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Imac quad-core vs. PC HELP??!!!

G

gemima

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 15, 2011
3
0
Hi there,

I hope some of you guys out there can help me. I'm a photographer, and I've been using Mac for best part of a decade. I'm currently using a 2006 imac G5, and the screen crashes when I do graphics heavy work, which I've been told cannot be fixed. So, I've scraped together enough money to hopefully buy a imac quad-core i5. I want to run CS5, and other photography related software on it.
The problem is my boyfriend, a long-time PC user, thinks I can get a PC to the same specs and brilliance for half the price, £600, and that there's no advantage going Mac apart from the fact that I'm used to the interface. I've been searching the net, looking for obvious differences, and I can't really find any answers. Now I'm thinking that the reason I don't want to change is the familiarity. Can anyone out there tell me what the pros are to sticking with a Mac, I have no ammunition to convince my boyfriend otherwise!
Thanking you in advance for any advice!

gem x
 
gemima said:
Hi there,

I hope some of you guys out there can help me. I'm a photographer, and I've been using Mac for best part of a decade. I'm currently using a 2006 imac G5, and the screen crashes when I do graphics heavy work, which I've been told cannot be fixed. So, I've scraped together enough money to hopefully buy a imac quad-core i5. I want to run CS5, and other photography related software on it.
The problem is my boyfriend, a long-time PC user, thinks I can get a PC to the same specs and brilliance for half the price, £600, and that there's no advantage going Mac apart from the fact that I'm used to the interface. I've been searching the net, looking for obvious differences, and I can't really find any answers. Now I'm thinking that the reason I don't want to change is the familiarity. Can anyone out there tell me what the pros are to sticking with a Mac, I have no ammunition to convince my boyfriend otherwise!
Thanking you in advance for any advice!

gem x
Click to expand...

1 Round of Ammunition coming up:

(1) The Mac has much better integrated support for image files in the OS, even with Windows 7 Windows handling of images, fonts etc are much much worse than on the Mac (this is due to Windows having an inferior graphics engine)
(2) Aperture 3 doesnt work on the PC (This ones a good one as he cant argue with that, even if you dont use it its good ammunition - especially as the price has come down)
(2a) - neither does iPhoto, and its a heck of a lot better than anything on the PC (He can say what he wants, but everyone on here will point out hes wrong).
(3) The Mac isnt going to crash due to a driver issue and wipe out all your data (Ive had this happen on PCs.. never on a Mac)
(4) CS5 runs a heck of a lot better on the Mac than on the PC
(5) The OS is based on UNIX, so is a lot more stable, powerful and expandable than Windows
 
Thanks guys...
Do you know anything about running OSX on a PC? does this alter the performance at all?
 
gemima said:
Thanks guys...
Do you know anything about running OSX on a PC? does this alter the performance at all?
Click to expand...

You can create a hackintosh but it's a pain and not everything works. Take a look at the apple refurb store if cost is an issue but most importantly, get what YOU want. It's your purchase and if you've waited almost 5 years to upgrade you don't waste money. It's ok to elicit other opinions but at the end of the day it's your choice.

Cheers,
 
gemima said:
Thanks guys...
Do you know anything about running OSX on a PC? does this alter the performance at all?
Click to expand...

This is what they call a Hackintosh. I thought about doing this with my old quad PC. But after looking over what's involved I figured it wasn't worth the effort. If you want osx it's better to just getthe real thing. IMO.
 
skiltrip said:
This is what they call a Hackintosh. I thought about doing this with my old quad PC. But after looking over what's involved I figured it wasn't worth the effort. If you want osx it's better to just getthe real thing. IMO.
Click to expand...

Its definitely better - with a real Mac you arent going to update it and suddenly have the entire thing die on you because that release doesnt quite support your hardware - its a big big pain to support a hackintosh if your using it for anything...
 
gemima said:
Thanks guys...
Do you know anything about running OSX on a PC? does this alter the performance at all?
Click to expand...

