Mac or PC opinion

October 19th, 2014
I have a older PC which I'm running Lightroom. This tends to be over stressing my current computer. I also see it is not as clear and color is different than my new work lap top. Before I buy Photo Shop, what are your opinions when it comes to Lap Tops for processing photos?

I've been told from someone that the colors they see on Mac are more accurate compared to when they print off some of their prints, Could this also be true for newer PC?. I really do not know anything about Mac, because i use PC for work.

If I buy another PC, what options with screen do you recommend and other?

Pro's/Cons of PC versus Mac.
October 19th, 2014
I'd be interested in responses to as in similar situation.
October 19th, 2014
I'll keep it simple: PC.
With a Mac, you're paying mostly for the brand. You can get a PC with the same specs for a fraction of the price. I've always been partial to Dell computers. You can customize the processor, graphics card, harddrive, etc. all for a very reasonable price.

As for the colours being true-to-life, you can tweak that either on the monitor, or in control panel. I don't have any specific recommendations on that. (I'm also slightly colour vision deficient so my opinion would not be the best here. :P)
October 19th, 2014
I get what @remirixjones is saying... Most PC users say the same... Then there are the "once you go mac you never go back" folks...

I'm in the latter camp... After constant battles w various pc's plus completely hating windows 8 which was all that was available when my last pc curled up its ties and shuffled off this mortal coil, I bought a MacBook and I love it...

At the time I was choosing, many photogs were swearing by Mac... Not sure what they'd say today... But so far the only thing I'm regretting is not buying the highest grade for memory... I have external storage tho...
October 19th, 2014
Pay for what you get......get a Mac.
October 19th, 2014
I'll say up front I'm a Mac person, but if you're happy with the PC then I recommend getting what you're used to. In either case (Mac or PC) you can calibrate the monitor to get better photo results. I use ColorMunki to do that.
October 19th, 2014
Personally, I'd never buy another Windows computer again.
October 19th, 2014
You realize of course that this is right up there w the canon vs Nikon debate, right? ;)
October 19th, 2014
I have a Mac and my husband has stuck with PC....I find the Mac way easier to get around on BUT sometimes it's better to stick with what you know. If you have an older Windows version, than learning W-8 will be just as much a learning curve as learning a Mac, or more (to me). But as others have said, you can get good quality PCs and you can calibrate the monitor (so I've heard but never attempted).
October 19th, 2014
Mac all the way for me. Mind you it is a bit expensive but once you start using them they are very good. They are very good for viewing and editing photos.
October 19th, 2014
http://www.slrlounge.com/mac-vs-pc-photographers-perspective/

I googled out of curiosity... There are lots of hits on pc vs Mac from photographers perspective... The above blog kind of reflects what's being said here... :)
October 19th, 2014
I have had a Mac now for 5 years. Not one moment of trouble, only needing extra memory. Pure joy to use, I would never return to a PC. You can book a session in the Apple store to discuss your needs. No obligation to purchase.
October 19th, 2014
Ive been a Mac user for longer for more than 30 years and I can't imagine using anything else. And not just for processing photos. Mac has been user friendly since its inception. You won't have a problem learning to use it -- it's intuitive. If you buy one, I suggest getting it at a Mac store -- the staff is friendly and helpful and will be happy to answer questions.
October 19th, 2014
As an Information Technology contractor for business and hospitals, I had used PC until last year. When the retina display was introduced by Apple, I picked up a Macbook Pro and I haven't looked back since. I get way better performance than my other Windows-based laptops when processing (and they are not shabby Windows laptops I have either...trust me). I've since completely transitioned to Mac for everything and I'll never buy another Windows PC or laptop (or phone...which I have used one for more than a year and grew to hate). Plus, everything on the Mac "just works". I constantly had to be on guard for not only malware (viruses, worms, etc) but also even for updates...from Microsoft themselves! Several times I installed OS updates from Microsoft which made my PC or laptop inoperable. Again, I'm a 25yr information technology geek so I would have liked to think I would be able to keep my own equipment running, nevertheless I had issues. Conversely my Mac has never so much as hiccuped. I love it. I would look very hard at Mac with retina display. You'll love it for post-processing.
October 19th, 2014
I would not invest in a new PC right now with its Windows 8, a real faux pas by Microsoft for desktop users, although it is a great interface for "touch" mobile devices. Wait for Windows 10 to appear and let it soak for a while. If you want a PC.

