I know that Macs are great for video editing but I don't know why and I'm sure you all can help. With the new Intel chips coming out, the Final Cut software will be able to run on a PC as well as a Mac. The new Dells that are coming out are pretty dang powerful and I was wondering if the Macs are still special. Are they? Or is it just the same as a PC?
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Why not buy a Dell?
- Thread starter knights
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First of all, Final Cut software will not be able to run on PCs, unless it was hacked but let's not get into that. Why is a Mac better than a Windows machine? Well for one the included software is fantastic. iLife '06 gives you a handful of great applications that you don't see included with Windows boxes. Another huge plus is the operation system. Mac OS X is 100% virus- and spyware-free. You would no longer have to worry about keeping your computer safe from all the malicious software floating around the Internet. I'm not a Final Cut user, but trust me when I tell you this: it's the best video-editing software offered by anyone in the computer industry. Apple's software is top-notch. And yes, the Dells coming out may be powerful, but that is true for almost every future computer in today's industry. Now that Macs use Intel processors, you can count on excellent performance. I'm not saying the PowerPC lineup was weak, but most of us here know where I am coming from with this.
Are you buying a new computer soon? If so, for what? Will it be for video editing?
I could go on and on about why Macs are better than Dell's computers, but it would turn into a HUGE post. 😛
Are you buying a new computer soon? If so, for what? Will it be for video editing?
I could go on and on about why Macs are better than Dell's computers, but it would turn into a HUGE post. 😛
So is it only the software that makes iMac special? The hardware is pretty much the same, it's the OS and Final Cut that separates them from PC. Are you sure that the new version of FCP due out in March won't play on PCs because I thought I read otherwise?
Eidorian
macrumors Penryn
The version coming out in March along with the other professional applications are Universal. They're not designed to run on Windows. Only on PowerPC/Intel Macs.knights said:
http://www.apple.com/r/store/universal/
Dell's might have similar specs to the new x86 macs, but they are still ugly plastic bricks that won't run os x.
It's all about the software....
There is one major difference between a Mac and every other computer, the ability to run OS X. Yes, they look better, but functionally that isn't important.
FCP will not run on a Dell. It does not run on Windows. It runs on OS X. Just because the processor uses the same instruction set, that doesn't mean it can run the same applications.
- Kelson
There is one major difference between a Mac and every other computer, the ability to run OS X. Yes, they look better, but functionally that isn't important.
FCP will not run on a Dell. It does not run on Windows. It runs on OS X. Just because the processor uses the same instruction set, that doesn't mean it can run the same applications.
- Kelson
knights said:
buryyourbrideau
macrumors 65816
You buy Apple for the OS and for reliability.
You buy Wintel and others in bulk and for business.
You buy Wintel and others in bulk and for business.
OldCorpse
macrumors 68000
Actually, FCP right now won't run on ANY of those computers - not on the new iMacs and not on PCs, only on the PPC Macs. You must wait until March for FCP to go universal. But that only means you will then be able to run FCP on both PPC Macs and Intel Macs. You will still definitely NOT be able to run FCP on any PC, Dell or otherwise (maybe someone will find a way to hack it, but that's a separate story).
I just switched so interesting thread. I did configure a dell with similar specs to the 20" iMac. It was more $$$$$. Putting that aside. I also did not want Windows...BIG, if not MAJOR reason to switch. In which case I don't care who's hardware you compare to...right now if you don't want windows...well you know the story.
So in some sense it is about the software, the OS being the prime factor. iLife certainly is a pretty special set of applications. In my limited MAC experience - it's not that I could not do what I do on the iMac(for the most part anyways) on my PC WIN - it's that it requires more programs, significantly more effort, extreme windows saviness, much beefier hardware to handle the tasks and the overhead of all the windows stuff you need to run to duplicate some of the base functionality available in tiger/iLife.
Then you can talk about integration among the hardware/software apps. AT this time Windows is in the dark ages comparatively speaking. Yes - you can eventually get the same expereince - what you have to go through - well it is certainly not for an intermediate user - advanced windows users could "duplicate" some of the seamless integration that is out of the box with Tiger.....Good Luck! And god forbid you get an update to one of the 50 or more apps that you would have installed to make that happen...You know the story...
How about ease of use - drivers, other devices are just easy to install if not competely idiot proof. I dare you to take a win box and hook it up to 8-10 totally different displays and have them all function right out of the door. Did that with the mini I had for a few weeks. Simply mind blowing how much EASIER it is with the Apple OS.
Well - I have already typed more than I intended...it is about the software, it is about "bang for your buck"...hardware wise...it is about integration of software/hardware...it is about ease of use...it's about doing what your computer was meant to do in the first place - without spending major time trying to get things to work.
Just my newbie .02$
Therese
So in some sense it is about the software, the OS being the prime factor. iLife certainly is a pretty special set of applications. In my limited MAC experience - it's not that I could not do what I do on the iMac(for the most part anyways) on my PC WIN - it's that it requires more programs, significantly more effort, extreme windows saviness, much beefier hardware to handle the tasks and the overhead of all the windows stuff you need to run to duplicate some of the base functionality available in tiger/iLife.
