Hello everyone! I’ve been browsing the web about this question, but I haven’t had a clear response.

The MacBook Pro has long been a staple for professional designers. It's fast, aesthetically beautiful and, well, a Mac. But it’s expensive. Very expensive. The top-end 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro is pushing £2,700, which is a huge investment for any freelancer or, indeed, studio.

I won’t make it long: I am still in college, so my budget is not very high. My current computer is worn out, and I need to upgrade. I need it mostly for graphic design (Photoshop, InDesign, and very large Illustrator files), and a little 3D and video. I don’t game anymore (tons of wasted time). So, I am not looking to game on my computer.

I have been thinking about purchasing an Alienware. Can someone relate? I LOVE the iOS. I’ve heard that you can install iOS on a Windows computer, but that it is tricky and highly glitchy. Any comments on this?

Anyways, I can get used to Windows, no problem. Overall, I want a powerful computer, but not as expensive as a Mac. What can you advice me?

Macs were the go to computers for design about fifteen plus years ago, but not any more. Windows had less options for software back then, but nowadays if you can get a certain software package for Mac, then you can usually get it for Windows as well. Macs are great, but you’ll always get more for your dollar with a Windows machine. And if you’re looking to do a bit of 3D and video, then the video cards on Macs are usually pretty low end, unless you get the top of the line versions.

Plus, the drivers come from Apple, rather than Nvidia or AMD, so you might not have as up to date versions as a Windows user with the same card. And upgrading options are usually minimal and/or expensive. Anyway, not sure if you’re looking for a desktop or a laptop, but my last laptop and desktop have both been Asus. Very happy with both of them, and not had any problems with them.

GC-10 for the desktop, think was about £1200 without monitor, and a Zenbook UX303 for the laptop which was £875. If I hadn’t have gone for the Zenbook, then I might have gone for the Alienware 13' ultrabook they look pretty impressive. I agree that you shouldn’t do something just because everybody else does something, but sometimes there’s a very good reason why everybody else does something. Adobe hasn’t adapted in a decade which is why their products are an afterthought to their real product which is a digital ghetto of useless utility style services. Not entirely sure that you’re getting at here, but having used eight different versions of After Effects over the years, there’s been some pretty impressive evolution of the product.

Although ideally you should be the one telling the boss what software/hardware you should use maybe if it’s a startup or you’re heading up a department. But more often than not, if you’re getting a job at a certain company then they will use certain products. And if you want the job, you’re going to have to use that too, and know how to use it already. Maybe once you’re in you can start some kind of paradigm shift, but at present head into a design studio and tell them you know Gimp inside and out, but haven’t got a clue how to use Photoshop, Coral or Illustrator, they’re probably going to show you the door. Another thing to keep in mind using a ‘popular’ software package has additional benefits. Search Google for ‘After Effects Tutorials’ and you’ll get 5,900,000 results. Search for ‘Natron Tutorials’ and you’ll get 138,000 results.

Sure, that’s still plenty, but think of books, video tutorials, groups, certifications, courses, events etc. You might become some Natron grand master and you might get work and be able to create better work than others, but if someone sees your work and invites you to an interview at a vfx studio there’s going to be a few awkward moments when they ask you what version of Nuke do you use? Or maybe After Effects, Fusion, Motion etc. And just to finish whenever I see discussions on the old Mac vs PC debate, although they sometimes get a bit heated, they are usually just people providing their own advice on what they think is best. That’s pretty much exactly what you’re doing. It’s very rare that they are telling people they have to do it a certain way or they’re trying to assimilate them into becoming ‘Adobots’.

Remote desktop connection client for mac + vmware version. So yeah, buying Windows or a Mac and buying Adobe products isn’t exactly selling-out or bowing down to ‘the man’. It just makes sense for the majority of people, if forking kernels isn’t at the top of their list of priorities.

Although other options can make sense as well, just as a disclaimer. Thanks SpaceStockFootage, you make some really good points and I think you round out this conversation nicely. After all there is a practical side to this; which you articulate perfectly. I didn’t bother because, one; I already wrote a novel, and two; I assumed StockDesignMan already knows what he or she is ‘expected’ to know. What he might not know, is that there are amazing, inexpensive choices out there for a student.