Equivalent priced Macs and PCs will give you equivalent display (and performance) characteristics for photography (Photoshop/Lightroom). You can't expect the same quality and performance from a $399 PC and, let's say a $1,500 Mac Book. Look at the top of the line MacBook Pro and, for instance, the Dell XPS 15 laptop. Both about $2,400. Either way, or with smaller machines too, you'll (probably) want a large IPS high resolution monitor as well. If you go for an external monitor, don't skimp on price or you will be disappointed. $500 is about the minimum price for adequate "extra" quality over the native display.

If you do a lot of Photoshop editing, either way, Mac or PC, ideally look for 16GB RAM and an SSD internal drive (especially important for a large fast cache where application and operating system access won't clash with cache performance), and an i7 processor. And a dedicated NVidia (or equivalent), not Intel, graphics processor. You will hum right along and (probably) never crash Photoshop no matter how hard you push it.

If you are a more casual user, especially if you won't go beyond Lightroom, you can get away with less, but look for at least 8GB RAM, i5 processor and ideally an SSD drive or a fast SATA drive with a 32GB SSD cache. Intel "built in" graphics support (most Mac Books for example) should be OK.

If you are worried about color accuracy, a hardware display calibration package (colorimeter and specialized software) is really nice to have, but you can get away with a lot less if you are not a demanding professional. See this link for a good overview of the issue. http://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-Your-Monitor.

As @northy says above, PC versus Mac is a religious dogma discussion, like Canon versus Nikon. Nothing more or less, just remember, it's exactly that. Equivalent price = equivalent function. You get what you pay for either way, as always.

Best of luck.

October 19th, 2014
My hubby spec'd and bought me a Windows desktop for Christmas last year which out specs many Mac's .......and a huge amount less £££s I love it to bits.
October 19th, 2014
If you are not technically challenged, you could always build a hackintosh for less than the cost of a Mac.
http://www.hackintosh.com/

October 19th, 2014
@frankhymus @northy That is a good comment about comparing spec to spec and Windows 8. Things to consider.

@pixiemac what did you buy?

I am only casual user. Definately not a professional photographer and don't sell any yet. But my current lap top gives me the "high cpu usage" warnings. Hence i have to keep it plugged in or it drains pretty quick.
October 19th, 2014
@fivefingerofdeath I've worked in the graphics industry for over 30 years, on both Macs and PCs. At one time the Mac would have been the preferred option for colour and clarity, but that is not the case now. With Macs you are paying a huge premium for the brand name. Get the highest spec PC you can afford. The equivalent Mac will cost far more, and will be no better, and don't let some Mac user tell you any different. Many Mac users rarely use PCs so they don't know what they are talkng about. I still use both Macs and PCs every day of my working life. I like them both - but wouldn't pay a huge premium for something that just looks trendier on my desk
October 19th, 2014
@fivefingerofdeath These are the components Windows 8, i7chip, a nvidia geforce GT640 graphics card, Samsung SSD 840 EVO 128GB (which is so fast!) I didn't need a large hard drive as I store all my photos on a NAS drive, so that Ican access my photos from my laptop too........oh and I have a Samsung TV as my monitor.

I've probably missed loads of important stuff out, but it was built to a spec hubby, son and son in law concocted!! They won't let me have a mac.......if I want to use them as my support guys. Interestingly my son has become a PC convert from a MAC world.


October 19th, 2014
@pistonbroke out of morbid curiosity, is there any PC option that does not involve windows8? that was the absolute tipping point for me when i made my decision a year and a half ago...

October 19th, 2014
So if we are talking used lap tops, PC/Mac, what should we look for?
October 19th, 2014
@northy Well yes, there are various UNIX variants, most notably Linux in a number of variants. Open source base, customized for various platforms, PC hardware the major one. Ubuntu is one well known variant, it too "open source." But none of our major apps for photos run on it. There are lesser variants of all sorts of apps, probably some photog ones, but I don't follow it closely. Practically for home users of PCs, there is no alternative but windows and Microsoft.
October 19th, 2014
@pistonbroke Macs are "premium" hardware platforms by their very nature. "Equivalent premium" PC platforms cost about the same. The Dell XPS 15 line and Mac Book Pro retail for about the same, at least in the US.
October 20th, 2014
I've portioned my laptop so it can dual boot with either linux (Ubuntu) and windows. Linux blows the socks of windows. it's fast, feature rich and free. I am seriously thinking of wiping windows off my laptop and dedicating it to linux / ubuntu.

