codemunky

I'm currently deciding on which computer to get used mainly for product design: adobe illustrator/photoshop. But will be used for video as well. What are the drawbacks to each? Would it be wise to get a Dell rather than a G5? Thanks.

RichB

If you can afford the difference, get a G5 with a nice cinema screen...
Dell will be loads cheaper though.
In terms of software, if you really are only going to use Adobe or Microshaft stuff then you'll be fine. Web and mail is no different, most files will work crossplatform.
The most common problem I would guess is you can't (without PC anywhere) open Access databases on the G5.

I have a G5 and visit a client with Dell PCs, there is no way earth I would swap my G5 for a Dell. Get at the very least 1gb of RAM, ideally 2gb either way you go.
The Dell (1gb RAM) has been having quite serious issues with Photoshop CS though, takes ages to load and crashes regularly, I don't use it as much on the Mac though so can't comment. The problem maybe due to having roaming profiles and copying all the browser thumbnails around though.

Anyway, you ask a Mac person and they will say Mac - Ask a PC person and they'll say PC so the best thing is to try a Mac, you may hate it. If you've not used one before, go with an open mind, most people who are anti-mac have never really used one for long enough IMHO

KiwiGTI

Definitely Mac, if you are a professional then all the businesses you deal with in that industry will usually have Macs so you will never have problems with files and compatibility etc.

andy.downes

iTrader: (1)

Definately get a mac. I work in a college which specialises in Graphics, Art and Design and Music. Mac's are industry standard and everybody uses them. Plus, its less money to Micro$oft who shouldn't be getting anyones money because of their poor software.

Another reason to buy a Mac is that the user interface is more more accessable. It looks good and functions even better. Its more secure because not many people are writing virus' for them and the code infastructure is more efficient. A 800Mhz Mac is about the equivelent in speed and efficiency as a Pc with double that power. I have had an iBook for over two years and I've never had to format or anything. Mac make all components 'in house' (if you get most Pc's, the hardrive will come from Lacie, the CD writer from Sony etc.) therefore it all works better as a package.

Also with using Mac's you find that everything works a little better than usual. Printers are automatically found, easily updatable and personally I think Mac will become the new system in most homes due to the quality of the hardware and software compared to Windows frequently unfinished and shoddy OS.

Plus, Mac's look great to look at - Design at the heart

Iain Young

If money is no object, I'd maybe get a Mac, otherwise I'd get a PC. Don't listen to what other people are saying about shoddy software on the PC. It is perfectly possible to build a very stable, reliable and quick PC.

I myself use Adobe Photoshop CS2, Premiere Pro 1.5, Encore DVD, After Effects 6.5, Newtek Lightwave 8 and a host of other software on my PC, and I've never had a software or operating system crash with any of this stuff since I built the machine. It's quick as well, and cost a fraction of the price of a Mac. Once you know what you are doing, the user interface is very easy to customise and is (in my opinion), just as easy to use as OSX. It's just different.

From a design point of view, Macs look quite nice (although personally I'm not a big fan), but anyone who makes a business decision about hardware based on the design of the case needs to be removed from the decision making process rather quickly imo

Jake

The main issue here is fonts. If you have to use certains faces they are not always cut for windows.

angrynorth

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angrynorth

Not so true any more. Win XP now supports Postscript font handling quite well and OSX opens windows TTF fonts no trouble.

Iain Young

I can quite happily edit video in Premiere, (including marking chapters, 5.1 channel mixes etc), create dvd menus in photoshop before importing into encore etc. It all works very well together. Can't imagine how it could really be any easier or seamless with them all being in the same program.

p.s. I got the whole Adobe video editing suite (Premiere pro 1.5, Encore Dvd, After Effects 6.5, and Audition), including a hardware accelerated capture / output board (a Matrox RT.X100 Xtreme Pro) for about £760. I see that on Apples web site, Final cut pro is £899, so based on that, I think the PC can compete quite nicely on price

Same on the PC. My machine has 1Gb of ram and it runs very nicely indeed, even with huge images. Not sure how much you need on a Mac to do the same, but I suspect it is similar.

Can you explain what you mean by genuine workflow?

I still believe the PC is a more economical choice, but in reality I suspect the difference between the two different formats is actually very small at the end of the day, and more down to personal preference than anything else.

RichB

There you go codemunky, what did I tell you...

It's your can of worms, you put the bloody lid back on!!!

lol

Iain Young

And most people who hate pcs, simply don't understand how to use them properly

Both are great tools in the right hands. Part of the problem with the pc is that they are not made by one manufacturer, and so you get well made ones and very badly made ones. A good pc can easily work, look and behave every bit as good as a mac.

