Mac vs PC

[Mr. Epic]

This is a famous debate but I am looking to get a new performance computer that has a good Processing speed (CPU) and RAM. Now should I get my first Mac or another PC? So I would like to know points on why each one is good. I would also like to know which computer from each make is the best for me and why?

 

[Apple Inc.]

Get a Mac. They may seem more expensive but to make a PC as good as a Mac it will end up costing the same or more than a mac. If you are on a budget get the Mac Mini, if you have enough money go for the iMac. If you do need to run Windows for any reason, you can run it in parallels, and in bootcamp. Not to mention that Windows runs so much better on a Mac than it does on a PC. I opened up Windows XP in parallels yesterday and it was ready to use in 15 seconds. I personally would get an iMac, and think about it like this, if you ever move, its just one pretty small box compared to like 3 or 4 giant boxes for the monitor, tower, printer, and all that other crap that isn't built into a tower.

 

[Mr. Epic]

Get a Mac. They may seem more expensive but to make a PC as good as a Mac it will end up costing the same or more than a mac. If you are on a budget get the Mac Mini, if you have enough money go for the iMac.

Thanks for the advice I checked them on wikipedia and mac mini is looking the best choice but for about £400 in the UK is it strong enough to survive my house or will it die easily.

 

[Apple Inc.]

Thanks for the advice I checked them on wikipedia and mac mini is looking the best choice but for about £400 in the UK is it strong enough to survive my house or will it die easily.

The Mac Mini will last you many years to come and if anything happens it can be repaired at a Genius Bar in an Apple Store. (get an Applecare plan just in case)
Good luck

 

[Freestyle Farfetch'd]

I would like to save you from the grim fate of getting a mac. Macs will inevitably be more expensive in the long run, due to the total lack of upgradability. (sans, maybe RAM, but that's pretty much it as far as the mac mini and iMacs go) Except, of course, for the high end Mac Pro, but even then, I understand the case is pretty hard to dis-assemble, not to mention the fact that it costs a small fortune to start off with.

It's also a bit of a myth that Macs "Just Work", in my humble opinion. I've had far more trouble trying to get the mac equivalents of my favorite programs to work, than I've had on Windows. (VisualBoy Advance and Terragen and Quake, just for a few examples) I've really come to the conclusion that Macs just work, if you're willing to throw yet more money at them with expensive full price software. Buying and installing Adobe Illustrator is bound to go off fine, but try getting Inkscape to work! Sure, okay, Macs look pretty. But that doesn't equal usability. I really, honestly think that the "Just Works" thing is a rather well executed piece of marketing.

Also - I'd like to stop "Apple Inc." right where he is on "Windows runs so much better on a mac" Compared to what?! I'm sure that if you ran Windows on a quad-core xenon PC with 4gbs of RAM, it'd run superlatively faster than a Core 2 Duo with 2gbs of RAM and integrated graphics.

Finally, if you really insist on Mac OSX, it's right there, available to you as a PC owner. I won't tell you where you can get it, but it's perfectly possible to get hacked DVD images, which will install on any x86 PC that has at least SSE2 instructions (Anything even remotely new, so don't worry about that.). So, the "you can run both with bootcamp on mac" argument is moot, too.

Really finally, I've found, that in default configuration Mac OSX has a HUGE security flaw. It is perfectly possible to boot the computer up in Single user mode, with a simple key combination at boot, which will give any random joe who tries it, full, root (administrator) access to the computer, with no password protection, and no questions asked.

Seriously, PCs are not only cheaper, but far more flexible. They are not governed by one, authoritarian body, the platform, in it's current state is designed for maximum flexibility, due to the large number of manufacturers that wish to produce parts. You'll only be disappointed with your Mac when you find you want to play Crysis, believe me.

P.S. Since when did Macs have built in printers? Seriously Apple Inc, stop looking through rose tinted glasses. >>

 

[Apple Inc.]

Wait til Virtual Chatot and Gerri get here to point out all the good things about mac. And all that stuff you mentioned like with Videos, etc. IT'S CALLED ILIFE!

 

[Gerri Shin]

you should take into consideration your budget, what you will be using the computer for, whether you prefer laptops or desktops, as well as what your current setup is compared to what may be coming out next year. Now my opinion may seem bias towards Mac, but please don't disregard it. I used PCs up until about march of this year, I've built my own machines, and used pretty much any version of Windows out there (Win 3.1, 95, 98se, 2k, XP, and Vista)

first off, If your current system is working fine and isn't like dinosaur tech, stick with it until about may or june of next year when new processors are coming out (Intel's new Nehelem CPU is going to be a doozy!) If you absolutely must upgrade, then continue reading.
The main questions you need to ask yourself are, What am I going to use this computer for and how much am I willing to spend on it. Let's start with what you're going to use it for, If you're heavy into gaming, like COD, WoW, City of Heros, etc.., then I would tell you that Windows would probably be better for you and suggest you go look at alienware and HP computers. If you do like to game occasionally, but spend most of your time browsing the web and doing schoolwork-type stuff, then its actually a pretty even call, the Mac would be slightly faster, but you may have to buy a new version of a program or get used to a new program all together. If you're into digital media like pictures and video well this is also a toss-up, but Mac usually wins because you simply can't beat the included iLife programs. (Windows' included programs don't come anywhere near iLife and don't even include anything like iWeb)
If we take into consideration you budget, then we get another fun bucket of stuff to look at. Obviously if you go with a Windows computer, it's going to cater to the tighter budget, but in the long run Mac usually tend to be able to last over 5-6 years without so much as a RAM upgrade in the third of fourth year to accommodate the third OS upgrade it'll have. (my brother is still working off of the same Powerbook G4 that he got when he graduated high school, Leopard with 512 RAM and it still works flawlessly. He's now in his third year of Gradschool) So while the Mac may cost more the lifetime of the hardware will go farther than most Windows and ultimately will be cheaper; ei: windows comp that costs $1200 last for 2 years = 600 per year, while a Mac that costs $2000 lasts for 4-5 years costs 400-500 per year.

