Mac Or Pc For Graphics

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PC Today in Graphic Design Due to changes in how users understand and relate to technology there are many graphic designers today who use Windows-based PCs to get their work done. I use both Mac and PC myself and see very little difference in my ability to get my work done if both machines have similar hardware.

  • In fact, if you’re a professional in need of raw power for video or 3D graphics editing, this is probably the Mac for you. But when it comes to gaming, it’s simply overkill. It costs twice as much as a 27-inch iMac with a Radeon Pro 580 and runs our test games at 125.5 FPS on average compared to 128.3 FPS on the Radeon Pro 580 iMac.
  • Mac vs PC Comparison – Whether to Buy Mac Or PC. Once upon a time there was a clear and well defined divide or distinction between PC and Mac users. Those who needed a computer bought a Windows PC and those who had money bought a MacBook – It was that simple! However, currently the imaginary line between Windows PC and Mac is fading, mostly.
  • PC for Graphic Design. There is no longer any reason to consider Mac the default option for graphic design. Long-time Mac users also frequently cite usability as a Mac advantage. In most cases, usability comes down to what you're used to, however.

An eGPU can give your Mac additional graphics performance for professional apps, 3D gaming, VR content creation, and more.

eGPUs are supported by any Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac1 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Learn how to update the software on your Mac.

An eGPU lets you do all this on your Mac:

  • Accelerate apps that use Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL
  • Connect additional external monitors and displays
  • Use virtual reality headsets plugged into the eGPU
  • Charge your MacBook Pro while using the eGPU
  • Use an eGPU with your MacBook Pro while its built-in display is closed
  • Connect an eGPU while a user is logged in
  • Connect more than one eGPU using the multiple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your Mac2
  • Use the menu bar item to safely disconnect the eGPU
  • View the activity levels of built-in and external GPUs (Open Activity Monitor, then choose Window > GPU History.)

eGPU support in apps

eGPU support in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later is designed to accelerate Metal, OpenGL, and OpenCL apps that benefit from a powerful eGPU. Not all apps support eGPU acceleration; check with the app's developer to learn more.3

In general, an eGPU can accelerate performance in these types of apps:

  • Pro apps designed to utilize multiple GPUs
  • 3D games, when an external monitor is attached directly to the eGPU
  • VR apps, when the VR headset is attached directly to the eGPU
  • Pro apps and 3D games that accelerate the built-in display of iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro (This capability must be enabled by the app's developer.)

You can configure applications to use an eGPU with one of the following methods.

Use the Prefer External GPU option

Starting with macOS Mojave 10.14, you can turn on Prefer External GPU in a specific app's Get Info panel in the Finder. This option lets the eGPU accelerate apps on any display connected to the Mac—including displays built in to iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro:

  1. Quit the app if it's open.
  2. Select the app in the Finder. Most apps are in your Applications folder. If you open the app from an alias or launcher, Control-click the app's icon and choose Show Original from the pop-up menu. Then select the original app.
  3. Press Command-I to show the app's info window.
  4. Select the checkbox next to Prefer External GPU.
  5. Open the app to use it with the eGPU.

You won't see this option if an eGPU isn't connected, if your Mac isn't running macOS Mojave or later, or if the app self-manages its GPU selection. Some apps, such as Final Cut Pro, directly choose which graphics processors are used and will ignore the Prefer External GPU checkbox.

Set an external eGPU-connected display as the primary display

If you have an external display connected to your eGPU, you can choose it as the primary display for all apps. Since apps default to the GPU associated with the primary display, this option works with a variety of apps:

  1. Quit any open apps that you want the eGPU to accelerate on the primary display.
  2. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Select Displays, then select the Arrangement tab.
  3. Drag the white menu bar to the box that represents the display that's attached to the eGPU.
  4. Open the apps that you want to use with the eGPU.

If you disconnect the eGPU, your Mac defaults back to the internal graphics processors that drives the built-in display. When the eGPU is re-attached, it automatically sets the external display as the primary display.

