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First Mac. Ever.
- Thread starter cptn.nemo
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I may be experienced on this subject. I use a PC at work with Adobe CC (I am a graphic designer and photographer) and a 2015 27" 5K iMac at home with the same for my freelance business.
The "specs" of both my computers are comparable, the iMac is far more responsive, fluid, ease of use and just a general joy to be on. Obviously the screen quality is amazing as well. One thing designers don't realize that is the hidden gem of the 5K is text. If you work in InDesign a lot text looks outstanding.
The "specs" of both my computers are comparable, the iMac is far more responsive, fluid, ease of use and just a general joy to be on. Obviously the screen quality is amazing as well. One thing designers don't realize that is the hidden gem of the 5K is text. If you work in InDesign a lot text looks outstanding.
Wow that's so great to hear, I've been hesitant to spend the money on a Mac over a pc, but the comments from designers such as yourself have reaffirmed that it's the right choice for design. I don't think I'll regret the decision. 2.5k isn't really that big of an investment for a future business. Can I ask what prompted you to get into design? And does anyone have any tips for someone just entering the degree program? I'm always afraid I won't be creative enough to make it in such a competitive field.
To OP do you have the software already?
Thing is stupid me I moved to mac and forgot software.
So had to buy dreamweaver for mac.
thing is if I have to run window on a mac why the hell go and buy an expensive mac when can buy a windows machine cheaper.
And as said design is done in apps which most are available for windows and mac so in my view windows or mac little difference in the end result.
I bought a macbook not to show off, but to get rid of annoying windows.
I hate people who buy stuff just to show off.
If you are going to buy a high end mac great do it (i love the new experience)
but cost more than a windows unit of similar spec, can even custom build your own cheaper.
But the mac ecosystem is amazing as the software and hardware is mac so just works.
my first ever mac was an ibook g4 loved it so much bought a macbook AND and imac.
what ever you decide hope you enjoy it.
Thing is stupid me I moved to mac and forgot software.
So had to buy dreamweaver for mac.
thing is if I have to run window on a mac why the hell go and buy an expensive mac when can buy a windows machine cheaper.
And as said design is done in apps which most are available for windows and mac so in my view windows or mac little difference in the end result.
I bought a macbook not to show off, but to get rid of annoying windows.
I hate people who buy stuff just to show off.
If you are going to buy a high end mac great do it (i love the new experience)
but cost more than a windows unit of similar spec, can even custom build your own cheaper.
But the mac ecosystem is amazing as the software and hardware is mac so just works.
my first ever mac was an ibook g4 loved it so much bought a macbook AND and imac.
what ever you decide hope you enjoy it.
I think QuarkExpress etc.. are Mac only, so if you need those then you will need a Mac, otherwise if the software you want to use has Mac counter-parts, then go with what you like.
If getting the 5K model, get the 4Gb M395X and the i7 processor. It may be "overkill", but it is there if and when you want it, unless you really need to save the upgrade cost to get it.
My advice generally is get the best you can afford.
If getting the 5K model, get the 4Gb M395X and the i7 processor. It may be "overkill", but it is there if and when you want it, unless you really need to save the upgrade cost to get it.
My advice generally is get the best you can afford.
I'm a professional graphic designer and illustrator as well as a web developer. I made the switch from Windows machines to Mac in 2007. As a web developer, I have to use Windows for testing. So, while Windows has improved a lot over the years and might be on par with MacOS, the latter has been and continues to be the more intuitive and better OS for me and how I work. This is highly subjective, however, and Windows 10 is pretty good.
The most important thing for you to consider are the apps and the workflow. In the past, Mac simply had more and higher quality apps targeted at creatives. These days, Windows has quite a lot to offer as well. The Big players like Adobe pretty much work the same on Windows/MacOS. There are a few apps that are MacOS only, however. The design industry has been catering to Mac users more than Windows, though here, too, the latter is catching up at a pretty fast pace. One example is Serif, the company behind the new and wonderful Affinity apps that are rapidly making life difficult for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop as it's become a serious contender and some professionals have already made the transition. Most of their apps were Mac-only, but they've recently released a Beta for Windows. Then there are fairly recent industry standards like Sketch 3 that are still exclusively available to Mac users.
