Between 2 worlds

[mac15]

Everyone buying a computer is hard
PC or Mac
I'm stuck, I don't which to get

I'm no designer = PC (PCs sucks a photoshop)
Ease of use = MAC (by far mac wins)
Compatibility = PC (windows has everything)
Price = PC (cheap cheap cheap)
Viruses = MAC (my has never had a virus)

People will say windows sucks get a mac
But I found windows XP to be really zippy on a 1.8GHZ P4 256RDRAM

Mac os X is fast but why when there are not many games to choose

Windows has everything

I hope I get a descent reply not just a bunch of idiots saying macs rule windows sucks

Windows doesn't suck

I like technology, so I'm still undecided on which side I should go to

PC or MAC

[Ensign Paris]

Basic the mac is superior. I use both Windows and Mac, the Windows machines are not good, speed and reliablity wise.

Windows does not have everything! I have a friend who bought the best Windows PC you can get about 2 weeks ago (AMD 2000+, 3gb DDRRam etc..) and it refuses to run any windows except XP which totally sucks in Design, interface, ease of use, and basicly everything.

what ever happen to "Apple for Life"

try using a windows PC for a few weeks.

[mymemory]

Mac rules.

Let me tell you something we were discusing in my house 2 hours ago and you take your conclusions.

My brother wants to create a very low end arkade. We lieve in Venezuela and he lives in a very small town just like the one you see in the "Care" comertials. So, he was planing to buy 2 play stations with 2 tvs and 2 PC's. The PC's are because my cousing told him they where cheap and you could find lots of games for them

I told him that for the same price of the PC's he could get 2 used iMacs. He told me about the games, and I showed him my hotline server folder.

If he gets the iMac:
1. He will have audio imput and output already.
2. Network connectors to play Quake Arena.
3. Good video ram.
4. A very friendly OS.
5. All in one configuration.
6. Enough games and aplications that are already compatible with PC's, like office.

If he gets the PC's for the same price:
1. No audio.
2. Compatibility problems between games and hardware.
3. No so friendly OS
4. No usb connectors or networkl capability.
5. Very complicated network software configuration.
6. He would need an asistant.

All that = too much time waisted in configurations, lost of clients, lack of reability, etc.

So, everything depends on how much time you want to spend using your system in a productive way or messing time with the OS (95,98,nt,xp,etc).

Mac people are designers, musicians, video editors. This mean people that install their software and start using them. The software made for Mac are based on and specific hardware and OS system on wich every developer have to design their product. On the PC's is not, there are many variables, that is good and that is bad, depending of your experience with the OS.

In conclution, how productive do you want to be? if you wnat to play games and you know your OS wel and you are into peripherals, you may get a PC. If you want to star up your computer, do something and get it in one step, get a Mac.

3 Day ago I too some oudio samples from a AKAI CD, converthem in to WAV format, burn the CD and took it to a friend of mine who has a PC. He couldn't read the WAV file. He hat to download some software to make his PC XP read the wave. That is what we are talking about.

I have some friend whos spend their weekend or hollydays configuring their audio set up for eleventh time in the month. It makes me sad because I know they do not have the money to get a Mac. They even have to write the drivers, that means some very good knowledge of programing, that what it takes to have a PC.

[Falleron]

I have a PC + have just purchased a PowerMac Dual 1Ghz, and there is no real contest. The Mac wins hands down, its realiable, virus free + an emulator gives me plenty of speed for some of the apps + older games.

Yes, the PC does have some advantages but they dont mean the overall package is worth it! I certainly dont think it is. There are enough mac games out there.

[mac15]

Your comparing your dual 1ghz to a lower range PC
thats a bit unfair
and not everyone can afford a superfast mac

Thats why I wanted to get a PC because they were cheaper
in Australia the high end imac is $4100 and a decent PC is $3000

Sorry I don't have the cash

[maclamb]

my 2cents...

