That old Mac vs Windows Debate
Hi all,
I would love some input from anyone that can share their experiences and thoughts as I look to buy my next machine, either a MacBook Pro, or I am thinking something along the lines of the Alienware 51M laptop.
I have for a long time been running on Mac, with IMAC and Macbook Pro, using Parallels if I needed to access Windows.
The reason I need to work on a laptop is that I am forever travelling and working on the road. I film and edit action sports films, and am in a different part of the country/ world every week. Lugging a tower and monitor around just doesnt work.
For the past 4 years or so I have been using a '14 Macbook Pro (16gb Ram, 2.5Ghz, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M graphics (over 20k hours logged). I primarily edit 4K video, 3D Animation and just got a major VR gig as well as a big movie project greenlighted - the times of using a severely underpowered machine are over (thank god!)
So here is where I am at, with a 5-6k Budget.
- Do I buy a new Macbook Pro, where I can sync all my devices, and transfer everything easily?
Stats:
2.9 (t-boost up to 4.8)GHZ 6-core i9 Intel
32gb ddr4 Ram
Radeon Pro Vega 20 4gb Graphics
And of course, a stunning retina display.
OR,
- do I put my money into a Windows OS such as the Alienware 51M, specced out
Stats:
Intel i9 8-core 5Ghz turboboost
64GB ddr4 Ram
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 8GB GDDR6
(1920 x 1080) 144Hz Anti-Glare IPS Display (not sure if this can compare to the iMacPro)
Apps I primarily use are: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Lightroom, Photoshop, Cinema4D, 3DS Max, Unity.
One issue I see with switching windows is that things are going to sync between computers/ my wife’s calendar and computer. Money wise though, it looks I can get double the performance (upgradable by the way) on the Alienware 51, but after being on mac so long, I get paranoid about things such as reliability, security (viruses etc) on the Windows OS.
Does anyone have any insight/ personal experience with either machine, or making the switch? Where would you put your money?
That old Mac vs Windows Debate 18 votes
1 vote
17 votes
Replies
I favor Mac and Mac OS, but if I am spending 5K+, and get get double the performance for the same budget in a Win system, then I am going to consider it. My biggest concern is reliability. I used to work in a Lenovo service centre and the PC's that came in with issues was ridiculous. The amount of people who would say "I should have gone mac" is insane. My Macbook pro has done 20k+ hours and never had a major issue, still has the same benchmark as new.
I wasn't aware that the new MBP's where a bit under par in terms of build, but I know a mac with the same specs as a windows will in most cases run faster, as the hardware is built for mac and not by a third party. What are your thoughts on the specs above - should I stick with the safe MacOS/ or get the specced up Windows? (if you had to pick ONE)?
BadBilly said:
sacboi said:
I'm curious, why Alienware as a WIN option?
I'm not overly familiar with high performance Windows Laptops. After research, Alienware seemed to me an obvious contender as it is 1) Made by Dell, 2) Has some amazing specs for a laptop 3) is completely upgradable, 4) looks really freakin' cool. That said, I am definitely open to any other options. In the end, I have 5-6k budget set aside for a new laptop as my main workstation.
I favor Mac and Mac OS, but if I am spending 5K+, and get get double the performance for the same budget in a Win system, then I am going to consider it. My biggest concern is reliability. I used to work in a Lenovo service centre and the PC's that came in with issues was ridiculous. The amount of people who would say "I should have gone mac" is insane. My Macbook pro has done 20k+ hours and never had a major issue, still has the same benchmark as new.
Ah...interesting, just helps to get another point of view. I'm relatively in a similar boat, currently researching whether to go fully 'mobile' or indeed self-assemble a total workstation desktop upgrade too WIN10 pro once MS pulls 7 support in the new year. My 'day' job as a security operative for asset protection on major infrastructure projects Australia wide which by the way basically dictates a kind of transient lifestyle, where work typically relocates every so often and may again, westwards 3000 miles in the 2nd quarter 2020. So as preparation for a potential move, at the moment for a portable high end solution I've narrowed in on either an MSI GT-75 Titan or Alienware's 'area 51' package, both share aligned benchmarks however the latter rated higher performance values and of course is scalable...for me a big plus, although MSI wins out on pricing by 2k, at AUD$5k as opposed AUD$7.2k for the 51M that incidentally is slightly over the budget I'd initially allocated for a self built system. Anyway there's practically a year left to further ponder both options, (...laptop v desktop) prior to finalising a decision that encapsulates a viable choice for my specific situation.
