What computer should I buy for school?

Student Forum
#21

It’s just a general experience feeling. Maybe you’re experience is different because of what you are familiar with. I started on PC. Tried Mac about 5 years later and have been using both side-by-side for the last 25 years. Just remember it taking me about 3x to 4x longer to do things on PCs, with 2x to 3x as many steps. I’m not talking about Adobe software. It seems to work just as well on PC as it does on Macs now. That wasn’t always the case. I’m talking about working with the OS.

When it comes to hardware, PCs have been easier to get in an out of, but more difficult to troubleshoot and repair. The parts for Macs have been more expensive, but don’t seem to break down as often. I never owned a sports car, so I may be off with the car analogy. My main point is that unless you are pro racing on a race track, the less expensive economy car will get you where you need to go in traffic in the same time as the sports car. The most powerful computers I’ve seen were custom built PCs. On the spectrum of performance, PCs are the cheapest of the cheap, and the most expensive of the expensive. Macs are in between, with a little better than average reliability and slightly more sophisticated hardware than the average PC.

But again, this is over decades. Recently with Intel making chips for both, the gap has been closed with hardware. The gap in the OSs hasn’t been closed as much. But the difference may not justify the price of the more expensive Macs. When I buy Macs now, it’s mainly for the reliability of what I already know, the trust in security issues, and for the Apple ecosystem (compatibility between devices) despite the lack of backward compatibility.

#22

^^ THIS.
Check with your school to see if there is a preference and also if there are any student discounts available for your school/class.

#23

That’s my experience too, but it’s mainly due to me having spent many thousands of hours in front of a Macintosh and not nearly that many using a PC.

I have no particular loyalty to Apple. Their products look nice, but I wouldn’t pay a big premium just for the looks, and I prefer Samsung/Android for mobile devices anyway.

For me it’s the Mac OS that’s important. Each time I have to work with the Windows operating system itself, my frustration level increased by at least ten fold. For that matter, any time I have to work with any Microsoft product, from Outlook to Word, my head starts to ache.

It just seems that the engineers at Microsoft have a fundamentally different view of the world than I do.

#24

Absolutely. Most companies are PC. The vast majority of corporate America uses PC equipment, with some using Mac for their creative/printing depts. The Adobe software works on either one.

There was a time, in the distant past, where Macs were considered better for image work. But them days have been gone for a long, long time.

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#25

The only thing that really matters is the typefaces on handoff.
While most people say, “just PDF it,” there are some things for which that is not the preferred method of handoff. If you coordinate with your printer, PC or Mac does not matter. A print vendor worth his salt can usually catch both formats without issue.

The other part of that involves sharing files across work groups. It can be rather difficult to share files across OS, but is possible as long as certain file conventions are put in place. Coordinate fonts, file naming conventions and assorted other Mac/PC annoyances before you start and the OS still shouldn’t matter.

#26

It depends on your work. If you want to do basic tasks and assignments then you can buy a normal specs computer and if your workload is high like graphic designing, then you should buy a high specs computer.

#27

For me, although I understand that PCs compete on a reasonably level playing field these days, for the most part, I don’t have to think about the Mac. It just works. Now, that said, there is a level of subjectivity in that. I have always used Macs because when I started working, it absolutely was a given. If you walked into a deign studio in London with PC experience you simply wouldn’t get the job you NEEDED to know Mac. So, I grew up on it and as Just-B says, there is a level of habitude in my opinion.

However, I will say although expensive – arguably, too expensive – they just work. Colour accuracy out the box on an iMac is always pretty impressive. You can do it on a PC, with a bit of fiddling and the right monitor, but I don’t want to be fiddling. I want to be a designer. I have a couple of iMacs that are 2010 and 2012 and now I am at a point of looking to buy a new one as my main one in the next 6 months – after they launch an iMac with the new chip and have ironed out issues. It used to be that I upgraded every three years, now a Mac lasting 8 years is not unusual, so the price is not so bad – just the outlay is.

My other consideration is a couple of bits of software that are Mac only (type design), so my choice is governed by that if nothing else. However, for me, (again, personal opinion, not fact) whenever I have to have anything to do with an out-of-the box PC, it just feels ugly and clunky and and not a pleasant experience (even with the latest OS). I know I will likely get it in the neck for this, but honestly, I wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole, for what we do.

Plus, despite the protests this is likely to elicit, based on personal experience (counted in decades rather than years these days) and even though things have moved on in terms of the PC vs Mac argument, with all my work and contacts, I don’t know anyone who uses PCs. Certainly in the book-publishing world, every publisher I have ever worked with has been Mac-based. Even though, theoretically, files are transparently transferable between the two platforms, I’m not sure I’d like to test the theory on a 256-page book that needed to go to an editor for a final check over and they needed the live files.

One thing I would say, is whichever way you jump, load it with as much RAM as you can reasonably afford.

Oh, and don’t let kids anywhere near it. Get them a cheap one to put their jammy fingers all over.

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#28

In fact, don’t let anyone near it.

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#29

When I started out in this business (I’m older than most of you), it was pre-computer. When computers got to the point where they could be useful in graphic design, there was no Windows — just Macintosh. When Windows came along and replaced DOS, it was nearly as unusable for graphic design as DOS had been. It wasn’t until Windows 3.1, seven years after the first Macs, that Windows could be used for some limited desktop publishing. It wasn’t until Windows 95 and until design software started being ported over to Windows that it became competitive with Macs for graphic design.

