17 Replies Latest reply: Aug 3, 2010 6:43 AM by TomPerrone RSS

    Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?

    Jhvegas Community Member

      Hello,

       

      Many moons ago I switched from Mac to PC for my Premiere/AE/PS work - primarily for the advantage of the Matrox line of accelerators. Now it seems that they have become a moot point with CS5 and MRE.

       

      My boss is asking me to decide in the sub $10,000 dollar range, where I can get the best performance with Premiere primarily, Mac or PC. I've already got displays, just need the system.

       

      It's been so long since I've ever used a Mac that I honestly can't say. Does anyone here have any personal experience with this comparison? I'm not looking to start a flame war, I'm honestly not a Mac or PC guy, I just want the best tool for the job.

       

      Thanks in advance for your advice,

       

      Jonathan

        • 1. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
          Powered by Design Community Member

          Here is a list of Video Transitions that are missing from the Mac version.

           

          Open up image in a new tab to see clear.

           

          Just something to think about.

           

          GLenn

           

          Premiere-CS5-Video-Transitions-Win-Mac-51-missing.jpg

           

           

          Doesnt matter either way for me but im on a PC

          • 2. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
            Harm Millaard CommunityMVP

            In that budget range you can easily end up with 12 physical cores or 24 with HT. Problem with MAC's is that they are terrible with threading with more than 6 cores, so effectively, 75% of the power available remains untapped.

             

            Edit: In that budget range a PC han have up to 24 cores with HT, MAC's are way more expensive, so you may end up with only 12 cores with HT, so only 50% of the power available lies idle.

            • 3. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
              Bob Ramage Community Member

              I'd take the Mac route. If you price out workstations with comparable specs, the costs are actually not that different. PCs are only less expensive when using cheaper components, weaker specs, or if you take the "build it yourself" route. I switched from PC to MAC two years ago - still using Premiere - and haven't regretted it for a moment. A few missing cheesy transitions in the Mac version of Premiere doesn't concern me. The real bonus is that you get to use OS X, the most advanced operating system in the world. No more hassles with MS junk and the world of viruses and trojans. 10.6 Snow Leopard is a phenomenal OS, and is actually optimized for multi-core processing.

              • 4. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                tclark513 Community Member

                Everybody has an opinion...here's mine.

                 

                I use both PC and Mac for work and I would NEVER spend the money on a Mac.  The same problems at a higher cost.

                Their prices are ridiculous for what you get not to mention the newer ones don't even offer Nvida cards.  Which means another cost if you want to utilize MPE.

                • 5. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                  joe bloe premiere Community Member

                  I would like to see at least one MAC on the benchmarks.

                  http://ppbm5.com/Benchmark5.html

                  • 6. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                    Bob Ramage Community Member

                    Good point about the new Mac Pro's. Apple has decided to switch to ATI graphics cards, which means you would have to buy a nVidia card from a third-party vendor to get GPU support for the MPE.

                    • 7. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                      Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                      Bob,

                       

                      Glad you weighed in on this thread. I thought that I remembered your shop being a dual-platform one, and always value your Mac opinions.

                       

                      Thanks,

                       

                      Hunt

                      • 8. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                        Harm Millaard CommunityMVP
                        The real bonus is that you get to use OS X, the most advanced operating system in the world. No more hassles with MS junk and the world of viruses and trojans. 10.6 Snow Leopard is a phenomenal OS, and is actually optimized for multi-core processing.

                         

                        That is far from the truth and shows you have lost touch with reality.

                        • 9. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                          Scott Chichelli Community Member
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                          Bob Ramage wrote:

                           

                          I'd take the Mac route. If you price out workstations with comparable specs, the costs are actually not that different. PCs are only less expensive when using cheaper components, weaker specs, or if you take the "build it yourself" route. I switched from PC to MAC two years ago - still using Premiere - and haven't regretted it for a moment. A few missing cheesy transitions in the Mac version of Premiere doesn't concern me. The real bonus is that you get to use OS X, the most advanced operating system in the world. No more hassles with MS junk and the world of viruses and trojans. 10.6 Snow Leopard is a phenomenal OS, and is actually optimized for multi-core processing.


                          WOW your a tad bit wrong there bud.

                           

                          1) the Apple is more money 2 x 2.66 Quad Core

                          12 gig slow 1066 Ram

                          1) 1tb OS drive

                          no apple care.