Personally if I had to go mobile, I would go for the MSI gt75 titan 4k-247 ($4,400-ish)
i9 9980HK (8 cores)
64gb RAM (up-to 128)
512 GB (2x) SSD (raid for speed)
1 TB HDD (platter drive for storage)
The cooling in the MSI laptop case is amazing. I wouldn't trust anything that high powered to a thinner case that doesn't have proper airflow and cooling.
That's one area that Mac is still suffering, they'll melt their cases and damage their hardware, long before they'll ever give into conventional logic. Somehow wafer thin design is king above all else...
The faster you burn your fingertips off the faster you buy a new Macbook?
It's as close as you can get to a desktop while still technically being mobile.
Thanks - the MSI Titan looks like an incredible machine and I think just look the lead in the shopping list.
Your right about the heat on a MBP - My fans constantly spin at 6150rpm, and if im doing a heavy project, have to sit iceblocks under the chassi to keep it operating at a normal speed.
https://rog.asus.com/
I still have an MSI GT67 from 2012. I abuse it pretty good. Take it to teach once a week, take it to coffee shops, and take it with me on vacations. I cracked the keyboard, MSI took a couple weeks to repair and return. Recommend MSI very much!
@Eric Chadwick...wondering whether the thermal issue was due too either gaming, content creation or other?
To the OP: I think that Alienware is probably fine, but you don't need to crank all the upgrades to 11 to get a solid workstation. For instance, the 9900K is only a little faster than the 9700K (16%), and while the 8700K isn't ultra high end, it is still a very, very fast CPU. You could leave that at stock and save $450, or opt for the fairly reasonable +$100 9700 instead. The 9700 and 9900 are notorious for running hot as well, which may be a problem with battery life and heat management in a laptop form factor.
The GTX 2060 is an excellent GPU, paying $1,050 for the 2080, which is a whopping.... wait for it... 19% faster, seems a bit excessive. The 2070 is an awesome card that is almost as fast as the 2080 (the 2080 is 9% faster) with the same amount of VRAM if you really need to splurge.
Look into adding aftermarket ram, if you can do that, you'll probably save hundreds of dollars by keeping the ram at the base specs and buying your own.
Depending on whether your most frequent apps rely more on CPU or GPU, you could go heavier on the upgrades there rather than both. It's also worth researching how well the apps you use handle multi-threading. Many apps are only really optimized for dual core CPUs, so getting a 8 core CPU may not be very helpful. If you're working with apps that can't thread with all of your cores, you'll see no performance benefit with the 9700 or 9900 vs the 6-core 8700. That said, video editing/encoding is one of the few things that generally makes use of all CPU cores, so this may be moot for you.
I mentioned it because it was nearly identical specs but $500 cheaper than the Alienware. You're pretty much paying extra for the brand and worse cooling.
Personally I don't have a need for mobility so I'll always go desktop, build moderately and upgrade over time, but OP doesn't have that same level of luxury.
You made a solid point about the RAM. Provided you can get some off the shelf that works. Sometimes the manufacture pulls a dick move, like design the slots, pin configuration or case in a way that it will only work with their proprietary hardware (looking at you Apple, HP, Dell...).
Sometimes they're dicks that way and they force you to go through them for upgrades, or you have to pull some dicey stuff on your own. You could end up paying more and in some cases have to send it in which might be weeks of downtime while they get around to it.
I would really research the RAM and make sure it's a possibility before taking that route, if it's a viable route and they don't screw you, awesome.
Eric Chadwick said:
@Eric Chadwick...wondering whether the thermal issue was due too either gaming, content creation or other?
Used it for both though gaming of course is more thermal stress.
Yep stands to reason. Just from a few search results so far there seems to be a concerted effort to mitigate a longer 'shelf life' for this gen's form factor, demonstrated via 4hr+ gaming sessions bench tested both prior and post for the MSI GT75 Titan 8RG.
Case thermal temps peaked between 57°C - 98°C with no noticeable throttling whilst rendering 70fps at 4k res. Although the triple fan configuration will run fast on their own but can run faster by pressing the CoolerBoost button also in combination with a dedicated CPU / GPU heat sink solution by way of 9 heat pipes however bears keeping in mind higher the settings playing, for example Farcry, ROTR, Whitcher, CoD...etc, the noisier things get.
So I'd think probably worth investing in a comparable high end headset too enjoy an immersive 3D surround sound experience, minus the background racket of course :P