Mac or PC? Help me decide

[Unoriginalusername]

For our home, we are avid PC fans but have our eye on an iMac. It doesn't offer up the same performance as a less expensive tower and I am concerned about losing all the software we've invested in over the years.

that being said it looks cool, i've heard the SW runs better to help make up for the performance specs. The mac is also about 10% more expensive.

help me decide... i have two unopen boxes at the house and need to know which to return and which to play with lol.

[--StayFly--]

i vote PC

[MSMitch]

LOADED question. I have been toying with the same decision too albeit for laptops. I now have an IBM tablet that I love and MAY get a Mac for my wife (she has a new Toshiba, but we don't like it) - you CAN now load XP Pro on Macs and apparently it is even more stable on them. You are definitely paying a premium for MAC, but they do have nice features for music and imaging editing (nothing that you can't get from an inexpensive 3rd party software company). Aesthetically, they are also quite nice. If the extra cost and the extra extra cost of buying MAC software or the programs that allow you to run XP on them, not to mention the cost of buying XP itself if you want to use PC programs etc etc - then go for it.

With todays computers, you can't (really) go wrong - but check out Vista first, some people hate it, a couple of people actually love it. We actually don't mind it at all.

Good luck, go ahead, get the MAC, then I can pester you for your thoughts and hopefully make it easier for us to decide!!!:chuckle

[cwp_sedan]

Here is the question. Which OS will you me running more? If you can go with out running XP/Vista, as most macs can do almost the same stuff now a days as a PC, then definitely go for a mac. I haven't run or worried about viruses or spyware since I bought my first mac back in 2001. I'm currently using the 24" 3GHz imac and I love it. It's extremely fast and I use it for more than just the internet. I am a graphic designer and it holds its own when it comes to photoshop and other design programs.

As for your worry about losing software. I assume you are talking about windows software. I installed bootcamp and am running windows XP at full speed. I can install and use ANY software out there right now for windows. I've even managed to install a few games and try them out. The graphics card in the 3GHz model is 512MB and does the job nicely.

I would go with a mac any day of the week but that's because I am biased. Once I started using a mac I never wanted to use a PC again.

[Axelarate]

If you don't play any pc games at all, keep the mac. I used to have a mac mini and it is very nice and easy to use. I had to sell it cuz ive got too many computers around the house. :chuckle

[openuser]

I vote PC. I personally think mac is over-rated and over-hyped. I once thought MAC was an awesome computer because I liked where they were going with their OS; they claim their OS to be a UNIX system. I believed their marketing hype, and thought, 'wow finally I can get an off the shelf *nix system! Macs are cool'. But after a bit of research, and a discussion with a CS professor (who developed feature-rich c++ multithreading library for UNIX system), I discovered that I was a fool to believe Apple's words.. Well, this thing aside, Now that Macs use Intel processors, comparing PC and Mac in terms of price became a fair game. In that sense, I can hardly justify the huge, i mean huge price gap between the Mac computers and "Normal" PCs. Basically what you are paying for when you buy the Mac is the Status Symbol much like BMW or Mercs. I do agree that Apple products win over others in aesthetics department, but it is not enough to win my vote.

At my work, I use a SuSe Linux machine and a Mac machine, and at home I use Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP pro. I can tell you that I cannot stand Apple's mouse acceleration. It is very very annoying. Though, you get use to it, but if you use PCs more often (which I think you will), it can become quite annoying.

[yearoftherat]

Bought a macbook a couple of yrs ago and have never look back. I run Parallels if I really need to run a Windows app (very rarely). The nice thing about a mac if you decide to uninstall an app, its a lot easier, none of the typical registry files and hidden crap than Windows has.

[Unoriginalusername]

well for the first time ever i am on tm3 from mac.... now to take the other box back :)

[cwp_sedan]

well for the first time ever i am on tm3 from mac.... now to take the other box back :)

Another one converted!!! :)

[x_o_k_x]

Support Bill Gates get a PC!:chuckle

[SP33D 3]

mac=speed 3 with ap/standback vs pc= speed 3 with broken engine mount


thats my biased view

*
Support Bill Gates get a PC!
*

either way you're supporting bill, he makes money either way

[garboui]

i vote for getting a PC but running a linux distro like ubuntu. i did this about a year ago and wont look back now. Running linux i can also no longer justify getting a mac.

[zedtech]

Funny pic I just came across :)

http://www.duodito.se/Duo%20Dito%20Web/bilder/MacPC.jpg

[crazycanuck]

for 10% more, you're getting quality hardware and all the software you need is included.

Either way, MACs run Intel now and you can always install Windows on a separate partition.

Service is the #1 reason you should buy a MAC. Anything breaks, no hassle replacement.


For our home, we are avid PC fans but have our eye on an iMac. It doesn't offer up the same performance as a less expensive tower and I am concerned about losing all the software we've invested in over the years.

that being said it looks cool, i've heard the SW runs better to help make up for the performance specs. The mac is also about 10% more expensive.

help me decide... i have two unopen boxes at the house and need to know which to return and which to play with lol.

