We wanted to get a fresh opinion on the age old Mac vs. PC debate so we took the task to the great people at Amazon Mechanical Turk. Being web designers, we posed the question specifically with graphic and web design in mind. This is what we asked.
What’s better for web/graphic design, Mac or PC? Why?
Short and sweet right? We got a total of 32 answers to our question before the project expired. Two of those answers were useless. Out of the 30 people, 13 chose PC while the other 17 people recommended a Mac for graphic design.
If you’re interested in why each person preferred one machine over the other, continue reading below. Other than fixing a few spelling errors, these responses were left intact as the author submitted them to us.
People who preferred PC said:
PC is better for graphic design, I’m a graphic designer and know the reasons. PC has a variety of options, specs, quality, prices, and vendors while a Mac has limited options, is much more expensive, repairing a Mac is more expensive and there’s only one vendor. Macs use a subset PC hardware so technically items like the graphics card are the same on both PC and Mac. I’ve used both PC and Mac for graphic design while at the university and there’s not really much difference, I got the work done and did well.
PC. Many more options/ programs available for help, not very familiar with Mac but it was more difficult to use.
PC is better than MAC, because anyone can easily learn about anything in PC but MAC has some difficulty. And also PC is user-friendly.
PC, I have used PC and found most software compatible with it.
PC. You have all the abilities and applications to design websites or graphics just as well as the Mac, without all the pretentiousness.
PCs, they can do everything a Mac can, and are cheaper.
PC, because MACS are
- too expensive
- mostly have the same system stuff installed
Although Mac has a better graphics board, I find a PC easier to work with. It allows me to work with basic programs and commands are easy.
The PC is, in my opinion, better. I believe they’re near equal since the vast majority of software can be run on both, but PC’s are less expensive. Most people I know would choose the Mac as they believe Macs are more for graphic & media work while PC’s are meant for more traditional work. Were I to make a website I would use the Adobe suite and as such could be equally happy on either system.
PC because it is easily accessible.
For web/graphic design the PC is better…because if using advanced techniques and web search, it’s faster and better.
I prefer a PC for its broad availability here (nearly every business I had contact with has one – except some small, expensive web designers and big newspapers) and mostly its initial purchase-price & cheap parts. I have been working nearly exclusively with PCs in the graphic industry (sign-making, magazine-layout, several books and pamphlets, webdesign private & business) for the last 15 years or so. Most data I have to work with still comes from Windows 2000/XP-computers – no sense to change the platform at this point. But I have worked on Macs too for some time (paralell!). I like the “smooth feeling” as they sometimes seem to react “quicker” than PCs (although they don’t) and the overall looks of them.
PC. Because it has a large suite of software which can be used for web design. Most of these programs are not available on MAC.
And here is what people who preferred Macs had to say:
I absolutely love Macs. I’ve had 5, starting in 1990. Macs are user friendly. Macs don’t crash. It’s that simple.
Mac, because of its software and apps.
MAC, because it does not freeze.
Mac, they have better software for artists.
Mac. No viruses. More stability. In fact, Photoshop was conceived for Mac first and then it came out for PC.
I’ve had friends that have degrees in graphic design from Troy University. The computer labs that these people use is full of Macs. These people have produced some good work, so i’m going to lean with Mac.
Mac
- It is used by the leading industries when it comes to animation. (e.g. Pixar, Walt Disney)
- I also see lots of 3d rendering artists using Macs for their work.
- I’m also a Mac user and its better than a PC. Trust me.
Mac. It has a rich ecosystem of designers and software developed for them. From the earliest days Apple was concerned about graphic arts, e.g., shipping the first WYSIWYG word processing with laser printer; the first color stable graphics system, etc.
MAC. More software available, Mac renders images better, faster. Software is much easier to use on MAC
Although PC (Windows) systems have considerably evolved, Mac systems are still better suited for graphical design. Several reasons are: better and friendly interface, stability, better font management, better integration between graphical apps and operating system.
I guess Mac. I heard from a very trustworthy friend of mine that Mac has always had better graphic design programs. Personally, I am not acquainted with Mac but i am planning in the near future to buy one!
Mac is more reliable and I find Dreamweaver easier to use on a Mac than PC, its more smoother, or maybe thats just my computer. I prefer Macs. I’ve seen my friend make really cool web-sites on a web designing software, I forget what its called, but it has many more options then the software I’ve seen on PC’s.
Mac is the best one for Web/Graphic Design, because
- The best pro apps are tailored for it like TextMate, BBEdit, Final Cut Pro, After Affects, Logic, Reason etc. So if you are a serious creative you require it because the apps you like to use were always on it (Windows was only a draw for gaming) and some were only on the Mac platform, made by Apple or Mac lovers.
- Mac color calibration and display is more accurate, and more configurable, so when moving from RGB to CMYK for print, you have a more accurate idea of what you are really getting. Getting “”brand”” colors for a big client exactly right is supremely important.
- Macs are just prettier, more elegant and more productive day in and day out.
