Mac vs PC: Graphics and animation

[Providence]

I'm trying to decide between using a Mac or a PC for digital arts and animation. I keep hearing that Macs are good for some programs while PC is better for others, and I'm not sure which I should use.

Programs I'll be using:
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe After Effects
3ds Max
Maya

Also taking into account that Macs have less programs to offer over all which could very well be an issue, but that's essentially secondary. I have a $1,400 budget.

Any opinions is greatly appreciated.

[Blupparen]

I would buy a pc. You can get better hardware and i think most of the programs you named will work just as good on pc as on mac.

[Nyfaria]

PC hands down. People who Argue "Macs are better for this or that" are probably idiots who buy prebuilt HP computers that are crap.

You can get a better PC for less than a Mac with the same Spec. Why is that? Cuz Steve Jobs was a Crook, and now his Company Apple is full of Crooks.

[Raeion]

well Mac is well known for being great at Multimedia and such things while pc is more of a programming computer,
by a simple statistics you can see all the companies and most people use macs for multimedia purposes such as adobe products and editing movies ( in a pro way )
both pc and mac are great and mac does support ALL important applications you will need for your work, at this point only some games and some other programs are not supported by mac which since u r focussing more in graphics and animation well doesn't really matter,
If you have enough money i'd suggest buy a very good iMac and then take some of the harddrive for a bootcamp just incase for some minor software you need to run that are only available on PC, but at this age of technology most stuff are available on both platforms

---------- Post added 2012-04-06 at 02:33 AM ----------

now im getting this feeling there are so many pc haters and mac haters out theere, well right now i wanna let you know i don't want go get involved the above post is simply my opinion towards the question , they are both great !

[Providence]

well Mac is well known for being great at Multimedia and such things while pc is more of a programming computer,
by a simple statistics you can see all the companies and most people use macs for multimedia purposes such as adobe products and editing movies ( in a pro way )
both pc and mac are great and mac does support ALL important applications you will need for your work, at this point only some games and some other programs are not supported by mac which since u r focussing more in graphics and animation well doesn't really matter,
If you have enough money i'd suggest buy a very good iMac and then take some of the harddrive for a bootcamp just incase for some minor software you need to run that are only available on PC, but at this age of technology most stuff are available on both platforms

---------- Post added 2012-04-06 at 02:33 AM ----------

now im getting this feeling there are so many pc haters and mac haters out theere, well right now i wanna let you know i don't want go get involved the above post is simply my opinion towards the question , they are both great !

i've heard this as well, but i also heard that pc's are better for rendering which is going to be a major plus for pcs.

[Ailthas]

According to the Autodesk website 3DS Max is Windows only. Of course, it's also $3500. Hopefully your budget doesn't include the software.

[Fostus]

Any advantage of software running better on Mac (For some programs there used to be not sure about now) is negated by your budget. You would be able to get a significantly more powerful PC in your $1400 budget. Most of the time I see professional use of Macs they are of the Mac Pro variety and those start at like $2500.

[Providence]

According to the Autodesk website 3DS Max is Windows only. Of course, it's also $3500. Hopefully your budget doesn't include the software.

ah didn't realize 3ds max was windows specific. that is probably going to be a big deciding factor.

Any advantage of software running better on Mac (For some programs there used to be not sure about now) is negated by your budget. You would be able to get a significantly more powerful PC in your $1400 budget. Most of the time I see professional use of Macs they are of the Mac Pro variety and those start at like $2500.

that was also a very important issue i was considering. For the amount of money I have, I could get a much more powerful pc than I could with a mac for the same price.

[DismalNether]

No macs I know of come with workstation graphics cards which are very important for rendering. Even then most pcs also only come with gaming graphics cards, I would definitely suggest purchasing a custom computer with workstation graphics cards though.

Edit: Also macs come almost exclusively with discrete gpus(the kind of thing they put in laptops)

[Fostus]

No macs I know of come with workstation graphics cards which are very important for rendering. Even then most pcs also only come with gaming graphics cards, I would definitely suggest purchasing a custom computer with workstation graphics cards though.

With his budget looks like a AMD 6770M is really the only card available on the mac side of things.

[DismalNether]

The only problem with workstation graphics is to get a compatible card you will end up needing to shop 2 generations back and it will still absorb half of your budget
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133324 $750
vs 1 generation ago
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195094 $1150
vs current generation
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195102 $2800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133347 $4000

[Cows For Life]

Over the last decade or so, Apple has been caring less and less about the professional market and concentrating more on the consumer market.

If you ask me, it's looking like they're chasing an iOS future where the only market they care about are consumers who buy buy buy.

[Deleted]

Adobe's software has been better performing on the Windows side for years now. (Some gaps have been significant, like with CS4)

And 3D work is something Macs aren't really used for much at all.

Partially, this is due to the subpar GPU capabilities of Mac OS itself. Its just never been very good at using the GPU resources its provided, which is becoming an increasingly big problem with more and more software relying on GPU acceleration. It affects games, too.

Hardware wise, the Mac Pro is one generation behind. A further problem is that its also a sub-generation (refresh) behind on top of that. Any other Mac does not have performance oriented hardware.

[Xuvial]

About the only advantage of buying a Mac is knowing that you have full support if anything goes wrong.

[Arcticsnow65]

My wife is a biomedical illustrator, graduating with a degree in digital arts, I know she prefers PC. I asked her, and she mentioned it being basically quicker, less finicky, and an all around much smoother experience. As far as most companies using Mac, I've been informed that's mostly a myth. However, as someone who doesn't use one in his work, I'm probably not a great source.

[Jakexe]

I wouldn't even consider using a mac for my 3D animation, especially limited to that budget.

Takes my pc about 8secs to render a scene in bryce and I have time to make a coffee if I do it on a mac pro (no clue the specs).

[vesseblah]

People used Macs 25-20 years ago when Illustrator and Photoshop started as Mac-only software. Since Win2k situation was pretty much balanced, and for last five years or so every single graphics program has worked better on Windows simply because of improved hardware support for workstation cards and/or GPU rendering. People claiming Macs do it better are just stuck in 90's.

[Providence]

wow didnt realize makes weren't actually better at all and sounds like they are actually worse

[jbombard]

i've heard this as well, but i also heard that pc's are better for rendering which is going to be a major plus for pcs.

A long time ago, there was a time when professional multimedia authoring and desktop publishing were only done on the mac. At that time this did have a lot to do with the difference in hardware between the PC and the mac. This day has long since past, however this rumor lives on. Despite having been true a looong time ago, today it is 100% false.

[Diaxx]

Most colleges that use macs specifically get PCs for animation and rendering.

The only time I would ever recommend a Mac is if you have money to throw away and you only plan on using illustrator,indesign and photoshop... which do work better on Macs.