I'm in the market to purchase a good computer for editing, and wondering what the consensus is on Apple vs. Windows? How to compare them - and what software is the most user friendly for students in a high school setting?
Computer / Software Recommendations??? Photo/Video and Audio Editing
- Thread starter markwalters
- Start date
I’m a user of both Mac & Windows systems. Mac has come at a more premium price, for a more fully integrated system; I’ve learned to value that integration as worth the price premium.
On the other hand, the Windows environment is much more open, and many who are working in 3D, VR, AR, and other techs will find many more resources and independent developers and user communities.
As for photo/video processing & editing, I would go Mac. Others would legitimately say windows gives you equal access to the software tools, at a lower price. With Mac you’re getting an OS that is much easier to deal with, in my opinion.
For school-age learners, you could ask the teachers what software your kids will be using…
PS. Apple’s new M1 systems may have improved on price/value, I’ve not had enough experience to say, but they seem less expensive. I’d recommend the 16GB+ (not 8GB) RAM models.
On the other hand, the Windows environment is much more open, and many who are working in 3D, VR, AR, and other techs will find many more resources and independent developers and user communities.
As for photo/video processing & editing, I would go Mac. Others would legitimately say windows gives you equal access to the software tools, at a lower price. With Mac you’re getting an OS that is much easier to deal with, in my opinion.
For school-age learners, you could ask the teachers what software your kids will be using…
PS. Apple’s new M1 systems may have improved on price/value, I’ve not had enough experience to say, but they seem less expensive. I’d recommend the 16GB+ (not 8GB) RAM models.
Apple vs Windows. The eternal debate.
As a former Windows user, I'm 100% Mac (both at home and work) and you'd have to pry my Mac from my cold, dead hands. I think it's a much more stable platform. I'm a software developer by trade and this is critical for me.
I don't miss the blue screen of death when Windows would just puke all over itself. My wife has a Windows laptop and it's horrible. Since she upgraded to v11 it's slower than molasses in the winter. I've never had a Mac update bog me down.
However, in an education setting, I agree with the comment about using what the school uses. Don't be like me and give your kid a Linux laptop when they only use Windows at school.
As for software, the same applies. If they use Premiere, for example, go with that. If you have a choice, download the trials, watch some tutorials to get a basic idea, and explore the workflow. Try to do the same tasks in each package to see how easy or painful it is. What feels intuitive/natural?
If anyone is feeling generous, I'm accepting donations of a new M1 MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM and at least a 2TB drive.
As a former Windows user, I'm 100% Mac (both at home and work) and you'd have to pry my Mac from my cold, dead hands. I think it's a much more stable platform. I'm a software developer by trade and this is critical for me.
I don't miss the blue screen of death when Windows would just puke all over itself. My wife has a Windows laptop and it's horrible. Since she upgraded to v11 it's slower than molasses in the winter. I've never had a Mac update bog me down.
However, in an education setting, I agree with the comment about using what the school uses. Don't be like me and give your kid a Linux laptop when they only use Windows at school.
As for software, the same applies. If they use Premiere, for example, go with that. If you have a choice, download the trials, watch some tutorials to get a basic idea, and explore the workflow. Try to do the same tasks in each package to see how easy or painful it is. What feels intuitive/natural?
If anyone is feeling generous, I'm accepting donations of a new M1 MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM and at least a 2TB drive.
Well I have used both, but if you are talking about taking those skills with in in the future to a job and not just play at home, the vast majority of creative studios use PC's now. In the past, when it was mostly graphic design, Apple was king but not anymore. Especially when it comes to 3D and video editing. Adobe software works on both platforms.
A good PC won't crap out on you if you spend the money, a cheap one defiantly will. But apples and oranges, When you spend 2,000 on an Mac and only 600 on a PC guess which one is going to win? Spend the same 2,000 on a PC and you will have a screaming fast PC.
Pro Tip:
Look for a processor with high core count. People will say look for lots of RAM, or a powerful GPU and yes that's important but for video editing, the high core count on the CPU chip is where the speed comes comes from. Like 12 or higher. 16 core count would be ideal.
Something like this or better: https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-9-3900x
A good PC won't crap out on you if you spend the money, a cheap one defiantly will. But apples and oranges, When you spend 2,000 on an Mac and only 600 on a PC guess which one is going to win? Spend the same 2,000 on a PC and you will have a screaming fast PC.