- Creating both the hardware and most of the software makes everything very tight. You can drag and drop and pass work amongst most apps with ease. The audio and video output is generally very good.
- No viruses. No constant spyware removal. On the fly defragging. Bottom line OS X is better than Vista will be – only Ubuntu gives OS X a run for the money for general stability, security and ease of use.
A Mac is a much better platform for web and graphic design. As a graphic designer myself using both PC and Mac, it is clear in terms of speed and organization that a Mac is the superior choice. More art programs are quicker and more equipped on Macs, and PC’s are blown out of the water when it comes to acceptance in the community. File management is much simpler on Macs as well. They are the clear choice.
Mac. In my opinion, it runs the major design software platforms more quickly and smoother. Also, their monitors are known for their true color display.
Mac. On comparing Mac has fewer issues during operation and also the color accuracy is great compared to PC.
Mac, because Mac OS X is the tenth major version of Apple’s operating system for Macintosh computers.
What do we think?
We use PC’s here in our office, but have nothing against Macs. Whatever machine helps you get the job done to the best of your abilities is the right machine for you!
PCs are by far and away better than macs. They are more stable, less prone to viruses, cheaper, easier to pirate software and most importantly they have a right-click button. Macs are popular b/c of all the marketing hype they get, and b/c Apple has other cool products like iPhone & iPod. Viva PCs!
Sounds like a Troll. I have been using computers for 20+ years. Traditionally the split has been PC’s were better for Business as they were more widely accepted in the general business world and Macs were better at graphics and design (not including engineering as Autocad and Microstation were PC products) as they were more widely accepted. Since Apple replaced the PowerPC processors with Intel Windows based programs can under certain conditions be run on a mac the playing field is a bit more even but still the split seems to be Graphics / design = Macs and Business / Gaming = PC’s
As much as I love pc I will have to disagree with pc less prone to viruses and also currently macs are more stable because it’s a closed system.
You may have been corrected on this already but macs have had a right-click, middle and side click buttons for a long time, even if it looks like one big button the mouse it is pressure sensitive to the area or side of it you click on, the new mac mouses are so sensitive you can perform tons of touch gestures on it and it’s totally customizable in the computer preferences. Also i’ve never seen a mac with a virus but it’s been a common problem for all pc’s I’ve used and I’ve never had a mac crash (the software will occasionally crash, if you try to do to much, but not the computer itself).
1. Macs are much less prone to viruses (this point is laughable)
2. Macs cost nearly the same as PCs with the same specs, if bought upon the release cycle
3. Speaking from experience, it’s actually easier to pirate software on a Mac. All the crippling DRM schemes out there are designed for Windows. In fact, DRM is a big reason why Apple doesn’t include Blu Ray drives. They don’t want crap software clogging the system.
4. I just right clicked to open this article in a new tab… Apple had an alternate click before Windows did… Nowadays, right clicking can be done anywhere on the multitouch pad by simply clicking with two fingers. DO YOU SERIOUSLY BELIEVE MACS DON’T HAVE A RIGHT-CLICK? HA!
@PC Lover, PC’s are more stable and less prone to viruses? You’re just trying to get an argument going aren’t you?
PC are more stable and less prone to viruses. That’s true. People that believe Macs are virus proof is just plain stupid. Macs are more stable OS wise but most third party programs crash more often than in PCs.
No machine is truly virus proof, but to say Macs are less secure than PCs is just laughable.
They have a solid and secure Unix architecture and 99% of the malware out there is designed to attack Windows.
As far as crashes go, I have maybe 1/10th of the app crashes on my mac than I get from my PC.
Where are you getting this angle?
I grew up with PCs but have been using Macs for the last 10 years or so. I went to art school for photography and dabbled in graphic design for a few years, and I’ve always used Macs for that. I prefer Macs because I feel they’re more user friendly (as compared to the new Windows 7). They’re also a lot prettier and sleek 🙂 It does suck though, that they’re so damn expensive!
I like them both. I’m a PC user though. I used MAC only during my education as a designer. But due to the fact MAC didn’t support a lot of games back then and because it’s 1000 euro’s overpriced I still use a PC.
PC lover I can’t believe you said that
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I personally do not own a Mac, however as an IT Manager, I have deployed a few and provided basic support. My most recent is with parallels (with Windows 7) to ensure solid support of MS Office as the Mac version is awful.
I must say, the Mac’s looks sleek but I still have no seen that it does more than Windows. I do beleive that it may handle graphics better just because it is has less overhead due to the lack of many other funcions that a PC has built-in.
If you want the same performance from a PC, you can get it, but you’ll need to strip out all of the overhead processes and services, which is being done a lot more with MS in these latest OS releases.
I think Mac’s are limited, but the virtualization capabilities of recent (grown away from bootcamp) allows the best of both worlds if you can afford the money.
All in All, if you have to do all of that, just get a PC! Windows 8 is the next generation OS (watch out)!!
Hi, I’m Phirum come from cambodia. now I want to buy new computer for Graphic Design.What should I do?
could you tell me. about RAM,VGA,CPU,….
