sets them apart.
My PC:
Dual-core Athlon Phenom 2 550 3.1 Gig processor, 4 Gig RAM, NVIDEA Video card, 64-Bit Windows 7, 2 seperate 1TB 7200 RPM hard drives, and a 1TB external hard drive. Now, that's no supercomputer, mind you, but it ain't nothin' to throw a stick at, either. And you know how much I got all of that for? Less than $1,000.
Suck it, Mac-heads! Suck it, hard!
First of all, there's something to be said for the fact that everything is proprietery-lisceneced for the Mac. On a PC, it can sometimes be a hassle, making sure everything is compatible -- this software doesn't work with that hardware, that hardware doesn't work with that motherboard, wait, which driver am I supposed to download? For crying out loud, with a Mac, it just all works.
However, if you know how to get through it, you can get through it. I've never needed to bring a PC in for any repair or installation or anything.
The flip-side of that argument is that the very thing that makes PC's relatively more difficult to work with is exactly what makes them preferable to work with. When it comes to variety of software and hardware to choose from, there is no comparison. Your PC can be perfectly tailored to exactly what you want. And again, if you know your way around one, you can do it all yourself.
So, in a nutshell, PC's are for people who know how to use computers, while Mac's are for people who need someone else to wipe their ass.
But that's not what really sets them apart.
My PC:
Dual-core Athlon Phenom 2 550 3.1 Gig processor, 4 Gig RAM, NVIDEA Video card, 64-Bit Windows 7, 2 seperate 1TB 7200 RPM hard drives, and a 1TB external hard drive. Now, that's no supercomputer, mind you, but it ain't nothin' to throw a stick at, either. And you know how much I got all of that for? Less than $1,000.
Suck it, Mac-heads! Suck it, hard!
IME it's the Mac users who tend to know more about computing than the PC users. Primarily because people who define themselves as PC users are generally close-minded and prejudiced, whereas people who use Macs are generally far more inquisitive and experimental and tend to seek out learning rather than being a die-hard.
The irony is that PC users label the Mac users as the religious zealot die-hards, when IME over the past twenty-five years, it's the complete opposite. Rarely will you find a Mac user who doesn't embrace both platforms, and Unix and Linux flavours as well, whereas PC heads tend to look down on anything that isn't Windows/Linux.
I think if there was a study done about people's level of computer knowledge and it was tied to whether a person identifies themselves as a "PC user" or a "Mac user", that the Mac-heads would come out far, far, far in front and have a much larger percentage of people with IT degrees. But that's just my personal experience from engaging in PC and Mac BB's, user-groups and forums for the last twenty odd years.
Hmm, that's weird, cuz in this thread, the only people who've shown any confusion are Mac-heads.
I'm not saying that PC-people are, by nature, smarter, or anything like that. I'm saying that if you know your way around a computer, you're wasting money going with a Mac. Mac's are for people who don't know their way around a computer. PC's are for people who know their way around a computer, like saving money, and like having WAY more options in hardware and software.
P.S. How long has it been since you used a PC? I don't mean a quick surfing of the internet; I'm talking about real usage, like editing a short video. My guess is that haven't used a PC, at all, in recent years. I use Mac's all the time. They are solid computers. But the extra cost is not justified, if you know your way around a computer.
P.P.S. To all those people who don't know their ways around computers -- you can easily learn your way around a computer. It ain't rocket surgery.
EDIT: PPPS - I'm pretty sure you're at least somewhere in the ballpark of 40-50 years old, perhaps more. I'm not saying this as an insult. I like growing older. Wisdom is good. I only point it out to let you know that Mac-heads of yesteryear ain't the same as Mac-heads of today. Today's Mac-heads have been sold on a platform of ease and convenience. In your experience, most Mac-heads are very knowledgeable. Well, no disrespect, but most of the Mac-heads you know have grey hair. In my experience, the average Mac-head purchased their computer more out of need than convenience. But not all of them. And, that's not a reflection of the quality of the machine. Mac's are great. Just WAY too expensive.
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Not much reason to switch to mac if you don't need a workflow with outside parties. Since I edit, do effects, and all the rest no point paying more money when Vegas or Premiere can do the same stuff. I'd only load a mac for Final Cut Pro, and only if I needed to support that. Vegas especially isn't much different from Avid or FCP once you learn the ropes and hardly quantifies a hardware jump.
That being said their high end machines (the mac pro line, especially when tricked out) are like well boxed cheaper servers. It's actually cheaper to buy one of those than the equivalent Windows server hardware. They are very powerful hardware, but I am not interested in their over-priced intermediate tiers. Of course, I don't have 11k to drop for the tripped out maxed workstation either.
That being said their high end machines (the mac pro line, especially when tricked out) are like well boxed cheaper servers. It's actually cheaper to buy one of those than the equivalent Windows server hardware. They are very powerful hardware, but I am not interested in their over-priced intermediate tiers. Of course, I don't have 11k to drop for the tripped out maxed workstation either.
Just switched from a 2003 Pc to a i5 mac. What a difference. Anyone that has been on a fence about switching, do it.
Switching from a 1003 PC to a 2010 Mac is no different than going from a 2003 Mac to a 2010 PC.... there will be significant speed increases and processing performance.
In today's world a PC and a MAC are not all that different - both use Intel chips and the OS's are equally buggy. If you use a PC for video editing, I would always recommend you ONLY use video editing software on it and then that PC will run smoothly. If you use the same PC to surf the web, play games, etc. there is little doubt you will have a buggy system.
W...T...F (Pentium 3 anyone?)
to a i5 mac. What a difference. Anyone that has been on a fence about switching, do it.
I hope you did not just compare a brand name to its CPU when it has a 7 year time gap? You think PC's don't have i5's or something? Not trying to bash you, don't get me wrong, but you made it sound like PC's haven't had an update since 2003.