As the other posters have mentioned, its a real pain in the ass. I've just got it running on my netbook but I'd never try it with my main computer as its too unreliable.
 
That helps a lot- I'm not going to run OSX on a PC!
I thought I could get my academic discount on refurbs, but I can't, so my budget has dropped slightly- does anyone know how future proof the imac core i3 is? It's more in my budget, but I don't know if I'd be wasting my money as in a year or two it won't run things properly as too old technology?
Cheers!
 
The quad will handle Photoshop much faster then the i3 which is worth bearing in mind if time=money to you. You also get a far better graphics chipsets with the i5 which will make a big difference if Adobe build support for OpenCL into later revisions of CS. If you are the kind of person who wants to get the longest possible working life out of your computer then save a bit more and get the i5 cos you'll end up regretting it if you don't.
You'd be better of getting last years quad i5 refurbed over this years i3, the older machine is still faster.
 
I am the evil "other half". Before you start beating me with various pieces of apple eqipment let me firstly say that I have no axe to grind in relation to PC or Macs and think they both have pros and cons.

However the reality of the situation is that I am currently doing a teacher training course and my partner is working part time so we have a very limited budget.

I would love for her to be able to buy whatever she wants but we are in a very money restricted scenario at the moment and saving is not an option for the rest of this year.

So essentially we have 1100-1200 pounds to spend maximum (this is including help from a family member).

It really upsets me that she is struggling to work with didgital image files while her computer keeps crashing and she has to work incredibly slowly to again avoid crashing.

For this money she can get an i3 Imac or a top of the range i7 PC 8 gig of ram 3 hard drives (one to run photoshop of exclusively) and a 24 inch led.

She would be very upset buying a PC as she really loves apple products but the sheer economics makes me think that the PC is the better option and I think once she had one its sheer power and the positive effect on her work would help he get over the no mac scenario.

So I wanted to give the full story as I think this changes things considerably. If any of you guys has an idea how I can make my partner happy by getting her a beloved imac then I would love to hear it but the only option I can see is getting an i3 which will have limited resale value and certainly not be future proof.

Lastly I have heard that the gap between apple products and PC's for photography has narrowed massively since Adobe started concentrating more on the PC market.

Thanks for your comments so far.
 
I forgot to add would it not be possible to buy a PC and run ubuntu which would be better operating system for someone who is used to macs?
 
Andyo123 said:
I am the evil "other half". Before you start beating me with various pieces of apple eqipment let me firstly say that I have no axe to grind in relation to PC or Macs and think they both have pros and cons.

However the reality of the situation is that I am currently doing a teacher training course and my partner is working part time so we have a very limited budget.

I would love for her to be able to buy whatever she wants but we are in a very money restricted scenario at the moment and saving is not an option for the rest of this year.
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying, but computer isn't just hardware. I'm a Windows user myself, and I've tried OSX, but I just can't get used to the various little things that are different from Windows. So if your partner is used to OSX and is comfortable with it, any additional speed / efficiency she might get out of getting more powerful PC hardware might be countered by the loss of efficiency from using software that's not entirely to her liking. Since you seem to have a definite budget you can spend on her computer, just let her get the best Mac she can for that money, and if it's a bit slower than what you could get with an equally priced PC, so be it. You might not think having to switch OS and learn to use different software is a big deal, but if it's a big deal to your partner, then you've just got to accept it. This is very different from person to person, some people can just switch from UNIX to Windows to Mac and back again with no problems, others just can't. It's like some people are athletic and others can draw, while some people can't throw a ball or draw a stick figure to save their lives. Ultimately, it's not your computer, it's hers. She's the one whose got to work with it, so let her pick what works for her.
 
chrismacguy said:
1 Round of Ammunition coming up:

(1) The Mac has much better integrated support for image files in the OS, even with Windows 7 Windows handling of images, fonts etc are much much worse than on the Mac (this is due to Windows having an inferior graphics engine)
(2) Aperture 3 doesnt work on the PC (This ones a good one as he cant argue with that, even if you dont use it its good ammunition - especially as the price has come down)
(2a) - neither does iPhoto, and its a heck of a lot better than anything on the PC (He can say what he wants, but everyone on here will point out hes wrong).
(3) The Mac isnt going to crash due to a driver issue and wipe out all your data (Ive had this happen on PCs.. never on a Mac)
(4) CS5 runs a heck of a lot better on the Mac than on the PC
(5) The OS is based on UNIX, so is a lot more stable, powerful and expandable than Windows
Click to expand...