It's up to you to decide which direction is the right way for you to go, so I hope that this info helps. I'll leave with this advice that I always give:
"If you do the research and look at all the possibilities then you will make the best choice possible and will be happy with the result for the lifetime of the Item."

 

[Freestyle Farfetch'd]

Apple Inc. I never said nothing about video. o-o Read my post properly.

I'm not sure about this whole "Macs last longer" argument. How can they, when you can't upgrade 'em easily? I think the reason that they often outlast a user's ownership is because you're generally not trying to play current generation games on a mac, or anything fancy like that. Mac users generally just ask less of their mac, and thus, find them usable for longer.

Also, the computer I'm typing on right now is 5 years old. I'd say it's lasted just fine. =) (Though I have had to buy new peripherals, and it does have a few small upgrades.)

And a huuugeee stop here. Leopard doesn't run on G3s. It. just. dosen't. o-o Did you mean a G4, by any chance?

 

[Eureka1]

If you like being spoonfed and don't like ******** buy a mac. OEM PCs are indeed worse than macs in most ways, the only thing I really have against Apple is how easily they appeal as fashion accessories.

Personally I like being in complete control of my PC, whilst many may argue linux is the only way to this but a base install of XP configured how I want is great. Don't care much for Windows really, just my preferance as it's most dominant in the market.

tl;dr buy mac if you're rich and dumb.

 

[Apple Inc.]

Oh yeah, well try getting a virus on a mac. oh wait, YOU CAN'T. So that;s one less thing you need to pay for for a Mac.

 

[Freestyle Farfetch'd]

There's a reason people don't write viruses for mac - It wouldn't be worth it, considering it's small user base. Besides, I get on just fine on Windows XP with no Virus Checker in place. This install of XP has been running for 2 years now without a hitch. Honestly, I think the virus threat is over-rated. Just browse sensibly, don't open spurious attachments, and don't download anything off limewire/ares with a suspiciously small filesize. ;) If you really need a virus checker though, there's always the GPL'd ClamAV.

 

[viridian doubletongue]

I wish I had a Mac. But I wouldn't trade my PC for it.

 

[Eureka1]

Oh yeah, well try getting a virus on a mac. oh wait, YOU CAN'T. So that;s one less thing you need to pay for for a Mac.

Viruses only come to those who are ignorant on computers.

I wouldn't pay double for less in order to not get something I've never had, ever heard of a firewall? More than enough for me.

Funny how you're probably one of those idiots that upgrades their Apple product every 3 seconds, got a iPhone 3g yet? Any notable differences? No?

What's the point in even having these threads, it just induces flame wars full of assumptions.

 

[Mr. Epic]

As expected bring a topic that is highly controversial and expect violent argument and no simple awnser, ok another question is there any possible way of getting a virus on a mac and will there ever be?

 

[Eureka1]

ok another question is there any possible way of getting a virus on a mac and will there ever be?

They deny viruses altogether but they do exist but they're as common as computer viruses, uncommon in fact.

 

[j_]

Oh yeah, well try getting a virus on a mac. oh wait, YOU CAN'T. So that;s one less thing you need to pay for for a Mac.

Nope, no virues at all..

Seriously dude, knock off the whole worshipping Apple crap. You're about 15 right?

Really finally, I've found, that in default configuration Mac OSX has a HUGE security flaw. It is perfectly possible to boot the computer up in Single user mode, with a simple key combination at boot, which will give any random joe who tries it, full, root (administrator) access to the computer, with no password protection, and no questions asked.

That's not a security flaw. That's just the way Unix works, hence the reason why if someone has physical access to a machine, it's over you're screwed!

 

[Legobricks]

Urk, I hate using the acroynym for personal computer to refer to a Win.

Anyways, Windows. One word: games.
If you don't play games on computer then a Macintosh may be preferrable given its other perks.


Linux, anyone? Sorry, had to do it.

 

[j_]

Linux, anyone? Sorry, had to do it.

I have a Linux desktop sitting next to me, running IM and Music. Keeps that crap of my development PC :)

 

[Freestyle Farfetch'd]

That's not a security flaw. That's just the way Unix works, hence the reason why if someone has physical access to a machine, it's over you're screwed!

Hmm, I don't know about UNIX it's self, but my Linux laptop required a password to boot single user.

 

[Eureka1]

Hmm, I don't know about UNIX it's self, but my Linux laptop required a password to boot single user.

Linux isn't unix. Similar, but it's not. I believe OS X is basically unix with a pretty GUI.