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Mac or Windows PC?

G

Geekazoid

Suspended
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
154
52
snapdragonx said:
Your thought process is pretty much exactly the same as mine. I just ordered the 27" iMac for all the same reasons (with everything maxed out). It should arrive in the next couple of days. Very excited!
Click to expand...

Yeah well Apple defintely know how to make software AND hardware and they do an excellent job at it too.

If you don't mind my asking (you can say MYOB) but how much did that set you back? Foor me it's going to be AU$2,200' but given I also want the optical drive it'll be AU$2,288, with Fusion Drive AU$2,588. I could purchase it now but I've got stuff that I need to spend my $$$$ on first, as I stated above. But I know, like you, that I'll be very satisfied with my purchase on the day that I can do it next year. To create a new saying "Happy iMacing".
 
Fatboy71

Fatboy71

macrumors 65816
Dec 21, 2010
1,489
427
UK
Geekazoid said:
Hey guys,
I just would like to update you all on my decision in relation to upgrading my 6 year old PC.

I have finally, after much thought and consideration (and my mind will not change on this) will buy a 27" iMac (Probably the very top model). The reason is because ever since owning a Macbook Air OS X has just really had an impact on me. I mean I love windows however I haven't used my PC for awhile now but every now and then when I do I'm reminded of how much more I like OS X. I actually didn't think it was possible for me to be so amazed and like OS X. I do admit it does take a bit to get used to but eventually you just think....WOW! This is so good.

What lead me to make such a decision (I hear you all ask)? Well it isn't just because I own an iPad, iPhone and MBA but rather just the design and fluidness of OS X just makes me realise what I would be missing out on if I went with a desktop PC instead of a desktop iMac. I know if I went with the PC I would be imagining what it'd be like if I had bought an iMac. This was a decision that did take a fair amount of time to make. As you know I was like "I want a PC. No! I want a Mac. No! A PC. No! A Mac (or rather in this case an iMac).

I know a lot of fanboys will be happy with my decision. However I didn't make this decision to fulfil anyone else's happiness or satisfaction but my own.

To put my decision in a few words as possible I'll say this.

(((((((I LOVE OS X)))))))

Just one more thing!

At the moment I'm trying to save for other things so it probably wont be until July/August 2014. But I don't care because I have something to look forward to, can't wait.
Click to expand...


When you do make the move I'm sure you'll be extremely happy. :)

Around August of last year, I was starting to look around and research what programs I was currently using on Windows and which of them had a Mac version. Too my surprise most had a Mac version, and even ones that didn't, there was an equivalent application available for the Mac which would do the same thing.

I spent from last August till basically the end of 2012 researching on various forums, websites and thinking of questions I wanted answered and posting those questions on the various forums. This really helped me and clarified a lot of things I was unsure of.





My reasons for going to a Mac were:

I was fed up with random issues and just the general unreliability of Windows. (Mac OS on the whole is a very stable and reliable OS).

Fed up with having to run and scan with anti spyware and anti virus programs (Mac's are not immune from virus's, but they are very rare).


Sick of been bombarded with Windows Updates. (You get updates on Mac OS, but these are MUCH less).

With having iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, I wanted to have the integration of the various apps, features to be available to me on my Mac.






A bit of advice I would give you is, if you are not planning on getting your Mac till next year:


1: Look at the current programs you use now on Windows and see which are available in a Mac version. If there is no Mac version available, ask on here or over on the Apple help forums which application they would recommend to use on a Mac for that purpose.

https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/imac_intel

2: Any questions or things like that you are unsure of about Mac, have a look around and see if they have been answered and if not, post that question on here and on the Apple help forums.


Various things about Mac are similar to Windows, but somethings are very different. When you get your Mac, learn the Mac way of doing things rather than trying to do it the Windows way :)


The good thing with Mac is, you can have the best of both worlds, i.e. install Windows on your Mac.

You can do it a couple of ways:


1: Mac OS comes with a application called Boot Camp. Essentially this allows you to partition a portion of your drive and install Windows on it. To load into Windows, you restart your Mac, and you hold down the option key on your keyboard, during the restart you will have a screen shown that shows your Windows installation, simple choose this and your Mac will load into Windows. To then load into Mac OS again, restart your Mac, hold down the option key, and then choose your Mac OS from the screen. Most people agree that running Windows through Boot Camp gives you the best performance of Windows, but at the inconvenience of needing to restart your Mac to boot into Windows.