1/ Rubbish
2/ Aperture 3 isn't the only game in town
2a/ iPhoto...for a power user? really?
3/ Sounds very much like user error to me.never happened to me in 20 yurs using computers. Failing harddrives in macs? well thats anotyher story.
4/ Debatable
5/ Utter nonsense.


OP if money is an issue, stay away from Apple. Your b/friend is right there is ZERO advantage in using a mac over a pc for your useage, more so now that Win 7 is as good as it is.


i don,'t think you can make an argument which your fruitless googling told you anyway.
 
Night Spring said:
I hear what you're saying, but computer isn't just hardware. I'm a Windows user myself, and I've tried OSX, but I just can't get used to the various little things that are different from Windows. So if your partner is used to OSX and is comfortable with it, any additional speed / efficiency she might get out of getting more powerful PC hardware might be countered by the loss of efficiency from using software that's not entirely to her liking. Since you seem to have a definite budget you can spend on her computer, just let her get the best Mac she can for that money, and if it's a bit slower than what you could get with an equally priced PC, so be it. You might not think having to switch OS and learn to use different software is a big deal, but if it's a big deal to your partner, then you've just got to accept it. This is very different from person to person, some people can just switch from UNIX to Windows to Mac and back again with no problems, others just can't. It's like some people are athletic and others can draw, while some people can't throw a ball or draw a stick figure to save their lives. Ultimately, it's not your computer, it's hers. She's the one whose got to work with it, so let her pick what works for her.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply you raise very valid points.

But I just cant get my head past how an i3 with 4 gig of ram can compare to a pc with i7 8 gig of ram and custome hard drive configuration and some change apart from operating system.

Although my partner is a mac fan she is certainly capable of learning a new operating system its more the case she doesnt want to.

Oh and I cetainly not be telling her what or not to buy but it may be a while untill we could afford an upgrade and want to make sure its fit for purpose.

Will the i3 really run CS5 well?
 
Andyo123 said:
Thanks for the reply you raise very valid points.

But I just cant get my head past how an i3 with 4 gig of ram can compare to a pc with i7 8 gig of ram and custome hard drive configuration and some change apart from operating system.

Although my partner is a mac fan she is certainly capable of learning a new operating system its more the case she doesnt want to.
Click to expand...

I have to say I'm not that familiar with hardware specifications -- I stopped caring about them a long time ago. For instance, I currently have a desktop and a laptop, and aside from the difference in screen size and portability, they both run all the software I need to use, at a speed that is acceptable to me. So I suppose the desktop has a more powerful hardware configuration than the laptop, but I really don't care. Perhaps your partner feels the same as I do? Do talk to her about it, and if that is the case, then I hope you can accept that hardware specs just aren't as important to her as they are to you. And if she doesn't want to learn a new operating system, why should she have to, just to please you? If it was a requirement at her work that she learn Windows, I'm sure she would, but you aren't her boss. The faster you come to understand that, the better. :D
 
Hi Nightspring although I appreciate your imput I think you might be bringing some of your own issues to the table here.

Nothing about what she buys is about pleasing me.I honestly want the best system for her professional needs. As a professional digital photographer specs do matter (time wise) to her its so its about which is best compromise.

It is about the comparable quality for the price.

So I suppose the whole question hinges on whether an i3 is good enough for her work now and for the next few years.

This is what we need imput on as neither of us are particuarly savvy in this area.


Go with i3 and compromise on specs or go with PC and compromise on operating system.

What I want has no place in the debate.
 
Andyo123 said:
Hi Nightspring although I appreciate your imput I think you might be bringing some of your own issues to the table here.