[crazycanuck]

If you buy Applecare for any Apple product you purchase; replacement is definitely an option. Something I recommend every one gets just so they can sleep better at night.

If not the entire machine, at least the part that's broken. Rarely does the entire machine break down with every part malfunctioning.


I'm not sure where you got this idea from, but it isn't true. If you buy your Mac from Apple's Online Store, or from a formal Apple Store, you have only a few weeks (15 days, I believe) to return the Mac if something is wrong with the unit for an exchange. After this point, having the unit repaired is your only option, except in extreme cases where a replacement service part is out of stock, or will take forever to obtain, or if the unit requires a number of parts or has been repaired a number of times in the past.

That said, getting your Mac repaired (in warranty or out of warranty) is still a hassle-free procedure and typically takes only a few days (1-3) to turn around, depending on the issue(s).

[RallyPlaya]

My mom is a web designer and she has an imac and macbook pro... she loves them both... and as reffered to before you can add all the windows function and have both mac and windows on you mac with tis software i believe its called bootcamp

[Scottobot]

i vote for getting a PC but running a linux distro like ubuntu. i did this about a year ago and wont look back now. Running linux i can also no longer justify getting a mac.

+1

This would be my choice. You can build a nice barebones PC pretty cheaply, and Linux is free. To me, the criteria would be as follows:

1) if you like gaming, buy a PC.
2) if you're not into gaming, and if money isn't an issue, get a Mac.
3) if you're not into gaming and you'd rather save a few bucks toward your next mods, build a PC and install Linux on it.

[crazycanuck]

I somewhat agree with that.

My profession is a software consultant, and as with most people in the industry; we're running some form of unix based system.

Not to get nerdy with the details; UOM, if you're looking for a home computer that everyone can use. Windows or Mac OXs is the way to go. You just won't be able to use Linux to its full potential, unless you build software 24/7. You will find it hard to install the excellent free third party software unless you know the most basic unix commands.

It's clear Mac is the way to go, because everything is in one nice spot for you. Anything breaks, whether it'd be hardware or software, go to Apple and guaranteed it will get fixed. Everything you will need is good to go out of the box. Just press the on button.

It's a shame you wasted so much money on third-party software. You will save more money in the long run. And much less headaches.

The only thing that might concern you is the UI. If you're used to using Windows, it will take a bit of time adjusting.

It's better, simple as that.



+1

This would be my choice. You can build a nice barebones PC pretty cheaply, and Linux is free. To me, the criteria would be as follows:

1) if you like gaming, buy a PC.
2) if you're not into gaming, and if money isn't an issue, get a Mac.
3) if you're not into gaming and you'd rather save a few bucks toward your next mods, build a PC and install Linux on it.

[openuser]

Wrong. Mac OS X is based on UNIX. Big difference. That's where a lot of Mac OS X's stability and security comes from.


As I said before, I discovered that OSX is not a UNIX system from a discussion with a professor who tried to get his UNIX multithreading c++ library to work on OSX.
But when Apple advertises on their website, it is easy to be fooled into thinking that it IS in fact a UNIX system with a nice little GUI on it.


I believed their marketing hype, and thought, 'wow finally I can get an off the shelf *nix system! Macs are cool'. But after a bit of research, and a discussion with a CS professor (who developed feature-rich c++ multithreading library for UNIX system), I discovered that I was a fool to believe Apple's words..

[crazycanuck]

It isn't a true UNIX system in essence. It's built off Nextstep object oriented OS which is running the Mach kernel; derived off Berkeley UNIX.

Lars is correct in saying that it's based off UNIX.

Just because your professor wasn't able to get a "c++ multithreading library" to work on OSX, does not imply OSX isn't a UNIX system.


As I said before, I discovered that OSX is not a UNIX system from a discussion with a professor who tried to get his UNIX multithreading c++ library to work on OSX.
But when Apple advertises on their website, it is easy to be fooled into thinking that it IS in fact a UNIX system with a nice little GUI on it.

[openuser]

It isn't a true UNIX system in essence. It's built off Nextstep object oriented OS which is running the Mach kernel; derived off Berkeley UNIX.

Lars is correct in saying that it's based off UNIX.

Just because your professor wasn't able to get a "c++ multithreading library" to work on OSX, does not imply OSX isn't a UNIX system.

Maybe I should have been clearer. When I posted the above reply to Lars, I was trying to clarify that I wasn't trying to tell anyone that OSX is a true UNIX.
The reason why the professor couldnt get the library working on OSX is because of some fundamental difference between conventional UNIX and the OSX because as you both have stated, It is a derivative of UNIX.

[Unoriginalusername]

i am really enjoying the mac platform, i look forward to getting home and being able to turn off the pc and use the mac

[b]

i am really enjoying the mac platform, i look forward to getting home and being able to turn off the pc and use the mac

Glad to hear. I went mac at the beginning of 08 and I haven't looked back. I am hooked.

Enjoy your new toy!

[rktsci]

I've been a mac convert since 06 and haven't regretted it at all. My experiences with Vista have only reinforced my decision to move away from Windows (at home at least).