People that love Macs will tell you Macs and people that love PCs will tell you PCs. There will be no consensus to this question. Taking into account that you say you mostly need raw speed for a low price you should be looking into a PC (actually they are both PCs since PC means Personal Computer - you, of course, mean IBM clone style probably running Windows). The other consideration though is that you say you are really wanting a Mac. The best advice anyone could ever give you on anything in this life is to follow your heart. This is the machine you will be working with for hours on hours doing something you hopefully love. Why pick a machine you won't be happy with? Look into both and listen to the small voice within to guide you. Good luck with your choice. Either way you will be capable of creating great art. The time has long since passed since one of these platforms could truly be considered any better than the other. Frank