Nothing about what she buys is about pleasing me.I honestly want the best system for her professional needs. As a professional digital photographer specs do matter (time wise) to her its so its about which is best compromise.

It is about the comparable quality for the price.

So I suppose the whole question hinges on whether an i3 s good enough for her work now and for the next few years.

This is what we need imput on as neither of us are particuarly savvy in this area.


Go with i3 and compromise on specs or go with PC and compromise on operating system.

What I want has no place in the debate.
Click to expand...

But it seems to me your partner knows what she wants, and you are questioning her judgement/preference. If, as you admit, you really don't know if an i3 is sufficient for her purposes, and if she is indeed a professional, then why aren't you trusting her to make the decision as to what is best for her?
 
Night Spring said:
But it seems to me your partner knows what she wants, and you are questioning her judgement/preference. If, as you admit, you really don't know if an i3 is sufficient for her purposes, and if she is indeed a professional, then why aren't you trusting her to make the decision as to what is best for her?
Click to expand...

My partner knows what she wants and it is an i7 quadcore imac or at very least an i5 but we can not afford this.

As she wrote herself she is not sure that an i3 will be sufficient.

So.... as I have said before a compromise has to be made.
 
gemima said:
That helps a lot- I'm not going to run OSX on a PC!
I thought I could get my academic discount on refurbs, but I can't, so my budget has dropped slightly- does anyone know how future proof the imac core i3 is? It's more in my budget, but I don't know if I'd be wasting my money as in a year or two it won't run things properly as too old technology?
Cheers!
Click to expand...

Hi Gemima, if you are getting a computer through the apple UK academic site, you also get a three year warranty too in the price, without having to get the applecare - check the small print. (Though applecare gives you other advantages too, and may be worth it, it is cheap to add on). Bear in mind this scheme doesn't operate through the stores, buy from the education store on web.

My recommendation is buy the mac (but of course I would say that being a member here...). You dismissed familiarity as being a good reason to buy another mac, it is an excellent reason, you will be up and running straight away! It is your purchase, ignore your boyfriend and buy what is right for you.

best, and.
 
The most knowledgable techy we have spoken too has really stressed the importance of quad core for her work.

Is this really that important or will an i3 do the job well also.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; fi-fi) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148a Safari/6533.18.5)

There is 2.66 quad in refurb store for less than 1300£. its currently out of stock though but check refurb.me
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; sv-se) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I can only answer for my self byt i got a Windows pc at home thats gathering dust right now and thats the only thing its going to do.
It has an i7 920 processor on a 1366 socket, 6Gb Ram, 1tb hdd and a radeon 4890xxx gpu. OS is win7.
I Loved windows 7 when it came out and i Loved my new superfast pc and i was going to use it for music production and a little bit of gaming. In december, right before christmas was when my patience ran out. Crash after crash made me look at the Apple-products and i had the same thoughts about the hardware compared to the prices. I finally decided to buy the midrange 21.5" imac w/ core i3 3,2ghz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd and the radeon hd 5670. I can tell that its the best choice i have done in My entire life. Everything just works and it feels alot faster than my win pc. And the best thing of all is that i have never used the word **** when using my mac :) What i want to say with all of this is that Mac is not about the hardware. I think that is a big reason why people is afraid of buying a Mac.

Hope this helps :)
 
Hellhammer said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; fi-fi) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148a Safari/6533.18.5)

There is 2.66 quad in refurb store for less than 1300£. its currently out of stock though but check refurb.me
Click to expand...

Please note - she is probably better off buying through the education store and getting the free 3 year warranty, which is part of the educational deal. The refurb might be a few quid cheaper, but will have 1 year warranty (you cannot get an education price on these).

I would have thought an i3 would be fine given she is doing what she needs now on a G5. But that is just my opinion, and it depends on the complexity of what she needs to do with it. I'm happy with my core2duo for graphics with photoshop elements, but then my livelihood doesn't depend on it. Photography as a job is pricey, you've got all the lenses to buy too :)

best, and.
 
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