- Probably the two biggest questions
that come up on this channel, all the time,
are, "Should I be using Adobe Premiere Pro
"or Final Cut Pro X?," and,
"Should I use Mac or PC for video editing?"
Now, I've already answered the first one
and I'll put a link up in the cards now.
So, it's time to tackle the second one.
Should you use a Mac or a PC for video editing?
(light electronic music)
Hey, it's Justin Brown, here, from Primal Video.
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to everything that we're covering in this video
you can find linked in the description below.
So, let's jump into it.
Now, I've been a long time user of both Mac and PC
and I still use both of them on a regular basis.
In this video, I'm gonna share my thoughts
on the Mac versus PC debate, specifically for video editing,
to help you make the best decision
for which one is right for you.
It seems like no matter what you say in videos like this,
fan boys on both sides of the fence throw out accusations
and get super defensive.
So, I've actually avoided this video for quite a long time.
Now, I've broken this video into two parts.
We're gonna start off with Mac
and I'm gonna share three things that I like about Mac,
or three things that you need to know about Mac,
and then I'm gonna do exactly the same for PC.
So, starting off with Mac, the first thing
that I like is the optimization.
A perfect example of optimization
on Mac is Final Cut Pro X.
The level of performance that you get,
the ability to edit 4K video files, seamlessly,
even on older Mac laptops and Mac computers
is phenomenal and really it's due to the optimization
of the software being able to talk directly
to the Intel Quick Sync technology
or to be able to make use of the Quick Sync technology,
which you can use on Windows, as well.
Software, like Cyberlink, PowerDirector,
does tap into the Intel Quick Sync technology, as well,
which makes that a fast and powerful
video editing solution, as well,
but it's nothing like what you get when you've got
the same manufacturer manufacturing hardware
and the software and the operating system.
The three of them, combined, allow you to get
the most amount of performance and power
out of your software and your computer, as a whole.
So, the level of communication
and optimization that you get with Final Cut Pro X
talking to the operating system,
talking to the hardware components that are fixed amongst
all Apple computers is a really, really powerful thing.
Now, this is something that can't easily be replicated
in a Windows environment due to the large range,
or the non-standardization of hardware.
Number two is portability and battery life.
Now, one of the main reasons
that I first bought a Mac laptop, years ago,
was for portability and battery life.
There was nothing that competed on the Windows,
or the PC side, to compete with the level of battery life
that you would get and the performance,
and how portable the systems were.
Now obviously, laptops and battery life have come a long way
since then.
What you will find is, let's say, a laptop
that's rated for an eight-hour battery life
will drop to like two hours the moment that you put it
under some load, so, a GPU or a CPU intensive task,
like video editing, and that's the same across the board.
But what you will find is that the Macs will give you more
performance and a longer battery life
than the equivalent Windows laptop.
So, that's definitely one there for the Macs.
And as someone who still travels a lot and edits a lot,
on planes and places where there isn't access to power,
it definitely makes sense to choose the system
that's gonna run the longest and that's gonna allow you
to get the most amount of work done.
So, for me, that's the Mac.
And number three, is usability and accessories.
Now, I have an IT degree.
I've been building systems most of my life,
Windows systems, Linux systems, servers,
and even Hackintoshs,
but what you'll find is that, on Mac,
when you buy an off-the-shelf system,
there's nothing else that you need to do
to get it up and running.
You don't have to stuff around with drivers
and updates and all sorts of things
that really just take a huge amount of time.
In a video that we did recently comparing
the 2016 MacBook Pro, the 2016 Dell XPS 15-inch,
and the 2015 MacBook Pro.
In order to get Adobe Premiere running right,
and to install the QUDA drivers, or CUDA drivers,
was a huge thing and it shouldn't have been.
On Mac, we just installed Adobe Premiere
and the thing worked.
On Windows, we had to go through three different versions
of NVIDIA drivers just so Adobe Premiere would pick up
the drivers to get the most out of the system.
And so, simple things like that,
that as Windows users, you just get used to doing.
You get used to running all these updates
and used to updating drivers for things
and plugging something in and having to install drivers.
Now, I know that you still have to do some
of those things on Mac, but it's really noticeable
when you're been in the Mac world
for quite a while and you go back to Windows
and you just take for granted how streamlined
and how everything just works, and I really hate
to say that on some levels, but it does.