Best thing to do is to go to an Apple store, and try one yourself to see if it's what you are after. If so, then get one. If not, get a good pc instead

angrynorth

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Fuchsrohre

I see they let anyone on as moderator these days! 2 posts have been pulled already!

angrynorth

eh how'd that happen?

Iain Young

I haven't used the Mac video editing stuff and so have nothing to compare against (my only day to day exposure to the Mac is from a software development standpoint - and that's mostly web browser based stuff).

I know of a load of people (more from the computer graphics / animation arena than the video editing folks) which have moved to the PC from the mac because of the relative cheapness of processing power when compared to the Mac. Especially apparent when building render farms etc.

Indeed. Both are great machines. You just need to choose which one you like and stick with it

ScoobyDoo555

Mac. end of

Dan

codemunky

Thanks to all for the replies. I have a friend who does major Photoshop work and has been working with Macs professionally for 8 years. He says go PC with dual core processors, since it's faster. But issues with video on PC's left me unconvinced. Then again, it could be because the one with the PC doesn't really know how to use it. I suppose it goes down to what clients and suppliers use to prevent any compatibility issues. Again, like above...it also has to do with how much RAM you have.

How good is Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere?

ScoobyDoo555

FCP - blows Premiere out of the water (IMHO).
I found Adobe really awkward to use..........

FCP just makes more sense (to me) - however IIRC, Mac only...........

Dan

bren.wright

A PC is always the better choice, always makes me laugh the people that say things about microsofts crap products. If they are so crap how come so many people buy them and they own the market?

Macs are generally for people who know how to use photshop and video editing software, they use a MAC because you can ususally plug something into a MAC and it works straight away.

PC's offer much more flexibility and much more software is available they just dont tend to be as "plug and play" as MAC's.

Iain Young

Fair enough, although personally I don't find it awkward at all. It's a very straightforward piece of software both to learn and to use, and can very powerful in the right hands

Not had a chance to try FCP yet, so can't comment on that. I'm sure it's a fne piece of software though (seems to get glowing reviews from the Mac community).

andy_scouser

Marketing. Ive earned loads during my IT life from windows, usually replacing them with UNIX platforms once the company has grown up.Agreed, a freind is a graphics designer...complete computer novice yet makes his mac flyBut you need to be a security expert to keep them running nowadays. A mac is a much more freindly beast, the later macOS's are bsd unix based....
I know which one id use a business machine !

Chris L

Well I've only been on this site for 5 years, 4 as a Mod - but don't let that bother you. Similar posts will be removed

angrynorth - apologies - there was nothing wrong with your posting, except repeating Fuchsrohre's post (which was RTM'd by several people) and yours didn't make sense without it. Chris

AllanB

Having come from a heavy PC background I was converted by Mac and would never go back. They are simply easier to use and more reliable with virtually no problems with security.

Apple are always the innovator and brought lots of things to the mass market, USB, Firewire, Bluetooth etc which the average user can enjoy at no extra cost. Yes lots of things can be done on the PC but sometimes these cost extra to buy.

I now work for MacWarehouse too so thats how much of an impact the Mac had for me !

Using a PC is like driving a Mondeo after driving my Scoob. Still gets you there but its not quite as enjoyable.


AllanB

messiah

I've bought 3 PC's to date - I won't be making it 4...

Mac for me next.

Iain Young

Over the last few years, I've bought 1 pc, made 4 pcs from components, bought 3 laptops, and they're all still up and running with 100% reliability. I see no reason at all to change format.

Thinking about building another one now next year sometime, (probably a dual core multi-processor jobby with sli and dual 7800s or whatever is at the top of the tree then).

I don't actually like the interface on the mac very much. Too dumbed down for my liking. But then again, I never use windows explorer either. I tend to open a command prompt and do everything from the command line

Each to their own....

angrynorth

Iain Young

Daryl

Nobody is asking you to!

Show me one Mac user who has reverted to PCs and I'll show you a thousand who have gone the other way. Think different!

Iain Young

Actually, one of our documentation people at work has gone to a PC from a Mac at home, and say they wouldn't go back. So there :P

So where are these thousand of people you know then?

I don't know why you mac people have got so much against pcs. A good, well configured pc is every bit as good as a mac. Both are great machines in the right hands, and both have a good range of software. For some tasks, macs have the edge, and for others the pc is on top. Which you choose depends entirely on what you want to do with it.

KiwiGTI

All technical issues aside, PCs are for ugly people.