2: If you want the flexibility of been able to run Mac OS and Windows side by side and without needing to restart your Mac. There are a number of applications that allow you to do this.

The most popular tends to be Parallels Desktop (this is the application I use). Although I have never used Boot Camp (so I cannot comment on the performance of it). I find that performance wise, Windows runs extremely smoothly with Parallels Desktop. With Parallels Desktop, you can be doing something in Windows and at the same time be working on something on Mac OS.

One thing I would recommend if you are going to be installing a virtual machine, i.e. Parallels Desktop, is to get plenty of ram, as virtual machines/Parallels Desktop can use quite a bit of ram.

Depending on what/if you will need Windows, then you at least you know that there options open to you that will allow you to run Windows if you so require.


I'll provide below some links to some useful articles that helped me when I was researching:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9848667/

http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/

http://www.apple.com/uk/findouthow/mac/#switcher

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

http://www.danrodney.com/mac/


Hope this helps :)
 
G

Geekazoid

Suspended
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
154
52
Fatboy71 said:
When you do make the move I'm sure you'll be extremely happy. :)

Around August of last year, I was starting to look around and research what programs I was currently using on Windows and which of them had a Mac version. Too my surprise most had a Mac version, and even ones that didn't, there was an equivalent application available for the Mac which would do the same thing.

I spent from last August till basically the end of 2012 researching on various forums, websites and thinking of questions I wanted answered and posting those questions on the various forums. This really helped me and clarified a lot of things I was unsure of.





My reasons for going to a Mac were:

I was fed up with random issues and just the general unreliability of Windows. (Mac OS on the whole is a very stable and reliable OS).

Fed up with having to run and scan with anti spyware and anti virus programs (Mac's are not immune from virus's, but they are very rare).


Sick of been bombarded with Windows Updates. (You get updates on Mac OS, but these are MUCH less).

With having iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, I wanted to have the integration of the various apps, features to be available to me on my Mac.






A bit of advice I would give you is, if you are not planning on getting your Mac till next year:


1: Look at the current programs you use now on Windows and see which are available in a Mac version. If there is no Mac version available, ask on here or over on the Apple help forums which application they would recommend to use on a Mac for that purpose.

https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/imac_intel

2: Any questions or things like that you are unsure of about Mac, have a look around and see if they have been answered and if not, post that question on here and on the Apple help forums.


Various things about Mac are similar to Windows, but somethings are very different. When you get your Mac, learn the Mac way of doing things rather than trying to do it the Windows way :)


The good thing with Mac is, you can have the best of both worlds, i.e. install Windows on your Mac.

You can do it a couple of ways:


1: Mac OS comes with a application called Boot Camp. Essentially this allows you to partition a portion of your drive and install Windows on it. To load into Windows, you restart your Mac, and you hold down the option key on your keyboard, during the restart you will have a screen shown that shows your Windows installation, simple choose this and your Mac will load into Windows. To then load into Mac OS again, restart your Mac, hold down the option key, and then choose your Mac OS from the screen. Most people agree that running Windows through Boot Camp gives you the best performance of Windows, but at the inconvenience of needing to restart your Mac to boot into Windows.


2: If you want the flexibility of been able to run Mac OS and Windows side by side and without needing to restart your Mac. There are a number of applications that allow you to do this.

The most popular tends to be Parallels Desktop (this is the application I use). Although I have never used Boot Camp (so I cannot comment on the performance of it). I find that performance wise, Windows runs extremely smoothly with Parallels Desktop. With Parallels Desktop, you can be doing something in Windows and at the same time be working on something on Mac OS.

One thing I would recommend if you are going to be installing a virtual machine, i.e. Parallels Desktop, is to get plenty of ram, as virtual machines/Parallels Desktop can use quite a bit of ram.

Depending on what/if you will need Windows, then you at least you know that there options open to you that will allow you to run Windows if you so require.


I'll provide below some links to some useful articles that helped me when I was researching:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9848667/

http://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/

http://www.apple.com/uk/findouthow/mac/#switcher

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

http://www.danrodney.com/mac/


Hope this helps :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the advise and useful links. I currently am typing on a MBA 13" with a 128GB SSD but i'm yet to do much research on apps I use in windows that may have a mac version, however thanks for being so helpful.