I am A+ Certified. Even if you don’t spend the money for the A+ certification, look for online A+ cert training. they have sites that give info free. A+ starts you out insultingly basic and builds up giving you what you need to be able to look at CPU, Graphics, Ram. etc. To buy a computer you need to first write down exaactly what you will be doing with it and what a budget is. in other words If extreme gaming is the goal and you only $600 budgeted for your computer then your going to have to adjust your budget for at least $1250 or forget it. but if you have money but only are going to want an internet / writing machine then save the money for software and buy a low cost PC or maybe a $1200 Mac book. Basically first decide what you want to do then look at the options.
I spent 800 on mine, works amazing.
8gb
750gb
i7- quad core processor
intel 4000 hd graphics card
Try dell or hp
oh and just make sure to get an IPS monitor
get an external hard drive
800-1,000 easy peasy
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WOW!u guys got your heads in the clouds MAC PC MAC PC!I’ve been using both for over 15 years,for graphics editting,Compositing and color granding.For one if Mac was so much better then why are they using PC parts?u guys say Mac dosn’t freeze up, however if you do to much
on Mac in on setting it gets heavily fragmated so u have to keep restarting.And when u do that sometimes all hell break lose.Meaning drivers lose their sync and stop some of your software from booting.And as far as virius go,Its
pretty stupid to have the internet on your work computer
anyway.Mac has PC chipsets,PC CPUs.and most of all MAC have intel motherboards to boot!Mac use to be the best but with its 32 bit OS and full SCSI ULTRA WIDE 320/@15,000 rpms STORAGEs,and everything worked on its own bus cards To keep the traffic moving flarlessly.So I did see the problem,Oh yeah I forgot Mac is almost twice the PRICE!
Macs automatically run defragmentation scripts, so I don’t know where you’re getting that from. Just keep your HDD 20% free and let it do its magic.
By PC parts, do you mean Intel? So what? They originally used IBM. Do you mean to suggest that Apple should make its own CPUs? The manufacturing of CPUs, GPUs, and RAM are specialized and should be left to Intel, AMD, and Nvidia, etc. Apple designs the rest of its hardware and puts far more care and thought into integration of all the components with software than PC manufacturers do.
I was a pc user for 25 years , i recently bought a mac and started working on it. I can not say it is better then a pc but 1 thing i do know. My pc has a layer of dust on it now and it is never on anymore. As a webdesigner a mac gives me just the right tools to do my work perfect.the build in webserver is exactly like the production server so testing goes a lot better. It never crashes and if a program crashes you just restart it. I use a macmini and it also safes a lot of electricity. For me the better choise.
I work four different sales jobs. One of my jobs is for a company that makes trade show exhibits. The graphic designer uses a mac. There are other Macs around the office that are hardly ever used..except to look at his graphics. Other than that the Macs collect dust. I’ve asked why? Answer, they aren’t capatible and fellow employees run into problems doing other things.
Saying that windows 7 isnt stable just proves how foolish and hipster the MAC users are, just saying.
Oh, nice paying twice for the same hardware? lol
if quality hardware and components are used on both they are about the same price. the advantage for a pc is on the choice of professional(entry level, mid level and Professional video cards for rendering) they varied from 300 bucks to a 1800 video card for professional. this 1800 video card is the only choice for a mac pro (same price for a pc or a mac version.) the goood and bad thing about mac is they used proven components that also tend to be more expensive givign the mac pro and macs in general almost zero crash and also less viruses. macs are sold expensive and pretty much strip if you really want a workhorse you still have to upgrade the ram, the hard drive and unfortunally you are stuck with the mid range video card. with the pc you have a cheaper entry point because of all the shitty crapy components prone to crash and to viruses and you have the option of spending as little as 300 for a rendering video card or go as expensive as 1800 for the professional quattro pro(same as the one used in mac pro (purchased seperate+ additional cost))
for me windows 7 is good enough, i use it to develop websites , using photoshop, dreamweaver, illustrator.
also i use phpdesigner, rapidphp , which are not available for macs.
in my opinion sublime text 2 > textmate.
i dont know why is a mac better, you might say it runs better because of low overhead, that may be true if you have a pc with very low specs, but if you buy a pc/laptop for the same price you paid for your mac, then that pc/laptop will have for sure double if not tripple the specs of your mac.
macs look nice but i just dont see it that one needs it badly for graphic or web development.
I’ve noticed MOST opinions/comments here are Prejudice and/or Biased, plus it doesn’t matter which is the best, it all depends on your taste, where and what you use it for don’t listen to anyone’s opinion as they all have different preferences and experiences, discover the two products for yourselves and make a final conclusion so that whatever you decide on you won’t regret listening to another man’s words if it’s not what you expect it to be.
Pointless argument. Grow up, everyone and get back to work. If you are any kind of real designer
Best comment on here – pmsl, thanks.
