Another one of those Mac v PC threads: What's wrong with giving up on Mac?

Within the next 6 months, I'm likely going to get a new system. My 2008 MacBook is towards the end of its life and I'm ready for an upgrade.

I'm wondering if I really want to stick with Mac OS. I understand there is a new MacBook upgrade coming out in the Fall. I don't mind picking up an older model, though. I'm not really interested in an iMac, because I want to get a 34" monitor. I am also considering a 2012 mac mini that I can max out - as component age, I can also swap out unlike with an iMac.

Alternatively, I could go to a Windows 10 build. I'd be much more comfortable building my own system here and could build a faster, cheaper system than if I went with Mac. I don't know how stable Windows 10 is and how it performs when editing photos and video.

Any input? I'm leaning towards desktop system. I don't really need to be mobile.

I run Windows 10 at work, but use a Mac for my video editing. My experience with Windows 10 has been largely positive, very stable. There are some privacy concerns (which may also be coming to OSX). I would recommend Windows 10 Pro (as you have more control over updates).

A couple things you may want to look into:

How well does your NLE support 4k+ scaling, or will this even be an issue on a 34" monitor?

Where does ProRes support on Windows stand? I've read that Quicktime is no longer being updated for Windows. Supposedly Premiere CC will support ProRes internally, but you may not be able to export to ProRes. I'm not 100% sure on these things, but if your workflow requires ProRes, you certainly want to verify how that workflow will work in a Windows environment.

I know this is quite late, but honestly go with the PC.

I've had the opportunity to edit on iMacs and didn't see any reason to pay the Apple premium. Perhaps it's an industry standard as Final Cut Pro used to be, but Adobe Premier does everything FCP does but better in my opinion. The new FCP is just iMovie on steroids and honestly a pain to use, especially when it comes to saving and file management. I've had projects go AWOL on me without explanation on the Macs, the tech guy couldn't figure it out either. Unless you're looking at an all-in-one (which is ill-advised), save yourself the money and don't listen to those who have consumed the Apple Kool Aid and just build the PC. You can build a solid machine for less than the price of a Macbook Air.

As for Windows 10, it runs slow on my 5-6 year old Sony Vaio (what doesn't?) but I've had no issues with stability on the old machine or a newer Lenovo Yoga. Cortana is optional, it gives you the option to use it during setup and I chose not to, and that seems to be where the majority of privacy issues pop up. The editing part will come down to what hardware you're running.

Windows 10 is stable, as every version in the NT line has been going back 20+ years. I find the privacy concerns over Win10 to be overhyped. People tell Facebook everything about themselves and everyone they've ever known. Google knows their GPS location 24/7, email, and calendar. But its the end of the world if Microsoft wants to target ads through Cortana/Bing.

Desktop PCs will give you the best bang for the buck since minimizing power consumption and heat output are not the concern they are in mobile systems or all-in-one desktops that use mobile CPUs and GPUs.

If you build, stick to good parts. I like Asus, Gigabyte, eVGA, and Samsung. Windows can only be as stable as the hardware under it.