The Real Differences Between Mac and PC Creative Potential
Starting your creative journey is an exciting time: it's now that you get to explore the depths of your artistic talent and your capacity for demonstrating that talent to others. It can also be financially challenging, where the costs of entry-level equipment can quickly add up. No matter which creative venture you pursue, your computer is likely to occupy a significant proportion of your economic concerns, where the wrong decision can leave you in the lurch.
For most artists, this first step includes choosing which ecosystem you'll buy into - PC or Mac? Each has strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the wrong option could limit your potential. Rather than risk having to make a difficult swap somewhere down the line, it's best to first fully explore what each choice means before jumping in, and that's what we want to look at today.
Compatibility
The first element to consider when looking at which computer to buy is the software and hardware it will be able to run. Macs and PCs are quite different at their cores, and a lot of creative tools run better or might only be available on one system.
GarageBand is an example of exclusive software that's built around Apple’s firmware. This program offers free and easy methods for beginners or pros to record and edit music onto their computers, and it’s not available for PC outside of emulation. While PCs also have a wealth of options exclusive to Windows, many are again not shared. If you’re unsure which is right for you, research reviews on what artists have been saying about their system and software, to see which features best fit your needs.
You also might want to take a different approach, in ensuring whatever apps you use are equally available across both Mac and PC. For a demonstration of the usefulness of this approach, consider examples from the entertainment sector and the best mobile casino apps and games available today. Apps from services like Caesars Palace and Fanatics are designed to function across a wide range of platforms, including Mac, PC, Android, and iOS systems. This flexibility provides users with a consistent experience, whether collecting free spins and deposit matches, playing games, or just in general navigation. This kind of access can hold similarly important benefits to creative work, allowing you to quickly slip into different operating systems if the tools you use are platform-agnostic.
Cost
Users will find a variety of both cheaper and more expensive computer options on either fork in the PC/Mac road, no matter their choice. With that said, Apple’s systems will tend to be more costly than their PC counterparts. This isn’t just for the basic systems either, as Apple's constant opposition to right-to-repair laws means that getting a Mac fixed can be a costly process.
With that said, an improperly built or maintained PC can run into other problems, where damage isn't covered under warranty. You could see this as a balancing point, where an Apple system can be more reliably built, but fixes can be more expensive, and retrieving lost data can be tricky.
Upgrades and Customisation
If you have the money, you might be fine with throwing out an old system every couple of years and buying a new one. If you don’t, upgrading your platform and customizing it over time to better fit your needs can be a more cost-effective choice. Apple and PC systems again vary wildly here, with Apple lacking when it comes to upgrading specific components. Apple’s system can see benefits through trade-ins, however, to mitigate the cost of a full system replacement.
PC users can directly select and upgrade the components that fall behind on their platform. Note that this is more the case for desktops than laptops, though some newer modular laptops like Framework's system do feature robust upgrade support. This means that if you’re looking to upgrade your graphics card to improve rendering times for apps like Blender, and play some newer games like Red Dead Redemption while you’re at it, a desktop PC is by far the superior choice.
"MacBook" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Christopher Ross
As much as diehard fans of one side of the PC/Mac debate might claim otherwise, there’s not really one simple answer to which platform is best for each artistic and creative pursuit. It’s about looking at the tools each system will use, predicting what you’ll use in the future, and ensuring each system can meet as many of your needs as possible. Consider each of the elements above carefully, ask similar artists what they use and the issues they’ve encountered, and you’ll be more likely to find the perfect system to serve you for years to come.