With that in mind, Macs got an obvious head start in the creative fields since there really was no other alternative until the mid-1990s. Even after that, Macs were so firmly entrenched, that it was nearly impossible to dislodge them.

I had several jobs at different companies during the early days of desktop publishing. One of them was as a technical illustrator in the marketing group of a large computer manufacturing company that built some of the first PC clones. All our marketing work was done on Macs because the DOS and Windows-based PCs we were manufacturing were not capable of graphic design.

That’s interesting because I thought my similar experience was unusual. I know people who use Windows computers, but I don’t know any designers in my day-to-day work who use Windows. I know they’re out there because there are several top-notch designers on this forum (for whom I have great respect) who use Windows. In my in-person life, however, I’ve never worked with a designer or on a creative team where anyone (other than the occasional writers/editors) have used Windows (and that’s been a rarity).

The several ad agencies where I’ve worked were top-to-bottom all Macintosh — no exceptions other than accounting people. The daily newspaper where I worked was 100% Macintosh, with, again, only the accountants using PCs. The two magazines where I’ve worked were all Macintosh with only a few PCs is use by support staff. The creative teams at the in-house situations where I’ve worked all used Macintoshes — even at companies where everyone else used PCs. The state university where I worked just last year was all Macintosh — I don’t remember seeing a Windows computer the entire time I was there.

I’m certain that my all-Macintosh experience is not the norm, but even the majority of my freelance clients have been Macintosh users. I’m really not sure why this has been the case. Maybe it’s just been coincidence or maybe there’s some kind of siloed segment of the market that I work in — I just don’t know. Given that Macs marketshare in the U.S. (just checked) is only somewhere between 12 and 14.5%, it seems odd, but it’s still been my experience.

My purpose in the post is not to say that in today’s world Macs are still better than Windows machines for graphic design because they’re really not. Today’s Windows machines are just as capable of doing great graphic design work as any Macintosh. The essential software is basically the same on both platforms. In those instances where a particular app isn’t available for one or the other, there’s almost always a good equivalent. Windows computers are generally cheaper than Macs, which gives them an advantage in that regard. Today, as opposed to before the mid-1990s, Windows machines (for those liking the Windows OS or who might be on a budget or who might be in a Windows-only job) is a perfectly viable choice for graphic design.

However, Macs aren’t optional for me. For whatever weird reason, they’ve been required in every job I’ve ever had. Your experience might vary in exactly the opposite way, which is totally fine — it makes no difference to me. Whatever works is all that matters. Being ambidextrous between Windows and Macs is probably best in today’s world, but if I were to suggest a computer to a new design student with the budget to afford one, I’d still suggest a Macintosh.

#30

This thread is coming up on three years old. We can talk about computers until the proverbial cows come home, but I’d assume the original poster made up his mind already.

#31

Sometimes responses to posts are directed at the original poster. Other times, like these, I think we’re just having an ongoing, extended discussion on a topic that still has relevance to many students beyond the person who asked the initial question and who might be new to the forum or arrived here via a Google search.

When someone answers a specific question several months later that only pertains to what the original poster asked, it’s sort of pointless. On the other hand, there are many larger, broader comments, questions and subjects where the audience isn’t necessarily the original poster, and is, instead, anyone else reading through the thread who might find what’s written interesting or useful.

#32

A view close to my heart.

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#33

My view is, whatever works when I need it most.

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#34

… and that too.

#35

Yep. That’s why I said we can talk about computers until the proverbial cows come home.

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#36

Oh, this is something I can actually weigh in on, despite still being a Young Punk. I’m a bit of a computer hobbyist, and I’ve worked on and with Macs and PCs for years. I can say pretty confidently at this point that the biggest draw to either approach is going to be your familiarity with the operating system/UI and any exclusive software one might have that the other doesn’t.

The difference in hardware quality between a high end PC and a Mac isn’t going to be huge in either direction at this point in time; you can easily find one that’ll do what you need it to do, as long as you know what specs are important. The big issue on hardware is going to be repairs/replacements - with a good PC build, you can swap things out yourself (it’s basically Fragile Legos, honestly) if anything stops working like you need it to; and if not, there are a dozen nerds more computer oriented than myself who can figure it out easy peasy. Macs, being super-standardized won’t break as often, but a consequence of that standardization is repairs are more expensive, and you’re not generally going to be able to make any modifications on your own. As computer gaming raises in popularity on Macs they might make (or have made, I’m not exactly watching the news for Apple mods) that process easier, and some PC computer brands have code built in their parts that throws a fit when something not approved is detected, but in general PC’s are more forgiving about repairs, replacements and upgrades. Since they’re not standardized the same way Macs are, they may need them more often, but it won’t hurt as bad.

The best way to sum up the difference between Apple products in general and their competitors I’ve found is comparing them to Automatic and Manual transmission cars. Apple runs like an automatic transmission - you don’t have to think about shifting gears, you tell it how fast you want to go and what direction and it’ll take you there. PC’s (and similarly Android devices) are more like a manual - they’re going to require more out of you for basic function, but if you understand how they work you can get better control and performance out of them. Neither one is inherently superior to the other, but you’ll know which one you like better after using them for a while.

That being said, it is worth noting that Macs are still treated like the standard by a -lot- of people; I’ve had employers and teachers alike insist that that’s all that’s used. That’s obviously untrue, but I still think any designer ought to know how to use Macs, because you might be required to in some situations. I use a PC for most of my work, but we’ve got an old Mac sitting behind me that we’ve kept going in part for when people send old files that only open in like, Pagemaker or something.

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