chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

The best performing PCs are NOT Macs. If these are your criteria then buy a Mac -

1. You like name brands.
2. You can't be bothered with technical stuff but like others to think you are.
3. You actually have a little difficulty with technical stuff. I know this doesn't apply to all.
4. You aren't after any form of expandability.
5. You have a little too much money.
6. You definitely don't want (nor possibly need) the best performance.

This is in response to dragonlady9947 who wouldn't say "Get a Mac" if she (?) truly understood just what a Mac is and its compromises meant.

1DProphet

What you are after is a workstation, not a mac or ibm style desktop, laptop, the Quadro is what we use for 3d rendering using maya or cinema 4d due to the pipeline structure handling massive data calculations without difficulties , most image and video editing is done on server based machines with nvidia 1080s, our setups are dual monitor nec 272s all of our video is shot with reds, you can pick up workstations of either type up at most big name vendors.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

PC's have different levels of performance at different price points. Those are some of the things the OP was asking about. Are you saying that the MacBook Pro only has one level of performance that is not upgradeable? If that's the case, that may be the reason a number of MacBook Pro owners I know are struggling with slower performance with post-processing software than I get on my Windows 10 machine for the same software.

There's nothing wrong with Macs, and I am not a Mac hater by any stretch of the imagination. But my experience after 35 years of IT is that many if not most Mac users are not technically savvy and want an easy-to-use machine that's already preconfigured and which doesn't require a learning curve to get up and running. And that's great for them. The downside is that Mac's are not as configurable, or upgradeable, and the performance you get out of the box is the performance you're basically always going to have. You can't tweak it much to make it better. And at the end of the day a souped-up Mac costs much more than a souped-up PC, which is more powerful. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that if that's what you want, but some of us want more. If I'm in need of a high-performance desktop computer, it sure as hell not going to be a Mac.

This is the same reason I use an Android phone instead of an iPhone. The iPhone is not very configurable and has far fewer options and features. However,I understand that a lot of people don't want to have to think about their phones they just want to use them. The big difference is with Android phones and Windows you can configure things the way you want them to work. With Macs and and iPhones Apple decides how the devices are configured and how they will work. I guess it's easier for the uninitiated since they don't have to think about anything technical.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 what I wish is that when a post is explicitly about a PC question, someone would not (inevitably) offer the unuseful and irrelevant comment of “get a Mac”.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Generally those comments come from people that are so non-technical that they don't even understand the nature of the questions that are being asked. And for them it's great that a machine like a Mac exists.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I've used PCs since the IBM PC with dual floppy drives and I use, and work with modern PC to this day. For my photography, and many other things, I MUCH prefer MAC, after using both, for a wide variety of reasons. They work, and they work well. Yes, they are more expensive, but the user experience is well worth it, at least to me. You do get what you pay for here and I wouldn't trade mu iMac Pro for anything. I am not a PC hater, just a convert. I too, use an Android phone! Best of luck.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Perhaps I misread the title, but I see nothing in there exclusive to PC. I offered a Mac as an easier alternative, not an only option. I have good friends, who are a couple, and both are photographers. One uses Canon and a Mac and the other uses Nikon with a PC. I use Nikon with a MAC. We're all good friends and fellow photographers. I would agree there is no one right answer, just options. Best of luck.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

There are two clues: the OP’s previous post (which you may not have read), and the Nvidia graphics (MacBooks use either Intel or Radeon). But I agree that it was not as obvious on this thread as it has been on many dozens in the past, including the OP’s previous post that I mentioned, where he began by stating that he was specifically looking for a PC, only to have the thread turn (once again) into a Mac vs PC heated discussion.

Not trying to be argumentative - my son loves Macs.

Cheers

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

You have a very smart son!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Amen brother. Although I also did buy a powered hub to connect all my devices into. Then I only have one cable to disconnect.

https://www.amazon.com/Promise-Technology-Thunderbolt-TD-300-Ethernet/dp/B077GFRJDM/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1U7G90WXLNITG&keywords=promise+technology&qid=1553299848&s=gateway&sprefix=Promise+tech%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Sonar618

What if I decided I want the capability to edit video as well? I have said that at times but I think you are the first that brought it up. Consequently, I have been drown with my still decision. Can it be done with a laptop? If so, what do I need. Should I concede to a desktop?

Sonar618

Yesterday Nvidia wrote that it would be ok to get a laptop and disable the iGPU. The dGPU Quadro will deliver the color called for by the monitor. One of you confirm it can handle video. That's good. The external monitor will be top end calabratable. So the question from my OP is about Ports. Do the popular ones have constraints?

Nvidia Quadro documents DisplayPort 1.4
VESA promotes DisplayPort 1.4a and Type-C (Display Port Alt Mode)

In the thread someone said stay away from Type-C. Can anyone else weigh in on the "the ports I want" on board my laptop?
Is DP 1.4 that Quadro supports the same as DP 1.4a? Do others have the concern with Type-C one Responder expressed.

Also are there any advising color space expert companies like this one in the US?
https://imagescience.com.au/

Also I think I'm going to exclude the MBP now.

Thanks for all the input so far.
Sonar618

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

USB-c is fine...that's all my mac has (besides a headphone Jack). I use a thunderbolt 3 dock to connect al my devices and it work's great.

https://smile.amazon.com/Promise-Technology-Thunderbolt-TD-300-Ethernet/dp/B077GFRJDM/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=23D1M9OJN6Z7B&keywords=promise+technology+thunderbolt+3&qid=1554297394&s=gateway&sprefix=promise+tec%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

Sonar618

Thanks.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Perhaps this link will help: https://www.planar.com/blog/2018/2/28/displayport-14-vs-hdmi-21/

As a practical matter, any of the above mentioned choices will support any type of display that you intend to use for editing. I would not pick the laptop and the display based on whether it’s HDMI 2.0/2.1 or DP 1.4/1.4a.

A couple of things that might drive my decision are: 1) DP 1.x will drive multiple monitors which I prefer for editing. If you chose HDMI, you will need multiple ports, and many laptops won’t provide that. 2) personally, I would prefer not to use 1.4/USB3, unless there were multiple USB3 ports available. You may need to use USB ports for external storage and other uses, and while you can use a hub, it’s inconvenient and may (though I would have to experiment) degrade performance of one or the other if you were accessing an external HD and display simultaneously. I would prefer a dedicated port for each - just my thoughts.