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Is Apple worth the extra cost?
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Jan 15, 2015 07:14:28   #
Jmcoopermini
 
Regarding computers, I've learned a few things from my super brainy son.
He likes to think of himself as a computer genius. he likes to tinker, play, build, buy additional parts at every store he sees. He likes to redesign things and play games which can basically only be done on PCs. he doesn't care if it works or not perfectly because he can go in there with his screwdrivers and fix things. in fact he lives to tinker. For me, I
Just want the damn thing to work so I'm all Mac. I've had mac's for years and have never used antivirus software.

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Jan 15, 2015 07:26:52   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
wingnut1956 wrote:
I've been looking around a bit and I have to say I was VERY impressed with the Apple macbook pro,even though it was only 13 inches. The retina display is really incredible, but like all things made by Apple it comes at a price.

I switched from the Apple IIe to an IBM, and I've been using PC's ever since. However, a couple of years ago, after reading opinions here, I bought a MacBook Pro and an iMac. Now I use both PC and Apple. One thing I can say about the Apple - it has never locked up. From what I have read, Apples keep going for years and years.

You say the HP was half the price of the Mac. How do the specs of each compare?

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Jan 15, 2015 07:46:01   #
alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas
 
I build my own desktops. Therefore either Windows or Linux are my only options. I can build a computer that will outperform a Mac Pro for 1/3 the cost.

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Jan 15, 2015 07:51:09   #
Peekayoh Loc: UK
 
mldavis2 wrote:
Good post by @Gene51. I use both, so here's my 2c.

Macs are expensive. Apple tries very hard to maintain proprietary control of their machines and peripherals, so you have few options when it comes to modification or expansion. For non-techies, that's a plus because you don't have to know much of anything to run one once you learn the idiosyncrasies. (That actually goes for Windows as well, but Apple apologists like to disagree.) Apple has somewhat of a cult reputation among artists, photographers and graphics designers, so it's a good choice if that's what you will want it for and price is no object.

PCs are far more customizable and less expensive. They will run more software as the PC user base is larger and many vendors do not write for both platforms, so your software choices are greater.

Laptops become obsolete much more quickly than desktop machines which can be continually updated for a while to keep them near the leading edge. If it costs you over $2000 for a laptop with performance comparable to a $1000 PC laptop, you can afford to ditch the PC and replace it with a current faster model in half the time for what you paid for the Apple.

If you are planning on doing anything even remotely related to gaming, then the PC is the hands down choice, so it really depends on what ELSE you plan to use the laptop for. Personally, I would never edit photographs on a laptop of any kind when I have a calibrated 24" monitor on my ultra-fast desktop. My laptop is a road warrior used for keeping up to date on news and e-mail, not as an editing platform.
Good post by @Gene51. I use both, so here's my 2c... (show quote)
Yes, I go along with this and what Gene51 posted. I think this old, old argument is a bit like choosing to wear designer jeans. If you want the cachet of belonging to a smaller herd and want to pay the extra, go with the MAC, no doubt it will work for you.

From a hardware perspective and since Apple were obliged to move over to Intel processors, there's nothing to choose between the two apart from price. There is a difference in the O/S but again, it's just six of one and half a dozen of the other and mainly comes down to what you've got used to.

In the same way that folk tend to maintain that their choice of camera system is the best (no one likes to admit to a mistake), the MAC user will always claim that illusory high ground. By the same token and as a committed PC user, I'm always going to claim my choice is better; at least I can prove it's less costly and more flexible with wider choices.

There is the argument that MACs are less subject to viral attack by “security through minority” which has some truth in it although viruses on MACs are a reality, they are not as common in the profit-driven world of malware. Having said that it's pretty easy to make your PC bombproof by using software like Deep Freeze and/or a virtual machine without resorting to expensive and resource consuming AV solutions.

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Jan 15, 2015 07:51:48   #
OviedoPhotos
 
I have an iPad and a iMac. Love them, especially for graphics work. Photoshop rocks on my dual screen iMac. I have heard not so great about the laptops, heat being the biggest thing. I use a Sony Viao for a laptop.

