Making the Switch: PC to Mac...HELP!

[ugadog99]

I realize it is now time to bite the bullet and get a mac. My younger daughter is very interested in graphic design, music editing, and all that other super creative, ultra mac-ish kind of stuff. She's a sophomore in high school, so I can't put the switch off any longer. This is going to be our big family purchase for Christmas. I need help!!

I've looked at the 21.5" in the discount store, but I've also looked at the 21.5" new model using an educator's discount. We will be a blended family as we will still have our HPs, too. I have an old printer but think it's time to upgrade that, too. I do have a lynks (sp?) router that is a g. Will that work or do I need to upgrade that, too?

I have soooo many questions. First, I'd like to know your thoughts/advice/suggestions for the computer and the questions I have listed above. I'm sure I'll have many more, though. And...if anyone thinks I shouldn't switch and stay the pc route, let me hear that, too!

Thanks!

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

well, I do recommend that you utilize the Apple knowledge of them helping to see what will work best for you! You just contact your local Apple store and set up a free hour to get this done! Apple is great at helping you with what you may want
Also when you buy from Apple for $99 bucks for the year, you can get the one to one. Which is a once a week private class for one year! You cannot beat that!
you can learn all you need to with Safari and how to run all the apps!

I have the 24 inch imac and two Macbook Pros, all new(imac 1 year old) I have the Airport express, iphone 4...you name it I have it! I love how user friendly Macs are! just drag and drop!

I love all my Apples! and will never go back to a PC!

 

[jsmith]

Okay-im not a MAC worshipper-the "they are immune to viruses" is hype-they arent-there just aren't as many coded for them and we own two Mac-book pros that my college aged physics and math head sons use-they are great for number crunching because the operation system is lighter weight and so way more memory is available to running applications-they are also absolute hardwear lemons. I will grant that apple has great customer service and getting the repaired has been realitively easy-however one of them needed new memory and new graphics card in the first six months.
Heres my take on it-unless you need to run MAC specific applications to achieve what she needs to do-you can achieve the same goal of higher memory availablity on ANY PC platform by using a Linux based operating system-however alot of those are not nearly as user friendly as windows or OS X-which is part of the appeal of a MAC. and your not going to have on call tech support for most Linux OS's because the techs at most PC vendors are trained on Windows not a Linux or Unix system. Because Apple uses proprietary hardware the same computing power-memory, graphics card and so on will cost more on a Mac Platform. So you have to decide if the better customer support for your OS and hardwear is worth the extra $$$.
As for your printers and router-as long as you have drivers for that specific printer in both operating systems it will work across both platforms-we use the same printer for XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS X leapord without issue. You should not need a new router-even though a new computer will more than likely have an 802.11 n Standard card in it the 802.11 b, g and n standards are cross compatible and the only real difference in the three is the range they have.

 

[Shutterbug]

I have a Mac and I really like it...but...I will say its not for everyone. I got one because simply wanted a change from all the windows probs I was having. Also I wanted and all in one unit to take up less space than traditional desktop with tower would. Imac fit the build.

As for pricing look at Apples refurbishment store they can be discounted 100-200 there and carry same warranty as a brand new one.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Switched to mac a few years ago and love it. My advice from my experience is the get the most "powerful" one you can afford. Especially for what your daughter wants to do--that creative stuff takes up a lot of memory.

 

[bonoriffic]

The days of Macs being superior at "creative" things are long gone. In many cases, Windows is superior. Photoshop was released as 64 bit for Windows in CS4 and Mac didn't finally get this benefit until CS5.

The one nice Mac advantage is it can run Windows, and being able to dual boot would go a long way to ease your transition. Of course if your goal is to use graphic design software, editing, etc. then anything other than a multicore iMac would be considered underpowered. The multiple core iMac is also only available in the 27" model which adds even more cost.

If you honestly believe that Apple offers a better experience, do yourself a favor and look into the software you hope to use and see what the recommended system is. Adobe flat out says you need a multicore Mac across the board.

