mac vs. pc

[james2]

i have been working on a pc for ever. i was wondering what the benefits of a mac are? is the mac version of photoshop different than that on a pc?

it has been many years since i worked on a mac.

i was under the understanding that as far as graphic programs go, a pc and a mac are similar, true?

sorry for the stupid question, but after being in the pc world for so long, i never had a reason to investigate the mac.

thx

 

[iSign]

You still don't have too many reasons in my opinion, other then the lower incidence of any viris threat, but if you are running a good AV I wouldn't consider that enough cause to switch... there are some PC advantages with software availability.

There are old threads you could search & read much more highly charged opinions for quite some time.

 

[ENTDesign]

There are still many differences between the PC and Mac, but less obvious to the user nowadays. If you already own the software, there is nothing to gain by switching platforms now. However, if you have to buy everything from scratch, you might want to research this more, but it seems to me that the Mac stuff is always more expensive.

I use both PC and Mac for various reasons. In part, I started out in the mid 80s and chose PC due to the type of software I was running then. I got into Mac around 2000 as I need software compatibility with some of my customers, and I was heartily sick of the MS Hegemon.

 

[james2]

just returned from the local MicroCenter :
new Mac Pro:
2 Intel Xeon dual Core Rocessors (2.66 GHZ)
1GB DDR Ram
250GB 7,200RPM SATA Hard Drive
DVD RW Drive
PCI E x 16 Video Card

$2,499.99

Sony Vaio
Intel Pentium D Processor 3.2 GHZ
2GB dual channel DDR2-533 RAM
Dual 200GB 7,200 RPM Hard Drive
25GB rewritable drive
DVD ROM Drive
7600GT Video Card

$2,249.99

I was also told that if I bought the Mac, I could still use the PhotoshopCS2 that I paid for for my PC. I could contact Adobe and
they can give me another code, but I still would need to install
Windows Pro.

 

[djenurm]

The processors that are in the Mac Pro described above are so far better than the Pentium D that there is no comparison. And there are 2 of them!

Dave

 

[james2]

what do you think of this set-up?
yes, it's a Dell.
it is expandable, up to 4 hard drives and multiple processors.
about $2,100.00

Dell Precision 490 Mini-Tower Dual Core Xeon Proc 5130 2.00GHZ 4MB Cache 1333MHZ

2GB DDr2 ECC SDRAM Memory 667 MHz, 2X1GB,
Entry Level, USB No hot key keyboards
17" flat panel
128MB PCle x 16 nVidia, Quadro NVS 285, dual DVI or VGA Graphics Card
250 GB SATA 3.0 Gb/s, 7200 RPM NCQ Hard Drive with 8MB Databurst Cache
C-1 All SATA Hard Drives Non-Raid for 1 to 2 Hard Drives
No Floppy
Windows XP Pro
Mouse
48x32x CDRW and 16XDVD+/-RW with cyber link power DVD, Roxio Creator
No 1394a or Sound Card selected
No Speaker option
Resource CD contains Diagnostics and Drivers
Dell Hardware Warranty plus onsite service, initial year
Next Day Business Parts and Labor on-site response, initial year
Hardware Warranty plus on-site service , extended year
Next Business Day Parts and Labor on-site response, 2 year extended

 

[Derf]

This topic has been beat to death!

I went to MAC 10 years ago because I go tired of getting infected with viruses and spy ware. and or making my PCs fort Knox in order to block them out.

I also go tired of power supplies, mother boards, sound cards going out all the time.

My first 233mhz G3 still works to this day with out ever breaking down
my 5 year old G4 power book has never had a problem.. not one
my 2 year old G5 is still my main work computer.

I do own PC's too and I replace parts in them all the time. and in the last ten years I have been through about 10 PCs.

With out going into some long drawn out nerd, geek fest

of an argument, I would just say that in my experience The MAC just works better and is a well build machine.

 

[james2]

not a mac

point taken.
so, anyway, opinions on THIS system anyone?
it would just be the design computer.

 

[Derf]

point taken.
so, anyway, opinions on THIS system anyone?
it would just be the design computer.

As for this Dell.. Well it's OK but I personally would never buy a Dell. If you going to get a PC then have one custom built by a local computer dealer. You will get better parts and an all around better computer for the some price.

 

[james2]

I've read all th posts about getting a machine built by a a local computer company vs. big box stores, so I don't want to start that argument again.
If this system is just for design use, do you think it will be fast enough, etc?
It is gig per processor as it stands now, so I would like to bump it up.

I looked at the new Mac Pro yesterday, I know it's a better operating system, but the design programs are the same, right? I was wondering how I would be able to use the design programs that were purchased for a pc (if i were to buy a mac).

 

[Derf]

It will be fast enough for light graphic work such as vinyl cutting and small to mid sized raster work.

If you ever plan on doing large vector files with 20-30 layers and linked images such as DS2 or EPS files, or large Raster processing and separations then the computer above will be inadequate.

 

[james2]

what I could change is bumping it up to 4GB and changing the video card to 256mg.

That should help, right?

 

[james2]

oh,
we will be working with huge files all the time.
semi trailer size full color graphics.

 

[Derf]

Huge is a interpreted differently by different people. Trailer sized 72ppi raster files you will probably be OK but your maxing out your recourses.

Huge to me is a 9 color spot process art file with 30-60 layers with 12 linked DS2 files set up to separate at 180LPI.

I would seriously either get the fastest Athlon processor with at least 4gigs of ram and a terabit of storage or Get one of the faster MAC Pro towers with the same RAM and storage.