Getting a mac, but dont want to miss PC GAMING?

[liquidpimp]

Heres the scoop fellas! Ive been saving and have had enough to buy a mac since november of last year when we were expecting a powermac revision. Then macworld, then superbowl, blah blah the rumors go on. Finally we come to WWDC which is a 99% sure fire UPDATE! TERRIFIC!

My friend is a computer/mac junkie, uses them all the time. He will be selling me his dual 2.0ghz 1.5gb ram, etc g5 for around $2000 (hes helping me out :rolleyes: ) So Im going to get it, but I have been a PC fan for well 8 years. I build my own PC's and do all the inner workings of a PC, I love PC's. I love macs more. Heres my question and point to story:

I heard a rumor, about virtual PC 8. I cute little rumor floating around that we are no longer going to EMULATE the videocard, that virtual PC will now USE the videocard to its full potential. UH OH, I just lit up like a christmas tree. This rumor gets me so excited, its scary! Now I can have the best of both worlds: My PC gaming (not often enough, thanks to the almighty xbox and xbox live) and the wonderful mac!
Please people fill me in on how you feel about the likeliness of this happeneing, and a timeframe?

Help me stay with a mac, cause with $2000 I can build a freaking awesome PC. Let me know how the cookie is going to crumble in this event, looking forward to some good replys.

-P.S. I use my PC for these things alone : Chatting, email, school work, pc gaming, internet browsing, future video editing, future picture editing, future DVD burning/copying, and warez. I have done my research and almost everything I use it for is covered by mac, you all agree? thanks!

[dopefiend]

Don't count on that rumor being true.

[Jo-Kun]

Virtual PC8??? nr 7 still needs to be released for G5 processors I tought...

I think nr6 is the current version...

So at these rates nr8 maybe in 2006?

[Coolvirus007]

Don't by a mac for just games. If your going to miss the games exculsive for windows, why switch? Get an alienware.

[caveman_uk]

I heard a rumor, about virtual PC 8. I cute little rumor floating around that we are no longer going to EMULATE the videocard, that virtual PC will now USE the videocard to its full potential.
Whilst it may use the video card without emulation it will still be emulating the processor. Mac processors use a different instruction set to PC's so everything has to be translated on-the-fly. Games will still probably run like a dog....

-P.S. I use my PC for these things alone : Chatting, email, school work, pc gaming, internet browsing, future video editing, future picture editing, future DVD burning/copying, and warez. I have done my research and almost everything I use it for is covered by mac, you all agree? thanks!
How do you use your PC for warez? I always though warez was stuff you'd stolen when you should have paid for it. Like photoshop or office. Can you use a computer specifically for 'warezing'?????
To be honest, apart from the gaming any computer, mac or PC, will do what you do now. Similarly any current mac would handle your future tasks. You don't need a G5, an emac would do.
Do you really need a ****-hot PC for gaming? From the sounds of it you need a decent cheap computer and an xbox.

[The Bartender]

Whilst it may use the video card without emulation it will still be emulating the processor. Mac processors use a different instruction set to PC's so everything has to be translated on-the-fly. Games will still probably run like a dog....

How do you use your PC for warez? I always though warez was stuff you'd stolen when you should have paid for it. Like photoshop or office. Can you use a computer specifically for 'warezing'?????
To be honest, apart from the gaming any computer, mac or PC, will do what you do now. Similarly any current mac would handle your future tasks. You don't need a G5, an emac would do.
Do you really need a ****-hot PC for gaming? From the sounds of it you need a decent cheap computer and an xbox.

No eMac will suffice for video editing my friend...

[OziMac]

No eMac will suffice for video editing my friend...

You're gravely mistaken, my friend.

[dopefiend]

You're gravely mistaken, my friend.

Maybe he should rephase that:

No eMac will suffice for video editing at an acceptable speed...

[Dont Hurt Me]

Macs are getting more and more games all the time plus the best stuff almost allways makes it to mac, A dual G5 2.0 will make for a great system and a fine gaming machine.
I was thinking about alienware and came close to ordering a system but then with the viruses,spyware,worms etc i decided the heck with that. Computing should be easy ,fun and hassle free and Mac makes that happen.