Pro Tip:
Look for a processor with high core count. People will say look for lots of RAM, or a powerful GPU and yes that's important but for video editing, the high core count on the CPU chip is where the speed comes comes from. Like 12 or higher. 16 core count would be ideal.
Something like this or better: https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-ryzen-9-3900x
SkyPath Studios
Well-Known Member
If I were you I’d go with a MacBook Pro. I would install Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro, both are incredible. For photo either Photoshop or Luminar AI.
Eagle Eye 62
Well-Known Member
The Apple brand has a percieved ease of use compared to the PC which is really not the case. You also have the following major negatives if you go that route:
1) More expensive
2) Significantly fewer hardware options (only one mfr)
3) A small 3rd party eco system compared to PC with fewer free software options
The reality of today's PC world is that they are very stable, crashing is very uncommon. Also, Apple uses a lot of proprietary file types, connectors, etc. as opposed to industry standards in the PC world.
I have used Macs when I have had to and I really don't see the attraction or benefit personally.
1) More expensive
2) Significantly fewer hardware options (only one mfr)
3) A small 3rd party eco system compared to PC with fewer free software options
The reality of today's PC world is that they are very stable, crashing is very uncommon. Also, Apple uses a lot of proprietary file types, connectors, etc. as opposed to industry standards in the PC world.
I have used Macs when I have had to and I really don't see the attraction or benefit personally.
@Eagle Eye 62 I think there's some truth to those point you make and they definitely need to be considered. For example, the reason I specifically went with a mid-2012 MacBook Pro instead of the newer (at the time) Retina model is because it was still user upgradeable. I was able to buy "cheap" and upgraded the memory and storage on my own. Unfortunately, everything is now soldered/glued in.
On the flipside, though, Macs just (imho) work. It's not like Windows where you may have to install device drivers to get things working. The only driver I think I've added is one to read my NTFS-formatted drive from my Windows days. I think it's definitely personal preference more than anything, though. Especially if comparing the Intel Macs to Windows machines.
I haven't had the opportunity to play with the new M1 lineup, but they're supposed to be screaming fast and incredibly efficient.
On the flipside, though, Macs just (imho) work. It's not like Windows where you may have to install device drivers to get things working. The only driver I think I've added is one to read my NTFS-formatted drive from my Windows days. I think it's definitely personal preference more than anything, though. Especially if comparing the Intel Macs to Windows machines.
I haven't had the opportunity to play with the new M1 lineup, but they're supposed to be screaming fast and incredibly efficient.
I’m no professional & I don’t think the OP is either, but I just got an iPad Pro 11” M1 for my birthday & it just knocks the socks off both my Ryzen 3950x w/RTX 3070 desktop & my Dell XPS15 9570! Using LumaFusion it edits 5.1K video from my Mavic 3 with buttery smooth ease! Here’s a YouTube video on the iPad Pro M1 using LumaFusion. And like @ThatBeardedDroneGuy says, Macs just work!
Last edited:
Re: 1) Have you tried any new Apple product with the M1 processor? I have been a Windows PC proponent for 40 years. Your statement of “more expensive“ is no longer true. A good PC video card alone will cost you more than the price of an iPad Pro M1 or even a MacBook Pro!
Last edited:
Eagle Eye 62
Well-Known Member
My MSI laptop with a high end Nvida RTX card is still almost $1000 less than a comparable MacBook Pro. If you don't mind being locked into a closed ecosystem controlled by one manufacturer, the Mac is fine, but it is not for me personally.
That’s just it. The closed hardware/OS ecosystem of Mac provides significant benefits I value. It’s not that I “don’t mind” them - Apple consistently has provided an evolving pinnacle of human interface and industrial design only possible in a closed system.
On the other hand, “closed” means that innovators in several application areas will turn to Windows (or sometimes Linux) first (and may *never* get to MacOS) for an accessible OS for adaptations. This is very real in 3D, gaming, game authoring, AR, VR, etc.
I find Windows a bit cantankerous though… it is a spliced, bandaids, and bailing wire kind of OS, with thousands of moving parts that users of those “accessible OS” kinds of apps sometimes have to troubleshoot, patch, or work around.