 

[jrmasm]

The days of Macs being superior at "creative" things are long gone. In many cases, Windows is superior. Photoshop was released as 64 bit for Windows in CS4 and Mac didn't finally get this benefit until CS5.The one nice Mac advantage is it can run Windows, and being able to dual boot would go a long way to ease your transition. Of course if your goal is to use graphic design software, editing, etc. then anything other than a multicore iMac would be considered underpowered. The multiple core iMac is also only available in the 27" model which adds even more cost.If you honestly believe that Apple offers a better experience, do yourself a favor and look into the software you hope to use and see what the recommended system is. Adobe flat out says you need a multicore Mac across the board.

DH has worked in the design industry for 15 years.* He hasn't touched a Mac in at least 10.OP, if you have your heart set on getting a Mac then get a Mac.** Just don't get one because you think you have to.* That just isn't true anymore.

 

[RadioNate]

I love it when the anti-mac people come out to play. What was I accused of last time? Worshipping the god Apple? Whatever.

I love my iMac. We have both PCs and Macs in our house and we share the same printer and router. Our router is ancient in tech terms (6-7 years old) so I can't imagine you'll have to up grade that or the printer.

The transition isn't as big of a deal as people think. It really just isn't especially since Windows is looking more and more like Mac OS these days.

Graphic design schools/colleges still use Macs as their primary system. The local Photoshop course here is taught on Macs and professional high level video and audio editing is still done on Macs.

The only thing I'd suggest is getting the biggest hard drive and the most RAM you can afford. iMacs just aren't super easy to upgrade. You can do the RAM yourself but having Apple upgrade the HD is pricey. That said, I just put in a new HD this weekend but my AppleCare expires in Oct so after then everything would be out of pocket anyway.

If I were going to buy a new iMac today, I'd likely get the 27in Quad Core but if I really had to save the extra $500 I'd get the 21.5in 3.2GHz. For any kinda video editing you will need at least the 1TB drive.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

While I'm personally not a fan of Macs, it seems like most other people that use them love them. I'll also add that even though the vast majority of creative software runs on both, virtually all of the top photographers I follow use Macs as their primary machines. Whether it is justified or not, Macs are the dominant platform in the arts community.

I want to take exception to one bit of advice that RadioNate gave. You don't need to start with a giant hard drive. You can use an external hard drive or something like a Drobo if you find yourself needing lots of storage. In fact, you'll want to do that anyway because you need to store your photographs, videos, etc in more than one place for when your primary hard drive crashes.

 

[tinatark]

I switched a few months ago. I wish I had paid Apple to transfer my files from PC to Mac - bought a cable to do it myself, and have started it a few times but still haven't done it - it's quite time consuming and not everything can transfer.

I'm not *in love* with my Mac (MacBook Pro) - have had a few issues - the first, main one - ATT's high speed router/modem (Zwire, or 2wire, whichever the name is!) and the MacBook Pro don't communicate properly - neither company will acknowledge or "fix" the issue - intermittent internet outages started almost the moment I connected the MBP to my home network - after countless hours on the phone with ATT and time in the Apple store, the fix was, we switched to Charter for high speed internet.

Other issues I've encountered - no "Mac" templates for labels, and no clip art. The fix for those were to copy and manipulate the labels for the mac, and for clip art I found it online and copied it to whatever document I want to use it on.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I love it when the anti-mac people come out to play. What was I accused of last time? Worshipping the god Apple? Whatever.

I love my iMac. We have both PCs and Macs in our house and we share the same printer and router. Our router is ancient in tech terms (6-7 years old) so I can't imagine you'll have to up grade that or the printer.

The transition isn't as big of a deal as people think. It really just isn't especially since Windows is looking more and more like Mac OS these days.

Graphic design schools/colleges still use Macs as their primary system. The local Photoshop course here is taught on Macs and professional high level video and audio editing is still done on Macs.

The only thing I'd suggest is getting the biggest hard drive and the most RAM you can afford. iMacs just aren't super easy to upgrade. You can do the RAM yourself but having Apple upgrade the HD is pricey. That said, I just put in a new HD this weekend but my AppleCare expires in Oct so after then everything would be out of pocket anyway.

