laptop or desktop, mac or windows???

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magern

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Ben
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I'm currently looking to upgrade my old laptop and am really struggling what to get. I'm looking for a decent size screen so am leaning towards a desktop although room is tight.
My next question is do i go for a standard windows desktop or do i go apple mac?
If i went apple mac will i constantly keep getting asked about icloud etc on screen? i don't use icloud now on my iphone or 2 ipads. to be honest i just want something i can store images on, use lightroom to edit, plenty of memory, good resolution and a nice size screen

HELP!!!!
 
I had a similar dilemma and went for a mac mini with a dell screen - laptop screen was too small and I wanted to give a mac a try. Couldn't justify the price of an imac so now have best of both worlds imo.

oh and I don't get any icloud reminders either
 
OK, to begin with, for photo processing there's no performance difference between windows or mac for an equivalent spec machine - neither system have an edge.

Macs tend to require less user input to use, giving generally good default options and often giving little choice outside of those. They also tend to hide processes and files from the user so that they can't change settings or find system files etc. They are more expensive now than equivalent PCs, don't offer a conventional desktop machine, and most of them cannot accept hardware upgrades (you're stuck with the spec you originally bought - underspec'ing to save money now could give you a weak machine later).

PCs seem generally cheaper for equivalent spec, but with all the hassles windows can sometimes give, and will require more user input to keep them happy & healthy.

You don't mention a budget. *Personally* I'd recommend something like a Dell XPS15 from the Dell outlet store - £1100 + VAT will get you a very well spec'd 15" laptop with 4K screen. I would also buy a Dell 24"/25" external monitor for editing at home and a 2TB+ HDD for external storage.
 
If you have the space get a desktop PC. Laptops cannot beat desktops for raw processing power.
Because of the small space they work in the CPU in laptops are under clocked to prevent heat build up damaging the CPU or surrounding components.
 
Bang per buck will definitely be with a Desktop PC. You have the option to upgrade and you will have more options on everything including the screen. Whilst im not a mac fan at all, if you want the least hassle out the box then you probably want to go that way - but as already noted, you wont have much choice as Apple like to dictate what you need! If you really dont think you will need protability then dont even consider a notebook - you will be locked into the spec from day one.

One thing to bear in mind is that computers are pretty much consumables these days at most things are built down to a budget - even the pricier ones. Notebooks tend to suffer more from this with cheap plastics and designs that dotn disipate the heat properly causing problems way before the product should be end of life. I fix PC's for a living and i see mostly notebooks these days and a lot have hardware problems such as HDD and socket failures ling before they should.

Cheers
Nat
B->
 
I'm not a fan of using a laptop, particularly for editing. The screen is too low for me to use comfortably for long periods, so I'd say it's essential to have a proper screen.

As for Windows or Mac, it depends on two things really:
1) what OS you like using.
2) whether you have the budget for a Mac

Personally I just don't get on with Mac OS. So that's 1 point to Windows.
I also didn't have the budget for a decent spec Mac Mini. 2 - nil to Windows.

I already had a decent 20inch Iiyama monitor mounted on a pole at a decent height.
I built my system so it cost me around £320 in parts (add in £100 for Windows if you don't have a licence) and for that I have:
AMD FX 3.5Ghz 8 core processor
16GB RAM
128GB SSD
2TB Hard drive
DVD RW drive
Small tower case with silent fans.

Even with the Windows cost added, for £420, you're still getting more bang for your buck than the cheapest Mac Mini. The basic Mac Mini is only a dual core 1.4 Ghz with 4GB RAM for £479.

So, it's down to choice of OS and cost really.

Do you like Mac OS more than Windows or vice versa?
Ignore the physical design of the box, it's ease of use of the OS that's important. Ultimately the "computer" tower/box/mac gets put to one side while you work and it's down to the human interface experience.

What budget do you have? What spec would this get you with either a Mac/laptop/desktop PC? Is that enough for you or will you want more grunt?
 
magern said:
thanks everyone that's really helpful. think i'm going with all in one desktop. currently deciding between dell, lenovo and hp. just having a look at different models.
Click to expand...

Can I suggest a different approach? All-in-ones are basically a laptop built into the back of the screen, with all the disadvantages of reduced performance and difficulty to upgrade, plus when you throw it away you have to throw the screen away too. And the built in screen is unlikely to be a good IPS model too.

It would be better to get a separate small form factor base unit that could sit behind a decent screen. Dell have the Alienware Alpha R2 for £495 - decent spec: quadcore i5, upgradable & will take M2 SATA if you want to add a fast SSD. Hopefully this link will work: http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/...zPDpvczsVdeY8kRy7r1RDbx4KeJLNVmJSG3o83Z5z5w==

I'd bung that behind a dell 24/25" screen running at 1920 X 1200.
 
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