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Jan 15, 2015 08:00:55   #
Greenguy33 Loc: Rhode Island
 
wingnut1956 wrote:
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be another "Ford vs. Chevy" or "Nikon vs. Canon" type of argument, but I'm looking for a photographers opinion. ...
I'm thinking about getting a new laptop that I can take with on vacations,etc. so I can work with my photos. I've been looking around a bit and I have to say I was VERY impressed with the Apple macbook pro,even though it was only 13 inches. The retina display is really incedible, but like all things made by Apple it comes at a price. It's at the very least, twice the price of an HP or something else comparable. For me to get that laptop, with the larger flash drive, the larger ram,and some software for photos and whatever, it's pushing the $2,000.00 window. I've never owned an Apple product and have looked at them before,but again,I got my HP desktop for less than half the cost of the Apple and I still wonder if I should have just gotten the Apple anyway.
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be a... (show quote)


A base model Apple is like a loaded windows-based pc, so you can't really compare the two side-by-side. I have never had a pc last more than 2-3 years. My iMac is going on 7 years now. I swear that my blood pressure has gone down since switching to Apple. I no longer have to defrag and clean up my computer on a daily basis.

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Jan 15, 2015 08:02:34   #
rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO
 
I've been using a Windows bases PC from the beginning. $499 at the local computer store. Just add Photoshop and stir and you have the greatest little image editor and storage device. After all that's all you're really using it for. $2000 is a lot to spend for that.

wingnut1956 wrote:
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be another "Ford vs. Chevy" or "Nikon vs. Canon" type of argument, but I'm looking for a photographers opinion. ...
I'm thinking about getting a new laptop that I can take with on vacations,etc. so I can work with my photos. I've been looking around a bit and I have to say I was VERY impressed with the Apple macbook pro,even though it was only 13 inches. The retina display is really incedible, but like all things made by Apple it comes at a price. It's at the very least, twice the price of an HP or something else comparable. For me to get that laptop, with the larger flash drive, the larger ram,and some software for photos and whatever, it's pushing the $2,000.00 window. I've never owned an Apple product and have looked at them before,but again,I got my HP desktop for less than half the cost of the Apple and I still wonder if I should have just gotten the Apple anyway.
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be a... (show quote)

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Jan 15, 2015 08:10:32   #
Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.
 
Once you go Mac, you will never go Bac! ;)

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Jan 15, 2015 08:12:15   #
MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay
 
brucewells wrote:
Many seem very much satisfied with their Apple products, myself included. I have an iPad and an iPhone. For computing, I stay with Windows machines. My major issue with Apple is the corporation, not the product.

I suspect you'll enjoy it, but as you say, it's considerably more expensive than a similarly equipped PC.


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

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Jan 15, 2015 08:14:40   #
Greenguy33 Loc: Rhode Island
 
Dngallagher wrote:
Once you go Mac, you will never go Bac! ;)


:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
Amen to that!

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Jan 15, 2015 08:18:29   #
Risingblue
 
I am a very long time Mac user. Forced to use Windows at work just enough to remind me what it like. I wanted to pass on my experience at buting refurbs reconditioned by Apple. Significant discounts, same warranty, usually perfectly new condition.

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Jan 15, 2015 08:18:40   #
MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay
 
Greenguy33 wrote:
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
Amen to that!


I did, lol.

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Jan 15, 2015 08:21:37   #
joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois
 
Gene51 wrote:
In fact you hit the nail on the head. A laptop for Photoshop needs to have at least 16 gb ram, and two hard drives - so that $2000 price is pretty optimistic. And a 13" retina display will have system text prompts that are so small that it can cause eyestrain after a little while of constant use. The MBP is a nice machine but to properly outfit it for optimal performance with Photoshop, it can get expensive, more than it needs to be.

For that same $2000 (or less) you can get a computer with 2 internal drives - one SSD for software and system, and a 1Tb 7200 rpm drive for data (picture) storage. The resolution will be ideal for editing, and you have a choice of 13, 15 or 17 inch displays.