I have use dPC (Windows, NT, Win2k - but not tried XP - and don;'t plan to for a while)

macs have less cost of oernship (easier to supprt, configure, add hw/sw)
Pc's have gotten better - but I havre found two Dells running Win2000 and on one I have problems getting USB Flashcard drivers and scanjet drivers to work. Same machines and OS - go figure...

With Mac you can go with OS9 and have TONS of games or OSX and go Unix - more for it to come...

I woudl say, that unless you have pc software that you aboslutely HAVE TO run - then a mac is the way to go.
It is designedf form the HW/SW/OS to do graphics, be easier to maintain and configure.
I alos think the graphics, GUI and software is designed better -

And, if you DO have PC software yo must run - you cna use an emulator like Virtual PC

ALSO, I read an indepth article a few months ago by a chip designer who said that higher MHZ systems (above 1ghz) are prone to problems due to the High Frequency Raido waves from the chips and wires - He recommeneded lower MHZ cpu's w/ clean internal designs.
While he didn't say Mac - I could see where he was going.

Also, Mac chips/arch do tend to outperform Pentium

good luck!

[Falleron]

Originally posted by mac15
Your comparing your dual 1ghz to a lower range PC
thats a bit unfair
and not everyone can afford a superfast mac

Thats why I wanted to get a PC because they were cheaper
in Australia the high end imac is $4100 and a decent PC is $3000

Sorry I don't have the cash

I am comparing my PC (approx £2200) to my new powermac (approx £2300). For me, its a fair comparison. You are right though, the towers are expensive. However, the last mac tower I bought (8600) is still going strong and thats about 6/7 years old. Ok, it wont run OSX, thats why I got my new tower. Therefore, the computer you are buying is going to last you longer than a pc would, so if you work it out, its probably not that much more.

[mac15]

VPC is no substitute
Without a graphics card it sucks

[AlphaTech]

Originally posted by mac15
Your comparing your dual 1ghz to a lower range PC
thats a bit unfair
and not everyone can afford a superfast mac

Thats why I wanted to get a PC because they were cheaper
in Australia the high end imac is $4100 and a decent PC is $3000

Sorry I don't have the cash

How about you compare high end to high end, not high end to 'decent'. The term, decent, is very subjective. What one person considers 'decent' another considers 'crap'. I have found, that to get the same features on either platform, you are going to pay pretty much the same (within a couple of hundred at the most). The more important factor, is what do you already have for software? If you have a healthy amount of Mac software, stay with the Mac. Otherwise, you will have to go out and buy all that over again for the peecee. That adds up very fast. I would never consider buying Illustrator or Quark for the peecee, cosidering that I have them for the Mac already. Both run much better on the Mac as well (originally coded for the Mac, not the peecee).

While I do have both types of systems, I find that I use my TiBook every day, for hours. The peecee sits off for weeks on end before I feel the need to use it. Then it is ONLY for a game that is not available on the Mac (yet). My scanner goes on my Mac, my cd-rw goes on my Mac, my external hard drives all connect to my Mac... (get the picture??). I haven't even bothered to install the drives for my Epson printer onto the peecee. The last time I even bothered to power up the peecee was between xmas and new years... shows how often I use it.

If you want a great computer that you will use for years on end, get a Mac. If you want to become a hair loss clinic memeber, get a pc.

[mac15]

Ive got a bit of software (photoshop but don't know how to use it)
but mostly mp3s and video files

[Catfish_Man]

Speed: Macs win at Altivec tasks, PCs at other things
Stability (OS): Macs win by a little bit (XP is fairly stable)
Reliability (Hardware): Macs win by a lot
Ease of Use: Macs win
Compatibility: PCs win (VPC sucks)
Expandability: About equal
Price: PCs win
Lifespan: Macs win by a lot
OS power: Macs win (terminal, apache, etc...)

Summary: Macs are like expensive German cars; reliable, expensive, lasts a long time, luxurious. PCs are like American sports cars (Corvette specifically); cheaper, lots of brute power, shoddy parts, easy to tinker with, ugly, don't last long.

