Mac.
As a lifelong PC user, I switched to Mac about 3 years ago. Not in a million years would I return to PCs. I’m not saying they don’t work. I’m saying if you don’t want to worry about what bloody video card works with what, what processor do you need to run what, what upgrade you’ll need to properly edit HD, how you need to keep your PC configured blah, blah, PC blah, then Mac is the way to go.
I’ve always found in order to have respectable performance editing video on a PC, you needed to have a good understanding of the machine. I don’t care about knowing the inner architecture of my computer. I don’t have time to waste trying to figure out if this is compatible with that, etc.
Macs, because they are so well designed and exceptionally reliable, don’t require you to be a computer guru. You buy one. You plug it in. You start editing. And, as M-323 pointed out, Apple customer care is not good, it’s bloody fantastic. No BS, no runaround, just good service.
And unlike the mile-long list of considerations you need to make in order to select a proper PC that might do the job, you can choose ANY Mac currently on the market and start editing as soon as you plug it in.
RockstarRider, try this for kicks: contact the big post-production houses in your area and ask them if they’re editing on Macs or PCs. Either answer should give you a bit more confidence about your purchase, but it would also benefit you to have the same platform as theirs, IF your intention is to collaborate in any way with them. Good luck.