Same old argument and most invalid.. most of the answers in favour of pc are users that have clearly never used a mac! Regarding the pricing issues… yes a mac is more expensive (usually higher spec than an off the line pc, but it doesn’t mention the amount of virus subscription/malware software etc you have to purchase for windows before you can even connect to the net! I’ve taught a few longtime windows users to use a mac and they couldn’t believe how much easier it was to use… they haven’t looked back since!
When you need to be taught to use an OS, that already makes it un-userfriendly. Oh and you need to buy some anti virus software for OSX as well, else it will get a virus.
I have just come across this problem even knowing about it since the early days of PPC. I design small sites for local people, nothing clever, just using GoLive. My iMac 27″ with 10.6.8 standard gamma etc was always checked on an IBM T23 and the ‘colour difference’ not really worried me, thinking the T23 the problem since XP/W7 on Parallels showed no difference (duh! same hardware!) (T23/XP looked, ‘cold,’ blue-tinged) I recently upgraded to a Lenovo E530/W7 and was aghast to see the same problem with all my sites – ‘blue’ washed-out, colours totally wrong. When some of my clients view their site on my iMac they complain it is different to what they see on their machines and want the site changed to show the same on their PC as on my iMac. Has caused problems but some have actually taken the plunge and transferred to Mac, others accepted the facts told them. It’s only when one sees the two platforms, side-by-side that true-colour is observed, and this is subjective. I have given up trying to change my iMac colour profile to appease, what I ‘see’ as incorrect colours.
Looks like I’ve been moderated since my comment has gone to fairyland. Never mind, I fixed the Lenovo to reproduce the iMac color rendering by adjusting the colour profile to minimise the blue content and adjusted gamma. Now I can get my clients to see what I see on the iMac providing they run W7. However, while typing this the Lenovo goes back to the previous profile by itself so have to chat with MS to find out why?
OOPS! Apologies! Comment still here after post!
If you don’t run A/V on your Mac you are a fool.
Don’t think so? What’s your IP? I’ll erase your machine right now.
The only reason there are more viruses for Windows is that they have a 90% market share…
If I’m going to write a program to do something to machines, would I do it to the 8% or the 90% share
And when one does appear for the Macs…they have no basis or stable mechanism to promptly protect against it.
That said, if you do decide to go Mac learn your linux base commands. it will allow you to correct most of their poorly implemented processes
I am sick and tired of people trying to argue that mac’s are better than pc’s.
It’s pointless when they say: “oh, well MACZ have better hardware then PC’s” -> Bullshit. A company like Intel doesn’t make a special, better version of their’s processors just for macs and gives the shit ones to the “PC’s” Anyway, it’s hard to compare a MAC to a PC because when one say’s PC there are tons and tons of companies that use Windows in their machines and there are hundreds of different models of laptops and desktops, while MACZ are only made by Apple. So if you want to compare it in a reasnable way, then you would have to compare it price wise … and here PC’s beat the shit out of Mac’s because of the pricing … and then if you are a graphic designer etc. you can afford to buy all the photoshop stuff etc.
And if one person says: “well, still Macs have a easier navigation and bla bla bla” Then that’s just your own choice of software, and you can run it on every machine if you want to. Basically Mac fanboyz are running out of good solid facts/arguments
Thankfully there are some people out there that know what’s going on and can own a mac fan anytime, like the person above meh :3
i am working on MAC now, it slows me….freezes all the time ( with 8GB RAM) my PC in home is far better (4GB RAM) its like magic..i love it, fast, shortcuts easy to understand, NO COMMAND BUTTON !!!
NO FLOATING APPS, each application has its own window, MAC is not user friendly at all.
the only thing i like in mac is the keyboard, the buttons feels like…..i donno but they r cool 🙂
oh another thing, working with maya 3D in mac…..disaster !!
I have both and find the Mac is a lot better for design work than PC, I use the PC for gaming
PC. fuck mac. end of story.
If you have a PC and you are getting viruses and/or having spyware issues then get a MAC but remember that it is ultimately your own fault that you are having these problems. MAC users are paying for a service with quality hardware and PC users are paying less for the same quality hardware or better without the SAME service. A MAC is definitely worth it for someone who still has an AOL account, uses yahoo, loves to waste money, or owns a DELL. If you read the responses from the article it’s pretty clear that buying a MAC is for those who are not very computer savvy.
I use Mac for Video and Music creation and everything else goes on my PC, I’ve been in the advertising and marketing biz since the drafting board, yes I’m no newbie and Mac at one time was the ultimate machine to produce graphic intensive projects I will agree. That was 10 to 15 yrs ago today you can load entire identical Adobe suites for both Mac and PC you can build a custom clone pc with better guts than any mac it will run faster handle massive files and with WIN 7 64bit and dual 27in viewsonic graphic flats it is very stable the biggest downfall between the two are macs have roughly dozens of harmful viruses that can kill your machine, PC’s have thousands.
On a side note: the real reason Mac has captured more market share is due to clever marketing and humans who can’t turn on a toaster
PCs: Windows 7 is just as good as Lion. The reason why people might prefer Macs because they use to be for people who are less technical and they came with graphic software. Now a days anybody can use a PC and they have better 3D software and they are a lot cheaper. A smart buyer will buy a PC, someone who is just into trends and who wants to look cool would pick a Mac. Simple as that.
