PCs for media creation

Hello,

I will be buying a new computer soon and the main purpose for it will be for media creation (such as video editing, digital audio editing etc). And what I hear all the time is that Macs are way better for that kind of stuff. And that is one thing that is making me consider getting a mac. But the thing is....nobody ever says why the mac is better. They just say that it is. So could someone please fill me in here. How do Windows 7 machines compare with macs considering their media creation capabilities?
Thanks :)

Depends on what software you are using. The gap between the mac and pc has been closing over time. It's true that the mac was better for media and traditionally the default choice for professional use. I use a PC because of the price advantage, but is it better? No. My PC is still unstable to the point that the relationship between myself and the supplier is in a state of collapse. But I cant use an iMac because of the crappy shiny screen, and the power mac is way too expensive. A correctly speced up PC should run the full CS5 suite no problem, but I'm afraid that isn't the case for me.

From a technical point of view, these days it should make no difference, but if I had the money, I would get a mac.

Froot Joose said:

nobody ever says why the mac is better. They just say that it is.

That's because there is no reason why the Mac is better...it is just what you hear from all the Mac cultists and zealots who think anything Steve Jobs thinks up is far superior. The truth about the debate right now is...price is the main factor. If you compare a PC to a Mac, you'll find the specs can be identical. They use the same internal parts. So that begs the question as to why they cost so much more. The answer is, because non-tech savvy people will pay it, because they think the Mac is better. It's the same damn computer!

That being said, the software you plan to use will be the difference...or in this case, the same. For example, Adobe CS5 will cost the same, run the same, and produce the same results on both platforms. Your total cost will be more on the Mac side. The PC also benefits from having a larger selection of other software, games, upgrade options etc.

As a final example, of what I mean by upgrade options, consider this. My graphic designers Mac Pro had a dead video card. I had to pay $250 for a Mac version of an ATI 2600 Pro that would have cost me $35 for the PC version. The hardware of the card is the same, but because the firmware was flashed to be "Mac Compatible", it cost more. Had it been a PC tower, I could have chosen from hundreds of cards for less money, including many many cards that performed better than a 2600 Pro.

All in all, there's very little reason left to consider a Mac, unless you are buying to be "trendy". The Mac OSX is no longer more secure, and anytime you bring up a past "advantage" a Mac had...it can be easily debunked and refuted.

johndh said:

It's true that the mac was better for media and traditionally the default choice for professional use.

And traditionally it still is the choice for professional users.

DeaconFrost said:

Froot Joose said:

nobody ever says why the mac is better. They just say that it is.

All in all, there's very little reason left to consider a Mac, unless you are buying to be "trendy". The Mac OSX is no longer more secure, and anytime you bring up a past "advantage" a Mac had...it can be easily debunked and refuted.

Mac OS X is still more secure than any Windows, because majority of viruses, trojans, etc. are targeted for Windows. And Macs tend to be more stable, because the hardware and software are designed to be compatible from the ground up, unlike on windows where the software and hardware all come from different suppliers/manufacturers.

Froot Joose said:

Hello,

And what I hear all the time is that Macs are way better for that kind of stuff. And that is one thing that is making me consider getting a mac. But the thing is....nobody ever says why the mac is better. They just say that it is. So could someone please fill me in here. How do Windows 7 machines compare with macs considering their media creation capabilities?
Thanks :)

People who say that Mac is better, but don't come up with any explanation why it's better probably aren't the people you'd want to listen when it's comes to buying a computer for media editing, etc.

whs said:

If you spend the kind of money that a Mac costs, you will get a formidable PC that should be far superior.

You'll get a faster computer yes, however you won't get far superior customer support nor hardware/software compatibility. And on a side note, Macs are PCs too, just with a different operating system. So why everyone always automatically assumes a PC is a computer with a Windows OS?

whs said:

Plus, you have a much larger choice of applications (especially free ones) than you will ever find for a Mac.

Yes, Windows has a larger selection of freeware programs than Mac OS X does, because it is a more common operating system. For the same reason there are more viruses for Windows.

I apologize if I'm coming up all apple fanboy(ish), but I wanted to have some differing opinions for this thread, when you ask about Mac on a windows forum what do you expect people will answer?

In the end, it all comes down to how much you can/want to spend.

The reason why macs are better and Iphones are popular is because it is Fashionable