Do you use Macs or PC's for drawing?

[keac]

Kind of debating which OS is better for drawing productively. Lately, my laptop has been experiencing the Blue Screen of Death 4 times now everytime I draw. What am I gonna do? Repair one again? So I guess I have to make a switch. But I don't know.

What OS/Computer do you use? Is it a macOS/Mac or a PC/Windows?

If so, is it a reliable computer/OS for drawing?

[hushicho]

I personally use a Mac and I love them, but I know individual people will have their individual preferences. However, I can say that for creative endeavors, my experience with Macs has been superior. Usually even now when I use my Windows machine, I still have to set aside far more time and expect far more stress than with my Mac in accomplishing tasks that I feel should be simple.

The largest obstacle with Macs is that they tend to be more expensive and they're not always as good for certain things like graphic-intensive games, but if you're going to get a work computer, I don't think that's going to necessarily be a major consideration. That said, I still do just fine with my system.

If you're used to Windows systems, though, they've improved significantly over the past decade alone, although there are still some major issues like Win10's occasional "I'm going to lose your user profile which makes your files inaccessible" issue.

Whatever you choose, I recommend frequent saves and archive backup. If you get a Mac, use Time Machine regularly. Either way, be sure to get an optical drive and write to DVD regularly. I also tend to pick up flash drives whenever I see one on sale so I can just backup data on the fly. Just in case! And if there's an especially great deal on an external hard drive, I pretty much always take it. Backups are the most important thing in creative work, because this isn't something you can maybe find elsewhere and download later. It's something you created and will have to create again if it's lost!

I have had exactly one big crisis with my years of using Macs, and almost all of the data -- and all of the creative, irreplaceable data -- was recovered by the Apple Store people. I can't say the same for my years of using Windows, which was a longer time, but also more dotted with problems. I tend to have a more stressful time with Windows, and things that are easy and quick with a Mac aren't always the same on Windows.

Some people absolutely hate using OS X, but it didn't take me long to adjust. I'd recommend, if you can, playing on a friend's or going to a store and trying one out and seeing if you are comfortable with the differences. Macs and their accessories are pretty much always more expensive, but in my experience they also tend to be less problematic. Your mileage may vary!

[velldonnabarb]

Both Macs and PCs can run the art programs you need to draw with (though sometimes macs require a bit more fussing around with), and both computer types can connect to your tablet. It's really a matter of preference.

I use PCs. I may be a bit biased because I've had good experiences with PCs. But whether your machine will give you many years of productivity or whether it will start to glitch after a year or two depends more on the quality of the model and your care, not whether it is a PC or Mac (generally speaking).

Though your money does go a lot farther with a PC. Between a PC and a Mac of similar power, the Mac is guaranteed to be much more expensive so...

In conclusion, both can do what you need.

But I feel obligated to add, "PC. Master race."

[velldonnabarb]

My arch nemesis: the mac-user. We meet again. Evil stare.

[Marton]

PC master race!! I used a Mac back when I studied illustration and could easily swap between PC and Mac, probably don't have that skill anymore...

[hushicho]

Heheh! Eeeevil!

PCs do tend to be much more customizable and for a less expensive price, but I've also found that sometimes that means you get less dependable quality and to avoid that you generally have to be able to make more technical judgements and, thus, be more familiar with the tech. There are plenty of Windows PCs that work just fine for whatever their users need, and there are probably Macs that don't! I still say a good approach is to just try both as you can and make your own choices from that. I used to use only Windows PCs but I've switched in the past few years. If I can't afford a Mac, I'll definitely work with a Windows machine! I just prefer not to have to, so I can play on my Windows machine and work on my Mac.

Building a system is a great idea, and you usually save a huge amount of money on that. But the problem there is that some don't do the building very well, or some aren't comfortable doing it. It's also possible to mess up parts irreparably in so doing, so that's always kind of a consideration if you're not too confident in your computer-building abilities. It's an ideal situation though if you know someone who is good at it and willing to put it together for you!

[Shanny8]

I used to be one of those " I need to get a Mac" type when I first got out of art school, but as I went on I learned it doesnt matter as long as the computer has the power & specs to get the job done that you need it to do.

[shazzbaa]

There was a time where Mac vs PC made a big difference for art, but now it kinda doesn't. If you have an old or outdated machine, you might have trouble doing things that take a lot of memory/RAM/whatever whether it's a Mac or a PC. If you have a more recent machine, you'll be fine.

I use a Mac (Macbook Pro laptop), and I'm pretty happy with it! But a good PC will do the same things.

(I will say that I do find the retina display on my mac a bit frustrating -- it means things display smaller in Photoshop than they do on the web, so it's harder to preview what things will look like to other folks. but that's a pretty minor complaint!)

[indagold]

I use mac mostly because they used to be reliable computers compared to windows, emphasize on used. Windows is plagued with viruses and kinda poorly made compared to macs and macs tend to be more suited for art based things but honestly macs and pcs are just garbage now so it doesn't matter which. Yes technologically speaking macs are better in some aspects and not as flawed as a windows but they're not as good as they used to be years ago.

