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wilmer007

macrumors member
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Oct 12, 2008
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Hello i was just wondering why i hear lots of people say that Macs are better than PC for Music and Editing.


i mean in my class the other day the professor had us do a debate about Mac vs Windows and one thing that always comes up is the hardware. so i proceeded to tell the class that how can a Mac that is 5-7 years old that does not have the capabilities to upgrade the video card (if it does it is very hard work to upgrade compared to a PC) be called the best for Music and Editing. I mean we already know that for Gaming PCs win that battle but i was still left wondering why.

perhaps when it comes to laptop maybe yes Macs would bet better because both cannot have their hardware upgraded so they are on equal footing in that regards. But when it comes to desktops i still don't see how Macs outperform PCs when it comes to Music and Editing.


like for instance the last iMac was released in 2014 and comes with a i5-4690 and an m290x. hell i built my PC back in september and it too has an i5-4690k but with a 290x Tri-X (you know the real 290x not that m290x garbage the iMac has). i mean come on i don't understand how something like a 2014 iMac is suppose to outperform my $1100 beast. and when it comes to software how can photoshop not compete with the best Mac apps for editing.



in short yes i am a PC fanboy i will admit it since it's the only thing i have used and loved for the past 15+ years of my life (used macs in school until i was like 12-13 years old). but i am also trying to learn and understand why i always hear about Mac being better than PC for Music and Editing when i compare both desktops and all i do is laugh at those Mac specs.
 
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I'm guessing pros like the software better.

but how much more better are we talking about when photoshop can do everything a Mac can do. Not saying Photoshop can beat a Mac of equal hardware cuz i don't know that since i haven't used macs in over 15 years. but i would think that any PC that has better hardware than the best iMac can outperform it with photoshop.


we live in an age where your hardware is bascially obsolete in 6-12 months so i don't see why people and businessed will get macs when their hardware is very old 5-7 years later and they can't do anything about upgrading it because that is Macs main downfall is the upgrading.
 
but how much more better are we talking about when photoshop can do everything a Mac can do. Not saying Photoshop can beat a Mac of equal hardware cuz i don't know that since i haven't used macs in over 15 years. but i would think that any PC that has better hardware than the best iMac can outperform it with photoshop.


we live in an age where your hardware is bascially obsolete in 6-12 months so i don't see why people and businessed will get macs when their hardware is very old 5-7 years later and they can't do anything about upgrading it because that is Macs main downfall is the upgrading.

Because people, normal people, use their tools without geeking out over specs.

If you're working on a photoshop project for work, do you think a regular person cares if their mac exports the final document in 15 seconds verses the PC that does it in 12? No.

Most people have absolutely no interest in fiddling with their machines, if it works for work, that's all there is to it.
 
we live in an age where your hardware is bascially obsolete in 6-12 months so i don't see why people and businessed will get macs when their hardware is very old 5-7 years later and they can't do anything about upgrading it because that is Macs main downfall is the upgrading.

Companies do not upgrade parts, they upgrade machines.

If 'Music and Editing' was only about who can crunch numbers and matrix transformations the fastest, then yes your Desktop PC would win.

But there is more than that. How comfortable a user is with the tool, how much quicker can he deliver results and make money without dealing with issues, the supporting framework of the different tools being used together, etc...

If you truly mean the idea that Mac performs better than PC from the older PPC CPU architecture days, then that is long over...
 
Your questions are strange and troll like.

You ask about music & editing but talk about PC's being better because of Photoshop.

Photoshop also runs fine on a Mac and has forever.

Most people like the Mac because of the quality build, and preference for OS X.

I've been using computers much longer than Microsoft has been in existence. I've used nearly every operating system one can think of (mainframe / desktop).

I prefer Mac/OS X over any other OS (including Linux, and other Unix variants).

It's a personal experience and preference. Since you love Win/PC so much, why not forget about Mac/OS X and just enjoy your personal preference as most of us here do?
 
The PC is quicker and a more flexible hardware platform - always my preference for games. A lot of people choose Mac because they like OS X and iCloud for 'everything else', and they tend to be doing other stuff between the music editing.

For all my personal stuff I prefer Mac. It's just a nicer platform to live with every day. Personal preference, sure, but I have both Windows PC's and Mac's and I know which I'd rather spend all day using.
 
Your questions are strange and troll like.

You ask about music & editing but talk about PC's being better because of Photoshop.

Photoshop also runs fine on a Mac and has forever.

Most people like the Mac because of the quality build, and preference for OS X.

I've been using computers much longer than Microsoft has been in existence. I've used nearly every operating system one can think of (mainframe / desktop).

I prefer Mac/OS X over any other OS (including Linux, and other Unix variants).