With that said, you don't need to use these apps as Adobe's Creative Suite still is considered the #1 industry standard software and there are quite a few professionals that work in a Windows environment exclusively. Take a look at Jazza (on YouTube). Admittedly, creative pros who use Windows exclusively are not in the majority, but given Apple's current lack of true powerhouses such as the outdated Mac Pro and the rise of more refined software and hardware in the Windows realm, it seems there's a slight shift happening. At least that's been my observation.
Anyhow, you really can't go wrong with either. MacOS and Windows are great operating systems and both have plenty of top notch applications to choose from. It'll depend on which OS you'll be more comfortable with, which system allows you to create your optimal workflow and whether there are non cross-platform applications that you need/want to use.
As for me, I've always worked with Mac Pros. They were (still are) wonderful machines and my main machine lasted me 8 years. It still runs perfectly fine, but I wanted something new, so I bought a 5k iMac (i7/4GHz/m395) and it works well for what I need it to do but I also clearly sense that it's not even remotely as powerful as my Mac Pros were and I refuse to buy an outdated "new" Mac Pro for the prices they currently go for. For the majority of illustrative/graphic design tasks, the iMac is perfectly fine. If you want to go into animation/3D rendering and that sort of heavy-duty stuff, then the iMac may not be the most performant option.
The most important thing for you to consider are the apps and the workflow. In the past, Mac simply had more and higher quality apps targeted at creatives. These days, Windows has quite a lot to offer as well. The Big players like Adobe pretty much work the same on Windows/MacOS. There are a few apps that are MacOS only, however. The design industry has been catering to Mac users more than Windows, though here, too, the latter is catching up at a pretty fast pace. One example is Serif, the company behind the new and wonderful Affinity apps that are rapidly making life difficult for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop as it's become a serious contender and some professionals have already made the transition. Most of their apps were Mac-only, but they've recently released a Beta for Windows. Then there are fairly recent industry standards like Sketch 3 that are still exclusively available to Mac users.
With that said, you don't need to use these apps as Adobe's Creative Suite still is considered the #1 industry standard software and there are quite a few professionals that work in a Windows environment exclusively. Take a look at Jazza (on YouTube). Admittedly, creative pros who use Windows exclusively are not in the majority, but given Apple's current lack of true powerhouses such as the outdated Mac Pro and the rise of more refined software and hardware in the Windows realm, it seems there's a slight shift happening. At least that's been my observation.
Anyhow, you really can't go wrong with either. MacOS and Windows are great operating systems and both have plenty of top notch applications to choose from. It'll depend on which OS you'll be more comfortable with, which system allows you to create your optimal workflow and whether there are non cross-platform applications that you need/want to use.
As for me, I've always worked with Mac Pros. They were (still are) wonderful machines and my main machine lasted me 8 years. It still runs perfectly fine, but I wanted something new, so I bought a 5k iMac (i7/4GHz/m395) and it works well for what I need it to do but I also clearly sense that it's not even remotely as powerful as my Mac Pros were and I refuse to buy an outdated "new" Mac Pro for the prices they currently go for. For the majority of illustrative/graphic design tasks, the iMac is perfectly fine. If you want to go into animation/3D rendering and that sort of heavy-duty stuff, then the iMac may not be the most performant option.
What I'm trying to understand is a little more of the context. The options I'm thinking of are:
- You're going to be a full time self-employed designer and this Mac will support you in that business
- You're going to be doing some part time design work which you hope will turn into a fully fledged business
- You're going to be doing part time design work along with other things for the foreseeable, a bit more than a hobby
What I'm trying to say in my long-winded fashion is that if you are going to have clients, you're going to have a business and it doesn't sound as if you're taking a business like approach.
The i7 gives you hyperthreading, in video rendering that could mean a 30-40% speed increase but for college it shouldn't matter too much. In gaming it's all about the graphics limitations I'm afraid.
I'm not taking a business approach quite yet @JustMartin as I'm just entering the design program in school. I do not know this but I suspect I'm going to have to move elsewhere for a job. although I would hope that the iMac would last through a professional career it's mainly for college. I do plan on working for a design company full time until I can build a name or my other business ventures take off and I can freelance. Design would be my main source of income and hopefully freelancing is not an impossible dream. By disposable income I mean I have cash to spend on a computer and it's going there no matter if I get a tax break or not, I thought I would just give myself the luxury of a brand new iMac.