[IndyGopher]

It is often pointed out that Macs have a longer useful life than PC's, and I would agree with that, to a point. I think what it really comes down to, is what people use the different machines for. Macs used at home are generally not gaming machines. (It's true, just accept it.) while those with both Macs and PCs seem to use the PC as a game machine. (No crime there, that's about all they are good for, in my none-too-humble opinion) Obviously one does not need to soup up their Quicken machine as often as they feel compelled to update a game machine. That's one of the reasons game consoles actually make sense. With consoles, you get exactly the same hardware as everyone else who uses your platform, which means developers don't get to up the requirements every 3 months.

So, like everyone else, your choice between a PC and a Mac comes down to, "What are you going to do with it?" If it's for games, buy a PC. I love my Macs, I like coming home from work after 60-70 hours a week of fixing PC's and undoing the hackjobs that the "computer guy" at XYZ corp. did to their networks, etc. and just USING a computer. But as much as I love my Macs, there is not as much game software available for them. And even when the same titles are available, they often will not interoperate with my friend's PCs for multiplayer games.

[AlphaTech]

MacLink Plus solves many of the compatibility issues with peecee's and Mac's. With that, you can open just about any uncorrupted peecee formatted file on your Mac. The program is cheap, and does a nice job.

[germanknee]

mac15:

If you're concerned with games, watching divx movies (annoying on a mac), or viewing flash websites (slower on any mac because of the poorly written flash player for mac), get a PC. If money is no object, get a high-end Sony Viao. If money is (like in my case) build an AMD machine. You can make a very nice one for $1200-1600, including the monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse. If your hesitant to this, don't, unless you feel like doing a lot of research.

For everything else, of course, get a Mac. Even if the things mentioned above are of concern to you, I still don't think you'll be dissapointed with the Mac. You say that you're not a pro user, so you don't have to worry about the advantages of both the high-end PC's and the PowerMacs.

I think you'd be happy with a new iMac. Unless the screen is too small for your taste. If so, get an older PowerMac (733 or 800), or a low-end new one.

I still the iMac is your best bet.

Just my reasoning.

[AlphaTech]

germanknee:

I don't know which version of flash you are using, but I have not had any speed issues with it on my system(s). I go to sites that use flash and shockwave often enough, and don't think it is slow. Maybe it is because I have a DSL connection and not dial-up. If the site speed is up to it, I have seen the top speed that I was told by my providor (1.5Mb/sec downloads). The only place that I have it any faster is at work with the multiple T1 lines. Even then, because of almost 300 users on our intranet, there are times that I am slower at work then at home.

All in all, with a good internet connection speed, flash and shockwave is NOT a reason to go to the peecee.

[mymemory]

It doesn't really matter if is a double GHz Mac against a PC. It could be a G4 400 like mine. The point is that the Mac is more stable with the native OS. When you talk about Macs, the value is not based on the processor speed, you are gatting a package (sorry for my spelling) of features that togather shoul and run well. With PC's go figure, you can have 2 dual GHz but what about the rest of the hardware and the realition with the OS and software? there is when the price gets wird.

[mac15]

well, Im still undecided but XP looks and feels pretty cool to me but so does MAC OS X for common tasks like checking mail,surfing the web MAC wins.
But for games and price PC

iMAC or PC

The pc wins because of its expandability
enough of this I could go on for days with MAC vs PC
but it will never end............

By the way weres Eyelikeart on this

[Pepzhez]

Not sure what you want to do with your new computer, but if you plan to do any kind of graphic or video work, you'll be sorry if you buy any sort of PC. Try configuring a video card with Windoze. And good luck with ever trying to get Premiere to work without crashing every 15 minutes.

BTW, here are some vital programs that are NOT available for Windows:

Final Cut Pro (virtually the industry standard nowadays)
imovie (free with your mac!)
itunes (free!)
Mark of the Unicorn pro audio software (and attendant hardware)
etc.
(Not to mention OSX!)

Video editing on PC frankly sucks. Windows XP is the worst OS I've seen yet - and, believe me, I DO approach these matters objectively. If you go the PC route, be prepared for a lot of downtime and crashing/configuration nightmares. There are valid reasons why Mac is the platform of choice in the graphics and video world. Reliability and stability in itself is well worth the extra $$$ for a Mac system.

