Mac vs. PC in 2025 - has the balance shifted?

[keyman_sam]

Well, has it? Macs are now more affordable than ever. The price advantage PCs had has essentially disappeared. So, is this the end of the PC vs. Mac debate?

[Korg Supporter]

There is no debate. Only get Mac if you want Logic Pro. In fact, Logic Pro is probably the only thing you will ever need. Windows is better if you want to use older plugins.

[cryophonik]

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[DrGonzo]

There is no debate. Only get Mac if you want Logic Pro. In fact, Logic Pro is probably the only thing you will ever need. Windows is better if you want to use older plugins.

I really don't care one way or the other, but at this point in time Serum 2 is extremely efficient on Apple processors.

[pekbro]

There is still a pretty strong advantage for PC in the parts dept. because apple is greedier than they are smart. Though I am seriously considering buying a mac, it's just hard since you have to pay extra just to get even a barely usable configuration.

[Michael L]

Which set of tools most closely fits your specific 'use case'?
Generic mac-vs-pc is meaningless.

[jamcat]

There is no debate. Only get Mac if you want Logic Pro. In fact, Logic Pro is probably the only thing you will ever need. Windows is better if you want to use older plugins.

I am on Mac and I don’t use Logic. I don’t even like Logic. A major draw is that I don’t need a separate desktop and laptop anymore. My MacBook Pro is more powerful than my last Windows DAW. And I don’t bother plugging in my audio device unless I’m recording or doing extremely critical mixing. Most of the time I’m just using headphones plugged into the audio out. That would never fly on a PC laptop. Also it’s dead silent.

[PAK]

This is really a topic for the computer forum, rather than instruments, and the question posed about pricing depends on many factors which can’t be well addressed without getting much more specific.

For audio use some old considerations no longer apply. Broadly the same software / plugin choices exist on either platform, meaning decisions are more about your DAW host than your OS. The job of the OS is to get out of your way. Which is why, where any debate still exists on the software side, it’s often about how well the OS does this.

The Mac Mini is arguably one of the better value computer products lately, and I think that’s having some impact on peoples perceptions. But, overall, there’s still more caveats attached to venturing down the Apple path, and I say that even as someone who thinks they do offer a better overall experience for audio use.

[Touch The Universe]

No forced updates and silent laptops put Mac over the edge

[rod_zero]

Desktop=PC, cheaper, expandable, easy to upgrade, longer support for peripherals on windows.

Laptop=Mac, coreaudio so no need for audio interface is ITB, very good CPU performance, longer battery life, no rogue drivers giving problems. My only problem is that you need a damn USB hub for peripherals.

[IvyBirds]

Well, has it? Macs are now more affordable than ever. The price advantage PCs had has essentially disappeared. So, is this the end of the PC vs. Mac debate?

My Windows 11, 128GB ram, i9 desktop system would disagree that the price advantage has essentially disappeared

Plus I don't live in fear that my software will just stop working because Apple says so

[kvotchin]

If you want a desktop, with lots of RAM and lots of SSD storage, PC is the way.

If you don’t care too much about the above specifics, Mac could be a reasonable choice. At that point, it comes down to your preferences: gaming computer or not; upgradeability or not; Logic Pro or not; silent or not; and so on.

[jwd606]

I've always been on Mac laptops, so not going to change now. But one thing I noticed yesterday was that Minimeters, a plugin that I run systemwide to monitor tracks on Spotify, itunes etc, doesn't work on PC due to ASIO. So another win for core audio plug and play.

[jamcat]

My only problem is that you need a damn USB hub for peripherals.

You don’t. Mac Studio has 6× Thunderbolt 5/USB4 USB-C ports. Mac mini and MacBook Pro have 3 ports each. But since the keyboard and mouse/trackpad are either wireless or built in, that’s probably all you need.

I use a hub with my MacBook Pro, not because I don’t have enough ports, but rather so all I have is a single cable to plug or unplug to go from laptop to desktop and back again. This single cable instantly delivers my audio device/monitors, MIDI controllers, 4k display, and power.

[Hanz Meyzer]

I think the arm architecture by Apple is way better, but both companies currently seem to equally mess up their OSes:

While Microsoft lowered the Windows performance by ~1/3 over the last two years, Apple does very similar, and now mostly adds bloatware system services on top. Apple's whole AI concept is flawed. And since Apple only cares for Apple, they do not even test when some (very unneccessary, memory consuming) system services are deactivated. Microsoft does test this and allows partly allows to disable stuff.

But overall both OSes turn into messes, full of memory leaks, very bad technical concepts, memory waste all over the place, when it comes to the software side of their products. They have to keep the software performance constant while at the same time the hardware performance multiplied.

If you only could downgrade your OS, if you are not satisfied with the update... But this is not possible anymore, at least in Apple world, because with every OS update, there also are firmware updates deployed, which you can't revert and which are barely documented either.

So if you have a bunch of skills, Linux might be the smartest choice of all. Even in Windows gaming, Linux seems to outperform Windows these days... Windows games on Linux... And if you choose Apple hardware (which I think is better), you barely are able to install Linux at all, because Apple only cares about Apple.

Apple also thinks you are very dumb, as their customer. I am unsure about Microsoft here.