Take a G5 add 1 great video card and poof you have not only a great system but a gaming powerhouse. Forget the Pc. my 2 cents

[BornAgainMac]

Maybe he should rephase that:

No eMac will suffice for video editing at an acceptable speed...

Video editing with DV can be done with an old 4 year old iMac. Probably even older. It's easy to upgrade the Hard drive and it doesn't need to be 7200 rpm. DV editing doesn't require huge amounts of CPU. You can edit all you want, it's fast and easy.

Encoding DVDs and Quicktime do require lots of CPU. But the recent eMac can do that at an acceptable speed. In recent years, even the most powerful Mac couldn't match the speed of the current eMac and they were used by professionals.

[virividox]

if u want to game stick to pcs and consoles

macs can perform but not at the same level and th titles are released after pc versions (all that porting takes time)

[wide]

Why not get your friend's mac and build a PC for $1000 dollars. If you've had the money since november, you probably have more now--enough to build a pc. also, what is wrong with your current PC? i have an early (february) 2002 dell dimension at 2.2ghz with a geforce 3 64mb and that runs CS and all those other games fine.

but if I were you, I'd ge the ALIENWARE ALX...

http://www.alienware.com/alx_pages/main_content.aspx

look at the e3 video..sorry everyone, but i would much rather have THAT computer than any mac in existence (but don't quote me on that)

[wide]

all that porting takes time

yup, and the games lose their high-tech edge after the porting. they are usually older games and even so, the porting process seems to take away performance (i.e. it is laggier)

[wrldwzrd89]

if u want to game stick to pcs and consoles

macs can perform but not at the same level and th titles are released after pc versions (all that porting takes time)
I'm determined to break the barriers surrounding Mac gaming. Sure, there's nothing I can do about the hardware, but I can help on the software side, since I am a programmer...in fact, I'm working on a RPG project currently. It doesn't have a name yet and I haven't written any code, but it's well into the design stage.

[Dont Hurt Me]

yup, and the games lose their high-tech edge after the porting. they are usually older games and even so, the porting process seems to take away performance (i.e. it is laggier)True if your running slow G4s but if you are running a dual G5 you will never know it. after you go above 30 fps things are smooth so who cares if that PC is getting a few more fps. plus look at ut2004 the mac version came out almost the same time as a pc. consoles look like crap on tvs and Pcs are a mess with a new virus every day. solution? G5 Mac.

[jackieonasses]

I'm determined to break the barriers surrounding Mac gaming. Sure, there's nothing I can do about the hardware, but I can help on the software side, since I am a programmer...in fact, I'm working on a RPG project currently. It doesn't have a name yet and I haven't written any code, but it's well into the design stage.

i cant wait.

[caveman_uk]

No eMac will suffice for video editing my friend...
If he wants to do the full FCP thing then maybe not but if imovie is all he wants then I don't see the problem

[Steven1621]

if you play standard games like i do, i think you will be alright. i am not much of a gamer, but every now and then they give me amusement. if this is how you are, a mac will work for gaming. but if seriously game with the latest releases, it might not be the best bet.

[evil_santa]

Video editing with DV can be done with an old 4 year old iMac. Probably even older. It's easy to upgrade the Hard drive and it doesn't need to be 7200 rpm. DV editing doesn't require huge amounts of CPU. You can edit all you want, it's fast and easy.

Encoding DVDs and Quicktime do require lots of CPU. But the recent eMac can do that at an acceptable speed. In recent years, even the most powerful Mac couldn't match the speed of the current eMac and they were used by professionals.

Ive been running FCP on a G4 733 no problem.
:)

[liquidpimp]

Why not get your friend's mac and build a PC for $1000 dollars. If you've had the money since november, you probably have more now--enough to build a pc. also, what is wrong with your current PC? i have an early (february) 2002 dell dimension at 2.2ghz with a geforce 3 64mb and that runs CS and all those other games fine.

but if I were you, I'd ge the ALIENWARE ALX...

http://www.alienware.com/alx_pages/main_content.aspx

look at the e3 video..sorry everyone, but i would much rather have THAT computer than any mac in existence (but don't quote me on that)

