hi im thinking of buying a mac and will be using a lot of photo editing and design software possibly running several applications at the same time. Would i be ok with an i5 processor or is an i7 required? many thanks
You would be OK with an i5, but an i7 would likely speed up some of the software processes you run. Without knowing which suites you intend to use I can't offer more specific advice.
It depends on how advanced your uses will be really, if you're only doing photo editing and design as a weekend hobbyist then the i5 will probably provide enough power for your uses. However if you're planning on heading down the deep and complex road of digital rendering and animation then that extra push from an i7 can really lend a helping hand. A good starting point would be to write down a list of the software applications that you plan on using to build a rough specification sheet of their recommended parts. From that position you can then weigh up how extensively you'll be using the software, whether you think you'll end up pushing them to their limits or not and if you think the cost for the extra processing power is a worthwhile investment.
I'm trying not to be... "that guy", but I think this is honestly the first question you need to address before thinking about the CPU. Do you really need a Mac? Don't fall foul of the "Mac is better for design" fallacy. If you're seriously gonna use this machine enough that you need a new dedicated rig - you should really look at your PC options, you will get double the hardware for your money, and once you start eating up cpu cycles you'll be glad for the extra horsepower.
hi an thanks for the replies. the programs im using are indesign, photoshop and illustrator. these are all adobe programs i believe and also they are designed for macs. hence the need for a mac (you can run them on pc but u get compatibility errors). also no animations involved really just mainly design and photoediting. thanks again
I won't got all techy, but personally, I would say that anything that involves a bit of crunching more cores and threads will always be better
Who said you get compatabilty issues on windows?? A load of rubbish in my experience. I second the look at a self built PC. bang for buck they will be better than a mac.
well maybe not in photoshop but on the others there are error messages when u use it with windoes and some things dont function. i take it yo use indesign and illustrator on windows then?
Somebody is fibbing. Adobe's software runs perfectly well on Windows - it is designed to work on both. The choice between Mac and PC these days is down to whether you prefer one OS over the other, whether you're willing to pay a premium for the best designed laptops out there and the customer service. Apple have stopped developing their pro end software with the exception of FCP, so that draw has basically disappeared.
My wife's been working as a journalist for 10 years, using MAC at work because "press softwares are designed for Macs". She was happy when she was working from home, on a PC, because her softs where running so much better (Quark express, inDesign). It's an old urban legend that design or press softwares runs better on Mac. You just pay a premium to be a member of the Apple sect .
That, and Logic Pro. Logic Pro is basically the reason for my Mac ownership! OP - Adobe S/W runs perfectly on PC now in my experience, but YMMV I guess. If you are doing anything that is multithreaded, go i7. If not, an i5 will do you handsomely.
Are they actually updating Logic, or is it suffering the same experience as FCP which is basically being ignored? I've owned Macs since 2003, and still have a MacBook Pro (15" retina) as my main browsing computer, but also the home of my photography work (pushing 200k files) and the like. For me, Windows is for gaming and nothing else.
Hmm - it's not clear at the moment, I am actually worried that it will just fall away or become GarageBand+ (to the extent that it isn't already!) I've always produced in Logic though, and I still run Logic 9, which I hope to continue to do for some time. We have a couple of Mac notebooks as well - both of which were bought by me for digital DJing, and they are the main browsing machines - my Windows machines are either for media, gaming, or servers To be honest, if I am 'pottering' online, I am often in the studio using the Mac!
Save the money that would go on apple tax and put that towards a better specced windows machine. Get a build thread going with your budget and requirements and we can all suggest components and help you with the build. Unless you need a laptop in which case post your budget and we can suggest the best machine for your requirements.
