PC or Mac for photo editing?

[Imagedude]

Since getting an Ipad I rarely use my PC however the PC is getting old now and is approaching retirement age. If I didn't need to manipulate and store photographic images I wouldn't bother to replace it however the Ipad is obviously unsuitable for this so a replacement must be found. The alternatives are a new PC and monitor or a 27" Mac. I'm currently leaning towards the Mac as I've been happy with the OS of the Ipad but I thought I'd best test the water before pulling the trigger. So the question is which system and software would you recommend?

 

[Old Bones]

Lots of designers love Macs. They are not cheap, but as the mac specialists at work point out, they tend to have no problems with multiple desktops, and vast amounts of multiaple tabs on the browser - an Apple rep did this one evening for a demo, and the thing just worked fine when my laptop would have died long before. They are also far less likely to pick up any net nasties, so its debatable if you even anti-virus. The retina display of the 27in screen is lovely. Ios is also very stable.

There must be loads of phto forums where this sort of thing gets discussed. On the other hand, PC's are far cheaper, and there is a lot more software around.

Since I dont own one, I cant say. Best suggestion - go to a proper shop, with people who know what they are about, and try both. Buy once, buy right.

 

[sandbender]

"...and there is a lot more software around..."

It doesn't matter how much software is around, the important thing is that one bit of software you'll be using for photo editing, look through photography forums and see what is recommended there, base your OS choice on that.

It is just a computer, an Apple might be prettier, lighter and not have any naff Intel stickers on it but an Apple won't make you a better better editor of photos. however the collect suite of tools that you understand and are comfortable using just might.

Apple machines can have a longer useable life than PCs, but not always, I had a state of the art MacPro and it and its outrageously expensive 30" monitor suffered from constant problems from new.

With that said I'm writing this on a MacBook Pro that is three years old, happily runs the most recent OS, bumps around building sites in my backpack and is occasionally dropped by my kids. It continues to work fine.

The best reason for not buying a PC would be that you wouldn't end up with Windows 8 which is terrible system to run your digital life with.

 

[Shewie]

Walk into any design studio and you're greeted with a sea of Macs, personally I can't do with them so it'd be Windows everytime for me

 

[SCOMAN]

Simple, Mac for stability and the ability to truly multitask. My MacBook pro I intend to retire soon is 6 years old and still going strong, I no longer have need for its portability and I want a larger screen.

 

[mountainm]

A pc will give you a better computer for the same money as the equivalent Mac. It will offer you choice and the ability to tweak and upgrade.

Macs offer simplicity.

Photoshop runs better on pcs these days.

I work in a games studio and our creatives are split 50 50.
Our programmers all run Linux builds (on PCs) something that isn't really a possibility on a Mac unless you're willing to break warranties.

 

[sandbender]

"...Photoshop runs better on pcs these days..."

Unless anyone wants to disagree with mountainm and Photoshop is the way you want to go, you may have your answer.

The 'simplicity' that mountainm mentions is a good point, as an OS for moving files and folders around and keeping everything organised, easily found and backed up, the Apple does a better job than Windows or the more popular Linux distros (IMHO) which means you can concentrate on the important stuff, in your case, photo editing.

 

[Wayland]

I've always used PCs for my photo editing. I usually build them myself specially for the job and rarely have any problems.

I use an iPad mini for a pocket-able tablet but I get very frustrated at the way you have to work through stupid applications just to get access to your files.

I would never use a Mac if it has the same sort of dumb restrictions.

 

[ged]

Another mention for Linux.

On one single Linux server I'm currently running seventeen copies of Windows (five Windows 7, thirteen XP) and one Mac Mountain Lion. They're all Virtual Machines (VMs) of course.

In addition to running the virtual machines, the server routinely backs up several tens of terabytes of data on other workstations and servers, and occasionally I use it myself for a bit of heavy processing. The other (Windows and Mac) users don't notice.

The server is a dual 2.4GHz Opteron machine which I bought from eBay for about fifty quid (actually I bought three of them). It's ten years old. I had to replace the original crappy Chinese power supply, I treated it to a nice one as it's been such a good machine.