It all just works, and it just means you can focus
on creating your videos, creating your content,
or just getting general work done,
instead of having to play around with all the tech stuff.
If you've got any issues with your Mac computer
then the warranties are really good.
You can normally get a quick fix
by dropping it into a Apple store
or a certified Apple repairer
and you know that if they have to replace any hardware,
it's all certified hardware.
So, once again, no dealing with drivers
or incompatible hardware.
Now, it's time to look at the three things that I like,
or the three things that you need to know about PC.
And, the first is specs and performance.
So, while Mac had the tight integration
and optimization between the software,
the operating system and the hardware,
PCs have brute-force power,
meaning that you can install them
and buy and use the latest processors,
the latest graphics card,
or the latest technology and gear.
You can build and buy systems that have these in it
giving you the most powerful computers that you can get,
and the payoff, then, into your video editing
means you'll have faster exporting,
faster rendering, and, overall, smoother performance
while you're editing.
So, if you want the latest and greatest gear,
or you want the most powerful computer that you can get,
then you'll be after a PC.
Now, onto number two which is price.
Now, if you're comparing Apples to PCs
and if you're looking as an even comparison on price
and specifications and what you get for the price,
you will definitely get more bang for buck
on the PC side than you will from the Mac.
The Mac will be considerably higher.
In saying that, one thing that a lot of people don't look at
and don't take into consideration
when they're looking to buy a computer, PC or Mac,
is the resale value on both the systems.
If you're looking to sell your computer
after a few years, then it's definitely worth investigating
the resale value on your computers
because, in most cases, the PCs will not hold much value.
There's too many new components and hardware upgrades
and new systems that are coming out all the time
in the PC world versus what's coming out and what's released
in the Mac space.
So, as an example, I recently sold a Mac laptop,
which originally cost me $3600,
I sold it four years later for $1000.
So, that's a huge, huge thing.
I don't think there's too many PC computers
that you could get, that you could buy for around $3600
and sell four years later for $1000.
So, it's definitely something to consider
when you're looking and when you're comparing pricing
and what you're get for the pricing
when you're buying your systems.
If you're not interested in resale
and you're just looking for the best bang for your buck,
the most performance you will get for your dollar spent,
it will be a PC.
And number three is upgradeability.
I really like that you can still upgrade your components
on your PCs.
On most of your Macs, you're locked down.
You can't replace things like video cards,
you can't replace RAM, or even add extra RAM,
change out SSDs or really add additional hard drives,
or anything like you used to be able to.
Most Windows computers, or PCs, can still be upgraded
these days.
In some cases, you might find that laptops have their RAM
that's fixed or soldered on to their mainboard
and can't be upgraded,
but in a lot of cases you can still upgrade SSDs,
upgrade RAM, and, in some cases, you can upgrade
other components, as well.
Then on the desktop side, you can build your own
full-custom system,
and if you had a CPU die,
or you have video card die,
it's just a matter of swapping out that individual component
and you're back up and running.
So, if you're looking at lifespan of your system
and on longevity and an upgrade path,
then you really want to consider the PC side
versus the Mac, because the Macs, these days,
are pretty well locked down.
So, those are the three things I like about Mac,
and the three things I like about PC.
So, just as a really quick wrap up.
Macs are great if you like Final Cut,
if you want to use Final Cut.
I use mine for Final Cut and for Adobe Premiere
which renders a little bit slower, but still works fine.
It's great for travel.
I love the portability.
I love the battery life,
and I love that there's no headaches
with things like drivers and, in most cases,
the software that I'm using is really optimized
to get the most out of the hardware that I'm using.
PCs, or Windows computers, on the other hand,
are typically lower cost.
They're upgradeable, and they've got a lot more power,
especially for the dollar verse dollar spent,
and that power can be used to help speed up
your video editing, speed up your rendering
and exporting, especially for non-system optimized software
like Adobe Premiere.
But you can also use on Windows
Cyberlink PowerDirector which does integrate well
with Intel Quick Sync technology
meaning that you're really getting a good connection
between your software and your hardware
to get the most out of it.
Now, hardware is just one piece of the puzzle
when it comes to editing.
The other is software.
Check out the video linked onscreen now
for my thoughts on Adobe Premiere Pro
versus Final Cut Pro X.
I'll see you soon.