PC or MAC for editing?

jetboy wrote in post #7110650
I'm not assuming that Mac users aren't getting their moneys worth.

So what was your intent when you said:

jetboy wrote in post #7103855
A lot of money for an Apple logo.

jetboy wrote in post #7110650
I'm not assuming that Mac users aren't getting their moneys worth. I'm saying, for what I need a computer for, the price/performance isn't justified for me. I can pay less and do as much. Its like why I bought an XSi body. The 50d doesn't offer anything extra for my photography that justifies the cost. It by far does not mean that 50d owners aren't getting their moneys worth. If it does what they want and were willing to pay for it, then for them its a justifiable purchase. I don't need the additions for the extra money, which is also why I built my PC instead of a company built system with cr*p I don't need, or even want for that matter.

Ah, so you are looking for the lowest common denominator then; the lowest price to MHz rating to get your work done then. You should have said that and perhaps what exactly you do with your computer so the OP may better understand what your opinion was without it appearing prejudicial toward one OS.

I for instance do extremely heavy computing work with video, batch jobs with sometimes thousands of photos, rendering in Adobe After Effects and will play the occasional online game like Warcraft. My Mac Pro fits that bill excellently and I loose absolutely nothing. And all for a cost far lower than a PC.

You should do some number crunching and see what the TCO (total cost of ownership) is. You might be surprised.

It's rather passionate in here today

There is no need to justify your own choice of computer, using Apple or Dell, or HP etc, doesn't make you any more of less of a man (but we all know true men home build )


I think Jetboy is simply trying to point out, and further highlighting, the very large whole in Apples line up between the Mac Pro and the iMac.

Quite simply Apple do not offer a high end consumer level work station.

Remember that this is a photography forum, and so computer discussion should generally be aimed with photo editing in mind.
It has been pretty well established that the greatest photo editing computer would be a Mac Pro, or similar spec PC, but it also very well known that either option is VERY expensive and total and utter overkill. A bit like taking the Ferrari F50 2km down the road to the dairy, nice if you can afford it.

It has also been established that a mid range quadcore from either Intel or AMD, 4GB of ram, a nice mother board like an Asus P5K, a quality modular power supply and a decent case with at least 4 drive bays, can give you about 80% of the performance of a high end Xeon based machine, but for half the price while still offering the same levels of reliably and stability, AND being absolutely perfect for photo editing by the home user and small business.
Currently that level of spec, at any price point, is not possible in an Apple.
You either have to take a huge step up the ladder, or a big step down.


I believe there is also the small point of Apples practice of releasing new products only when they want to. This means the current series of iMacs and Mac Pro's are all running Intel based hardware that is now at least 12 months out of date. To the average consumer, and anyone doing photo work that really isn't a problem and just means you are better guaranteed to get a system that is known to work.
If, however you want the latest and greatest, it means you might have to wait a while yet, as there is no i7 based Mac, and there have a whole new family of graphics card released, non of which will work in a Mac.

Remember non of this is a good, or bad thing, it doesn't make your brand of computer better than anyone else s, and it's doesn't make you any more or less of a man (unless you built your own ).

It simply points some of the differences between Apples and other brands, and in the context of a photography work station, some of those differences are important.

I'm just glad that this is a Canon only forum, if there were Nikon users, I don't think we'd get any discussion done outside of Canon vs Nikon & Mac vs PC debates..

Moppie wrote in post #7111129
I think Jetboy is simply trying to point out, and further highlighting, the very large whole in Apples line up between the Mac Pro and the iMac.

This is certainly true, otherwise I wouldn't have built a hackintosh. I don't dispute anyone who says Macs are expensive, but I do dispute anyone who says they're overpriced. The Dell T5400 vs. Mac Pro is about the perfect example that PCs and Macs built with the same components are about the same price.

denMAR wrote in post #7111294
if there were Nikon users

There are a few around

Tony - Macs are overpriced!

For me at least - a lot goes into what type of user. For whoever said TCO - the TCO of a PC that I own vs. a PC that someone else owns could be vastly different. Mainly because I can build it myself, etc. A lot of people can't so for them to spend the extra may be justified.

I did price out a PC with Mac Pro level components and it was cheaper but that was parts and software only. Purchasing from Dell may be about the same. It was closer than some of their other systems though I think only about a $300 difference which for a workstation at that level is not a huge difference.

I wish they would have an iMac, Mac, and Mac Pro. Give the Mac a quad core desktop processor in a desktop chassis and let the user pick their own monitor to pair with it.

Tony-S wrote in post #7110015
My Mac can run any software your Windows PC can. You cannot run all of the software that I can run.

sure can

Bobster wrote in post #7119696
sure can

Serious question; can you run the latest updates (10.5.6) or would you have to reinstall with the latest "patched" OX 10.5.6 OS image? Would an update 'break' the OS? I've toyed with the idea of running a hackintosh but there are some updates I would need to get full use of Final Cut Studio (Professional Application Update 2008-5 and a few others).

im not a video editor, nor do i crave the latest and greatest OS 10.. so can't tell you..

Please remember I did say, "I'm not assuming that Mac users aren't getting their moneys worth." but, as I'm not a Mac user/owner my opinion is that they ARE overpriced. Mac users may think that the system is worth the money, I don't. Again, not just expensive, overpriced. My system was a cost of around $750 and is used for gaming, dvd ripping, video editing, music rip/listen/editing, internet, and photography. It scored 47 seconds on the photoshop benchmark. I don't really know how to calculate the cost of ownership... but, show me a Mac that matches the performance of the photoshop benchmark. And now show me the price of that system. And then, make sure it can play Call of Duty 4 silky smooth. After all, I think the little Apple logo is cute too. If they could fit this bill, maybe I would use one. As long as I can open it up and upgrade the video card (and not with card that is over a year old).

jetboy wrote in post #7176614
Please remember I did say, "I'm not assuming that Mac users aren't getting their moneys worth." but, as I'm not a Mac user/owner my opinion is that they ARE overpriced. Mac users may think that the system is worth the money, I don't. Again, not just expensive, overpriced. My system was a cost of around $750 and is used for gaming, dvd ripping, video editing, music rip/listen/editing, internet, and photography. It scored 47 seconds on the photoshop benchmark. I don't really know how to calculate the cost of ownership... but, show me a Mac that matches the performance of the photoshop benchmark. And now show me the price of that system. And then, make sure it can play Call of Duty 4 silky smooth. After all, I think the little Apple logo is cute too. If they could fit this bill, maybe I would use one. As long as I can open it up and upgrade the video card (and not with card that is over a year old).

So, are you thinking of switching? If not then what ever I say won't really matter, will it. It sounds like you already made up your mind. It's one thing to talk about abilities another to try to sell ya on a Mac. If you don't already 'want' a Mac then there isn't a reason to go on. If you want cheap and powerful just stay with PC - it sounds like you'll be happy with one.