Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

So , Mac or PC???

T

TheDance511

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 5, 2007
359
0
California soon
Hello all. I am a college student looking to buy a new computer. I own a brand new Sony Vaio with 2 gigs of ram/ 100 gig HD / 15.4 inches... It was running Windows XP... Now I am running Vista. Since I upgraded to Vista i get these Error messages on everything i do saying my video card is out od fate. Games and such. I am studying to become a profession Camera operator and need to be able to video edit. I used a Mac for the first time a few weeks ago and was quite impressed. But my question to you is are they really all they are cracked up to be? Are they really that much easier to use... I liked it but i only used it for a short time period in The Apple Store. So i would like some advice. I like the iMac very much but i also like the Black Macbook...Somebody help .. please..any input would be great. :rolleyes:
 
TheDance511 said:
Hello all. I am a college student looking to buy a new computer. I own a brand new Sony Vaio with 2 gigs of ram/ 100 gig HD / 15.4 inches... It was running Windows XP... Now I am running Vista. Since I upgraded to Vista i get these Error messages on everything i do saying my video card is out od fate. Games and such. I am studying to become a profession Camera operator and need to be able to video edit. I used a Mac for the first time a few weeks ago and was quite impressed. But my question to you is are they really all they are cracked up to be? Are they really that much easier to use... I liked it but i only used it for a short time period in The Apple Store. So i would like some advice. I like the iMac very much but i also like the Black Macbook...Somebody help .. please..any input would be great. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Vista just came out, wait for several next month then download compatible video card driver for your Vista. Then you decide.

Mac is definitely much easier to use than PC.

Before I can't finish my own home DVD video in PC, the final quality is really poor, then when I just use iDVD in Mac it really easy to use and good quality too. Don't mention if you use pro tools such as Final Cut Pro for editing your film.

For video edit, big screen is make your life much easier. iMac with 24" is a good choise. But If you really want to become camera operator, start saving your money from now buy MacPro with 30" cinema display. That is really good for your future.
 
I find the Mac a lot easier to use than the PC. If you do a lot of multitasking then you'll find life a lot easier on the Mac because it has much better management of programs than windows xp or vista. If you're going to do gaming on the Mac through bootcamp, then you'll want the iMac over the Black MacBook, because the Black MacBook has integrated graphics while the iMac has an radeon x1600 in it. If you want to continue to use your Vaio for your laptop needs, then buy the iMac, but if you want it to replace your Vaio then get the Black MacBook.

You might also want to consider refurbished Macs on the Apple website, because you can buy the Macs for several hundred dollars cheaper and you might find the 15" MacBook Pro would fit both your desktop and laptop needs. The refurbished MacBook Pro frequently shows up on the refurbished store for $1350, the specs of the refurbished MacBook Pro is a 1.83 GHz Core Duo/512MB/80GB/ with a 15.4" widescreen. I personally would suggest getting the refurbished MacBook Pro, as it is only slightly slower than the Core 2 Duos in the new MacBooks and iMacs, and it has almost the same specs as the iMac. All in all, I think you'll find the Mac experience to be much better than the windows experience overall, and if you don't, there is always bootcamp.
 
Macs are essential to professional video editting because of Final Cut Pro. But youll need atleast an iMac because the regular Macbook's graphics chip isnt good enough for that stuff. You should get a Macbook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro.
 
stainlessliquid said:
Macs are essential to professional video editting because of Final Cut Pro. But youll need atleast an iMac because the regular Macbook's graphics chip isnt good enough for that stuff. You should get a Macbook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Avid is the industry standard...
 
Firstly, i'd say get a mac, though whether iMac or macbook depends upon your usage.
But out if interest, if you have a new Vaio why are you looking at something new - do you intend to use the sony as a games machine and the mac for work? If so, the iMac sounds like it's made for you. :)
 
a Mac will be great for your future profession. If you're in the market I say go for it... and this is not a biased reply...
 
I would also like to chime in and add that the silly video driver issues you're having with Vista are quite rare with Mac OS upgrades because Apple controls all the hardware and the software. Less cooks in the kitchen...

Sounds like with your Vaio, you're stuck waiting for Sony and/or Microsoft and/or the video chip manufacturer (ATI/nVidia) to fix it with a new driver. Yuck.

P.S. Switched 2.5 years ago. First day sucked. After that, computing heaven.
 
This may seem like a dumb question, but, if you weren't having any problems with XP, why don't you just put that back on your machine? As far as I know, Vista still has driver issues with a lot of machines. Your issue will be fixed down the road, but right now it may be best just to stick with XP.

Sorry, it just seems kind of strange to buy a new computer just because of a driver issue.
 
Perhaps there are just as many reverse trolls as trolls on these forums?

I found the iLife tools somewhat simplistic so I've moved onto Vegas on the Precision 490, which is overkill for me but very usable. I'm not a pro video editor - only do interior shots, etc - but it's clearly at the very least on a par with Final Cut on the same hardware.

The choice of platform should be made based on what editing software you find best to use, or most appropriate based on what you're doing right now. If Final Cut works best for you - well, your choice is made.
 
Sesshi said:
I found the iLife tools somewhat simplistic so I've moved onto Vegas on the Precision 490, which is overkill for me but very usable. I'm not a pro video editor - only do interior shots, etc - but it's clearly at the very least on a par with Final Cut on the same hardware.
Click to expand...

I'm going to pretend you didn't say that...:mad:
 
Once you go Mac...

Since i've gotten a mac i've managed to convince 3 others to get one.
In my experience if you buy a mac you'll never want a PC again, (Especially with the Intel chips and windows capabilitys).
The main advantage to Macs I feel, is that both Hardware and Software are made to work together, this improves functionality and support.
In my opinion- :apple: :apple: :apple:.
 
R0ck1t said:
Since i've gotten a mac i've managed to convince 3 others to get one.
In my experience if you buy a mac you'll never want a PC again, (Especially with the Intel chips and windows capabilitys).
The main advantage to Macs I feel, is that both Hardware and Software are made to work together, this improves functionality and support.
In my opinion- :apple: :apple: :apple:.
Click to expand...

thats classic
 
I was in your situation about 2 years ago. I was looking at pursuing a career in video and figured buying my own editing system would help me. I ended up buying a dual G5 PowerMac. I'm currently editing a weekly broadcast show and got my job based on experience that I learned from my system at home. I used to do some editing on a pc and even worked at a call center trouble shooting PC's over the phone. I will never go back to a PC. The Mac really is all that it's hyped up about. If you have a new Sony laptop. Sell it. If you need portability, go with a macbook pro. If your just doing video. Take the hit and get the MacPro. You may feel a little nervous at first with the big coin. But 6 months from now you'll never want to own a pc again.

Hope this helps.

Jason Griffith
Broadcast Video Editor
The Active Word
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back