[AlphaTech]

If you are going to be doing ANY graphics work, get a Mac. You will NOT be disapointed with it. If you go with a peecee, you will regret it.

XP still has bugs, and security holes all over the place. Yes, it may LOOK cool, but check out m$'s new licensing scheme. If you decide to change certain components, you have to essentially register it all over again. That means, if you decide to upgrade to a better/faster processor, video card or the likes, you will have to either go online and give them personal information, or call m$ (oh joy!!... NOT!!!!!).

How much are you looking to spend for the computer??? You can get the lower level G4 tower for not too much money. $1599 for the 800MHz model or $2299 for the 933MHz model. You can use ANY monitor you want, or already have for that matter. I consider both excellent value for your money. I would put the 933MHz model against just about any peecee on the market (it will blow the hell out of any celeron 'powered' peecee).

[me hate windows]

i have had too many bad experiences with windows. If I were you I would just get an imac. But its your money. waste it or use it wisely

[Pepzhez]

And here's another reason to buy Mac over PC - one I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet ...

Mac users are the friendliest, genuinely more knowledgeable and by far the most generously HELPFUL people around! Ever looked around at any PC forums and noticed the glut of ignorant and downright NASTY attitudes and wrongheaded "advice" floating about? An apt reflection of M$'s atititude, certainly.

If you go Mac, you can expect to have relatively few problems, but if you do encounter a problem - or just want to know some arcane fact or how-to, you'll always quickly and easily find TONS of Mac users online who are always willing to help.

Now try getting THAT kind of support by phoning Bill Gates' minions or, better still, the village idiot "expert" at your local CompUSA or Best Buy.

The entire Mac community is one of Apple's greatest assets.

[748s]

if you are unsure of what to get, get an xp box. review your descion in 12 months. then ask yourself, did i do the right thing?

"if i have to explain, you wouldn't understand".

[ThlayliTheFierce]

Someone said this on another thread, so I can't take credit: the real test of an OS is 6 months after you start using it. Every MS OS I've seen is noticeably slower after 6 months or so, even after having defragged. I have no problems with OS X being slower (or Linux for that matter).

[MaxRool]

Write down a list of what you want the computer to do. Make a note of which is best at the particular task.
eg
play games
surf internet
email
design houses, whatever

Throw the list away when you realize it probably makes no difference.

Go with your heart.

[mac15]

well If decided to buy a pc (for gaming)
but I'm still going to keep my imac (400mhz 320ram)
it still got enough juice in it to run OS X

thanks to everyone who tried to help

[germanknee]

AlphaTech:

The speed of flash content has nothing (well almost nothing to do with connection). Most flash sites load all the content that the viewer will be seeing, before they see it. I have a Road Runner cable connection. I work extensively with flash. The peecees run them perfectly. I've tested the same sites on multiple machines (peecees and macs). The peecees win.

I have no problem creating my flash sites, it's just viewing them. If you have any optimization tips that allow you to run flash as fast a PC, let me know. I would be very appreciative.

[networkman]

i have to regretably have a pc around because it is my line of work fixing pcs, but if i had a choice, i would have just one computer, the g4 tibook 667 mhz and that's all

and if i could rent it, then i would, even with a higher price, so i can swap it out for a newer laptop every 12 to 18 months so my computing experience could be optimal

it is not about actually owning a machine, which becomes a paperweight after less than 4 years, or less, but that i just want to be able to interact with the best software titles available to me and only really see the computer as a tool

sometimes i wish the field would stop moving so fast so i could actually get attached to a machine and since 1999, i have had seven computers, both desktops and laptops, both new and used (but that is common for a power user or a techie)

...but i would only want the "field" to top out when speed, ram, and disk space were not an issue and the woz has predicted that this will one day happen so we can "focus" entirely on the software aspect/applications aspect of computing and by doing that, we will start really "getting somewhere"