BTW I have used a Mac and there is a lot of malware, viruses on the Mac as well. I have never had a virus on a PC
Oh and of course people might prefer a mac after a PC if there PC is like 5 years old with XP on it. Wake up people, WIndows 7 and Windows 8 is better then the Mac’s operating system.
I learnt to use a computer when I was about 5 years old, an old compaq which still had MS-DOS, learned the basic executables to enter games, like wolfenstein 3d 🙂 great memories, when I was in first grade I got a PowerMac G3, started to dabble with the basic graphic program, if I’m not wrong it was the macpainter, in second grade my school got a room full of the band new Imacs, the ones with colored backs, although it was a sleek looking machine I couldn’t see what was so great about it at the time.
A few years later when I was 9 i got a PC, a pretty basic HP, and I started to dabble in the PC gaming world with classics like Command and Conquer, Half Life, Unreal Tournament, Rainbow Six, etc. I was absolutely in love with my PC, I forgot all about my Mac, and started learning the basic maintenance stuff for windows, fastforward to last year and I start with my college studies, majoring in Graphic Design, I have never understood the cult behind Macintosh, they sell overpriced stuff, but people always make their products out as “uncrashable” “super-fast” and I really think the problem is that most consumer oriented PC’s are crap, Windows boots with a much larger strain, and if you add to the mix mediocre components, well no wonder Imacs seem like a marvel, but have you guys ever acttually seen what you are getting when you spend 1200 bucks on the most basic Imac, the 21.5 with 4 gigs of ram, 2.5 i5m, a measly 6750M (the m means that you are getting the mobile version of the processor and graphics card), now if you were to build your own rig with 1200 bucks you could easily put in an i7, a nice 7970 GPU, and not the mobile version, and 16 gigs of ram, whereas if you like the mobile side, which I must accept, the size of a macbook is really a great pro, but are you really designing off a table? working on illustrator or photoshop on your lap? the 15 inch macbook pro starts at 1800 bucks, 4gigs of ram, new i7, nvidia 650m and a 500 5400rpm HDD, WEAK! for 1600 I just got a Sager NP9150, with 16 gigs of ram, the i7 clocking in at 2.7 ghz, 500 gb at 7200rpm hdd and the beast nvidia GTX680m with 3gigs of dedicated ram, and you know what, my laptop botts any adobe software faster than other macs, can handle huge photyoshop documents, do maya renders in about half the time macbooks can thanks to the cuda cores. Yes macs are pretty, but the I like to compare a real powerhouse PC that costs like a MAC, to a SMART car and a Focus, sure the SMART is small, and “cute” but can it run like the focus, no. Just like every Maclover tells PC users to try a Mac, I tell you to try out a real PC, a powerhouse, try it out, and you’ll see what windows is really capable of, and the days of MAC-Os being “faster” or more “reliable” are long gone.
Peace and love, this is of course only my point of view, it is not my intention to hurt anyone’s feelings or insult them.
I Am a PC User Since Windows 95 ! and am working as a motion graphic designer Using a PC and Running all Adobe Products on it , with core i7 cpu and 24 gram, i like my pc, but when i saw how is windows 7 work better on mac op !!!! am planning to convert to mac asap
plus if you want to make sure ask a graphic designers with experience they are all using mac why ? they can use pc !! but they are using MAC
But PC just better because it easy to upgrade the parts like cpu, ram and graphics cards when it comes to those demanding software. I know Mac is good for design because of the screen wont washed out the color. But PC has a lot of different monitor you able to be free to choose. I had PC (just budget gaming pc) and Mac(Imac 2011 2.7ghz 6770M Radeon HD and 8GB ram) So overall they just good to go but especially gaming. Mac and PC are different platform of operation systems and different formats which cant be writable or readable so you just need to install software for mac to enable for NTFS . For laptop, you need to know more details of specification before you buy. Peace. Cheers.
I have used PCs since the mid 90s and have had little difficulty with them. Just recently I got a notebook with Windows 7 and was not at all impressed with the speed. My Desktop running XP was better – but that could be me being used to XP. Anyway – the lure of the iMac was too much. I got a windfall (PPI) and decided to jump into the MAC world… …Hey presto, wtf, why didn’t I do this earlier? With Paralells I run Windows alongside MAC and love being at my computer.
I work in eLearning design and hate being at work using my PC. I cam here to get hints and tips to convince the management to buy me a MAC for work… …if I don’t get one I may have to work from home as often as possible.
Windows on a MAC is the answer – great hardware running every software you need efficiently.