                          lousy video $5099

                          Summary

                          Purchase Information

                          Specifications

                          • Two 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
                          • 12GB (6x2GB)
                          • 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
                          • NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB
                          • One 18x SuperDrive
                          • Apple Mouse
                          • Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) and User's Guide

                           

                          Dual Xeon PC

                          same processors

                          12 Gig 1600

                          1tb OS drive

                          470 video card that actually uses MPE

                          2yr warrnty $4669

                          http://www.adkvideoediting.com/systems/saved_system.cfm?systemid=81&saved_id=22034

                          (sorry mod's just making a point)

                          and you get support for Adobe, try calling Apple about Abode :-)

                           

                          you were saying?

                           

                          as to OSX being better than windows 7? where have you been 1 of the biggest issues is that Snow (while better ) still can NOT do multithreading correctly.

                          and until Aple re-writes OSX the upcoming 12 cores wont do any better.

                           

                          when we got our first "Nehalem" Apple in i was shocked at how BAD FC/Adobe was on it compared to previous gen. while the processors and memory bandwidth are drastically faster the OS cant handle the new coding and C-States implemented in the Nehalem processors.

                           

                          while for audio it applies for video

                          http://www.dawbench.com/win7-v-osx-1.htm

                           

                           

                          FYI i am an Apple dealer (for now)

                           

                          More importantly the single 980x outperforms dual Xeons (up to the 12 core 2.8GHz anyway)

                          so no need for dual Xeons

                          Scott

                          ADK

                          • 10. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                            Bob Ramage Community Member

                            The never-ending platform debate...

                             

                            Nobody buys Macs using Apple's RAM. Too expensive. They buy a baseline Mac Pro and get their RAM from a third party. Ends up putting the pricing for high-end systems pretty much on par. Your point about video cards is valid, though. It certainly was disappointing when Apple dropped nVidia for ATI in the upcoming Mac Pro, from an Adobe user's perspective.

                             

                            Benchmarks for apps optimized for Win7 with a lacklustre port to OS X don't really tell us much about the performance of an OS. Let's see a program benchmarked after it has been written properly to take advantage of GCD in OS X to judge multi-processor performance. Other independent tests have shown that each OS has its own strengths and weaknesses, with no clear overall advantage in performance. Certainly Win7 is a huge step forward from the disaster that was Vista.

                             

                            FYI, I use both Windows and OS X systems. Both work very well. I prefer OS X, and have fewer problems with it. PPro CS5 runs extremely well on the Mac, but I would have to say that the video card issue and Apple's increasing focus on mobile consumer products would both cause me concern were I looking to buy new systems today.

                            • 11. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                              ECBowen CommunityMVP

                              Quick Question? Wouldn't you think FCP is optimized for OSX especially with regards to multithreading and Apple employee's or contractors wrote it? Should it not show OSX's wonderful multi-processor performance as you state? Have you tried it lately with OSX's hardware monitor up on a current Mac Pro?

                               

                              Eric

                              ADK

                              • 12. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                                Bob Ramage Community Member

                                I don't use FCP. I do know that it is still a 32-bit app with a code base that dates from OS 9, so I doubt it takes advantage of OS X's multi-processor performance or other optimizations. I expect this will change, but in the meantime quite a few FC users I know are very seriously thinking about jumping to Premiere.

                                • 13. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                                  ECBowen CommunityMVP

                                  I have yet to see a program take advantage of this OSX multithreading optimization that you mention. So far the only program that has been halfway decent if you disable the hyperthreading has been Logic. It still wasn't threading on all of the cores anywhere close to even but it was atleast hitting most of them. I am interested in any program you have seen to multithread that well because I have not including Quicktime.

                                   

                                  Eric

                                  ADK

                                  • 14. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                                    Bob Ramage Community Member

                                    It's called Grand Central Dispatch, and is new to Snow Leopard. The first apps taking advantage of it are only just starting to appear. Here's a basic write-up of the technology:

                                     

                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Dispatch

                                    • 15. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                                      ECBowen CommunityMVP

                                      Do you know a specific Application that does?

                                       

                                      Eric

                                      ADK

                                      • 16. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                                        Bob Ramage Community Member

                                        It's appeared in a number of small apps, but nothing major yet that I'm aware of. Pixelmator 1.6 is one example. It uses both GCD and Open CL. Apparently most Mac developers are busy working on 64-bit versions of their programs that support the technology, and of course Apple will undoubtedly make it a core component in the next versions of their pro apps.

                                        • 17. Re: Long time PC Adobe user, Considering Mac Switch - Opinions?
                                          TomPerrone Community Member

                                          I'm going back to Windows for the desktop edit station. I cannot justify the price for the new apple Mac Pro with no official nVidia support.

                                          I live happily in both platforms and I have to say that Windows 7 makes it really hard to call OS X better.

                                           

                                          my 2cents

                                           

                                          Tom