About macOS GPU drivers

Mac hardware and GPU software drivers have always been deeply integrated into the system. This design fuels the visually rich and graphical macOS experience as well as many deeper platform compute and graphics features. These include accelerating the user interface, providing support for advanced display features, rendering 3D graphics for pro software and games, processing photos and videos, driving powerful GPU compute features, and accelerating machine learning tasks. This deep integration also enables optimal battery life while providing for greater system performance and stability.

Apple develops, integrates, and supports macOS GPU drivers to ensure there are consistent GPU capabilities across all Mac products, including rich APIs like Metal, Core Animation, Core Image, and Core ML. In order to deliver the best possible customer experience, GPU drivers need to be engineered, integrated, tested, and delivered with each version of macOS. Aftermarket GPU drivers delivered by third parties are not compatible with macOS.

The GPU drivers delivered with macOS are also designed to enable a high quality, high performance experience when using an eGPU, as described in the list of recommended eGPU chassis and graphics card configurations below. Because of this deep system integration, only graphics cards that use the same GPU architecture as those built into Mac products are supported in macOS.

Supported eGPU configurations

It's important to use an eGPU with a recommended graphics card and Thunderbolt 3 chassis. If you use an eGPU to also charge your MacBook Pro, the eGPU's chassis needs to provide enough power to run the graphics card and charge the computer. Check with the manufacturer of the chassis to find out if it provides enough power for your MacBook Pro.

Recommended graphics cards, along with chassis that can power them sufficiently, are listed below.

Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPU products

These products contain a powerful built-in GPU and supply sufficient power to charge your MacBook Pro.

Recommended Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPUs:

  • Blackmagic eGPU and Blackmagic eGPU Pro4
  • Gigabyte RX 580 Gaming Box4
  • Sonnet Radeon RX 570 eGFX Breakaway Puck
  • Sonnet Radeon RX 560 eGFX Breakaway Puck5

AMD Radeon RX 470, RX 480, RX 570, RX 580, and Radeon Pro WX 7100

These graphics cards are based on the AMD Polaris architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Pulse series and the AMD WX series.

Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:

  • OWC Mercury Helios FX4
  • PowerColor Devil Box
  • Sapphire Gear Box
  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 350W
  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
  • Razer Core X4
  • PowerColor Game Station4
  • HP Omen4
  • Akitio Node6

AMD Radeon RX Vega 56

These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 56 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 56.

Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:

  • OWC Mercury Helios FX4
  • PowerColor Devil Box
  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
  • Razer Core X4
  • PowerColor Game Station4

AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, Vega Frontier Edition Air, and Radeon Pro WX 9100

These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 64 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 64, AMD Frontier Edition air-cooled, and AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100.

Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:

  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
  • Razer Core X4

AMD Radeon RX 5700, 5700 XT, and 5700 XT 50th Anniversary

Mac Or Pc For Graphics Downloads

If you've installed macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later, you can use these graphics cards that are based on the AMD Navi RDNA architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 5700, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.

Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:

  • Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
  • Razer Core X4

Learn more

  • Learn how to choose your GPU in Final Cut Pro X 10.4.7 or later.
  • To ensure the best eGPU performance, use the Thunderbolt 3 cable that came with your eGPU or an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cable. Also make sure that the cable is connected directly to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, not daisy-chained through another Thunderbolt device or hub.
  • If you have questions about Thunderbolt 3 chassis or graphics cards, or about third-party app support and compatibility, contact the hardware or software provider.
  • Software developers can learn more about programming their apps to take advantage of macOS eGPU support.

1. If you have a Mac mini (2018) with FileVault turned on, make sure to connect your primary display directly to Mac mini during startup. After you log in and see the macOS Desktop, you can unplug the display from Mac mini and connect it to your eGPU.

2. If you're using a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2016 or 2017, always plug eGPUs and other high-performance devices into the left-hand ports for maximum data throughput.

3. macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later don't support eGPUs in Windows using Boot Camp or when your Mac is in macOS Recovery or installing system updates.

4. These chassis provide at least 85 watts of charging power, making them ideal for use with 15-inch MacBook Pro models.

5. Playback of HDCP-protected content from iTunes and some streaming services is not supported on displays attached to Radeon 560-based eGPUs. You can play this content on the built-in display on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac.

6. If you use Akitio Node with a Mac notebook, you might need to connect your Mac to its power adapter to ensure proper charging.

Apple’s Mac and Windows PC are currently the two leading platforms for most of our day to day computing needs. Hence, this article, providing you with Mac vs PC comparison, in order to help you make an informed decision about whether to buy a Mac or PC.

Mac vs PC Comparison – Whether to Buy Mac Or PC

Once upon a time there was a clear and well defined divide or distinction between PC and Mac users. Those who needed a computer bought a Windows PC and those who had money bought a MacBook – It was that simple!

However, currently the imaginary line between Windows PC and Mac is fading, mostly due to Windows computers trying to compete with Macs in the looks department and becoming as expensive as Macs.

Hence, the question “Should you Buy a Mac or PC” and search for terms like Mac vs PC, Mac Vs Windows PC comparison and similar terms is showing an increasing trend and becoming more relevant to consumers looking to buy computers.

You will find below a listing of both Advantages and Disadvantages of Macs and PCs, which should help you in deciding whether to buy a Mac or a Windows powered PC.

Advantages of Macs

1. The biggest advantage of Macs is that they are well designed, sleek and visually appealing. While Windows computers are trying to match Macs in the looks department, they are ending up costing the same as Macs.

Mac graphics app

2. Macs come preloaded with almost all the software required to prepare documents (Pages), run spreadsheets (Numbers), create presentations (Keynote) and basic Photo Editing and Video Production software.

In comparison, Windows computers these days are mostly being shipped with trial versions of Microsoft Office.

3. In general, Macs have acquired the reputation of being less complicated, easy to use and trouble free compared to Windows Computers.

4. Software updates on Macs are consistent, effortless and trouble free. In comparison, software updates on Windows computers end up
generating discussions and heightened activity on internet forums

5. Going by past data, chances of being hit by viruses and malware on Macs are less compared to PCs. This could be due to a variety of reasons, ranging from Windows PCs having a larger user base to Windows Software being more familiar and appealing to attackers.

Mac

6. All the pre-installed software programs on Macs come directly from Apple and appear to be well tested and optimized to work well on Macs. In comparison, Windows computers suffer from bloatware due to pre-installed software coming from multiple sources – Microsoft, Manufacturer and associated companies.

7. Apple products rank high in terms of quality and customer satisfaction. When you buy a Mac, there is absolutely no doubt that you are getting a product of the highest quality.

It is difficult for Windows Computers to match this level of quality and customer satisfaction due to multiple manufacturers trying to sell Windows computers in multiple configurations.

8. Macs work better and flawlessly with other Apple products. This means that you are better off going for a Mac in case you use an iPhone.

GraphicsFor

9. The customer support at Apple is consistent, transparent and better compared to Windows Computers. If anything happens to your Mac, you can head straight to the nearest Apple Store in your location and expect support both for hardware and software related problems.

Such level of support is not possible in Windows computers due to software coming from Microsoft and hardware being assembled by a variety of PC manufacturers.

10. Whether you like it or not, Macs appear cooler/trendier and people are willing to pay more for Apple products.

Advantages of Windows PC

1. The biggest advantage of a Windows PC is its availability at multiple price points. Since, Windows PCs come from different manufacturers in multiple configurations, there is always a Windows Computer that can match your budget.

In comparison, Macs are available in limited models and at fixed price points, which you may or may not be able to afford.

2. The second biggest advantage of Windows PC is its productivity software. Most Windows computers come preloaded with Microsoft Office which includes two of the most popular productivity software programs in the world – Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.