I can't see doing 3D animation so maybe i7 wouldn't matter as much. I'll just spend that on the upgraded ssd instead. This is my first time on this forum so I hate to take up everyone's time and posts but this has been extremely helpful and I can't say that I'd get this much info browsing the web
I can't see doing 3D animation so maybe i7 wouldn't matter as much. I'll just spend that on the upgraded ssd instead. This is my first time on this forum so I hate to take up everyone's time and posts but this has been extremely helpful and I can't say that I'd get this much info browsing the web
I've been looking at past macs and I can't say I'm impressed with what Apple has come up with the past few years. It really looks like macs are the worst computers you could ever buy. Way over priced with little power. I mean, IMac is basically a giant laptop and who's gonna pay 5 thousand dollars for a Mac Pro that you can't upgrade. Does a $2,500 iMac offer anything over an $800 gaming pc? The specs seem about the same... And to clarify I'm not looking to a gaming machine it's just that the specs are comparable. I don't game much at all
You have a simple solution to this issue then. Don't buy a Mac. Rather find the tool that best fits your needs and budget. No one will care whether you create your work on a Mac or PC, but rather the quality of work. If you're unimpressed with what Apple offers, then it would be foolish to spend 2,500 on a product you hate.
It does ha, I just spent a little time looking at all the windows options and realized it is much cheaper with more power. Kind of a shock actually. I'm going for the Mac though I'm too curious about the os, I just have to try it. Why make money if you can't enjoy it sometimes
I suppose you are looking for something over the next 3 years as you study to get your bachelor (3 years?).
which is about the life span of an apple computer nowadays.
Perhaps it's a bit early to think or argue about business investments. Until you have a clearer idea how much money you will make and be able to keep (close to zero in the beginning), you should consider buying the tool which gives you the best bang for your buck, which is not apple at the moment.
Getting one year of full insurance coverage, some guy to help you with seo optimization, inviting prospective business clients to a dinner, tutoring, high quality business cards or a number of other things might help you more in getting started as a business than owning a mac.
You will get to a point where you can afford a mac much sooner this way than using a mac to help you afford things.
Or get an Ipad pro in addition to a windows machine for "heavy duty"
Apple products do suggest professionality and/or sucess, it's complimentary to actual sucess and professionality though.
And it is actually much more enjoyable to work on a mac, gotta give you this.
which is about the life span of an apple computer nowadays.
Perhaps it's a bit early to think or argue about business investments. Until you have a clearer idea how much money you will make and be able to keep (close to zero in the beginning), you should consider buying the tool which gives you the best bang for your buck, which is not apple at the moment.
Getting one year of full insurance coverage, some guy to help you with seo optimization, inviting prospective business clients to a dinner, tutoring, high quality business cards or a number of other things might help you more in getting started as a business than owning a mac.
You will get to a point where you can afford a mac much sooner this way than using a mac to help you afford things.
Or get an Ipad pro in addition to a windows machine for "heavy duty"
Apple products do suggest professionality and/or sucess, it's complimentary to actual sucess and professionality though.
And it is actually much more enjoyable to work on a mac, gotta give you this.
I just found an article online from a photographer who reviewed the 27" iMac and he was very impressed with it. His system did have the i7 with 512 flash and 395x graphics. I'm going to wait till October and see if anything spectacular comes with an iMac update then I'm going for it. To everyone who's commented on here I sincerely appreciate your advice and help in my decision process. I kind of flip flopped between Mac and Windows for a while but I think Mac is the way to go for me personally. Thanks again guys, I'll add my personal review of the new iMac when I get it
Something to consider is buying an iMac used on Craigslist. I just picked up a seven month old 27" 5K, 2015 model, 4.0ghz i7, 32gb RAM, 512gb SSD, M395x 4GB, with Applecare until January 2019, Lacie 2TB thunderbolt drive, rain design i360 stand, keyboard, trackpad, and more... for $1800. Ill make $200 back from the accessories that came with it. So a $4000 iMac (with tax) for $1600. The deals are out there brother. I just plan to surf the internet with it with slight 4k video editing here & there... lol!