You'd have to work very hard to persuade me to buy proprietary kit after all I've done with VMs on Linux.

 

[cave_dweller]

Our programmers all run Linux builds (on PCs) something that isn't really a possibility on a Mac unless you're willing to break warranties.

Why would you need to run Linux on a Mac? OSX is already a fully POSIX compliant Unix, and you get bash, tcsh shells built in.

 

[mountainm]

Why would you need to run Linux on a Mac? OSX is already a fully POSIX compliant Unix, and you get bash, tcsh shells built in.

Our devs need to run virtual machines with many different builds. 90% of them prefer a pc to a Mac for this.

 

[ged]

Or devs need to run virtual machines with many different builds. 90% of them prefer a pc to a Mac for this.

Seconded. I find driving a Mac is a bit like driving Linux with one arm tied behind your back.

 

[unruly]

I use Linux. Most people use GIMP; terrible name for great free photo editing software.
GIMP is also available for Windows, if that is what you go with.

 

[mountainm]

One of the only reasons our devs use a Mac is for ipad builds. That is because typically in Apple fashion we are forced to. It's that mentality that makes me prefer a pc.

 

[cave_dweller]

I use Linux. Most people use GIMP; terrible name for great free photo editing software.
GIMP is also available for Windows, if that is what you go with.

It's available for Mac too

Just playing devil's advocate here - I use various flavours of Linux, Windows and Macs. It's horses for courses, and what you feel comfortable with. Personally I'm not a fan of The Gimp for photo editing, but many disagree. I use a mix of Lightroom and Aperture, but I know plenty of folks that don't get on with those.

I think the trick is to find some software you get on with, choose an appropriate computer to run it on, then practice with it.

 

[rik_uk3]

I'd say go the PC route, you will get a heck of a machine for your money. There is more software, paid for and free available for PC's and you can run Windows 7. I use W7 on my main PC and W8 on my Surface Pro and don't mind it to be honest, bit of a learning curve but not a hard one.

 

[sandbender]

"...I use an iPad mini for a pocket-able tablet but I get very frustrated at the way you have to work through stupid applications just to get access to your files...I would never use a Mac if it has the same sort of dumb restrictions..."

They don't. I don't like the iPad/iPhone way of doing things either.

"...I use a mix of Lightroom and Aperture..."

Aperture was more of a management system for your photographs, with some editing features, however Apple have pulled the plug on Aperture so all those folks who invested hundreds of pounds in the software and an uncountable number of hours getting to grips with it are now going to look for a replacement and waste many more hours getting to grips with their new choice.

I like the way I can keep on top of all my files and archives in OSX however I'd never use an Apple application to work with those files or waste any time learning how one works. They will pull the plug on all of them eventually.

 

[cranmere]

"It doesn't matter how much software is around, the important thing is that one bit of software you'll be using for photo editing, look through photography forums and see what is recommended there, base your OS choice on that."

This. It used to be the case that Macs were the no-brainer way to go for artwork but that isn't the case any more. From experience in our office Macs are no more reliable than PCs and suffer from the disadvantage that you can't fettle them yourself even if you're inclined to do so. And you pay a premium price for a Mac. On thing there, if you have other Apple devices that could be a good reason to go for a Mac because Apple have done an excellent job of making it easy to coordinate and synchronise them.

I have a strong preference for a PC partly because I have been known to tinker with the hardware. The downside of that at present is Windows 8 which is a disaster on a desktop machine, I recently bought a reconditioned laptop so that I could get W7. I see far too much of W8 for work, I do software testing and QA so I have to be able to drive W8 on mobile devices but the more I use it the more I don't want it on my own machines.

 

[ged]

... I recently bought a reconditioned laptop so that I could get W7. I see far too much of W8 for work...

Good points both. You can't buy Windows 7 over the counter any more. OEM versions are still available to us as resellers but it's like pulling teeth getting hold of a copy, and I don't know how much longer it will be available. I'd guess a few months.

Windows 8 is an abomination, pure and simple.

 

[rik_uk3]

Windows 7 is still readily available from many many different places Ged.