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Originally posted by digipoet

i have heard the line of ?it's up to your preference' a hundred times, and its crap.
my preference is BETTER MACHINE.

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That line isn't "crap". The reason you hear it so often is because it's absolutely true. Neither machine or software is "better".

Look at the numerous threads here that discuss this exact question. There are some of us who use and love Mac and FCP - there are some here who use and love PC and Premiere or Avid.

Just using Mark and me (the two moderators) as examples you will find two filmmakers who use different machines and software. We each really like what we use. And neither of us will say that one is "better".

Does that make both of us simply issuing a line of crap?

One thing cannot be disputed: the cost of a Mac is much higher than a compatible Windows based computer.

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Originally posted by digipoet

is the extra money for mad/ fcp worth it??

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It is for me. My preference is the Mac and FCP. Not because it's "better" but because it's what I learned on and it does everything I need it to do. That might be a line of "crap" to you, but it IS only a preference.

What do ya' say Mark?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

sorry, didn't mean to imply it wasn't a valid opinion.

it's just that in my case, prior experience or preference has no impact.

if you were in a situation like me, the only issue being " is the extra cash worth the extra performance/reliability",
what would you do?

how about rendering? are 5400 (120 gb) or even 7200 (100gb drive) rpms on mac's hd that important? (4500 on pc).
is ddr2 (mac) better than ddr333 or ddr sdram memory? what?s that so-dimm 1 or 2 stuff?

how about the difference between ATA (mac) and EIDE (pc) harddrives?

To be honest, I'd say it really comes down more to whether you want a PC or Mac. I haven't used FCP, but from what I gather, some of the original Premiere developers worked on it so there shouldn't be too much difference: although the fact that Adobe dropped Premiere on the Mac after FCP came out may be a sign that they didn't think they could compete on features and functionality :). Certainly the newer versions of Premiere look to be a lot better than the ones I was editing on five years ago.

Really, either should do you fine for a feature-length project: the first feature I edited used Premiere 4.2, which couldn't even handle edits over an hour long, so we had to output it to tape in two 45-minute chunks :).

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how about the difference between ATA (mac) and EIDE (pc) harddrives?

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Well, ATA and IDE are the same thing by different names. Most new PCs will use SATA150, which is as fast as you're likely to need for a hard drive for a long time to come... it will be a few years before a hard drive can manage more than 150MB/s. I've edited 185Mbps HD files on my PC just using an ordinary SATA 7200rpm drive, that's nearly eight times as much data as DV.

I'm a mac fan but I always recommend people get the faster version of the computer they are comfortable with. Its hard enough learning a new editing package without having to learn new and different user interface issues.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

I would go with the Mac and FCP. I use a PC and AVID XPress Pro HD 5.2 but if choosing between premier and FCP, I would go with FCP. Once you know that system, a lot of doors will be open for you because a LOT of people in the Industry require you know FCP to get the job.

Matthew Sconce

Has the opinion on this topic changed with the advent of the dual bootable MacBook Pros?

Has Final Cut released their Intel Versions yet?

i think the decision comes down to what editing program you are used to using. Right now i am using a Dell laptop but i edit on a mac and have used FCP for three years. SO instead of getting a faster and newer Dell I am going to switch to Mac. I look at it like this, why bother figuring out a whole new editing system when you are already used to one. If you are used to adobe or Avid then go that route, if you are used to FCP then go Mac. Ultimatly i think it becomes easier on you if you just stay with the program you learned on.

Now if you haven't used any good editing programs yet then your in new territory. Then i would suggest you look at your budget and just go for the best bang for your buck. If you can get just as much memory and speed in a PC then you can in a Mac but the Mac is more expensive then why bother going mac?...or vice versa.

If you want a straight answer out of us...you arent going to get one. But if you want a staright oppinion from me without all this "its up to your prefernce crap" (as you put it) i would vote for Mac and FCP.

"Anyone who has ever been privileged to direct a film also knows that, although it can be like trying to write 'War and Peace' in a bumper car in an amusement park, when you finally get it right, there are not many joys in life that can equal the feeling." - Stanley Kubrick