Mac to PC?

scotty

Ultimate Member
I've used nothing but Mac's since college and apart from the stupid prices I've been very happy with them and never really considered using a PC/Windows.

Recently though, a mate on FaceBook put a call out for recommendations for a new laptop/PC for design and motion graphics and I linked him to an article that I saw on a design portal that I'd seen that day about "Best Laptops for Graphic Design".
Thing is, I actually read it myself and I was pretty amazed at the cost and spec of many of these laptops compared to a MacBook Pro. :O

I saw some 8GB/1TB lappies coming in at under £500.

I'm now starting to wonder if I should make the move over to Windows myself now?
Has anyone else made the move and what were the biggest differences?

I remember once going to an in-house freelance gig once and they gave me a PC and I was like "WTF"?!?!
I understand I'd been thrown in at the deep end with no warning but it did put me off a bit.

I do like my Mac's but at those prices and spec.......?
 
Yeh I use Macs in work and Windows at home, also worked Windows for graphic design for nearly 10 years.

Software is the same, different shortcuts to get used to, as in CMD vs CTRL etc.

Other than that - I've said it for years - PCs are much much much cheaper than a Mac.
If you spent the same on a PC as you did a Mac you'd have a supercomputer.

For example - completely overkill - but this would kick any Macs arse - https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/G703GI-E5088R-ASUS-ROG-Titanium-G703GI-E5088R_2318165.html

And still overkill
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/G703GS-E5001R-ASUS-ROG-Titanium-G703GS-E5001R_2315684.html

And at 15 inch
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/9S7-16Q211-010-MSI-GS65-Stealth-Thin-8RF-010UK_2322962.html



Technically this is perfectly fine
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/17-w110na-HP-OMEN-17-w110na_2025523.html


This is a whopper ( I don't like this make of laptop though)
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/30023007-Medion-Erazer-X7853_2108930.html


And this would do the job too
https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/FX504GD-DM346T-ASUS-FX504GD-DM346T-Gaming-Laptop_2387834.html


And of course that's only a small selection.
 
Basically it really does depend on what you actually 'want' from your laptop, that £500 laptop likely won't have a good gpu if it's intel. You also have the option of amd cpu's on windows which imo actually offer better bang per buck at the moment for comparable performance etc.

In realistic terms the programs you'll be using are pretty much the same except for 'trigger keys' for shortcuts. OS will have differences of course.

Did I make the move... While I considered grabbing the old 12inch g4 laptop while at uni I realised that I was better just sticking with windows because of my main programs using windows and not even being available on os-x....not to mention it was cheaper and due to the way the g4/g5 were going performance wise they were 'weaker'.

What exactly are you looking for in a new 'laptop', do you want the ability to draw straight onto it, like a surface pro or similar, are you after a powerful machine for encoding or is it something else. Not all of those will end up being 'cheaper' than a macbook pro however it may offer things the macbook pro does not offer.
 
Thanks guys.
And thanks for those links Hank! :D

What exactly are you looking for in a new 'laptop', do you want the ability to draw straight onto it, like a surface pro or similar, are you after a powerful machine for encoding or is it something else. Not all of those will end up being 'cheaper' than a macbook pro however it may offer things the macbook pro does not offer.

To be honest, I don't really need that high a spec as I tend just to use Ai but I've been thinking about more RAM as I've been using Ae quite a bit recently.
My current Macbook Pro is only a 2009, 4GB but still seems to scrape by using Ae but I can see me having to upgrade at some point.

I did see mentioned on the "Best Laptops for Graphic Design" a Lenovo Yoga (think that's the UK name) which has a touch screen but more as an entry level but as I say, I don't need that much.
 
2in1 touch screen laptops are very expensive for what they are under the hood. Looks nice, but can get very pricey if you need graphics card etc.

Your best bet is a really good laptop.

PC Specialist do whopper laptops, with no bloatware, and deliver to most places in Europe. I like PC Specialist as you can call and customise and talk to an expert who puts the laptop together, it's very cool.

Basically this would be all you would probably ever need - and cheaper and better than any Mac.

Screen Shot 2018-10-16 at 15.19.50.png





Then this is pretty good for the price


Screen Shot 2018-10-16 at 15.22.17.png
 
I know you can get the 2nd one for cheaper in places, but the PC Specialists laptops are built and come bloatware free, which is nice.
 
I'm going to check them out Hank so thanks for that. :D

I must admit to being a bit naive about processors and stuff but this is the spec of the one I was looking at.
Does it seem a bit lightweight for the task? :

· AMD A9-9410 / 2.9 GHz Max Turbo Speed 3.5 GHz Processor
· 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD
· 14" Touchscreen HD Display (1366x768) Resolution, Integrated AMD Radeon R5 Graphics
· Windows 10 Home 64-bit
 
Ah right that would be classed as an entry level processor. Fast specs are a bit misleading. When hitting the cores each slows significantly enough, so to speak.
 
I'm going to check them out Hank so thanks for that. :D

I must admit to being a bit naive about processors and stuff but this is the spec of the one I was looking at.
Does it seem a bit lightweight for the task? :

· AMD A9-9410 / 2.9 GHz Max Turbo Speed 3.5 GHz Processor
· 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD
· 14" Touchscreen HD Display (1366x768) Resolution, Integrated AMD Radeon R5 Graphics
· Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Yeah as said that's 'entry level' these days, you want to be looking at ryzen (5 or 7 ideally) and personally I wouldn't go below 1920x1080 resolutions even at 14inch display size. You also shouldn't be going hard drive as the only drive, ssd is such a huge performance benefit it should be an automatic 'must have'

Give us a budget and I'll see what I can dig up for you as a suggestion/guidance on what you should be looking for.
 
Give us a budget and I'll see what I can dig up for you as a suggestion/guidance on what you should be looking for.

Not looking at one just yet, or while I can make my old MacBook draw a breath but when I am I'll hit you both up as it's obvious you know more than I.

Really appreciate guidance Levi & Hank. (n)
 
BYW. Is a footprint smilie thing at the end of my post?

I put a thumbs up???

If so, I think I'll avoid using them in future (Imagine a thinking style smilie here).
 
BYW. Is a footprint smilie thing at the end of my post?
your previous post has a thumbs down smilie....

(y)(n):barefoot: that should be thumbs up, thumbs down, little barefoot guy... there is no footprint smilie on the drop down for me
 
Yeh cool - I do a bit of laptop digging for people on another forum, gaming one, sorry for being a forum whore!
 
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