A word of warning, Macs are terrible for 3D work. The GPUs are severely under powered, but that's just the start of your problems. You soon run into Apple's truly awful OpenGL support. It's slow, staggeringly slow when compared to Windows (running on the same hardware), it's buggy, crashy, and doesn't support vital functions such as tessellation.
OpenGL has of course now been superseded by Vulkan, which Apple refuse to support. With no Direct 3D on tap either (for obvious reasons) they leaves devs with nowhere to go. Apple have been pushing their own locked down proprietary API called Metal, but as it's Apple only and not as low level as Vulkan or DX12 it has absolutely zero take up from pro app developers (or even OS X games). It's 100% dead.
Even 2D stuff struggles on the Mac to be honest, and I put that down to the weak GPUs again. The 5K screen on an iMac is staggeringly good, but if the GPU can't drive it quickly enough, it's a big problem. Photoshop bogs down quickly with heavily layered files and/or larger documents on a 5K iMac. 5K screens are rare on PCs, but I've seen 4K screens running similar Photoshop files and they're so much quicker under Windows.
Even pure CPU applications like zbrush, which should theoretically be as quick on OS X as on Windows are slower. No idea why.
All of this is regarding high end work. If you're just dabbling with simple stuff you'll mostly be okay, but always remember that Windows is fundamentally a much, much faster OS when it comes to graphics.
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The current Mac Pro is comically out dated.
I honestly don't know where Apple are planning to go with the Pro. The GPUs in it are ancient and severely limited by size. There's no way they could fit a couple of 1080s in there. Then there's the Vulkan/OpenGL issue, which is a real killer for the pro market.
I suspect Apple's fleeting re-entry into the pro sector was a one off, and the Pro will be left to languish as the 27" Apple display did for years without an update.
OpenGL has of course now been superseded by Vulkan, which Apple refuse to support. With no Direct 3D on tap either (for obvious reasons) they leaves devs with nowhere to go. Apple have been pushing their own locked down proprietary API called Metal, but as it's Apple only and not as low level as Vulkan or DX12 it has absolutely zero take up from pro app developers (or even OS X games). It's 100% dead.
Even 2D stuff struggles on the Mac to be honest, and I put that down to the weak GPUs again. The 5K screen on an iMac is staggeringly good, but if the GPU can't drive it quickly enough, it's a big problem. Photoshop bogs down quickly with heavily layered files and/or larger documents on a 5K iMac. 5K screens are rare on PCs, but I've seen 4K screens running similar Photoshop files and they're so much quicker under Windows.
Even pure CPU applications like zbrush, which should theoretically be as quick on OS X as on Windows are slower. No idea why.
All of this is regarding high end work. If you're just dabbling with simple stuff you'll mostly be okay, but always remember that Windows is fundamentally a much, much faster OS when it comes to graphics.
[doublepost=1471004443][/doublepost]
The current Mac Pro is comically out dated.
I honestly don't know where Apple are planning to go with the Pro. The GPUs in it are ancient and severely limited by size. There's no way they could fit a couple of 1080s in there. Then there's the Vulkan/OpenGL issue, which is a real killer for the pro market.
I suspect Apple's fleeting re-entry into the pro sector was a one off, and the Pro will be left to languish as the 27" Apple display did for years without an update.
I'm definitely waiting till October to see if there's a new update. I can at least be that patient after all these years of not having a Mac. I have looked all over eBay and craigslist, but most of what I've found have only been a couple hundred less than buying new. I'm also suspicious of scams and stolen goods on Craigslist, there seems to be a lot of that in my area.
Everything you said sakurambo just went right over my head haha. No clue what all that is, and if I don't know I probably won't use it. I'm not doing heavy 3D work besides a little goofing off in blender, maybe some movie effects. As for gaming I've seen people play gta5 and far cry 3 on the new iMac with no problem, and since I'm not getting that advanced in gaming I should be fine
Everything you said sakurambo just went right over my head haha. No clue what all that is, and if I don't know I probably won't use it. I'm not doing heavy 3D work besides a little goofing off in blender, maybe some movie effects. As for gaming I've seen people play gta5 and far cry 3 on the new iMac with no problem, and since I'm not getting that advanced in gaming I should be fine
I got my first iMac back in the beginning of 2013. Previously I’d used Windows for 10 years before this.
