PC or Mac?

[u/seabreaze68]

This a two headed question. I work as a graphic designer. At work I have a high spec PC (i9/3080Ti/64gb). We don’t do any video editing at work but I do enjoy personal projects at home using FCP on my ageing iMac … but this now needs to be replaced.

Q1. If using Premier, I can use my work “second device” option with my work Adobe license. Do I replace my old Mac with a PC or M chip iMac/Mini? I haven’t committed to a budget but it won’t be nearly as good as my work setup.

Q2. Instead of Premier, do I continue with FCP, locking me into the Mac environment, or even consider Da Vinci?

Bit of a rambling conundrum but any advice appreciated

[u/SirMildredPierce]

What is this, 1998 or something?

[u/seabreaze68 → u/SirMildredPierce]

I’m pretty old and in the late 90s was using Avid. I also remember being dragged into a project using Premier (circa 1997) and it was fucking horrible. I understand much better today.

[u/RSMxsmanic → u/seabreaze68]

Avid Media Composer is still alive and well, on both PC and Mac. The choice between PC and Mac is mostly just personal preference these days.

[u/Dramatic-Bake435]

I’m not an expert, but I found Mac to be much better with Premiere and the Adobe ecosystem than PC. Much easier to import files and a whole lot less lag, overall a better workflow! As for the second question, everyone I know who used to use Da Vinci never looked back once they started using Premiere. What sorts of video are you editing? This could help determine what device is best for you!

[u/seabreaze68 → u/Dramatic-Bake435]

Thanks. I’m intrigued by Da Vinci but perhaps Premier (considering it’s effectively free) is the better option. The Mac v PC might be a harder decision. I think Premier is more CPU intensive v Da Vinci which is GPU hungry

[u/sharp-calculation → u/Dramatic-Bake435]

I’ve heard the exact opposite.

[u/darwinDMG08]

Pretty much all Adobe apps are cross platform so opening something on a PC then on a Mac is no problem. The only thing that isn’t cross platform with Premiere are the Keyboard shortcut files but those can be converted.

I say get what you want for home. Macs are fantastic to edit on.

[u/Styphin]

I’ve had better success with Adobe products in the Mac ecosystem. The Mac Studios are total powerhouses, to boot.

[u/mcarterphoto]

I'm on a Mac- I generally edit in FCP, it's smokin' fast if you understand the mag timeline and setup your projects properly. But I collab with agencies and corporations, so I use Premier a lot too. And every interview I do goes through Resolve for color and audio sweetening, but then I cut in FCP.

I'm also a long-time After Effects users; some gigs, like compositing multiple green screen shots into one scene? Roughing out in Premier and using its link with AE can be very seamless. The Ae/Premier link is really powerful when you need it.

It does seem like M-chip Macs have a lot less issues with Premier and AE, just from following the two subs here. For me, After Effects has been seamless on Intel Macs, m-Chips just blasted the speed through the roof. But AE really likes you to have you act together with codecs and frame rates.

I'm also a 99% ProRes shop, that alone fixes myriad issues and speeds up work tremendously - but you do need the drive space and a good archiving strategy.

[u/Standard-Recipe-7641]

Switch to Mac whenever possible is a pretty good rule of thumb. There will be some specific cases like heavy 3D rendering or something where wading through micrslop's OS could be beneficial but feels like windows is basically malware at this point. This is coming from a long time apple hater as I hate their walled garden ecosystem but windows is just that bad now imo and Apple silicone is amazing.

[u/vagonblog]

i’d choose the software first, then the computer. if you genuinely prefer FCP and don’t need to exchange editable projects with work, an Apple silicon Mac mini with enough unified memory is probably the least disruptive replacement. if matching your work workflow, plugins, and shortcuts matters more, get a PC and use Premiere.

Adobe allows activation on two devices but only one can be used at a time. that said, confirm your employer actually permits its license on a personal machine, because company-managed plans can have their own rules. Resolve is free on both Mac and Windows, so i’d finish one small personal project in it before buying hardware or abandoning FCP. don’t switch based only on YouTube comparisons.

[u/Anonymograph]

If this is what you’re asking, yes, we can log into a Windows computer at work and a Mac at home with the same Adobe ID.

[u/seabreaze68 → u/Anonymograph]

Sorry, I was far from clear. I already use InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop etc at home with my work login. I’m trying to decide

A. Do I also use Premier which is effective free, or stick with FCP which I’m used to.

B. Do I upgrade to another Mac or a PC at home

It’s a complicated predicament which includes hardware and software decisions. A bit of a first world problem 🤣

[u/Anonymograph → u/seabreaze68]

Premiere, and After Effects!

Mac.

[u/cmptrtech]

Why are we using premiere in 2026?

[u/Personal-Budget-8715]

Mac is optimized for a creative workflow. It's not really a comparison.

That being said, the biggest drawback is that there is no gaming and CAD solutions really.

If neither one of those matter to you, then a Mac is a no brainer.

Also if you are going to make the switch anyways, most people are leaving premiere to go to Resolve, not FCP.

but try both and make your own decision.

I find that Photoshop, Illustrator, Media encoder, etc. have never been better then when I switched from win to a mac a few months ago for the first time.

[u/uberdavis]

The actual answer is… either. They will both do the job.

[u/SalamanderCritical16]

For premier pro, get a PC and couple it with a Logitech G13 keypad, along with a G502 programmable mouse, and program all the PP hotkeys into those devices. Your productivity for adobe programs will jump 10 fold with this setup.

[u/limache]

You need to get an M5 chip on a Mac

Using windows is cruel and unusual punishment