If I were going to buy a new iMac today, I'd likely get the 27in Quad Core but if I really had to save the extra $500 I'd get the 21.5in 3.2GHz. For any kinda video editing you will need at least the 1TB drive.

also just on a side note..Apple had the BEST in the USA customer service around!!! In Austin Texas and Cali. So no clue what that was about above^
You never get outsourced with them..that is the PC world!

 

[derricksonb]

My wife is/was a graphics designer and has always had/used Macs. We had a G4 laptop that was 7 y/o before the hard drive fragmented last week. Luckily we had everything backed up on an external so very little was lost. We ended up purchasing the 21.5" iMac desktop and so far it's a very good PC. Honestly I'm not a Mac, I'm a PC, but after playing with the new one I am very impressed with the iMac and have undertaken the herculean task of rebuilding and upgrading the old G4 laptop for MY personal use.

 

[ugadog99]

Thank you for all your advice. She really, really wants the mac, and quite honestly, it has been something I have wanted for many years. I know the only way to know for sure if it's the right move is to get one and find out. I don't do change well (yeah, I'm old and stuck in my ways), but I am leaning the way of a mac. I know there has been quite a bit of improvement in the creative end of the pc, but all the people I know who are in graphics, video, music, etc all use macs. I think we'll start on the smaller end and see what happens. We can then progress from there, I guess.

As for software, can anyone tell me what you use (with a mac) for music editing, video, etc? I'd like to get a feel for what's out there and prices. (I know I'll spend time at the Apple store, but I just wanted a general idea now.)

Thanks!

 

[bonoriffic]

Graphic design schools/colleges still use Macs as their primary system. The local Photoshop course here is taught on Macs and professional high level video and audio editing is still done on Macs.

The key takeaway from all of this is personal preference. A college may teach a course using Apple, but also more than likely got a deal from Apple to do so. Many schools use Windows. It is more and more common to enter a college computer lab and see a small plaque saying equipment donated by Corporation ABC.

Software is what makes the magical things happen, and by and large the stuff professionals use is available for Mac or Windows, and increasingly Linux. Does it matter if you use Avid, Maya, After Effects, or Photoshop on Windows or OS X? Nope, it is a personal preference. It is rare for the operating system you use to be the one to get in the way of being creative. You are going to be able to do amazing things with either operating system, and neither is predisposed to be "better" at creative type stuff.

Pick the PC that best fits your budget, not the stereotype.

 

[ugadog99]

Just for the sake of knowledge, if I were to go the pc route, what type of system should I be looking for? What kind of specs should I shoot for on the pc end to be able to handle all the graphics, music, etc?

 

[Carl]

I'm a Mac user and I found that with the last OS update, none of my old printers would work any longer. I had to purchase a new Brother laser printer. I'm glad I did, however. It is much better than the old printers I had. I'm pointing this out, because you said you had an older printer. My guess is that it will NOT work with the Mac.

 

[bonoriffic]

Just for the sake of knowledge, if I were to go the pc route, what type of system should I be looking for? What kind of specs should I shoot for on the pc end to be able to handle all the graphics, music, etc?

The advise for PC or Mac would be the same. A quad core processor (Intel i7) is ideal. HD video is extremely processor heavy, and the latest HD video standard AVCHD recommends a quad core as a minimum starting point.

Get a dedicated video card, not graphics that in any way say "integrated or built in". 512MB dedicated video cards are minor extras these days usually for well under $100. 1GB is nice, but not needed. If you are serious about graphics, check Adobe's website and see which graphics cards they support for additional processing power. (Moving the heavy lifting to the graphics cards not your processor, not all cards support this)

Get as much memory as you can, usually buying the minimum you can with the computer and adding the rest in yourself. 6GB is probably the absolute minimum these days, with 9 to 12GB being sufficient. More than that and you are either a scientist or have extra cash to burn. Memory for new computers should come in double or triples depending on system, check how many free memory slots you will have. Upgrading from 3GB to 9GB is usually around $130 when purchased separately.

Most computers have more than sufficient music output (5.1 surround at least is default lately) as well as input. You won't have to consider much for music, but if you want to get crazy and get a dedicated music card they are $50.