iMac for Video Editing OR a Windows PC?

[ssamramg]

Hello Guys ! I am going to set up a studio where I need a reliable non-laggy setup for Video editing. As per my current setup I have a pretty outdated one. Which is kind of frustrating.
As setups go I have seen all the studios tend to have an iMac.
My videos need very high video editing (music video songs, wedding shoots,etc) which includes a hell of a lot editing and what not. So, I was wondering which one should I go for an iMac or a Custom Built PC.
I am a noob when it comes to Apple products but I can build a PC on my own.
But apple products are really confusing and if you were to suggest iMac please specify the exact model number along with the specifications like Processors Model, RAM speeds, etc.
Budget- Around $2000 or Rs. 150,000.
Any help is appreciated Thanks !

 

[iamacow]

Let me debunk the myth about Macs being better at Graphics and Editing. That was Pre-2006 when Intel had crap CPUs and Apple used IBM PowerPC chips. Since 2006 Apple has used Intel chips which means if you had identical hardware setup, the only thing would be different is the OS.

The only Major plus of using a Mac (if they were identical) is OSX using Linux code which has a much lower overhead than Windows, resulting in slightly better performance. That is where it ends. If you are willing to build a windows computer you can easily double the performance of the pre-built Apple for the same cost.

Mac
Pros:
Hands Free
Easy OS

Cons:
No upgrade path. Other than memory, you cannot replace ANYTHING. So buying the cheapest model and upgrading it yourself is out of the question.

PC:
Pros:
Cheaper
Easy upgrade paths. You can put as many hard drives in as you want. Buy a different video card. Heck, buy anything really.

Cons:
Windows
Windows
Windows

 

[iamacow]

In fact I suggest if you are going the custom PC route to get a AMD Threadripper. $900 for the CPU and $1000 for everything else and it will crush anything Apple will have to offer for years to come.

 

[agdredd]

I am a PC & Mac Technician and Editor/Videographer for more than 15 years... based on my experience using both platforms in Photo/Video editing there really is a big & significant performance difference... Mac is better, comparing both systems in video compression for both HD (720p) and Full-HD (1080p) videos... from a PC-Laptop a 2014 model HP Envy 15" Core-i5 4th Gen. 16GB of RAM 1-TB HDD @5400rpm with a dedicated GPU 2-GB Nvidia (Windows10) using Adobe Premiere: 5-minute Music Video Full-HD 1080p has taken me almost 45 minutes to encode
V.S.
Apple Macbook Pro MD101 (Mid-2012) with 13" Core-i5 3rd Gen. 16GB of RAM, 500GB HDD @5400rpm a shared Intel HD Graphics-4000 (MacOS Sierra) with 1.5GB using Apple's Pro Video Edting Software "FInal-Cut Pro" 2015, a 5-minute Music Video Full-HD 1080p only took me 5 mins. to encode.

TRY IT AND YOU BE THE JUDGE.

 

[iamacow]

Something is wrong with your computer if it takes 45min to encode. Nothing to do with it being a "windows" computer.

 

[BFG-9000]

It's more a preference thing and depends on what software you prefer to use.

Any software is going to have innumerable quality settings, and assuming both can use hardware acceleration, the clip that takes 45 minutes to encode will be of much higher quality than one that takes only 5 minutes. If you didn't care about quality you should be using Intel Quick Sync which is fast.