The original poster was asking about systems for their kids though. Mac and PC are both legit choices for all photo and video editing software applications. Mac provides certain benefits/deficits, and so does Windows.
Knowing what’s supported at the kids’ schools is pretty important, in my opinion.
Personal stories:
All my photo/audio/video work is on Mac, but I’m learning photogrammetry methods which must be on PC. That “value” MSI gaming laptop is noisy! I really have gotten used to the Mac world.
Then there’s the very high-powered big iron PC desktop I sometimes use at work… why exactly, in this day and age, does a $5000 PC not integrate a microphone and webcam?
Even sound and display output are far different experiences. Shouldn’t every display have speakers? The PC standard seems to have stalled at a mid-nineties sound card and an easily damaged fuzzy monitor.
I feel that a large part of the price premium for Mac are for these things I want on any computer. Don’t you want reliable and high quality color rendition for your photo and video work? I do. Attend a Zoom conf? Have the option of display sound when you want it?
Last edited:
Can you give me a link to your laptop? And please don’t compare # of cores & RAM between Windows & M1 laptops because these new Apple iPads & MacBooks go faster than Windows laptops with a lot less. And I haven’t even addressed battery life, energy consumption, weight & portability! Here’s a look at a comparison between the M1 Macbook Air vs MSI’s Creator Z16 laptop.
It’s ironic how you talk about having a Mac as “being locked in a closed ecosystem controlled by one manufacturer” yet here you are in a hobby that’s largely that!
Last edited:
FlyingFilmmaker
Well-Known Member
FlyingFilmmaker
Well-Known Member
As far as software for students, I'd go Resolve (more complicated) or Final Cut Pro (easier and very standard).
Eagle Eye 62
Well-Known Member
I am going to have to totally disagree with you there. First off, there is no Intel/Nvidia there is Intel and Nvidia. And no, the Apple chips do not have anywhere near the GPU performance of Nvidia's RTX architecture.
As for Intel, it is easy to pick a newer chip vs. and older chip and say the newer chip is faster. It's called leapfrogging. One chip is only the fastest until the newer competitor comes out with a faster one.
As for your comment about the built in decoder cores for H.264 and h.265, that is because the GPU performance is not capable of decoding that as well as a dedicated Nvidia or AMD GPU.
FlyingFilmmaker
Well-Known Member
You have some good points but... I don't totally agree.
To start with Intel AND Nvidia is one of the most common combinations for video editing so that's why a put them together with a /. There is also AMD and Nvidia etc etc, but that is pretty similar.
I didn't say that M1 had better performance than RTX. At this point, no they don't. But what I was trying to say is that the power per watt and thermal efficiency are significantly better.
I also didn't say than M1 is FASTER than Intel. What I was referring to is low-level differences in how instructions are handled inside the processor that make the ARM based M1 much more efficient than x86 based Intel and AMD chips.
As far as decoding, try editing 10 BIT 4:2:2 H.265 footage on an Nvidia GPU. It is basically impossible except maybe with the TOP of the line RTX card. I would personally much rather have dedicated decoder cores that are optimized to do the job effeciently and leave my GPU free to do other tasks. (NVIDIA cards use dedicated decoders for h.264 and certain types of h.265 but do not have broad support that includes 10 bit 4:2:2)
All in all I'm not saying that M1 is faster than Intel/Nvidia/AMD, but that it's more effecient and better optimized for certain things, one of which is video editing. A high spec Intel/Nvidia machine will beat even an M1 Max in benchmarks, but in real world editing applications, the M1 more often than not wins.
Hope that makes sense.
Similar threads
DJI Drone Deals
1. Mini 2
2. Mini 3 Pro
3. Mini 4 Pro
4. Air 2s
5. Air 3
6. Avata 2
7. Mavic 3 Pro
8. Mavic 3 Classic
2. Mini 3 Pro
3. Mini 4 Pro
4. Air 2s
5. Air 3
6. Avata 2
7. Mavic 3 Pro
8. Mavic 3 Classic
New Threads
-
3 Forster Beach Mid North Coast, NSW, Australia 🇦🇺- Episode #16- Started by Squidinc
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
-
Mini 4 Not Mine but amazing drone video beautiful crazy penguins
- Started by Daytona500
- Replies: 2
Forum statistics