It's a personal experience and preference. Since you love Win/PC so much, why not forget about Mac/OS X and just enjoy your personal preference as most of us here do?


i wasn't trolling that was not my intention. all i was trying to do was to understand why some students in the class would love macs more than a pc (even though they have a Windows Laptop in class) and their reasoning was always music and editing. hell every DJ i see in clubs have Mac laptops so i was left wondering why.


hell even the professor told me "don't get into editing when it comes to mac because they are the king of editing". so when he said that i said to myself "how is this even possible when i know my $1100 PC and Photoshop can easily beat or come close to the latest iMac".


but from what you guys said it's just a preference and that neither has a leg up over the other and that's fine by me. i was just trying to educate myself in case one day i have a customer who wants a mac and not a pc so i can give them the best information so that they can make the proper decision.
 
i wasn't trolling that was not my intention. all i was trying to do was to understand why some students in the class would love macs more over pc and their reasoning was always music and editing.


hell even the professor told me "don't get into editing when it comes to mac because they are the king of editing". so when he said that i was like "how is this even possible when i know my $1100 PC and Photoshop can easily beat or come close to the latest iMac".


but from what you guys said it's just a preference and that neither has a leg up over the other.

What exactly does "beat" mean? Both machines will do it.

Basically some people just like the look and operation of OS X more than Windows.

I fix windows machines constantly so the last thing I want to do when I have free time is look at Windows...
 
Other than the fact that many of the applications started out as Mac only and eventually came for the PC.

Like Photoshop and even Microsoft Word.

Today it's more down to environment and preference. I'm just more productive in OS X than Windows for example.
 
What exactly does "beat" mean? Both machines will do it.

Basically some people just like the look and operation of OS X more than Windows.

I fix windows machines constantly so the last thing I want to do when I have free time is look at Windows...

well if that was me i would still fix windows pc and look at windows in my free time.


but that's just the user preference.



i haven't used macs in over 15 years. the last mac i used was the very first iMac back in 1996-1997 and that was playing games in the school library.


so being a lifetime windows user it's not easy to get someone like me to switch to mac. would i try it if i had the chance to get a few hours into it. sure i would love to try it so i can compare myself and see which i would like for everyday use. but in the end i would still stay with windows because it's what i know how to use best and that if i had to spend money to get a mac desktop i would honestly rather use that cash and upgrade my CPU, RAM and video card for my windows PC instead. hell with the cost of an iMac i can upgrade these parts at least 2-3 times over.
 
I have many PC's and mobile devices in my household. Several Windows machines, several Linux machines, Android devices, Apple mobile devices, etc... When I want to sit down and do something productive, I go straight to my Mac Pro. In fact, I need to get rid of all those "other than Mac" machines in my house. I don't see myself ever using them anymore. I guess my extended family members could all use an upgrade so I'll pass them along. :)

What makes a Chevy better than a Ford?
What makes a Ford better than a Chevy?
What makes a Dodge better than a Chevy"
What makes a Chevy better than a Dodge?
What makes a Ford better than a Dodge?

and on, and on, and on...

Just forget about it and go enjoy your WinPC. As you said, you would never change anyway.
 
i wasn't trolling that was not my intention. all i was trying to do was to understand why some students in the class would love macs more than a pc (even though they have a Windows Laptop in class) and their reasoning was always music and editing. hell every DJ i see in clubs have Mac laptops so i was left wondering why.


hell even the professor told me "don't get into editing when it comes to mac because they are the king of editing". so when he said that i said to myself "how is this even possible when i know my $1100 PC and Photoshop can easily beat or come close to the latest iMac".


but from what you guys said it's just a preference and that neither has a leg up over the other and that's fine by me. i was just trying to educate myself in case one day i have a customer who wants a mac and not a pc so i can give them the best information so that they can make the proper decision.

It isn't about hardware performance.

It's about user experience.

Many many creatives started with a Mac. The workflow is something they're used to.

Photoshop started on a Mac, video editing for the rest of us started with a Mac.

If you have a customer who says they want a Mac, don't argue with them, they probably know exactly what they want.

Performance and stability wise, Windows has come a long way, and to be fair, most everything that could be done on a Mac can be done on Windows just as well.
 
So you've answered your own question ;)

haha. well like i said i am looking to educate myself so that i know the differences between both so that if i have a customer that asks me "mac or pc" then i can educate him on the two so that he can decide which is best for him.
 
i wasn't trolling that was not my intention. all i was trying to do was to understand why some students in the class would love macs more than a pc (even though they have a Windows Laptop in class) and their reasoning was always music and editing. hell every DJ i see in clubs have Mac laptops so i was left wondering why.


hell even the professor told me "don't get into editing when it comes to mac because they are the king of editing". so when he said that i said to myself "how is this even possible when i know my $1100 PC and Photoshop can easily beat or come close to the latest iMac".


but from what you guys said it's just a preference and that neither has a leg up over the other and that's fine by me. i was just trying to educate myself in case one day i have a customer who wants a mac and not a pc so i can give them the best information so that they can make the proper decision.