The reality it that the retina display is less impressive in gamut-hungry applications like Photoshop. Put simply, it does not have the color gamut to properly display color images for editing. There are better choices out there, if you look at the right criteria - but like yourself, the Retina does look impressive because of the detail and resolution. It just doesn't display enough colors.

You might find this article informative:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1432348

The laptops I have been recommending are the ones mentioned in the article as having excellent color gamut - the Clevo/Sager 15" laptops.

which you can find here:

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-clevo-sager-notebooks-ct-95_51_162.html

I have a number of students that have purchased a system based on the SAGER NP8268 which starts at just under $1200, but can be user-expanded to 32 gb, so it has some future-proofing.

Their warranty and extended warranties are quite good, and also less costly than Apple's comparable products. It is a good alternative to Dell's Alienware machines, and a favorite among gamers.

At the end of the day, once you are in your applications, the OS is pretty much in the background, and it really doesn't matter which one you use. Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 are just as stable as Mac OS, and given some of the issues that arise when Apple updates it's OS and applications run into compatibility issues, I would say that the stability goes to the PC platform.

I have quite a few students with Apple products, and the rest have Windows, and some have both. I don't see much of a meaningful difference between them in use - either from a functional or reliability perspective. Buying the cheapest PC and comparing it to a premium priced product like an Apple, is silly, but often Apple converts will make that comparison. They leave out the price when they make the comparison. Best to compare apples to, well, apples (premium PCs). Select the Apple as you need it configured, and then get a Premium quality PC and configure it the same way, and you will see the differences.

These days, PCs crash just as often as Macs - which is not all that often.
In fact you hit the nail on the head. A laptop for... (show quote)


Right on target. :thumbup:

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Jan 15, 2015 08:28:04   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
alandg46 wrote:
I build my own desktops. Therefore either Windows or Linux are my only options. I can build a computer that will outperform a Mac Pro for 1/3 the cost.

I've always heard of the benefits of making my own, and I actually started accumulating a list of components several times. The problem I've had is knowing what components to buy. What will work with what; what is overkill; what isn't quite enough. I generally stopped making these lists when the price got too high, which defeated the purpose of the DIY computer.

I just ordered a replacement for my Dell. It's a Dell XPS 8700, Core i7, 8GB of RAM with another 8GB ordered, and 1TB drive. I'll move my current 2TB D drive into the new machine. The total cost delivered is $750. My son will be getting my current Dell to replace his dead HP.

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Jan 15, 2015 08:36:52   #
Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.
 
wingnut1956 wrote:
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be another "Ford vs. Chevy" or "Nikon vs. Canon" type of argument, but I'm looking for a photographers opinion. ...
I'm thinking about getting a new laptop that I can take with on vacations,etc. so I can work with my photos. I've been looking around a bit and I have to say I was VERY impressed with the Apple macbook pro,even though it was only 13 inches. The retina display is really incedible, but like all things made by Apple it comes at a price. It's at the very least, twice the price of an HP or something else comparable. For me to get that laptop, with the larger flash drive, the larger ram,and some software for photos and whatever, it's pushing the $2,000.00 window. I've never owned an Apple product and have looked at them before,but again,I got my HP desktop for less than half the cost of the Apple and I still wonder if I should have just gotten the Apple anyway.
Hi Fellow 'Hoggers..This is probably going to be a... (show quote)


You're corrct, you'll probably find each owner speaking-up in defense of their system. I'm an avid PC user and have been since Abraham Lincoln, although I admit, if you narrow it down to only photography, the Mac will probably come out on top. With that said, if you get 'equal' power, size, etc. in a good, new PC, you can do wonders also with photography. and for less money. (It's more a case of your skill as a photographer and not so much the machine). Again, and if money is no object, and you want it explicitly for photography, then go for the Mac. I have so much PC software that to replace it with Mac-compatible software would be terribly prohibitive for me. I'm completely and totally content with my array of PC's. Let us know of your decision and whichever it is, keep on having fun!

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