PC vs Mac: Which is Best for PCB Design?

One of the age-old questions we also see all the time is PC or Mac? The two technological babies of Microsoft and Apple have dominated our world for decades and everyone has their preferences. Some people can even only work on one operating system and simply don’t understand the other. What happens, however, when you introduce PCB design into the mix? Let’s find out which software is better for this task; PC or Mac?

PC vs Mac: Which is Best for PCB Design?

Software Compatibility

If you have a preferred PCB design software that you like to use, you are going to want to make sure that it works with your chosen operating system. If it doesn’t, you may need to find other PCB design softwares which can support you.

This is especially important if you want to use a Mac as not all PCB design software works on Mac. However, nearly all of them work on PC. For this reason, we could claim instantly that a PC is best for PCB design simply because you can use any software you want from it. However, many of the best ones are indeed compatible with Macs and iOS.

Virtual Machines

You may still have a Windows-only PCB software designer which you still want to use. Therefore, one of the things you could consider doing is running the software on a virtual machine. You can also do this anyway if you are on a Windows computer and you want to use a PCB designer which is compatible with an older version of the software.

Setting up a virtual machine on Apple should be easy for anyone who can handle the intricacies of PCB design and will allow you to access many more softwares beyond the PCB designer. If you prefer Apple but still want to be able to use the PC software, a virtual machine could seriously help you out.

Try Web-Based

Alternatively, if you use both a PC and a Mac in your PCB designs, a great way to allow you to switch between the two is to use a designer which is web-and cloud-based. The cloud has really revolutionised how we are able to handle our design work. If you are looking for a great tool which will allow you to access your work from any machine anywhere in the world regardless of the operating system, a cloud-based design tool might work for you.

So, Which is Best?

When considering whether you should handle your PCB designs with a Mac or a PC, it would initially appear like PC is the better option. It does seem like there is inherently more support for the PC, with a wider range of design tools plus more tutorials and other perks. However, there is no reason why Mac users cannot enjoy these benefits too thanks to virtual machines and web-based content.

It is clear, whether you want to design PCBs with a PC or with a Mac, you will have all the support you need to do so.

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