Now – put the kettle on…
I grew up on a PC, but once I started designing I switched to MAC. The usability, reliability are unmatched, workflow (file management/finder/shortcuts) on a MAC is much faster and the display is beautiful. The downside of MAC is obviously the price.
definitely PC. All you have to do is finding the right display, there are a lot of IPS displays out there, i own Dell Ultrasharp 24 incher (same LG IPS used by Apple Cinema Display) + quad core amd + 8gig of ram. all i wan to say is you will get a compatibilty with PC, no limitations like mac. you all heard mac will give a WYSIWYG, that is WRONG, you still need to calibrate your display to printer. PC often crash? nope, my Win7 64bit is very stable and my media rendering (AMD APP) performance is fast, also works with Adobe applications (photoshop, illustrator, etc) are good as on Mac. also if one of your app crashed it won’t freeze the entire system like mac.
Both have their pro’s and con’s, it’s up to what you work better with, but have to comment on a few unfair comments:
* Viruses : Don’t blame the platform for your bad browsing habits (that’s where you get infected). You should *always* have good anti-virus software.
* Price : Mac’s are expensive and hard (near impossible) to upgrade. (2 con’s that is)
* Freezing: So your last PC had Windows 98? I never saw a freeze (and I spend 14 hours a day behind my machines as programmer) since Windows 7.
IMO, if you don’t care about the cost, go get a Mac and buy a new one every year or two to keep up with technology.
But there’s nothing, nothing, nothing you cannot do on a PC you can do on a Mac. Opposite is true though (wife need borrow my Windows Laptop all the time)
I choose the PC because its easy for me to build one together knowing a little about the hardware I’m going to purchase. I’m afraid I am slightly disponted toward macs. Its cheaper for me at least to build one.
I mostly use my pc for web browsing music and video.
I find the only successful computers for PCs are the one whose owners are super geeks AND build there own. They may build there own but it seems they spend 75% of there time rebuilding. Those guys I do not include in whether a PC or Mac is better. Macs are more expensive? Yes they are! BUT and a big but, I had two 7 year old iMacs that worked flawlessly on everything especially the Adobe Suite. One machine I just put to “sleep” a month ago because the original hard drive was way too fragmented to correct. To me it’s cheaper to get a new iMac which are much cheaper these days and a big bang for your bucks. I can’t tell how many PC owners replaced there machines almost yearly in some cases. Mac is still the King of graphic software and is so reliable esp. for big print jobs where it still seems the PCs are font and colour unreliable. I’ve been in large graphic businesses for over 25 years and Macs still dominate that market.
By the way my super PC geek friend who builds high end machines had to replace parts of his machine, it was attacked by a virus.
The fact that there is no spell checking option on Mac is +1 for PC.
A virus attacked parts of his machine?
FYI: My PC is a 2006 model. Running ALL of the latest Adobe stuff with ease, with hardware that is completely obsolete. And right now, if the HDD went, I’d replace it. And I paid 200 dollars for this PC four years ago, when it was already obsolete, and it has been up for about three weeks straight, after a fresh OS install.
And it has both a delete key and a backspace key and can play a DVD that’s been taped back together.
Fact – Idiot protection is NOT protection. Relying on the lack of a “crackers” knowledge to protect you also makes you an idiot. That also means “crackers” don’t “largely” target the Mac due to low numbers of people using them. The “cracker” have a terrorist mentality. Do the most harm with the least effort. That means more PC users vice the lower number Mac users.
So as the Mac user rests on their complacency and is oblivious to the impending onslaught, the PC is on the forefront of defense.
Fact – Mac had their first virus the end of ’08 & trojan about the beginning of ’09.
Concede – Most programs for graphic design STARTED on the Apple now Mac. But comparable or better products are now possible with on a PC
As for tech specs, with the software aside, Mac is just more expensive. I did D.O.D. I.T. subcontracting for three years & had to do migrations from PC-PC, PC-Mac(Intel), PC-Mac, Mac-Mac(Intel), & vice versa. More people were going to PC for preferences of ease of Op, the contractor was at the whim of the user because it was what they preferred. So if the client wanted the more expensive Mac they had to get it, but that was NOT the case. As it was a D.O.D. contract I can NOT say who the client was, but they are a U.S. Gov’t entity & a major user of computing power, using rendering & modeling.
Charles R. Williamson Jr.
For having a name that appears to be Anglo-Saxon you don’t demonstrate a great deal of proficiency with the English language. At least no enough for me to really get the implications of what you are saying. The generalities, yes.
I use both for design work and recently switched from a Mac pro to a Dell precision workstation.. even tho the dell (win 7 ultimate) is faster at rendering. the overall system responsiveness feels slower.. copying and pasting.. and switching between app feels slower..I also find the dell more glitchy.. the mac felt more stable.. more predictable..but other then that.. there is no difference.. both handle font,colour and files similarly..
As a designer, I use both Macs and PCs and have done so for many years. Through personal experience, I don’t really mind as long as it gets the job done, but nothing ticks me off more than people who say “Oh I buy a mac because it is better for graphic design!” or something along the lines of that simply because they want to have iThis and iThat just to fit in.
