Mac V. PC. Age old debate

[F34TH3R]

So I currently have a MacBook air...seems like this is the standard but I want to know what you guys have. Thanks. BTW THIS FORUM IS AWESOME

[login]

If you are using a desktop computer PC is a better deal, you can buiild a great machine for 1000 USD. And these days windows is stable, you will need a good interface with good drivers.

In laptops is more complicated, you can get windows laptops with better specs that those of mac for cheaper but not with better built qualit. When you search for laptops with build quality, screen, trackpad and kb on par with MBP you end with stuff which is as or more expensive that a MBP.

And then there are 2 disadvantages: normally well built, and good specs laptops are heavy, more so than a 15" MBP. Second, to me the point of a laptop is mobility and a windows system can't give good performance without ASIO drivers and for that you need to carry an audio interface (I know there is ASIO4all but to me it just doesn't cut it latency wise). With Mac you get core audio drivers which are pretty good for music production and are native to OSX so you don't need to carry an audio interface.

SO TL; DR: Desltop go PC, laptop go mac.

[[art]]

I began building PC's at home, and moved to a PC laptop. But my design education was primarily on Macs, and when I had the coin I bought my first Mac, an iBook, I think.

My experience, and quite simply the only reason why I don't go back to Windows at this point, is viruses. My experience on the Mac platform has been completely virus free, for like, 8 years.

On Windows, the experience was always marred by even needing to have to do anything about it. Is McCafe updated, do you have VirusScan installed? Your computer is unsafe. Pop up safety messages all the time. Shock therapy alert sounds. Spyware and all that junk, re-installing windows every so often to get rid of it all. One bad piece of downloaded software and the whole machine is caput.

My experience of Windows can be summed up in one word: paranoia.

Granted, that may have changed now, but the negative effect of it all is such that I could never go back just to see.

One other reason I find Mac useful is the uniformity in platform. OSX works on Macs and thats it. With Windows and PC's there are a lot of variables in the mix, from drivers to peripherals, and other hardware in the mix. This can create issues down the line I find. In the end it's the Windows users responsibility to manage all this with a lot more care, Mac takes that guesswork and labor out of the equation.

These days I have an Air for chilling/backpack. A Macbook Pro for live audio-visual use, and an iMac for studio work.

[jestermgee]

I've used windows for all my computing tasks since 3.1 and though you can have issues (as with anything) it comes down to how you manage it all.

I have simply never found reason enough to move. Maybe 10 years ago the Mac platform was more stable due to the fact hardware and drivers differed so much between machines but since Windows 7 and many hardware vendors (Nvidia for instance) has very good ways of keeping hardware drivers up to date and playing well with the latest OS updates, it's really a non issue.

Viruses I guess could be a concern but I have not had to deal with much of that ever.

I keep a separate machine for doing "dodgy" things that have nothing to do with my production work and I run a very clean system tailored for production work and that is fine.

Could run this debate into the ground but I think at the end of the day there are 2 schools of thought:

- PC if that is what you are use to and you work mainly in a "desktop" mode in a fixed location.
- Mac if you like the way their OS works and you are performing or travelling.

In terms of actual raw performance and stability, I have seen nothing in the last 10 years that can actually with that debate for either side, only opinion.

[Stromkraft]

My experience, and quite simply the only reason why I don't go back to Windows at this point, is viruses.

Apparently Microsoft has decided to effectively let Windows 10 itself remain a spy virus. Makes my decision to remain on OS X a no-brainer for the moment.
This situation is worse than most people even can (or are willing to) comprehend. At least Apple attempts to make it seem they're not hostile. Being naive is the only real threat on OS X.

[Stromkraft]

If you are using a desktop computer PC is a better deal, you can buiild a great machine for 1000 USD. And these days windows is stable, you will need a good interface with good drivers.
…………
SO TL; DR: Desltop go PC

These are decision points for hardware rather than platform, as with some research building a desktop Hackintosh* is very achievable. I built my first (not to myself) last spring.


*Handpicked machine that can run OS X without issues.

[H20nly]

still trying to decide which side i want to be on in the flame war this time.

lemme think about it while the popcorn pops...






P.S. i have an iMac w/Mavericks and Lenovo laptop w/Win 7 - which one i like better will be determined by the first asshole remark in the thread. it's the opposite of that guy.

[yur2die4]

I am pretty sure that someone posted this as a joke.

I wonder if either: it's one of the notorious trollers or, if it is a person who runs to various forums on a dare and posts this question.

[pencilrocket]

of course buy mac!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFhjDX-DUew

[Stromkraft]

There are no flames here. Inform yourself and decide for yourself what to use. No-one really cares what you use, really. Nothing new there.

[doghouse]

I'm with login, for laptops esp. using them live Macs are better. I've used a few Windows machines live and with every single one I had grounding issues causing hum and buzz in the audio unless I ran off the battery. Mac laptops, no such problems. If it's playback only usage, the audio outs of the Mac laptops are high enough quality for gig use, the quality of onboard sound in Windows is a crapshoot so you have to shop more carefully.

For a studio system, Windows has many advantages: lower cost and touchscreens are at the top of the list. Just keep the damn thing off the network...which is getting harder to do all the time now that products are all downloads rather than installer CDs and printed documents Use a second machine for network accesses and do serious virus/malware checking before putting any dl'ed files on the music machine.

[Funkin8]

Yeah agreed, desktop PCs are great but Mac for laptop.

I suppose if I could afford to I might consider a mac desktop but then I would still need a pc desktop for everything non music related.

[beats me]

My experience, and quite simply the only reason why I don't go back to Windows at this point, is viruses. My experience on the Mac platform has been completely virus free, for like, 8 years.

On Windows, the experience was always marred by even needing to have to do anything about it. Is McCafe updated, do you have VirusScan installed? Your computer is unsafe. Pop up safety messages all the time. Shock therapy alert sounds. Spyware and all that junk, re-installing windows every so often to get rid of it all. One bad piece of downloaded software and the whole machine is caput.

My experience of Windows can be summed up in one word: paranoia.

Granted, that may have changed now, but the negative effect of it all is such that I could never go back just to see.

My uncle was recently telling me about his excellent PC virus software and a service he pays for monthly that can remotely go into his PC and fix things when he calls. It was pretty much unavoidable for me to not sound snarky telling him none of that is needed with a Mac. His views are also way dated as he responded with “Oh, I thought Macs are just for people who do graphics.”

My coworker apparently also has some snazzy virus software on his Android phone he accesses frequently. He also thinks this is normal tech across the board.

[oddstep]

Windows usually runs on cheaper hardware. Cheaper hardware isn't as good and is owned by more people. Big groups of prey attack more predators. This helps macs seem to be intrinsically better than pcs. Additionally some software/codecs have been designed for macs and never really made it to windows. For example QuickTime, which doesn't really cut it in windows 64.I've been using windows laptops for about 9 years now without any real problems. I'm getting more into av work and macs seem to have an edge there £ for £.

[stringtapper]

I suppose if I could afford to I might consider a mac desktop but then I would still need a pc desktop for everything non music related.

I know, when are Macs finally going to get word processors and internet browsers ffs??