3. In case you are a gamer, you have no option but to go for a Windows PC. Macs simply do not have the Processing power, RAM and high end graphics cards required to play PC games.

4. Windows computers are available in multiple configurations and allow you to choose from various types of Processors, RAM, Storage, Ports, Displays and other options.

Pc or mac laptop

5. In general, Windows Computers offer superior hardware at competitive price points. In comparison, Mac users appear to be paying a higher cost for comparatively lower level of hardware.

However, it needs to be mentioned that almost every component on an Apple product is optimized for better performance, tweaked to consume less power and generate less heat.

6. Accessories for Windows Computers are easy to find and available at competitive prices compared to Macs. This makes Windows computers cheaper to operate and run compared to Macs.

7. It is easy to upgrade, reconfigure and refurbish Windows computers. This aspect of Windows computers appeals to tech savvy users who enjoy such activities.

8. In general, more Software programs are available for Windows PC compared to Macs.

9. Windows Computers have better backwards compatibility compared to Macs. For example, it is not uncommon to find 5 to 7 year old Windows computers running the latest version of Windows 10 without any problem.

10. Windows community and user base is larger compared to Macs. This practically means that it is easy to get support and advice for software and hardware related issues for Windows computers.

Disadvantages of Mac

1. The biggest disadvantage of Macs is that they are expensive compared to PCs. However, as mentioned above, Windows Computers are getting expensive and the gap between MacBook Air and a comparable Windows Laptop is not that much.

2. The second major disadvantage of Macs is that most of the work related software like Microsoft Excel, AutoCAD, Timberline, Primavera and Accounting software is designed for Windows computers and not for Macs.

While Macs have their own version of Excel (Numbers) and Microsoft Word (Pages), these programs are no match for the Power and Versatility of Microsoft Excel and the practical functionality of Microsoft Word program.

While you can buy Microsoft Office made for Macs, it is not uncommon to come across users reporting missing features, problems and overall lack of power while using Microsoft Excel on Macs.

3. Macs are clearly not built for playing PC Games. Even the most advanced MacBook Pro does not have the processing power, RAM and the Graphics to play PC Games.

4. Using a Mac is fundamentally different than using a Windows computer. Those coming from Windows PC background to Mac will require patience to get used to the way Macs work.

In the first few weeks you may often feel like going back to Windows PC. However, once you get used to Macs you should be able to work as effortlessly on a Mac as you used to on a Windows PC.

Mac Or Pc For Graphics Software

Disadvantages Of Windows PC

1. Windows computers are clearly getting more expensive and most likely driving budget customers to consider using a Mac Mini or even MacBook Air which are now available at tempting price points.

2. Windows computers come pre-loaded with bloatware from manufacturers, which makes them slow and buggy. While those with technical abilities can easily get rid of this bloatware, average computer users are not really equipped to deal with this issue.

3. Due to their large user base, Windows Computers are considered as being primary candidates for attack by hackers and computer viruses. However, it is not difficult to minimize this risk by keeping the software on your computer updated and installing a good antivirus program on your computer.

4. Although the situation is improving, software updates on Windows Computers are still far from being trouble free.

Should You Buy Mac or Windows PC

As far as consumers are concerned, the decision to buy should be based on which platform really suits you better, while taking into consideration the purpose for which you are buying a computer and the budget allocated for your purchase.

For example, Windows PC is a better option in case your work requires the use of Microsoft Excel and other productivity or work related Software Programs. The same holds true, in case you are buying a computer for general and recreational use and your idea of fun is to play high intensity PC Games.

Graphics Cards For Mac

When it comes to budget, College students surviving on borrowed money are clearly better off buying a cheaper Windows PC or a Chromebook, instead of piling on more debt by going for an expensive MacBook Pro.

However, if you are working part time and having a MacBook makes you feel better (does it !!?..), make sure that you go for MacBook Pro and promise yourself that you will do better at both studies and work!

Graphic Design Apps For Mac

Image source: Apple, Microsoft