Well, Apple have their own software that is very popular among professional users. Final Cut Pro is widely used for video editing, Logic Pro for audio editing.

Since Apple make everything : the hardware, the OS, the particular software and even the sales (at the Apple Store), it is very easy for them to provide support. If you buy a Mac for video editing with Final Cut Pro X, if you have some sort of problem, you know that somehow Apple will be responsible for it and fixing it. In fact, one of the thing that Apple does very well overall is customer service.

If you are doing a living from the work you do on your computer, having a fast and reliable costumer service is a very very important thing.
 
I suggest trying using Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro on PC.

Logic is the best music creation tool on the planet right now, and is only available on OSX.

From hardware standing point there is not much difference. But software is the biggest one.

Second thing, you compare company point of view to personal point of view.

They are totally different.
 
I don't do music editing per se - but must agree with what some have hinted at above.

If you're dependent on your OS/machine for producing/creating Product X, and you're on a deadline etc., what would you rather have - a more powerful (spec's wise wise) machine that might do X/Y/Z marginally faster - or a very stable OS, that is (mostly) not prone to breaking once it's setup properly, requires little to no maintenance, and offers you cross-application workflow construction options that can save you hours and hours through the automation of regular work-related tasks?

I know which one I would take. Windows users almost always focus on the hardware. Mac users can justifiably focus on the synergy between hardware and software. That's where OSX has the Windows platform beat, imo.

Just how I see it. Obviously, YMMV.
 
I think the key point is that people nowadays move from PC to Mac, not the other way around. Most people I know use Macs by preference, mostly having used Windows in the past. If they have a Windows laptop, it's because they have been supplied it by their work. They without exception hate them, and most have a personal Mac laptop too.

As far as budget is concerned, I don't know that many people who can't afford a Mac and go Windows for that reason. Presumably there are plenty of people do that. And there are plenty of kids who only want to play games and for them a Windows machine is obviously the right choice. But when comparing like with like (overall, not just one component) for non-gaming computer use I have always found Macs to be cheaper than the comparable Windows machine. Sometimes significantly so.
 
I suggest trying using Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro on PC.

Logic is the best music creation tool on the planet right now, and is only available on OSX.

From hardware standing point there is not much difference. But software is the biggest one.

Second thing, you compare company point of view to personal point of view.

They are totally different.

i don't do editing, but if i ever had to yes i would try them since everyone here says they are the best for editing.


like i said earlier i plan to have my own business after i'm done with school so i plan on selling macs and pcs but i need to know everything that i don't know about macs so i can help the customer choose what is best for him. since i would ask "what are your needs?" then his response can help me figure out what would be best for him.
 
They each serve a purpose.

I use Mac for music creation/recording, and Windows for "sound editing".

Mac has better music recording/production apps.
Windows has better sound editing apps.

Therein lies the best reason to buy an Apple PC - you can run both OS's on the same machine.
 
Logic is the best music creation tool on the planet right now, and is only available on OSX.

It's an attractive package for sure, but "the best" is highly debatable. One of the best, more likely.

Pro Tools and Digital Performer also started as Mac-only applications by the way, for many years.
 
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i don't do editing, but if i ever had to yes i would try them since everyone here says they are the best for editing.


like i said earlier i plan to have my own business after i'm done with school so i plan on selling macs and pcs but i need to know everything that i don't know about macs so i can help the customer choose what is best for him. since i would ask "what are your needs?" then his response can help me figure out what would be best for him.

It was sarcasm.

You can't use Logic Pro or Final Cut Pro on PC, because... there is not Windows/Linux version of them.

Those are Apple content creation applications, and therefore are available only on Apple system.
 
I use Mac for music creation/recording, and Windows for "sound editing".

Mac has better music recording/production apps.
Windows has better sound editing apps.

Therein lies the best reason to buy an Apple PC - you can run both OS's on the same machine.

you have to emulate windows on a Mac. It's not exactly Windows/Linux multi boot config. Emulating windows should cause problems when it comes to hardware and drives because you are using Apple hardware.


It was sarcasm.

You can't use Logic Pro or Final Cut Pro on PC, because... there is not Windows/Linux version of them.

Those are Apple content creation applications, and therefore are available only on Apple system.

oh i saw something about FCPX on windows but i guess that's a scam then.
 
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