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Mac & PC - Design, Multimedia, Photography - Where should I sink money.
HallowedFaith
Call me Cloud.Registered User regular
Call me Cloud.Registered User regular
I will be starting school when I get out of the Army and I am looking at setting up a small development studio out of my home while I attend class and maybe some freelance stuff. I will be taking a wide range of creative arts courses including photography.
So here comes the fun part. For long term development, where do I sink my money for the software. I plan on picking up the latest Adobe CS package and with that kind of investment, I need to know which system I should look into.
I already own PC's, but they are all laptops, and I want to push into a nice desktop set-up. I've played with some macs before and it seems like every single creative media tutorial I have ever looked at in the past 5 years is being done on a Mac. I've done some homework on the issue, and all I hear people say is "It just works better on a Mac." Well, I am aware of the "elitest" sense of "awesome" that comes with owning an Apple product, as I own several iPads, phones, etc. I'm gonna buy a mac regardless, I just need suggestions on which one to buy the software for.
TL;DR - I am buying a PC Desktop and a Mac Desktop, I need to invest thousands in design software and I need advice on the best system to purchase said software for.
Thanks in advance.
So here comes the fun part. For long term development, where do I sink my money for the software. I plan on picking up the latest Adobe CS package and with that kind of investment, I need to know which system I should look into.
I already own PC's, but they are all laptops, and I want to push into a nice desktop set-up. I've played with some macs before and it seems like every single creative media tutorial I have ever looked at in the past 5 years is being done on a Mac. I've done some homework on the issue, and all I hear people say is "It just works better on a Mac." Well, I am aware of the "elitest" sense of "awesome" that comes with owning an Apple product, as I own several iPads, phones, etc. I'm gonna buy a mac regardless, I just need suggestions on which one to buy the software for.
TL;DR - I am buying a PC Desktop and a Mac Desktop, I need to invest thousands in design software and I need advice on the best system to purchase said software for.
Thanks in advance.
I'm making video games. DesignBy.Cloud
HallowedFaith on
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That will give you better external storage options.
I can not stress enough that mac pros are made for 5 years or more of service before they need to be replaced. It's more on the front side, but over the long run buying MacPros (and G5s before) means I have only had three desktops since 2003 and I am running two of them still today without breaking a sweat (a 2ghz 4 core and a 2.8ghz 8 core)
I'm heavily heavily laying towards buying the CS Suite for my new iMac (Picked up the 27 inch quad core) because I see reviews on how much it just "runs better" but I don't know what that means! lol. I mean, essentially it's the same software, but is there something different the way that Mac deals with its filesystem that I am not aware of? I can't find any examples, and it's driving me nuts, lol.
Aperture looks nice, but I don't see it replacing my 8 years of PS skills.
I'm just really wary of picking up the CS Suite for the mac and going "shit, I should have stuck with windows."
Also, for software and hardward, wait till you're enrolled to get the student discount.
I don't really know what you're expecting. Creative Suite for Mac isn't going to magically do anything better or differently than on Windows. The software is a port, and it has the same functionality. It's what goes on outside of the confines of Creative Suite that will be different.
The "it just works better" that people refer to has to do with operating system ease of use, hardware compatibility, and other things. For example, OS X supports most camera RAW files natively out of the box, while on Windows you'll need to install a viewer or converter to open them outside of something like Photoshop or Lightroom.
Mono: Yeah, and that's where I am running into the query. Obviously skill is what drives the powerful toolset to be awesome, and i've been using Adobe products for a long time, but with this being my first Mac I had to stop and ask myself, why is it so popular outside of the "Apple image."
As an industry standard though, it appears that most design studios use both, but they lean towards the Mac. Especially for Video, which is where I am headed. Always up for hearing experiences and ideas to help me make my decision.
But it's also likely overkill for a home studio, and any sort of classes you'll be taking are going to have a lab where you're going to be asked to use whatever the hell it is they're teaching you on. Final Cut Express is cheap and powerful enough for the prosumer/hobbyist set, maybe that's a better starting place.
You may be financially secure, but blowing 7k+ on hardware/software you may not even have a opportunity to use because your school uses a different setup is hardly a wise decision for anyone. Your school may also be able to get you academic discounts on the pricier stuff, so look into that before buying it all now also.
I'll be checking out those two when I get time tomorrow.
It seems to me that for industry standard usage, it's simply a "prettier" issue. Opinions change back and forth but ultimately it appears that there is not real difference in the systems except for preference. Speed and usability are kind of key, so I guess at the end of the day I am kind of taking a shot in the dark when I buy the suite.
What is your school going to use? Buy that.
I've had my fair share of trouble shooting to do with any piece of software. It seems to be though, whenever something broke on Windows, I just had to google for the answer- but there was this haunting exporting issue with InDesign that neither Adobe nor Apple knew how the fuck to fix.
Software is a personal choice so if you can, exhaust any demos, freebies, and trials. Just don't think it is a requirement to pony up for a flashy mac setup in order to become a photographer.
Pretty much my plan. Obviously I just didn't want to miss out on any long-term benefits that I might not see welcomed in a design envrionment.
Ann I guess to expand, I've been doing graphics design for years. Photography as a side-hobby. I am only now getting fully on board with some schooling to have the degree under my belt. So, these purchases are the initial setup for a profressional design firm I plan on building over the next 4 years. I have a copy of Flash/PS CS3 for windows, as well as some cheaper digital painting/3-D Rendering tools, but I am going all out in the software dept to be prepared.
Classes I am taking include: Graphics Design, Web Design and Interactive Media, and Phographic Imaging. As well as Business Managment. I'm looking into a ton of verious certifications as well include ACE. So yeah. Plates full. Woo.