Mac Pro or PC

Trever1t · Mar 2, 2017

been a pc user since early 90's. Can do pretty much anything with a PC, open it up, swap board, power supply, memory, drives, etc..... Apple is a strange and unknown entity to me but it has always attracted me.

I need to upgrade. My current system, PC i7, 1tb drive, 16gb mem, decent nvidea video card but it hangs on me occasionally working in LR and CS.

Do I want the Mac Pro? Choices range between $3000 and $8k depending on options. I want a system that I won't regret not paying for the right upgrades.

Or should I build a new PC?

ClickAddict · Mar 2, 2017

If you're throwing out the old PC...... I'll send you my address.

As for your question, I've worked on both. People are devoted both ways. Same old arguments. It comes down to personal preferences really.

BrentC · Mar 2, 2017

Personally if the only issue with your computer is that it hangs and your happy with its performance, I would just re-install the OS on it. That will probably fix your hanging issues.

smoke665 · Mar 2, 2017

If the new upgrade is going to be primarily for photography then go Mac, and don't look back. You can continue to run Windows based applications as a virtual machine on the Mac. If the new upgrade is going to be used more for business application, and other Windows applications, then go with a PC.

However, you noted you only have 16gb of ram and 1tb hard drive. With limited ram you're going to have a lot of swapping to HD in LR and PS, especially if you haven't limited your history. You didn't say how much free space you had on the HD or if it was an SSD. If you're happy with your current setup, a more economical suggestion would be to upgrade to 128 gb of ram, and if your primary drive is not an SSD then upgrade it also. Depending on model or capacity you can get an internal SSD 1tb for $300-$400, and 2tb for roughly $900. You also didn't mention the memory or clock speed of the video card which may also be an area to upgrade.

Gary A. · Mar 2, 2017

More than a decade ago I switched from PC to Apple ... and I've been quite pleased. I am not a computer techie ... I just want a computer to simply perform all that I need it to perform and do it well, seamlessly with little issue, minimal fuss. My Mac does just that. From a consumer viewpoint, I just love my Mac. I use Apple for my desktop, laptop, tablet, phone and watch. Just an evolving thing. I am not an Apple fanatic. I do not camp out in from of an Apple store waiting for a new product. Apple stuff just works for me.

Like smoke665 noted, I think you're low on ram.

Designer · Mar 2, 2017

Trever1t said:
Do I want the Mac Pro? Choices range between $3000 and $8k depending on options. I want a system that I won't regret not paying for the right upgrades.

Or should I build a new PC?

I hope you're not thinking of the Mac Book Pro, which is a POS compared to the previous edition.

So Mac Pro...If you can afford it, then (as posted above); it's great for anything imaging. I'm not up on what options are available on the Pro, but it's going to cost you some significant money. You can build a PC for a lot less and invest in a top quality display.

I use an iMac, which is somewhat limiting as to modifications, but it can still be done. I swapped out the RAM boards myself to boost the RAM, and it was easy. Even with those you can do some internal modifications, or hire it done.

If you're seriously considering a system change, start by looking at the software you want to run, and that should help inform your decision.

Trever1t · Mar 2, 2017

My desktop is only used for editing and occasionally playing BF3 , I use my laptop and iPad for everything else.

I can't remember the details of my current motherboard but it was near top 5 years ago... probably ancient by today's standard

So the software I'm running is LR&CS plus demanding game now and then.

jcdeboever · Mar 2, 2017

Trever1t said:
been a pc user since early 90's. Can do pretty much anything with a PC, open it up, swap board, power supply, memory, drives, etc..... Apple is a strange and unknown entity to me but it has always attracted me.

I need to upgrade. My current system, PC i7, 1tb drive, 16gb mem, decent nvidea video card but it hangs on me occasionally working in LR and CS.

Do I want the Mac Pro? Choices range between $3000 and $8k depending on options. I want a system that I won't regret not paying for the right upgrades.

Or should I build a new PC?

