Comparing

I have been doing some directing my self. I have used both PC and Mac. I think this is where the Mac is most superior to PC.

Donno if you're using Premiere? I have been using Premiere and Final Cut (mac only) and Win can't compare to Mac at all! I never crashed my Mac (G4 400MHz) while editing, but the PC crashes ALL the time!

Mac is also much better in Photoshop and Illustrator. The only programs I think the PC is better for is Macromedia Flash and iExplorer!

The only 3D I have been doing is Cinema4D, never crashed.

This experience is based on Win98/2k and MacOs 9.x.x

All I can tell you is that my next computer will be a Mac. I have been a PC user for years, but I am tired of the PC world. I want a computer for digital media, not for gaming. I feel that a Mac offers a better platform for what I want. But they do cost more in pure $$$ but they hold their value over time a lot better. Plus who would you rather give your money to Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?

If you are not a hardware geek and are more interested in just using your computer than go with a Mac for sure. You can get a lot of horsepower in the PC world for less money, but it will involve a lot of knowledge as far as building and mainting the hardware. With a Mac you will not spend nearly as much time playing with hardware and more time making a movie.

FCP 3 RT Effects

The effects appear in real time just to preview a clip not to Export
But the G4 is a hell of video cruncher especially on OS X
Just go to Apple.com and click on software to check out FCP

Comparisons.

Don't expect there to be an independant, scientific study. 90% of "product comparisons" are done by manufacturors in areas that their particular system was designed to excel in. I would sorely like to see such a study done but it would take some serious effort to get it set up with any precision as there are a myriad of small differences between systems.

As for Video and Graphics? There is no comparison. Mac offers simple, efficient solutions that cannot be duplicated without a host of other equipment. The Software is relatively simple, the Hardware supports all stages of video editing, graphic design and Web publishing including stock support for MPEG2 compression and DVD mastering. To get a monsterous media machine a Mac would take less supplementation, present less conflicts and better support massive rendering and editing.

Photoshop...

...will run much faster on a G4 than anything else, but that's what it's designed for (also, certain filters use Altivec more than others, blurs use it a lot). C/Net had a quake 3 benchmark, but it used an old version that didn't use dual processors, so it was much lower than it should have been.

i myself want the new imac, but it matters on choice. the pc is good becuase most people use it, it has much more compatability that a mac, and more product support. The down side is viruses and hackers, so you will run into more problems with the os beacuse of viruses also, on most windows based pcs, the parts are cheaper and break easier. But the whole computer is cheaper. A mac is less compatable and less people use it. Mac does have a more comunity feeling to it, also its hardware last longer, price is somewhat higher, but i think the new imac is worth its amount, it has less viruses, and more reliable.The os's are different, windows is less stable than os x, but os 9 is slower that xp. Its up to your choice, i use my powerbook most often but my parents use windows, i can use both and not really care. so its up to you, compatability or stability. whatever you prefer.
hardware, the pc is updated more but breaks more from what i have heard, the mac has faster chips but updates less so it can sometimes get left behind. I really dont know much about hardware, these tings are mostly frm what i heard.

Benchmarks:

A list of Apps designed specifically for the G4 and Dual G4 machines can be found at:[www.apple.com/powermac/processor.html] To find benchmarks from that page, scroll down to the search box and enter the word "benchmark" (without the perenthises of course). This will give you a hefty base to start from. Realize that these are benchmarks for complete systems under optumum conditions with large amounts of RAM and nothing else running. Good luck, and thanx for the open mind. 😎