The one thing with linux is that some manufacturers of external hardware (printers / NAS storage drivers / scanners) don't bundle linux software with them, so you may need to do a bit of geeky tweaking stuff if your devices don't plug and play

There are loads of open source photo editing options avaialable on the linux platform ..... darktable (lightroom equivalent), GIMP (Photoshop equivalent) and loads of RAW editing software.

Just my thoughts for you

@fivefingerofdeath @frankhymus
October 20th, 2014
@phil_howcroft For the average computer user, such platforms are non-starters surely? And to call GIMP a Photoshop equivalent is really pushing it. A Photoshop knockoff perhaps, in the same way that something like Meike flashes are Canon/Nikon knockoffs. But there really are huge gaps in function, and where do you go for support?
October 20th, 2014
@frankhymus frank GIMP is feature rich and meets my needs. As for support, lots of online resources and forums. You can guarantee someone will answer any queries on forums etc. This is open source...free...no costs to the user...and as for a photoshop knockoff, many bits of functionality appear in GIMP before they appeared in Photoshop. Knockoff it certainly is not. Have a nice day my friend :-)
October 20th, 2014
@remirixjones Haha. Funny story.
It's not because I use a Mac that I'm saying this. It's because I can't get used to the PC which I also have to use professionally. Sometimes anyway.

PC's are good. Nothing wrong with them. Cheaper too. But switching to a PC seems a lot harder than the other way around.

Customizing for a reasonable price sounds good but makes your system a lot less robust. And you really need to know what you're doing.

Still a lot more malware and viruses in the PC world too.

Perhaps the choice also depends on the software you wanna run. Is there a Mac version available for the software you're running now? Switching to another platform mostly results in a lot of new software.
October 20th, 2014
@phil_howcroft @frankhymus I tried to use GIMP once - an experience I liken to trying to swim in cold custard. Possibly the least user friendly piece of software I've ever had the misfortune of trying to use.

As for Mac vs. PC… In the end, that's all down to personal choice. But from my point-of-view, I find Apple software much easier to use; I've never had to 'learn' how to use it, I just *know* how to use it, because it works exactly the way I would expect it to - whoever's designing these programs thinks in exactly the same way I do, everything is where I would put it if I were designing it myself. What I'm trying to say is that my Mac just 'gets me' in a way PCs don't. That's worth the extra money.
October 22nd, 2014
@mastermek I don't have too many programs, Microsoft Office products, light room, Photoshop, Snap. I'm pretty open to any other programs. I'm pretty simple user
November 27th, 2014
Not to revive my post, i'm reading on macs the best display is Retina, i'm not sure what i should look for on a ASUS? decided i'm going to buy this week.

On PC or Mac, would i need to purchase microsoft word/ppt seperately? any last words on advise.

I am looking at asus and macs, didn't realize there were so many levels.... Help?
November 28th, 2014
@pistonbroke could not agree more. It's not the brand. It's the specs. For what it's worth, I've worked with all kinds of PCs and Macs over the years. The advantage of PCs is not getting locked in to one brand. Operating system will take getting used to in any case (I didn't get Windows 8 but my husband and children have it--while a change, it's not as horrible as some claim). I say buy what you like. Go to the store, try some out there, ask questions, ask some photography experts at the store. I'd avoid the PC v. Mac folks.
November 28th, 2014
@northy You can always use Windows 7! In our house I just kept 7 but everyone else went 8. I struggle some on their computers but not because the OS is faulty but because I had to rethink what I was used to. I'llwait for new version of Windows.
November 28th, 2014
@fivefingerofdeath lots of PCs come loaded with operating system as part of cost, but check. You can order how you want it if it's a PC. Microsoft suite is often purchased separately. But Google can handle all that for you too. Free.
December 8th, 2014
I ended up doing the macbook pro 15" with Retina. 2.2ghz/16Ram/256Hard drive. Right or wrong, i was last one in my family to switch.

Seems to process the images relatively smoothly. However noticed it takes FOREVER to pull up images on my back up Hard drive, where i keep most my pictures.... My 6 year old PC pulls this up 2x's as fast..

What am i missing?
December 9th, 2014
I don't think mentioned how much RAM your PC has. Presumably this is 64-bit Windows 8, so upgrading to 8GB should help.

Is this the original OS or have you upgraded?

As to the colours, the quality of the screen and it's profiling is what makes the difference. You don't say (or I missed it) what your current screen is, but I would look for one with an IPS panel and then set the colour temperature to 6500K. Mostly screens come with the colour temperature set too high as that makes whites look nice and bright.
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