Well whats wrong with my current PC? I have had it for 2 years, and its, oh god, you are all going to shrivel up... a 700mhz with 768mb ram and 100gb data. 64mb video dvd cdrw. :eek: Its so sad, and I built myself. Then again I was just starting college and needed something cheap. Everything was on sale and it only costed me about $500 to make. Still runs now, but its starting to get bogged down, my skinning and themeing eats up all the resources. Thats why I need a new PC/MAC. But if I did get my mac, I could do some minor tweaks to this one and make it acceptable, thats an idea... :)

[wrldwzrd89]

Well whats wrong with my current PC? I have had it for 2 years, and its, oh god, you are all going to shrivel up... a 700mhz with 768mb ram and 100gb data. 64mb video dvd cdrw. :eek: Its so sad, and I built myself. Then again I was just starting college and needed something cheap. Everything was on sale and it only costed me about $500 to make. Still runs now, but its starting to get bogged down, my skinning and themeing eats up all the resources. Thats why I need a new PC/MAC. But if I did get my mac, I could do some minor tweaks to this one and make it acceptable, thats an idea... :)
By the way - PC is an acronym, so it should be capitalized. Mac is an abbreviation for Macintosh, so it should not be in all capital letters.
The only thing outdated in that PC of yours is the processor. If you just get a new processor, a new motherboard to support the processor, and faster RAM (if you need it for the new motherboard), you can keep all the other parts and get a faster PC. Have you considered this? (I'm NOT suggesting that you don't get a Mac - if that's what you want to do, go right ahead.)

[nyprospect]

If you are going to game and game intensly.stick with a pc with the newest video card with some sort of cooling system with 1 gig of ram or more.in other words macs are made for video professionals and musicians.When you see threads about pc vs macs the pc user will uses the game card.because of course its all about the games lol :D

[jemeinc]

Maybe he should rephase that:

No eMac will suffice for video editing at an acceptable speed...

That's just plain wrong !!!!... Anyone doing any video editing on an eMac is most likely doing it as a hobby—it's fine for that... I have a new eMac & I use FCE all the time on it... I would imagine any professional would find it unacceptable, but for your average user burning home movies it's fine...

[Horrortaxi]

No eMac will suffice for video editing my friend...
My Cube and Sawtooth are laughing their asses off at this.

[musicpyrite]

Can you use a computer specifically for 'warezing'?????

Ohhhh yea, baby!

;)

[evil_santa]

My Cube and Sawtooth are laughing their asses off at this.

i use a media100 on a B&W G3/400 at work!!! :D

[rueyeet]

Well whats wrong with my current PC? ...Still runs now, but its starting to get bogged down, my skinning and themeing eats up all the resources. You can't do skinning/theming on the Mac without potentially unreliable third-party haxies. Even Windows isn't really meant to do skinning/theming as standard operating parameters, so yes, it's going to weigh down your system a bit.

With your PC, honestly, I'd try backing up your files and data and such, and doing a clean install of Windows, followed by a good firewall and adware/spyware blocker. Might go a long way towards clearing up performance issues.

If gaming is anywhere near a major focus for you, go with a PC. Microsoft hasn't even made Virtual PC 7 compatible with the G5 yet, so I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in Virtual PC 8. And I wouldn't run a resource-hungry game under emulation, regardless.

Here's the question: What is it about the Mac that is tempting you to switch? Is that worth more to you than top-of-the-line gaming with the newest hottest titles?

[liquidpimp]

You can't do skinning/theming on the Mac without potentially unreliable third-party haxies. Even Windows isn't really meant to do skinning/theming as standard operating parameters, so yes, it's going to weigh down your system a bit.

With your PC, honestly, I'd try backing up your files and data and such, and doing a clean install of Windows, followed by a good firewall and adware/spyware blocker. Might go a long way towards clearing up performance issues.

If gaming is anywhere near a major focus for you, go with a PC. Microsoft hasn't even made Virtual PC 7 compatible with the G5 yet, so I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in Virtual PC 8. And I wouldn't run a resource-hungry game under emulation, regardless.

Here's the question: What is it about the Mac that is tempting you to switch? Is that worth more to you than top-of-the-line gaming with the newest hottest titles?


Well hot damn, you bring alot of valid points man, and you make me really think about my mac purchase... Let me take a more grounded stance on my PC gaming.