Then you can talk about integration among the hardware/software apps. AT this time Windows is in the dark ages comparatively speaking. Yes - you can eventually get the same expereince - what you have to go through - well it is certainly not for an intermediate user - advanced windows users could "duplicate" some of the seamless integration that is out of the box with Tiger.....Good Luck! And god forbid you get an update to one of the 50 or more apps that you would have installed to make that happen...You know the story...
How about ease of use - drivers, other devices are just easy to install if not competely idiot proof. I dare you to take a win box and hook it up to 8-10 totally different displays and have them all function right out of the door. Did that with the mini I had for a few weeks. Simply mind blowing how much EASIER it is with the Apple OS.
Well - I have already typed more than I intended...it is about the software, it is about "bang for your buck"...hardware wise...it is about integration of software/hardware...it is about ease of use...it's about doing what your computer was meant to do in the first place - without spending major time trying to get things to work.
Just my newbie .02$
Therese
ziwi
macrumors 65816
Dells are great forthe get on the internet, read Email and write documents crowd - so there is a need - and especially because they are cheap. But being cheap comes with consequences - they sometimes fail - I know someone recently who had a motherboard problem, a cd/dvd drive problem and now a HD crash on a one year old machine.
Mac offers much more out of the box in my opinion - especially with the software suite that comes with it.
If you want to do anything heavy duty and must have the PC - I would suggest building one from scratch using better components than Dell - cost will be more - but in the end it will be worth it.
Mac offers much more out of the box in my opinion - especially with the software suite that comes with it.
If you want to do anything heavy duty and must have the PC - I would suggest building one from scratch using better components than Dell - cost will be more - but in the end it will be worth it.
Eidorian
macrumors Penryn
No no, let's make it worse. Try swapping a Digital Audio's video card NOT monitors. I've gone from the Rage 128, Radeon 7000, GeForce 4 MX, and now the Radeon 9000. I never had to install a single driver. I just swapped the card and powered back on. It worked perfectly each time.
Now that's integration.
Now that's integration.
MRU
macrumors Penryn
As someone who has to fix loads of pc's (including an ancient Pentium 1 tonight 🙁 ) the it's definetly not just osX that makes the difference.
The hardware is generally (in my experience) far far more reliable.
It's generally a masterpiece of design and precision. Look inside a powermac G5 and then look inside a Dell Dimension and a world of difference and production value is clear.
And while aesthetics, may seem a shallow argument for pc or mac, trust me if your sat staring at a computer every day of your life like I am, I'd rather be doing that with somthing that looks right, feels more comfortable and doesnt sound like a cheap plastic vacuum cleaner...
Operating System is the killer though.. Once you have tried, and got used to (it will take you a few weeks) you will never go back to Windows....
There's so many intricacies and differences that make osX better it would make this thread too long to go into if we were to list them all.
Yes PC's have some benefits. More games if your a gamer, generally more choice of software.. Not necesserily better software, but more choice definetly...
However if like me and many others on this forum, find everything you need to ever do on a computer can be done on a mac, then windows soon dissapears into a faded hazy memory....
The hardware is generally (in my experience) far far more reliable.
It's generally a masterpiece of design and precision. Look inside a powermac G5 and then look inside a Dell Dimension and a world of difference and production value is clear.
And while aesthetics, may seem a shallow argument for pc or mac, trust me if your sat staring at a computer every day of your life like I am, I'd rather be doing that with somthing that looks right, feels more comfortable and doesnt sound like a cheap plastic vacuum cleaner...
Operating System is the killer though.. Once you have tried, and got used to (it will take you a few weeks) you will never go back to Windows....
There's so many intricacies and differences that make osX better it would make this thread too long to go into if we were to list them all.
Yes PC's have some benefits. More games if your a gamer, generally more choice of software.. Not necesserily better software, but more choice definetly...
However if like me and many others on this forum, find everything you need to ever do on a computer can be done on a mac, then windows soon dissapears into a faded hazy memory....
OldCorpse said:
I misunderstood universal to mean any computer period. So does that mean that all of Mac's software will be made universally for the new Intel Macs and the PPC Macs? I was under the impression that the owners of the PPC Macs were getting screwed.
Eidorian
macrumors Penryn
http://www.apple.com/universal/knights said:
http://www.apple.com/universal/applications/
Yes, one day there won't be many if not any PowerPC applications. Universal applications will work on both PowerPC/Intel Macs during this transition phase.
yellow
Moderator emeritus
knights said:
I don't believe so.. there's significantly more people using PPC based Macs than x86 based Macs, and this will continue to be true for quite some time.. at least 3 years I'd say. In that time, there will be a transition where many companies and programmers will release universal binaries (and/or binaries for either PPC or x86). Eventually that will stop, but it will be quite a while before that happens.
BakedBeans
macrumors 68040
knights said:
No, no, no. Its not only what makes the iMac special.
A dual processor/ core inside a 1.5 inch enclosure with a 20inch display is what makes it special - being silent is what makes it special, running OSX makes it special - being one of the best computers to be designed is what makes it special
its a fantastic machine