A lot of things were similar to Windows, but some were a little different. Collectively though, I found the move to be fairly easy.
The advice I would give is. Find all of the programs that you need to use on Windows and see if there is a Mac version. Sometimes there isn’t, but there is usually an equivalent program/application for the Mac that will do the same thing. I found that most of the stuff I used, there was either a Mac version or an equivalent application that done the same thing. I done quite a bit of research for perhaps a couple of months before decided to move to Mac. I had lots of questions, which I asked on here and on the Apple forums, and from this I learned what I wanted too and got my concerns answered.
The only thing I found I needed Windows for, was to run my girlfriend’s craft cd’s/dvd’s, as these needed Windows.
But, it is possible to run Windows on a Mac, either through Boot Camp or by installing a virtualisation application such as Parallels Desktop. Boot Camp comes installed on a Mac, whereas Parallels Desktop is a separate purchase.
Re will it last 5-7 years. Well its difficult to say, I have read reports of iMac’s lasting 10 years, but electronics can fail at anytime. I would advise to purchase Apple Care with your Mac purchase. I chose it when I got mine and I’m pleased I did as I needed my screen replaced, and this wouldn’t have been cheap out of warranty.
Regarding the OS of a Mac. I found no real difficulties with it when I moved from Windows. I really like the Mac OS much more than Windows, I find it cleaner, easier and generally more reliable than Windows. When I got my iMac, Windows 8 was the current version and I’d had a chance to try it out on a friend’s computer, and I did not like it one bit. I couldn’t face getting another Windows PC and having to use Windows 8, so this was when my research on switching to Mac began.
Hope this helps.
A lot of things were similar to Windows, but some were a little different. Collectively though, I found the move to be fairly easy.
The advice I would give is. Find all of the programs that you need to use on Windows and see if there is a Mac version. Sometimes there isn’t, but there is usually an equivalent program/application for the Mac that will do the same thing. I found that most of the stuff I used, there was either a Mac version or an equivalent application that done the same thing. I done quite a bit of research for perhaps a couple of months before decided to move to Mac. I had lots of questions, which I asked on here and on the Apple forums, and from this I learned what I wanted too and got my concerns answered.
The only thing I found I needed Windows for, was to run my girlfriend’s craft cd’s/dvd’s, as these needed Windows.
But, it is possible to run Windows on a Mac, either through Boot Camp or by installing a virtualisation application such as Parallels Desktop. Boot Camp comes installed on a Mac, whereas Parallels Desktop is a separate purchase.
Re will it last 5-7 years. Well its difficult to say, I have read reports of iMac’s lasting 10 years, but electronics can fail at anytime. I would advise to purchase Apple Care with your Mac purchase. I chose it when I got mine and I’m pleased I did as I needed my screen replaced, and this wouldn’t have been cheap out of warranty.
Regarding the OS of a Mac. I found no real difficulties with it when I moved from Windows. I really like the Mac OS much more than Windows, I find it cleaner, easier and generally more reliable than Windows. When I got my iMac, Windows 8 was the current version and I’d had a chance to try it out on a friend’s computer, and I did not like it one bit. I couldn’t face getting another Windows PC and having to use Windows 8, so this was when my research on switching to Mac began.
Hope this helps.
True enough but I will say in a number of cases, I found that the Windows version to be a bit better. I do love OS X, but I find Office to be a better product on windows. While MS has done a lot to improve MS Office for the Mac, its still a bit behind the curve (just one example).
Virtualization is a great option, especially if you don't want reboot into windows and lose the OS X experience. I prefer booting into windows myself, I find the scaling and performance to be a bit better for my needs.
I hope so, but in all honesty I'm a little concerned it won't. So far my 2012 rMBP is going strong and we see people in this forum with older macs so I think we have a good history of Macs lasting a long time.
I switch back and forth all the time, the only issues I find is the key combinations I use, ctl-c vs. cmd-c. windows+r vs cmd-space, etc etc.
I understand that Windows runs very well in Bootcamp, so by getting the iMac you might kill two birds with one stone. Personally I would max out the iMac (do it yourself when possible) for future proofing. This isn't always the most rational strategy, but personally, it makes me more comfortable knowing I have extra capabilities for future unknown needs. Be picky about the GPU as it will make a difference not just with design apps, but across the board.