Mac's in a web development office?

macally

macally

macally

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9 Aug 2011
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137
I know, I know....this has been discussed countless times, however, I'm in need of some opinions and a sort of sounding board.

At present, our web development office are using a mis match of computers and I want to improve the look/feel of the office and that will possibly include changing the computers that are in use.

At present, they are using:

1 x Custom PC with a Core i5 2400 3.1GHz CPU, 8GB Ram, 120GB SSD, ATI 5570 GPU
1 x Dell Laptop with a Core i7 720QM 1.6GHz Quad Core CPU, 8GB Ram, 250GB 7200rpm Hdd, nVidia GPU
2 x HP DC7900 with a Core 2 Duo 3.16GHz CPU, 4GB Ram, 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drives, ATI low profile GPU

We've just invested quite a lot of money and time setting up an internal HP server running Windows Server 2012 to store all client work, etc, and I was surprised that when connecting the computers to the domain, there was the option to connect Mac computers and this got me thinking.

Would there be any advantage to using Mac's in the web development office? I'm unsure what we would go for but it would be either the quad core mac mini's or the lower end 27" iMac's.

The other option would be to ditch the 2 HP desktops and build 3 more custom PC's but that wouldn't really improve the look of the office as such because the pc's would just go under the desk and monitors would be the same.

We use Adobe software quite a lot but we have this on the Creative Cloud program so can use this on Mac and PC's. We use Office365 so again, have access to the Mac version of Office without any extra expense so software costs really aren't much of a concern.

I would be interested to know your thoughts.
 
Why not spend the money on new monitors, new keyboards and mice / trackpads and hide the base units away?
 
As long as your co-workers are ok with using Macs and you won't have to spend time and money training them up on a new environment then I'd say go for it. Despite the price they are fantastic looking machines so if you have a prospective client coming around the office it will look extremely professional.

Then again the same can be said about well-built PC's, so I guess it comes down to your budget and staffing circumstances. I have experience in both using a Mac and a PC for creative purposes and my current rig is primarily a PC, my old Mac died and I don't have the funds to get another at this moment in time. But I can honestly say Mac or PC, the end result of your creativity will ultimately be the same as the software you use is available on both platforms.

If it's something you and your co-workers would like to try then why not! A little change is good and might increase productivity :)
 
All of the users in our office are comfortable on both Mac and Windows so that's not a major concern.

As for changing monitors, I think our current monitors are pretty good - Dell U2312HM's (plus one HP 23") but it's difficult to find a good quality monitor with the same 'class' as the iMac screens.

In terms of cost, obviously, it would a fairly big outlay but that's one of the reasons I was considering the Mac Mini + Apple Cinema Display as we could keep the displays and just upgrade the mac mini every now and again.
 
macally said:
All of the users in our office are comfortable on both Mac and Windows so that's not a major concern.

As for changing monitors, I think our current monitors are pretty good - Dell U2312HM's (plus one HP 23") but it's difficult to find a good quality monitor with the same 'class' as the iMac screens.

In terms of cost, obviously, it would a fairly big outlay but that's one of the reasons I was considering the Mac Mini + Apple Cinema Display as we could keep the displays and just upgrade the mac mini every now and again.
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Sounds like a plan! Want to hire me? :p

Liking the Mac Mini idea, although I don't think they offer much in the graphics department so aslong as you're not going to be working with very demanding projects where you'll need to work a lot with graphics, etc. then I guess you'll be ok with the Mini's!
 
Kappa303 said:
Sounds like a plan! Want to hire me? :p
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Depends...any good at graphic/web work? :p

Kappa303 said:
Liking the Mac Mini idea, although I don't think they offer much in the graphics department so aslong as you're not going to be working with very demanding projects where you'll need to work a lot with graphics, etc. then I guess you'll be ok with the Mini's!
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Yeah, I was just looking at the specs of the mini. I'm sure the mini used to have an option with a dedicated GPU. Will have to give that some thought.
 
It's not a great idea moving them off of the programs that they're used to using, I don't mean the Adobe programs but if you don't use Dreamweaver, what they do use may not be available on Mac, and if you bootcamp you may encounter problems.

tl;dr it'll be a lot of work for little/no gain.
 
macally said:
As for changing monitors, I think our current monitors are pretty good - Dell U2312HM's (plus one HP 23") but it's difficult to find a good quality monitor with the same 'class' as the iMac screens.
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The LG Panel that you'll find in the Apple Thunderbolt display is the same that you'll find in the likes of Hazro / Catleap / DGM 27" screens.

If you want a load of Apple products sat on the desk to look pretty when clients visit, then just say that. :p

If that's what you want, instead of buying new machines - just buy Apple Thunderbolt/Cinema displays and use them with the existing hardware.
 
macally said:
Depends...any good at graphic/web work? :p



Yeah, I was just looking at the specs of the mini. I'm sure the mini used to have an option with a dedicated GPU. Will have to give that some thought.
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Well I suppose I am ok! I gear towards graphic design these days but I am looking for a junior role with a graphic/web development studio at the moment! Don't suppose you're based in Cheshire? lol

And yeah the new Mac Mini's only have the Intel intergrated graphics chip, so might not be the best choice for heavy graphics work. There is always the refurb route if you chose to go with iMacs, from what I hear Apple refurbs are like 'as new' and you could even get a bigger discount on End-of-Life items; depends where you get them from I guess!
 
What would be cool and more expensive is 3xACD's each with a 13" rMBP. Each person has portability when going to see clients and a big screen back at the office.
 
Spit said:
What would be cool and more expensive is 3xACD's each with a 13" rMBP. Each person has portability when going to see clients and a big screen back at the office.
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Back with the issue of the HD4000 as a GPU there :p
 
GeX said:
Back with the issue of the HD4000 as a GPU there :p
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I use my HD4000 all the time and have no issues. Cant see a problem unless they are doing heavy video work.

Refurb 13" rMBP with 8Gb RAM, 128Gb SSD are £1059 on the Apple store.
 
Considering the MacMini has been all but dismissed due to it's lack of GPU then I don't think a 13" rMBP is on the cards. Great excuse to get the 15" rMBP though. I do love mine so :D
 
I use a 27" imac in work, and have a macbook air that I use for personal stuff.

From a use point of view, I dont think I could go back to windows for doing this job. From aesthetics, its plain to see.

Downside is with such a huge res, hiding non-work stuff is difficult ;)
 
GeX said:
Considering the MacMini has been all but dismissed due to it's lack of GPU then I don't think a 13" rMBP is on the cards. Great excuse to get the 15" rMBP though. I do love mine so :D
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Same :)

I think the HD5000 will eliminate the performance issue if they put the GT3e in the MBP's. Fingers crossed.
 
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I work for a design agency and all our developers have had 27" iMacs and have gone back to PCs with Dell Ultrasharp monitors and Lian Li cases that are kept under the desks.

The designers and admin people use a mix of 27" iMacs and Cinema Displays contacted to MBP's.

As far as looks go both options look good in their own right and its down to personal taste. I myself prefer a highly powered PC with a professional monitor when office based due to the horrible reflective glass on the older style iMacs (ive not seen the newer models).
 
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