[dojo]

I've always been a PC user, and have very strong anti-mac opinions that I won't delve into too deep since a lot of it has to do with their business practices, but as far as actually USING the computers go, I'm still more partial to PC, because there's just a lot of little things about macs that bug me and have given me issues in the past (the big one being the lack of being able to set sound to mono. That may SOUND silly, but when you're deaf in one ear, and you're being asked to listen to phone conversations for the company you work for and different parts of the convo are sent to different sides of your headphones, it quickly affects your ability to work)

Honestly, though, I think you're better off just sticking with what you already know. You know how to use it already, and there are differences in how you do little things that could be annoying to get used to, and honestly, both systems are just as good as the other these days. It's been years since Macs have been better for anything outside of just having more options for art programs. So yeah, if you use a mac, stick with Macs, if you use a pc, stick with PC. The only thing I can actually say as far as reliability goes is Desktops are going to last you longer than a Laptop, so if you have the space for one, I'd recommend switching from a laptop to that. Laptops don't typically have a very long lifespan so if you're looking for something that will probably last you more than a couple years, go with a desktop regardless of OS. (A laptop CAN last a long time if you're careful with 'em, though, so I'm def not saying all laptops won't last long. Just from my own personal experience this has been the case)

[AnnaLandin]

I use a PC/Windows. I grew up using PCs, and am not used to Macs - I used them in college, because the school computers were Macs, but didn't really get along with them.

... Of course, I'm still using Windows 7, so I can't tell you how W10 works or how reliable it is. ^_^;

It works well for me, and is fairly reliable, and I run Manga Studio 5/Clip Studio Paint on it without issues. Just make sure your machine's got enough memory/RAM to handle a good drawing software, and you're good.

[haleymewsome]

I go to an art college where we're encouraged to use MacBooks, but two of my classmates are using Windows instead. They also happen to be the only two people who have had catastrophic crashes and losses of assignments haha.

It should also be noted that customer service and repair services for Apple products are way better, I had an iPhone just suddenly brick on me, and within literally 5 minutes of walking into the store they'd handed me a brand new one and I was on my way.

For me, PC is for gaming, and Mac is for work. If you can afford a Mac I say go for it.

[ChipGod]

I use the sketchbook app on the mac

[punkarsenic]

Generally speaking, macs are preferred in all artistic fields - PC is for accountants (and folx who aint stinking rich, like most of us) theyre typically more powerful, faster, and theres a lot of software that is mac specific. however paint tool SAI is PC specific. while there are fairly accurate alternatives, like firealpaca, if SAI's your program, PC must be your OS of choice (bootcamping can fuck off for now)

if youre using photoshop? sure, use a mac, its probably better in a lot of ways i couldnt explain. theres also high quality drawing software thats mac specific, and they probably have superior touchscreens but touch screens suck ass so who cares

[joannekwan]

I used to have a Dell, then when it finally began showing it's slow lagging death thralls I switched to Mac, since I was at school at the time and it was just easier to move between my personal computer and the class comps. Also because of this back and forth, it was better to get a laptop with the same color display specs as the computers I'm printing stuff through for class assignments.

I'm on my second Mac now and it's great. The only drawbacks to Macs I see is the price, and SAI only runs on windows, so I've never had the opportunity to play with that program.

I'll also note that I have a PC that I game on, so I can switch between OS's pretty easily.

[heterodont]

If you know how to customize a computer and have the common sense to avoid downloading blatant viruses, PC is the way to go. IIRC you can't open up a mac laptop and change the parts, but I know they're already...built with the processing power to run the things they need to run, which is why they're so expensive. You can do the same with a desktop/laptop? for cheaper, but you need to know how to build a computer and what parts you need for it to be effective and not blow up.

I've always used windows, I only ever use mac at school because ~art school standard~ and so far in the 10? years I've used a computer, I've only had my hard-drive brick on me once. It didn't affect me too bad because I had an external HD with a backup on it. On the contrary, a lot of my friends use mac and at least once per semester I hear someone who lost ALL of their work for a final that they weren't able to recover :T Apple store can't recover EVERYTHING either, as a friend of mine who uses a mac also lost all of his work and they were only able to recover half of the files on his laptop. So if your worry is how often the OS will crash or whatever, you should already be backing up your work on an external HD and/or saving constantly - it's a computer you can't fully rely on it being functional 100% of the time.

It also depends on what programs you use. AFAIK Sai is the only program that isn't compatible with mac but i think SAI 2 is, except who knows when that's coming out. Certain 3D modeling programs also don't work with mac os but they're all industry standard ones that I doubt are gonna be used for casual usage.

[Kura]

PC, not really a preference thing, it's a 'this is what I can afford' thing. And since everyone I know uses PC I can use their left over parts (either they sell them cheep or give them free) from when they upgrade to make my own computer

[keac]

Well, I've been reading all your posts, and I see that most of them are quite mixed. We had PC computers for years now, but right now, my brother switched to a Mac, and my other brother has 3 PC's and is quite Anti-Mac and Anti-Apple (Kind of ironic, eh?). Also, I rarely do gaming, it's just not my hobby. And if PC is better, what kind of PC is identical with the performance or speed of a Mac? Speed and performance is really my concern. I went to a computer store one day and introduced me to a new product, but it only has 4 GB RAM, but it runs with SSD memory which means it's still "fast" even if it has lower RAM memory.

[Shanny8]

Is it weird that I'm not anti-Mac but anti-Apple on everything else they make? Lol...

Also, I dont do PC gaming. It's just not my thing...I'll stick with the consoles.

A lot of the PCs, when they say it has 4GB of RAM, that means the minimum to run the computer. Some have extra bays that you add more memory to maximize the speed/performance(at most, 3x); so with a 4GB you could probably add more memory(depending on the bays) and max it out at 12GB.

[joannekwan]

I'd still upgrade to at least 8 gb of ram, actually I installed new ram on my old mac myself without having a "pro" do it. It made such a difference.