should i get a mac?

[bastardofyoung]

i'm very new to animation. looking to buy a new computer, and i was just wondering if it would be worth the extra cash to go with a macbook. just looking for some opinions from some more seasoned animators, since animation is the main the main reason i'm getting a new computer

[SirAlex]

At 9/1/11 04:35 PM, bastardofyoung wrote: i'm very new to animation. looking to buy a new computer, and i was just wondering if it would be worth the extra cash to go with a macbook. just looking for some opinions from some more seasoned animators, since animation is the main the main reason i'm getting a new computer

well I use a mac and it's good Its faster than windows though it might be difficult for you to make the change, and if you want both,you can run windows on it with boot camp (included with the mac) divide the memory in half and there you go both Mac OSX and Windows OS on your mac!

[JayMoyes]

I'm a seasoned Photoshop guy who is diving deep into Flash lately and can give one major piece of advice on Mac Vs PC:

skip the Macbook or laptop and go with a tower

There are probably some great guys out here who are happy with laptops for animation, but I've been running into some serious problems. It's not the first time either. They're nice to work with on the move, and take up little space. However, with the big league work comes some big league heat.

Currently, I'm working on a Compaq AMD laptop with 1 gig of ram, but as soon as I can upgrade to something better, I'm getting a tower. I fried a top of the line Dell laptop three years ago working in Photoshop and Flash. I've pushed my replacement HP laptop to its limit crashing it too many times for comfort. I have to take breaks to let my Compaq AMD cool off. Both laptops have cooling pads, which seem more about comfort than serious cooling.

Going new, I'd suggest at least a Mac quad core. If going for a PC, new or used, get a tower where you either have extra cooling or where you can upgrade the cooling with extra fans or even a liquid cooler.

I've used G4s and G5s professionally, and would probably feel more comfortable modifying them and pushing them to their limits than taking a risk with a Mac Mini or iMac.

If you have the credit rating to finance it, go for it. You're better off professionally having something on credit that can perform than having a low budget POS that won't cut it when you need it most.

Best of luck to you :-)

[BenKNG]

At 9/1/11 04:51 PM, Alex616 wrote:

At 9/1/11 04:35 PM, bastardofyoung wrote: i'm very new to animation. looking to buy a new computer, and i was just wondering if it would be worth the extra cash to go with a macbook. just looking for some opinions from some more seasoned animators, since animation is the main the main reason i'm getting a new computer

well I use a mac and it's good Its faster than windows though it might be difficult for you to make the change, and if you want both,you can run windows on it with boot camp (included with the mac) divide the memory in half and there you go both Mac OSX and Windows OS on your mac!

Its not faster than windows..One OS isnt faster than the other. It just depends what mac you get and what PC you get.

You can get a PC with the same exact specs as a mac in half the price..And there are many programs and utilities that arent compatible with mac. Just get a PC, no reason not too unless your programming apps.

[Wolfos]

Yes, a Mac will last you longer than a random cheaper laptop. Only good laptops are in the same price class.

[JayMoyes]

At 9/8/11 01:53 PM, Otto wrote: Gosh, get a Mac if you want (although a PC of equal power and quality will cost you less) but don't get a Macbook, isn't that some kind of internet browsing weak little laptop?

My photography friends Chris King and Red Ezra both used Macbooks for work. However, they used laptops primarily on the set. When Red was shooting, the best he could go up to was a G4 processor because the laptops couldn't handle the larger processors available. I think Red also used Photoshop 7 instead of CS (which was not that uncommon). In short, you can work up some good mojo on a Mac laptop, but I don't think you want to be relying on it full time.

The thing we haven't touched upon is CS for Mac vs. CS for PC. When Creative Suite 1 came out, it was pretty much meant for Mac, a relationship from heaven. By the time CS4 came out, I was hearing that relationship sour, with the program running slower on Mac. Now I keep hearing that Adobe and Mac are having issues. For my peers outside of Newgrounds, that would be killing the goose that laid the golden egg. For those here that love PC, it's one more reason to channel the savings into better hardware.

[Sacros]

mac? arent mac some sort of homesexual hooking up accessory of sorts?

[Sandremss128]

At 9/8/11 04:19 PM, Sacros wrote: mac? arent mac some sort of homesexual hooking up accessory of sorts?

That's priceless

[bastardofyoung]

thanks for everyone's input. I did end up going with a MacBook Pro, and I'm extremely happy with it.

[Sam]

These threads make me so angry it's unreal :|

[fluffkomix]

Doesn't matter which one you get. The only thing that really matters unless you're really into playing video games (in which case get a PC), is which OS you feel comfortable with. Other than that, it really doesn't matter.

[bastardofyoung]

yeah. i was just basically curious to see if people thought the MacBooks would be worth the price. I'm just disabled, and live on an extremely limited income. But, like I said, I did end up going with the MacBook and I'm very satisfied with it. Sorry if I pissed anybody off (<--- sarcasm).

[MarkP0rter]

dont.

i work with a mac pro - in fact i work with 8 different mac pros. they are desktop computers and way faster than any laptop. some have 12 GB of RAM, some 24. so the bottom line is: they are VERY fast machines.

yet Flash works better on a windows computer. it's annoying but thats the way it is. you don't even need a super awesome windows computer to run flash well. it's just the fact that flash can be slow on a mac- it sometimes tends to leg.

this isn't much my personal work experience but i've got this confirmed by other mac users in the industry so i highly recommend you buy a windows laptop which will be cheaper with the same hardware.

so you get the same speed for less bucks and a software that will run smoothly on your OS.

i hope that helps.

[bastardofyoung]

Thanks man. I actually don't use Flash, but ToonBoom. It seems to be running pretty good thus far on the MacBook I bought, so hopefully I'll be alright. i haven't had the MacBook long (just under a month), but I am pretty satisfied with it. I've only used PCs in the past, because of cost, and so far I am very glad I made the switch. The Mac just seems to be a much better quality machine overall. But, to be fair, I've never dropped real serious amounts of money on my past PCs. Again, thanks for all the input from everyone. I appreciate any time people actually try to help as opposed to taking an opportunity to try and make me feel like an asshole for not knowing as much as them. I guess it's probably a defense mechanism to help them deal with the fact that they live in their mother's basement and whack off to old sailor moon episodes.

[Jomillex]

Get the mac.
I find when recording audio on a mac it beats windows by miles.