It is particularly saddening seeing my peers spend $3000 upwards on a sub-par Air and then slave away at some low-paying job day in and day out (currently doing studies at uni) to try fuel their ridiculous cult purchases and end up scrimping heavily on their marks and having to repeat units – so how much of an advantage did that Mac get them in the end? Sure as hell didn’t make them any better designers! (PS: I’m not talking about the people who just have one or so Apple items – I’m referring to the people who refuse to buy anything that doesn’t have “Apple” and a ridiculous price tag slapped on it just because the next skinny-jeans wearing hipster has one thanks to mummy and daddy.)
Fact through experience: PCs are a lot stronger, a lot smoother and a hell of a lot more powerful than Macs are. They have gaming capabilities, design capabilities and business capabilities, making them the all-rounded choice. They are more affordable and more customisable. Good luck trying to overclock or modify your Mac, or do ANYTHING to it without having to wait years in line at the Apple store to get one of their “Geniuses” to have a look at it. My current PC can do any task in literally at 10 times the speed of an expensive and “high quality” Mac.
No need to say that “Macs are better for design because of their programs”. No. Adobe installs on Windows too. Any app you can download to help additionally that isn’t in the suite, I can acquire something better for a PC at half the price.
All of the people who say “oh this person’s cousin’s friend’s daughter’s friend made this lovely design and she used a Mac, so Macs must be better” – are you serious? A good designer will be a good designer regardless. I’m sure a good designer can make works just on paper that outshine the works of Mac users that have spent thousands of dollars just for the label of having a Mac and wanting to fit in with the design culture and what is “in”. Having a Mac doesn’t make you a better designer – it is your drive to learn and succeed that does.
Apple is a cult. Mac advocates, just consider WHY you’re buying Macs above PCs and whether it is technologically and financially wiser to do so. I have a blast asking people why they spent their student loans on an Air and getting them to try and name the specs, reasons as to why it is better than a PC for design, etc. Eventually, in defeat, they end up saying that they bought it just because it is a Mac – nothing else. The looks on their faces are priceless – the look that says “I’m a sheep and it only just hit me. I have nothing to say in defense.”
Anyone who buys an Air for design or actual work of any sort, is not playing with the all the cards in the toolshed.
For graphics PC. Cant get a decent 3D program on a mac. thinking Photoshop is all you need will leave you in the dust in a fast paced world. and the ever existing mac argument “i dont use it[insert: NFC, FLASH, ETC] anyway” is akind stiking to fingers in your ears closing your eyes ang going: “lalalalalalala!”
A few years ago we bought a windows pc laptop. Took it back to the store a week later to have the drive repaired. Then it got a virus and slowed down to a crawl. I finally sold it off to a relative who has a little kid that wanted to play games for 300. The laptop was originally 700. We went out and bought a couple of MacBook pros and never looked back. Just my personal experience. I do design and I now own several Apple products. They work as a team. Probably because they are all by the same manufacturer. So stable. We are very happy now. Writing this from an iPad, with an app in the background that lets me work on my MacBook too. And all of it can be seen on my plasma tv hooked up to Apple TV. I think the way our lives changed once we started getting everything from the same company is what sealed the deal. That’s next level thinking. I’m no geek, but I sure feel like one when I can get so much out of these products. I think that’s the inherent value in Apple. Hardware + OS + Lifestyle.
Fuck macs… and Fuck PCs…….. Linux Baby!!!!
Linux…really. I’ve never seen a Linux machine boot more than eight times in a row successfully. I guess that’s what all the fuss is about with Linux. It’s an OS that really is for people who want to tinker ALL damn day.
Windows or Mac …
Putting the back and forth aside – the hardware is close to the same , with mac your paying for a hardware configuration that is coded into the OS. This ensures that it should run smoother and that there “should” be less downtime for professionals where time is money. The selling point of Mac is that it’s a prebuilt workstation that doesn’t require technical knowledge to operate this is also beneficial because the Apple corporation offers professional warranties and large purchase discounts.. With the proper knowledge an average consumer can build a PC for allot less than you would pay for a mac. Certain high end programs also are not available on a pc. That being said with a proper monitor ( IPS) and hardware ( such as i7 , i5 , amd FX , and xeon) ( Fire or Quardro Gpu OR a higher end card will work just fine.) and like magic you have a pc that is as fast or faster than a Mac for allot less. To be honest most the programs work the same albeit a couple different shortcut keys in fact if you learn on one you can “port” that knowledge onto the other. Neither is a bad choice just choose what fits your needs for where you work. OR just bite the bullet and learn both ( it’s not that hard).
If you have questions or would like to discuss this further contact me at steven.krupski@live.com and I will gladly help you either build a pc or debate with you.
A powerful PC can be built for $500 less than a Mac and when you purchase a Mac, half that money is going towards the brand.
Seriously, one of the Mac excuses was their apps? Seriously? Apps? PC has more Apps and software than a Mac. Also, they are not at all user friendly and they freeze all the flipping time especially if you use programs like photoshop. All platforms freeze its common for all. At least when a PC freezes they give you an error and options on how to fix it. The only thing Mac does is give a circular rainbow until your CPU hits 100c and then shuts down.
Macs use up more ram than Windows or Linux.
