Hi,
I’ve been doing graphic work for my organization for the last 5-6 years and have used a macbook most of that time. My 2015 Macbook pro is starting to come close to the end of it’s life and so I asked the company for a replacement. They have told me that based on security and the fact that they are at Microsoft-based company (IT won’t/can’t support apple) they need to give me a gaming PC laptop instead. I didn’t get the full info on the laptop they are offering (I just have the screenshot below of the benchmark testing and some of the specs that they showed me). On paper these look like decent specs and they aren’t skimping, but as someone has used a mac for so long, I have concerns about how things will work on MS. Am I being worried unnecessarily? (besides the fact that everything will be locked down and I won’t be able to even download fonts without IT support, but that’s another story). I love that my computer lasted 5 years, PCs always made me crazy only lasting about 2 years, is that still an issue?
I do web (some basic code) and graphics work and tend to use a lot of programs at the same time because it’s just me - I will use illustrator and indesign a lot, occasionally photoshop. I’m also remote so use video chat while doing some of this work. I want to trust the IT dept to the proper research this but my conversation had them tell me that creative suite is the same as acrobat, which worried me - they really came across as anti-apple too so I wanted to get opinions of people actually using the software.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the specs — they look fine.
Not being able to install fonts and, I’m assuming, much of anything else without making an appointment with the IT people, though, would be maddeningly cumbersome.
If I were you, if IT has restrictions in place where you can’t load fonts, etc. I would schedule many IT appointments, frequently to add fonts, etc. Even if not completely necessary. They may, hopefully realize they don’t want to deal with it any more than you do, and perhaps lessen the restrictions on your device so that you can work more efficiently.
Of course that all depends on the policies and rigidity of your company/organization.
Did they give you a model number? A lot of gaming machines have the right specs for design, and without knowing what software you use I can’t say for sure that there won’t be any loss, but most companies build their software for both operating systems, so you should be able to transfer over pretty smoothly.
If longevity is your concern, that does really depend on the model, as that’ll determine what the different components are made out of - MSI makes motherboards, which is a good sign, but I couldn’t tell you how reliable the other pieces would be without knowing more.
If you want to dig for any issues, two handy sites for computer comparison would be PCPartPicker and NewEgg, where you could look up the individual components and see how they’re rated.
It really is maddening, which is why I’ve really LOVED the freedom of this macbook (it wasn’t locked down). While I understand their desire for security, it all goes a bit far.
I tried that initially, it never worked sadly, it just puts the load on the poor IT guys. I’m going to state my case to them that my workload is far heavier than it was those years back and the steps needed to install a font can’t be what it once was, it would often be a day before it would be on there, and you know, it’s not always the font you’re looking for.
Thanks for all this super helpful info. I did not get a model number, they just presented specs and benchmark testing, but if I can wheedle that info out of them, I will and I’ll check the sites you’ve shared. I guess the other option is that I counter offer with PCs of my own - but I know nothing of these machines these days…
