I am currently in the market to buy a new computer. I am competent with both operating environments (Win/OSX). I am currently a digital artist doing mostly photoshop, painter, modo(product design), sketchbook pro. I don't currently play games apart from my PS3. I want to get a decent set up that is future proof for a good 5 years. Is there any different in stability with photoshop cs5 on the two environments? I like os x more than windows 7 for its niceness and simplicity but I am no dummy at Windows either.
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mac or pc
- Thread starter josh8711
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What is your budget? No setup is "future proof" for 5 years, but some setups will be less outdated than others. If I believed in future-proofing I'd build my own machine and upgrade it as needed.
My Budget is $3000 but I could go up a lil higher if I saw potential in a machine that costs a bit over that. I already have the screen, keyboard, mouse etc etc. I just want something that will still perform well with software updates until I upgrade again in 5 years or so.
Everyone I know working with design like commercials and web designing all Sais Mac's are the best by far. If you really want a Mac with power for the next 5 years buy a Mac Pro. If you have the money of course. Otherwise a iMac should be fine 
Everyone I know working with design like commercials and web designing all Sais Mac's are the best by far. If you really want a Mac with power for the next 5 years buy a Mac Pro. If you have the money of course. Otherwise a iMac should be fine
Thanks very much
If you are "competent with both operating environments" then you would know OS X is still way better. No anti-virus, firewall problems, no inexplicable patented MS windows slow downs.
I just wanted to hear other people's opinions that's all. I am careful when I spend large sums of money.
Over five years, you will have to purchase at least two OS X updates but probably not one Windows update in order to be able to run any other new software. Unless you freeze the software setup of your system - and you won't do that - Windows certainly is the better platform if you plan to use your computer for at least five years.
People will also try to tell you that you have to add the price of an anti-virus software to the Windows calculation - which simply is nonsense. Unless you are a business with more than ten users, Microsoft Security Essentials is free of charge and does the job perfectly. If you don't want to use MSE, there are plenty of other free solutions. And if you are a business with more than ten users, you will get nice rebates on any anti-virus software on the market and have other problems than worrying about security software (which ANY business on ANY platform should install and run anyway).
You will also get more bang for your buck when you buy a PC. Apple sells nicer design and their computers are also great if you like it quiet (I do), but that doesn't mean that you have to use OS X as your software platform on Apple hardware. Windows runs great on Macs, too. But Apple does not offer on-site service as Dell or others do.
the OS X updates are only $30 lol. I started with Tiger bought the Leopard upgrade for $30 then the snow leopard upgrade for $30. I think windows upgrades cost a bit over $100 right?
Umm... no. As much as I love OS X, Snow Leopard was an anomaly as far as pricing. Ordinarily a point upgrade (10.4 -> 10.5, etc.) costs $130. You might have gotten Leopard cheap because it came out close to when you purchased your Mac. I (and most others) paid $130 for it.
Winni is exaggerating a bit however. You won't have to buy the OS updates. Most software stays backward-compatible for at least a version or two. Even iTunes stayed Tiger (10.4) compatible until the recent release of iTunes 10.
Considering there's a part of you that wants OS X then I would immediately recommend a Mac considering that if for some reason you ended up unhappy with your decision you could always install Windows and use that as your main OS.
If you want something that will run great for 5 years you'll either need a top-of-the-line iMac or (more likely) Mac Pro that you can upgrade incrementally along the way.
But, when you're buying a high-end machine like that, Windows hardware is way cheaper so I would go back a bit and say that the first thing to really figure out is which OS you would want to use for the next 5 years. If the answer is OS X or "both" then go with the Mac Pro but if you feel comfortable living with Windows then save yourself some cash and buy Win hardware.
Lastly, you're on MacRumors asking whether to buy a Mac or PC. I think there might be better forums to ask that question that are a little less biased.
If you want something that will run great for 5 years you'll either need a top-of-the-line iMac or (more likely) Mac Pro that you can upgrade incrementally along the way.
But, when you're buying a high-end machine like that, Windows hardware is way cheaper so I would go back a bit and say that the first thing to really figure out is which OS you would want to use for the next 5 years. If the answer is OS X or "both" then go with the Mac Pro but if you feel comfortable living with Windows then save yourself some cash and buy Win hardware.
Lastly, you're on MacRumors asking whether to buy a Mac or PC. I think there might be better forums to ask that question that are a little less biased.
Haha yes I thought about being bias but I have been reading these forums for a while on and off and I have seen very fair assessments to people's questions regarding the two operating systems. I do like os x more and i am 90% sure I will take the iMac / Mac Pro route. Thanks for your advice.
Yes you are correct I did get Leopard shortly after my purchase of the computer.
I want to get a decent set up that is future proof for a good 5 years.