I base this all on my experiences with both platforms and there are Mac viruses. I am a designer and I like PC and Mac everything has its ups and downs, but if you want to save money and have more bang for your buck get a PC.
There are some rational reasons for the mac, but most of them are completely irrelevant. Why does it even matter that Photoshop first was released for mac? Or that it was leaning more towards graphics in the early days? The colors of the monitor of a mac are good. Wow. It’s not that there are hundreds of monitors to choose from when using a pc.
I don’t want to be subjective, but most of the points which reason for the mac are meaningless. Please bring arguments!
Well, you’re all a bunch of morons.
Does that get an argument going? But it’s true. Look at how you all dribble over this or that being better.
What matters is what works for you. And I mean, REALLY works. Not what you’ve heard is better or more well made, or whatever horse crap Apple likes to spout about.
I started out using PC’s, and always felt that Macs just looked cooler. And in some ways they do. So, I bought one of them. It sucked for the most part. At the time, I could really find no way of getting the Mac to do EVERYTHING that I wanted it to. Which is to say a LOT of different stuff.
But mostly, what really bothered me was that in order to do actual writing work, I had to buy software. And that software was expensive. Then come to find out that it also actually sucked…it just didn’t have the features that Windows freeware(s) had. So, luckily I was able to sell that junk (the software) and eventually I was able to sell the Mac, and lost money on it (of course).
So, the years pass and I realize that I have a penchant for photography. I get a job helping a wedding photographer. Turns out she used to be a fashion photographer in NYC, Paris, Madrid, London and she connects me with people and teaches me the business, etc. She also says “Get a Mac.”
So, I follow that trail for a few years and start making my way and gaining some distinction. And lo and behold I get a few serious jobs. And all along I’m having minor problems with the mac, but I’m coping.
Well, it’s slow. It’s just damn slow…even though everyone told me it would be faster than a PC. It crashes VERY often, even though (as you know) it’s not supposed to crash (and I’m talking, it crashes ALL the time – like 10 times on one photo). I troubleshoot it, I call Apple, I call friends. And I cope. But I’m getting older by a factor of 5 years for every actual earth year, with this freaking Mac. So, one day…biggest job I had gotten to date…I just lose it. The thing cannot stay up. I’m literally spending 5 hours on one photo that should take about 15 minutes to half an hour. I’ve got a deadline and I’m not going to make it…next morning. So, I go to friends’ borrow cash and get enough for a cheap piece of crap PC at BestBuy. Literally $400. I don’t have time to remove all the bloatware, so I install all the apps I need to get my pics done. Within three hours I’m done with everything….not one crash. Not one anything except all photos done and emailed to my client. That night I actually slept like a baby for the first time in about 8 months. And I slept the night after that too.
Do I hate Macs? I do, in a way. I wonder about them now. Do they still crash and go slow? Because having used every Windows OS since 3.1, I can say that the only crashes that I recall were apps locking up that didn’t make me have to reboot the entire system (except with Windows ME…which was so Mac like that it had to be the work of the devil). With the macs it was every app crash was a system crash, and they were so often that I could do nothing for most of my day. With Win, I don’t have crashes or freezes. I just don’t and haven’t. And what that means, for apple users who think that everything must crash, is not ONCE. NEVER. Not like a relative never, I mean an actual real NEVER.
Another thing is, if I ever actually had time to watch a DVD on the mac, it would also crash the system. The most pristine DVD can crash a mac…whereas I’ve used DVD’s that looked like they’d been used as shields in the crusades and they’ve played flawlessly.
Firewalls suck on Mac. They are not as configurable as they should be. So, I always have to update things I don’t want to update.
Emailing would crash the macs.
Word processing would crash the Macs.
The only thing that I really liked on the Mac and really hate on PC’s is the file open/save dialogs in Adobe applications. The dialogs in Mac for those apps are better. I’m envious of that. I’ve also seen a few other things in those apps that is better on Mac, but I can still do ANYTHING on windows that I could on a Mac….and I never crash. I just installed Windows 8.1 update 1, five weeks ago and have had NO downtime, except for an instance where some funky font loaded freakishly slowly and I decided to force quit the font manager…I mean, whatever the term for that is on windows, since I don’t use it enough to know.
So, now it’s been since 2004 that I have actually gotten work done with no headaches cause by computers. I really do WISH that Macs were better. But I don’t think they are, based on my experiences.
Hilariously, people (all people) seem to hate when I tell them this stuff. I have people who are amazed when they see that I don’t use a Mac, and they REFUSE to believe that my experience really could have been that bad with them. Even PC users speak ill of me after that. I guess they want to believe in la-la-land too.
Anyway, Macs also scared off a boyfriend when we were first getting to know each other, because I was so DONE with Macs at the time of buying that crappy PC that I put it in the street and drove back and forth over it ten times. He was a little reluctant to see that as “normal” behavior for a “girl”. But he eventually saw the true me, and now we have a baby and nice life thanks to staying away from Macs.
It’s a defo PC for me as my most used software is 3dsmax and it does exist on a windows platform only )