OP is communicating anxiety about switching to different operating system and having to 'get used to it'. My response is mainly about UI. Given an infinite number of scenarios, Mac vs PC argument is forever going. My point being is that the UI is the same. He won't have to learn or adjust to anything new.
There is nothing the 7,1 can do in PP/After Effects that a Workstation PC can't do. There isn't anything in PP that a Workstation PC can do that the 7, 1 can't do. Nothing. With the word 'do' I mean 'get done'. I am sure there are dynamics where one type of computer excels over another. I can't argue to that point. I have yet to hear from a professional colleague that using a 7,1 destroyed a film project or album project. It isn't happening.
OP is thinking too much in my mind. A 'good enough' PC is 'good enough' so long as it can handle his workflow. The 7,1 gives additional options (even if not within some 'performance' perameter in mind) beyond a PC for certain apps use.like Logic and FCPX. To me, he should be happy to be alive in 4 years. He maybe doesn't really know it yet but his entire office production equipment will be changed/upgraded within 4 years. Very little if anything will be left if he truly makes the leap to a production house.
He might find it interesting that todays youtube video made by the Cat Woman finding a lost kitten in Kyoto and filmed on her cell phone with her 200,000 views made more than he will make for a professional commercial using his professional camera and workstation computer. A 7,1 or PC is not the key to his success. His skills and creativity and motivation are key.
This was all that I was trying to the convey and always that I am liking to read your views.
It's not anxiety lol, more of a sadness or "ugh" factor. I'll give you a bit more background. I started out with PCs in college because I couldn't afford a Mac back then. Mid-90s. I would order ASUS motherboards, Pentium chips, GPUs, RAM, and build them myself. I enjoyed that process, and I would run Linux or Solaris x86 on them. Back then the kernel wasn't even 1.0 yet. I was collaborating with other developers who worked on it, I worked on some stuff as well - it was a great time to be in college during this whole time, as in college is where things were happening with Linux and the Internet. I was not a computer science major, but theoretical physics and music double major. Computers was all a hobby. Then the Internet "happened", and I got recruited upon graduation to work in cybersecurity and other aspects of network security for Wall St. firms. They paid well, and they gave a crap load of money to R&D, to implement the latest this and that, etc. So it was a great time, like no other since, as creativity was limitless, because the money was limitless and everything was new. And since I was always a creative person, as well as technical, it was tremendous fun and I got a lot of satisfaction from it - it fulfilled both my creative side as well as my technical. This lasted until about 2005-6, when everyone and their brother came into the field for the salary, too many layers of management to get anything done, etc. So it started not to be fun and creative anymore. I went from working directly with traders, fund managers, and getting things done fast, efficient, and on the bleeding edge, to reporting to some knuckleheads like in the movie Office Space. More meetings about efficiency, but less efficiency
Photography, drawing, and painting were things I was into since I was a kid. Throughout this whole time I was working, I was also shooting stuff for fun - weddings, events, whatever. It kept me sane a bit. Later after the crisis, I decided I had enough and started my own photography business. I wanted to try it - specifically shooting sports, because that was not something I could do as a hobby really. So I started doing that, initially for the athletic departments, and then as I got bored of that, for the marketing departments of colleges where I could be more creative. This was all NCAA stuff. I did that and of course more weddings, events, portraits, whatever basically. Then I wanted to get more into branding and marketing, as I was sort of doing that anyway. And I did - for personal and business/corporate. And people would ask for video. At first I wasn't too interested, as I knew it was totally different (even if the principles are the same in many ways) and I preferred stills. But then once I got into it, I really got into it
And I really liked the entire process - shooting, editing, audio, color correcting and grading. I like doing entire projects from soup to nuts on my own. This was one of the joys I had when working in IT until many more people came in and ruined the fun with 10 layers of this and specializing in this and that to the point I felt less creative, less control, less everything. So for video, this is what I want to do for the near future. I don't want to work in a production house pumping out tons of stuff and specializing in one area. Not for now - things could change later though. Now I'm happy doing what I've been doing, but want to do it better, and need 4-6k workflow, more gear, more computing power, etc. I have 2 documentaries I'm planning to work on starting January or so, so have big goals in mind.
OK, so I went on some tangent there to give some background. But yeah, since Windows 3.0 I've been through all of them. I don't like them, they don't inspire me, in fact the opposite - so again, not anxiety, just a sadness
In 2004 I made the switch to Mac and haven't looked back. Now though, I'm not in the mood anymore like I was 25 years ago to research this and that, build my own PC, etc. I just want tools that work. I don't have time for it, or even the interest anymore really. That's why I said I'm really out of touch with the PC land. But man, it's hard to ignore the speed differential especially with Premiere. Still, I have not decided yet.
I know all about what makes money and what doesn't (Cat Woman example), but I don't care. It's not news to me. I prefer to do my own thing and be good at that. Of course creativity trumps everything, I know this, I've been at this for almost 10 years. I know how to deal with clients (your previous post was funny - the say YES to things), but I have the luxury to not need to do that. Everything can change in 3 years, I realize that. Heck even 1-2 years! And yes, I do overthink things, but I have that luxury now, and it's somewhat fun too (for a bit anyways). One thing I've been good at is keeping gear for along time. I don't like collecting 50 lenses or 10 cameras - I keep things very simple. My cameras are beaten up and 4.5 years old, but that hasn't stopped anything. They are tools. I know computers are the same, but yeah, the thought of going to a PC is a bit nauseating, but due to the sheer speed, a real possibility.
Neither and Mac Pro or the fastest PC are keys to my success. But one can make life easier and happier, while another more miserable. If the speed differential weren't there, the decision would be easier. It's just hard to overlook. Really it is...Anyway, I've rambled on long enough, but maybe was helpful in a way. I can afford to get one of each, but I don't want to do that. I want to keep it as simple as possible. For what I'm doing, I don't need 2 for now. Less tools, more creativity!