I think 'future proofing' is overrated. Prices for RAM, CPU's and Hard drives keep coming down so fast that economically it makes much more sense to buy what you need for today and next year and then sell it off within 2 years for what is available then. A little over a year ago 2x4Gb sticks of RAM cost nearly $500 and today the same RAM is about $100. Currently a 2TB WD Caviar Green HDD costs between $80-$99 depending on the sale (I bought one two weeks ago from MicroCenter for $99).
My point is the amount you might spend today to get the best components for well down the road might be more than just upgrading your computer every two years - Macs hold their value. Sandy Bridge processors are said to support 8gb sticks of RAM so next generation iMacs can use 32Gb and MBP's might be able to use 16gb. Get what you need, perhaps include AC if you find a good price (not from Apple) and this will make it much easier to sell when it is time to upgrade. Besides, Light Peak is expected in 2011 to be included with Mac and will blow firewire away. So the best today has to offer will be relatively slow in 2 years so I think it might be cheaper to plan for about 2-3 mac refreshes instead of being good to go until 2016.
I think 'future proofing' is overrated. Prices for RAM, CPU's and Hard drives keep coming down so fast that economically it makes much more sense to buy what you need for today and next year and then sell it off within 2 years for what is available then. A little over a year ago 2x4Gb sticks of RAM cost nearly $500 and today the same RAM is about $100. Currently a 2TB WD Caviar Green HDD costs between $80-$99 depending on the sale (I bought one two weeks ago from MicroCenter for $99).
My point is the amount you might spend today to get the best components for well down the road might be more than just upgrading your computer every two years - Macs hold their value. Sandy Bridge processors are said to support 8gb sticks of RAM so next generation iMacs can use 32Gb and MBP's might be able to use 16gb. Get what you need, perhaps include AC if you find a good price (not from Apple) and this will make it much easier to sell when it is time to upgrade. Besides, Light Peak is expected in 2011 to be included with Mac and will blow firewire away. So the best today has to offer will be relatively slow in 2 years so I think it might be cheaper to plan for about 2-3 mac refreshes instead of being good to go until 2016.
I've personally found this not to be true. If you get a Mac Pro close to its refresh you will typically get a machine that doesn't cost a whole lot more than a truly competitive PC. I've bought many Workstations from Dell as well as two Mac Pros that were used with 64 bit Windows. The Macs significantly outperformed the PC workstations for their intended purpose, and specifying equivalent hardware quickly came up to the same price range.
It may in part be due to the fact that my applications were RAM bound and finding "cheap" PC workstations that allowed for a full 32 GB of RAM was non-trivial. Ironically, the RAM cost more than the Mac at the time.
For most purposes however, you can do really well with taking that $3K budget and buying a ~$1K PC every other year. (EDIT: That's basically the point Vantage Point was making, future proofing is overrated.)
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http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA&mco=MTc1MTEzNjY
sry but its $30 here, can you explain why.
im planning to buy lion, so will it be 30 or 130??
For 3K$ you can build an awesome PC with top-end components like chassis, monitor, SSD, graphic card, etc. So, OS is what matters. OSX is better but Windows ain't really behind. You don't need to worry about anti-virus and such things since you have free MSE, Avast, AVG which imo are great unless you download alot of illegal torrents. I have a high-end windows desktop and a Macbook Pro and I love them both. You can get some serious hardware that is really future-proof compared to what is available in the highest iMac which just isn't future-proof.
I think that because it was just a performance tweak of leopard it is only $30. When a full featured OS gets released It will be more expensive eg. Lion. This is just what I am thinking I could be wrong. I would also like some facts to why SL is $30 and others are stating $130. Bump.
Guys let's consider it from a total cost of ownership perspective:
1. acquisition
PC is cheaper, thais an easy one
2. operating
Let's start with service.This tranlates into "What service is he talking about?" for most pc makers
ease of use: who wil make sure, that your myriad of drivers match the needs of OS updates, fpr PCs the answer is easy: nobody will,
performance: Win7 generic backup, antivirus software ( to be bought on a separately, on a yearly basis) will eat large chunks of your system performance.
3. Resale value
A three year old pc, this translates into "Forgetaboutit", a three year old mac will net something around 40% of the initial price paid.
1. acquisition
PC is cheaper, thais an easy one
2. operating
Let's start with service.This tranlates into "What service is he talking about?" for most pc makers
ease of use: who wil make sure, that your myriad of drivers match the needs of OS updates, fpr PCs the answer is easy: nobody will,
performance: Win7 generic backup, antivirus software ( to be bought on a separately, on a yearly basis) will eat large chunks of your system performance.
3. Resale value
A three year old pc, this translates into "Forgetaboutit", a three year old mac will net something around 40% of the initial price paid.
So you are saying if you play your cards right in the long run a Mac will be cheaper than a PC
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. (High resale value is a big part of why Mac TCO may be lower, but the market 3-5 years from now is unknown).
You've already stated a preference for OS X so why are you still considering a PC? At this point in the Mac Pro and iMac lifecycle, I'd look for a good deal on a refurb from the Apple store or just wait until the next refresh.
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