I am looking to purchase a new computer for toon boom harmony. I am a mac fan (I much prefer MAC interface, and find them much easier to navigate - as well as being more reliable), but with regards to specs I do feel you can get a lot cheaper PC relative to the specs of a MAC.
Are there any particular advantages to get a high end MAC over a cheaper PC?
I understand that MACs aren’t really built for gaming as much as PCs are, and my understanding is that the specs required for gaming would transfer to improving performance of Harmony. Then again, I hear MACs are more suited for workstations and running various business programs - does Harmony come into this category? Would love to hear feedback from people who might be able to explain advantages/disadvantages.
Times have changed if you are hearing Macs are more suited to business software. The world has totally gone to poop. There is plenty of misinformation around. Windows definitely is superior for gaming. I believe Apple ignored its art professional user base in recent years but the iMac Pro may help mend some of this.
A comparable Mac is going to cost a lot more money. Most configurations are targeted at something other than the artist professional except for the new iMac Pro. But they begin at $5000. You cannot upgrade the RAM or graphics so right upfront you must invest in the maximum you think you will ever need. There is no getting in the door and beefing things up later. The Mac Pros are off target and overkill in a wrong direction.
I ended up building a hackintosh which cost the same as building a Windows PC. In fact it was my first hackintosh and if it did not work out I was planning on installing Windows and only using it dedicated to Harmony. I have a Macbook Pro and Mac Mini which could be used for everything else.
But it worked out, I love it and I will build hackintosh’s in the future so long as Apple does not prevent it.
Windows has lots of driver problems to deal with. The different versions of the OS also seem to come with problems to work out. There is a lot of that sort of thing when you build a hackintosh but at least you end up with a Mac and not a Windows PC.
Once a system is running well Harmony runs fine on either OS.
Harmony is not particularly demanding. It will choke on any system if you build a complicated project. You need to adjust your workflow instead of building a super-computer to handle things. You don’t need the latest greatest number crunching graphics card or maximum RAM. Harmony won’t benefit from these things. If you are up for it you will have more options if you build your own computer whether it is to run Windows, OS X or both.
there are now officially supported external thunderbolt gpus available for mac, so there are some upgrade/boost options.
factor in a good stylus-on-screen tablet system if you don’t already have one. whether that means a mobile windows tablet system (pretty powerful these days, 2 birds 1 stone) or a desktop cintiq unit/equivalent, that will likely improve your working experience even more than a computer upgrade. drawing in harmony on a big cintiq is so nice (as long as the software is responding fluidly.) great inky response to pressure. even editing lines and shapes feels so much better than with an intuos, still feels like drawing to me (moreseo than other software for me, even adb illustrator.)
as stated above, avoid the “trashcan” mac pro. it IS a good machine, i have one that i use in the office, but apple has already pretty much admitted it was a mistake and it is all but EOL’d. i still think the design is pretty good and clever, and runs extremely quietly. upcoming imac pro is interesting but will need to see the actual released machine, then of course the upcoming mystery mac pro reboot is a giant unknown so i’m ignoring that completely.
i’ve also been wondering about my next machine upgrade, been a mac user for my entire adult life but i am tired of the lack of hardware customization options and the worsening condition of the mac os with each recent major release. pc users could probably swap to a different gpu setup every week if they wished. so. many. options. that said, i am currently running a “pc only” gpu in my 2012 mac pro, which i had macvidcards.com modify for mac os. works great, and (at the time of purchase) was far better than any official apple card upgrade offerings.
from my limited time with it, it seems windows has gotten better as an “artists machine”, maybe latest windows os is improved enough that the hackintosh option may not even be worth the effort of setup to you.