Im looking to play only world of warcraft online this year and perhaps a couple other onlin games (matrix online). I havent really done much PC gaming because all the games I download, well my system just cant handle the newer games. I would say I used to download a game a month, and maybe play 1 of those games for 3 months. I dont game very much, and actually grow a bit tired of games on a PC. I really love playing games on xbox, its just a wonderful unit. As well it complements itself with xbox live, and that is truly a blast. Thats my real stance on gaming.

As for why I wanted to switch I wanted it for the overall look and feel of the mac. I liked its exterior look, I liked its interior (OSX) look. I loved its functionality and I loved this programs. I wanted it for itunes (got it on windows now) I wanted it for an ipod (got that on windows as well) and I wanted a isight. However maybe $2000 for a system that I dont really know (another $1000 for a moniter) is a bit much. After all the skinning I did before, I got my PC to look almost identical to a mac, even with the shadowing, taskbar, icons, everything. So now it makes my wonder, should I got with something I dont really know or something I really know, and make it look really close to a mac. I would be happier with all my software (it is easier to get warez on a PC than a mac). But I dont know. Im actually stuck at a fork in the road. People care to help me out? Which system to a really want?

Keep in mind I will still probally buy a mac LCD, regardless of my PC/mac purchase... or not? I am so confused as what to do. I hear formac moniters are great as well?

Thanks so much to everyones posting up to now, its been really resourceful and shed some beautiful light on the fact that virtual PC 7 for mac g5 will STILL EMULATE the processor (I forgot who posted this) and the game will still run slow. Im eternally grateful for your post.

As for my current PC, its not running to bad, especially considersing I have windowblinds skinning the PC, I have translucent icons, HD wallpaper,shadowing on windows, trillian skins and all. Its just a bit slow on the games. With my new PC (or mac) around the corner, I dont want to waste the time to backup, restart, etc. Its a valient effort at fixing a small problem, I appreciate it, but not worth my time. Thanks so much for your indepth reply. I look forward to other replys. Thanks.

[nyprospect]

If you want to keep up with the most current games it has to be pc.The reason i dont game heavy is because i cant afford it.Pretty soon They will have 8 gig proccesors and 4 ati cards glued together just to keep up with the latest game.if you want to game than you have to understand that the latest pc's for gaming will be outdated in about a year from now.thus updating video cards ever 3 months or so. :eek: if you are rich than game on.other wise get aps2 gamecube and an xbox

[OziMac]

I can't help but thinking that if you do want the best of both worlds, you should buy yourself a Mac that suits your other needs and buy a cheap (or build your own) PC dedicated to gaming. Or buy a PS2. But don't sacrifice one of your needs to please the other when both can be accommodated satisfactorily, albeit not 'all-in-one'.

And whilst I maintain my previous position regarding the eMac's ability to edit videos more than sufficiently, I do note that, according to its specs, only the latest eMacs can utilise the effects of Motion. Having said that, Adobe After Effects, which does substantially the same sort of stuff, works fine.

Obviously the faster and more powerful the computer, the easier it will be to edit video. But to say that modern consumer computers won't do the kind of work that professional computers of three or four years ago (with much lower specs) could is stretching a little. Again, it all depends on the user and the way in which they utilise those resources. G4s were in their infancy when The Phantom Menace was made and they may have only just slipped in some G5 render time on Finding Nemo or Return of the King. Independence Day must have been made in a void of computing power.

[slooksterPSV]

I'd keep saving up that money till they have a Virtual PC version where it'll emulate the video card to its max capabilities on the Mac, by then you can be 100% sure of everything. What about buying an eMac and a PC with the $2000. eMac (with more RAM) for about $1000 and a custom PC for a $1000. That sounds good to me.

[BornAgainMac]

When I switched, I bought the cheapest Mac that I could buy and still used the PC as my main computer because I had a lot of money in software. Even the cheapest Mac with the memory maxed out is a nice machine.
Looking back, I prefered switching gradually with the Mac platform.

Nowdays, I use the PC for programming with VB.NET and I like organizing my scanned docs with a program called Paperport. Newer games don't run on it very well. I do everything else on the Mac.

I purchased an Xbox but I was playing more and more on my G5 with Mac games. So I sold my Xbox and bought additional Mac games. One game was called Generals and my PC didn't have the frame rate fast enough to make it playable. I am average gamer so I didn't need an Xbox or PC for my games. I am hoping Virtual PC will allow me to play some really old PC games like C&C Red Alert or Star Trek Armada.