A hanging PC could be multiple things and shouldn't prompt you to buy a new PC. However, being an expert in the hardware field, the Apple hardware used in the Mac Pro Quad core, Six core, and Eight core, are the top of the line in the industry. The AMD work station cards offered are more than enough for your needs and have outstanding drivers that are optimized for the hardware and graphics software. You can't go wrong with any of them, just comes down to what your comfortable spending. The macOS Sierra is a fine operating system with impeccable file structure that blows the pants off of any Windows box. Highly secure, and worry free on malware and PUP browser installations. If it were me, I would go with the Mac Pro. The only reason I don't is that I have so much, old new stock that I couldn't justify the expense considering I'm a photography enthusiast. You are a professional, you deserve professional hardware, and your customers have earned it.

snowbear · Mar 2, 2017

Macs go both ways. Since they moved to Intel, they run OS-X as well as Windows natively (dual boot). My problem with them (Macbooks) had been expense and changing out parts. I'm not sure if the all-in-one iMacs are any better.

table1349 · Mar 2, 2017

Being a Mac Guy this may sound a bit strange, but Trevor, I would hold onto and use what you have for a time. There is a big discussion in the Mac world about the Mac Pro. The last version of the Mac Pro was introduced in 2013. It is an outstanding machine especially when fully loaded, however times have changed. I am suggesting that you hold off on a purchase to see what is announced by Apple. They may kill off the Mac Pro for a truly souped up iMac. I love my fully loaded 27" iMac. If I was doing video editing I would have looked at a Mac Pro when I got the iMac, but I just don't need the power.

If you choose to wait a while and if you have not done so, add a second small drive to your PC and transfer you scratch disk operation to that drive. Also increase the scratch disk size.

Gary A. · Mar 2, 2017

BTW- My MacBook Pro is several years old. I was having problems with it and took it to a Mac Store for repair. They said the motherboard was bad and replaced the motherboard for free. No complaints.

Dave Colangelo · Mar 2, 2017

I have been a Software Developer for longer than I care to remember and have worked extensively on both Mac's and PC's for various reasons. I own at least one of each at all times but lets be honest, I never get rid of old computers... Heres what Ill say.

Both Mac and the various PC makers offer great computers these days that will do everything you want them to and more. The PC market has a lot of customization and if you are willing to build/order your desktop piece by piece you can put together a machine capable of more than you will ever practically need. On the flip side Apple allows little customization but spends an inordinate amount of time optimizing their software and hardware internally. They are only able to do this because they offer few options that are highly optimized, while the PC world lets you kind of do what ever you want then spends time making sure their stuff works on millions of hardware combos at the cost of efficiency to an extent.

So what are you really buying: At this point in time you are buying a tech ecosystem, and in this case Apple wins every time for me. Their seamless integration across devices and services wins me measurable amounts of time while working. The need to not install drives to make a screen work right is priceless to me. The sleek product design means its going to look nice sitting on a desk. Their customer support is helpful and replacements are generally aloud for legitimate issues. The UI/UX design is clean, easy to work with and does not take long to really get to know. The fact that things sync across all my devices with out me needing to do anything is great. The simple fact that I can text and facetime from my computer then throw it over to my iPad mid conversation is really a modern marvel.

The PC ecosystem, while allowing more in some cases, is a bit less coherent although its catching up. Driver installs are going away and in the box functionality is getting better. However they still lack the nice cmd-spacebar search function style stuff that makes a mac so easy to interface with.

Remember, its technology, no matter what you end up with it will be out dated in a few years....

Regards
Dave

jcdeboever · Mar 2, 2017

The OP said Mac Pro which is their professional desktop.

table1349 · Mar 2, 2017

Trevor, I would defiantly wait before buying. Tim Cook announced at the board meeting on Tuesday that Apple will be doing more in the Pro area. The announcement is expected this month. If you want a Pro I would suggest you wait and see what the new pro build is.

BananaRepublic · Mar 2, 2017

When I was looking at an iMac a few months ago I concluded that the top of the range all mods units don't seem to hold there value cause they tend to become obsolete faster then the basic. But id imagine that doesn't matter much here. The quad core also to me seemed overkill for PS LR and therefore not worth the money just for that purpose, the quad core to me is more for high intensity stuff

In any event the bigger screen would be an option worth having over a souped up processor, I didn't get one in the end however.