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Inspiring
July 3, 2022
Question

Mac OS versus Windows OS

  • July 3, 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 6050 views

I have an iPhone but my desktop and laptop are Windows PCs. My Windows PC desktop and laptop are very old and I need to buy new computers. 

 

I have been using Windows to run Adobe applications and have several utilities unrelated to Adobe that run on Windows. The application I use the most are Adobe programs and the Microsoft suite. 

 

I'd like to hear pros and cons of staying with Windows or changing to Mac.

 

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

6 replies

Inspiring
July 7, 2022

Many thanks everyone who took the time to post. Your comments were helpful.

Nancy OShea
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 4, 2022
  • You get more bang for your buck with Windows. That's for sure.
  • Apple's user interface is nicer but I can't justify the price difference based on UI alone. 
  • Unless money is no object and you can afford a top of the line M1 chip iMac and MacBook Pro + accessories, the components may not be as good as what you can get in a PC for a lot less cash.
  • Windows has backwards compatibility with older apps, Apple doesn't.
  • Apple expects you to faithfully upgrade to a new OS every year.  Windows doesn't.

 

Whatever you buy, make sure it exceeds minimum system requirements to run Creative Cloud + all other apps you use.  Buy the best machine you can afford with plenty of primary HD space and RAM.

 

Most Creative Cloud apps work on:

  • Windows 11 (64-bit), Windows 10 versions 21H2, 21H1, 20H2, 2004, and 1909 (LTSB branches are not supported;)
  • macOS 12 (Monterey), macOS 11 (Big Sur), macOS 10.16 (Catalina).

- https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html

 

Happy shopping.

 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
TheDigitalDog
Inspiring
July 3, 2022

I would add that you may want to investigate GPU 'issues' with Adobe products and the need outside the OS to deal with them. It is a very common topic in the forums.

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
Inspiring
July 3, 2022

Are there more GPU issues on Mac or on PC?

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 11, 2022

@jay fresno wrote:

Are there more GPU issues on Mac or on PC?


 

On the PC, there are so many graphics cards that you could end up with one that might have an issue, but many issues are resolved by updating the card’s driver.

 

On the Mac, there are only a few variations in graphics hardware to support, and yet there are still posts here about display glitches on Macs using the latest Apple Silicon GPUs. Sometimes it requires waiting for a macOS update, sometimes it’s a fix on the Adobe side.

 

Overall, this is another area where you might not get an answer definitive enough to make you move away from your current platform.

gener7
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 3, 2022

There's the "belt and suspenders" approach.

 

I keep my old Windows laptop for software that doesn't have Mac equivalents. My other machine is a Macbook Pro and your creative cloud license will let you have one seat on the Mac and another on the PC.

davescm
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 3, 2022

'I............have several utilities unrelated to Adobe that run on Windows.....'

 

Are Mac versions of those applications available?

 

Dave

Inspiring
July 3, 2022

Some have Mac versions. It's probably not critical. Although it seems like there are more utilities for Windows that have to do with technical issues.

D Fosse
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 3, 2022

There's no difference in functionality. There are no pros or cons.

 

There can be other reasons for preferring one over the other, but this isn't one of them.

 

The important thing is how the system is configured, whatever the platform.