I might say, that was one heck of a long post. I thought mine was long, I think you've just taken the lead. haha.

Cheers, thanks a lot for your help.

One more thing:By the time I can get my iMac I'll surely be looking at a Haswell iMac and can't wait to see the updates like faster SSDs and 802.11AC gigabit wireless internet.

Oh and one very last thing.

How are you finding your 27" iMacs IPS display, is it really that good?
 
S

snapdragonx

macrumors regular
Oct 31, 2012
141
1
Geekazoid said:
Yeah well Apple defintely know how to make software AND hardware and they do an excellent job at it too.

If you don't mind my asking (you can say MYOB) but how much did that set you back? Foor me it's going to be AU$2,200' but given I also want the optical drive it'll be AU$2,288, with Fusion Drive AU$2,588. I could purchase it now but I've got stuff that I need to spend my $$$$ on first, as I stated above. But I know, like you, that I'll be very satisfied with my purchase on the day that I can do it next year. To create a new saying "Happy iMacing".
Click to expand...

We get hit with a pretty decent "Apple tax" here in NZ, it cost me $3900 with the i7, 680MX and 256GB SSD. But our dollar is significantly weaker than USD and AUD so I guess it makes sense.
 
Fatboy71

Fatboy71

macrumors 65816
Dec 21, 2010
1,489
427
UK
Geekazoid said:
Thanks for all the advise and useful links. I currently am typing on a MBA 13" with a 128GB SSD but i'm yet to do much research on apps I use in windows that may have a mac version, however thanks for being so helpful.

I might say, that was one heck of a long post. I thought mine was long, I think you've just taken the lead. haha.

Cheers, thanks a lot for your help.

One more thing:By the time I can get my iMac I'll surely be looking at a Haswell iMac and can't wait to see the updates like faster SSDs and 802.11AC gigabit wireless internet.

Oh and one very last thing.

How are you finding your 27" iMacs IPS display, is it really that good?
Click to expand...


I've seen many monitors/screens over the years, and the iMac display is superb. Pin sharp detail, excellent colours, and way better than any screen I've seen. :)
 
G

Geekazoid

Suspended
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
154
52
Fatboy71 said:
I've seen many monitors/screens over the years, and the iMac display is superb. Pin sharp detail, excellent colours, and way better than any screen I've seen. :)
Click to expand...

Oh! okay, well it must be good, I can't wait till I can get mine.

If you don't mind me asking, what sort of things do you use your iMac for?

Do you find the 512MB of vRAM restrictive at all. As in, do you find you're close to running out of only half a GB of vRAM?
 
Fatboy71

Fatboy71

macrumors 65816
Dec 21, 2010
1,489
427
UK
Geekazoid said:
Oh! okay, well it must be good, I can't wait till I can get mine.

If you don't mind me asking, what sort of things do you use your iMac for?

Do you find the 512MB of vRAM restrictive at all. As in, do you find you're close to running out of only half a GB of vRAM?
Click to expand...


I do surfing, email, photo editing, cd/dvd burning, video conversion, I run Parallels Desktop with Windows 7, Microsoft Office.

I also do a bit of video editing. I make video guides and I put them on You Tube.


When I was getting extra ram for my iMac, I got the iMac with the standard 8GB and purchased an additional 16GB to take the ram total to 24GB. The most I've used is around 19GB when I was running Parallels Desktop, Windows 7 (can't remember what I was doing to use this amount of ram).

Although I can't see how much of the 512MB vRam I'm using, whatever I do on the iMac, it never slows down anything else that I'm wanting to do on it at the same time.
 
G

Geekazoid

Suspended
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
154
52
Hmm I feel that I'm starting to decide against getting an iMac, even though mine would be a 2014 model (possibly), because of the fact that several people are noticing that their iMac screens are coming with a yellow tinge or hue and I am pretty fussy, well moderately fussy anyway, and I feel that I don't want to end up getting an iMac with such a screen. I want my whites to appear white and not yellow.

I will ask this though, has anyone noticed a yellow tinge or hue to their iMac screens? It seems as though the 27" models are mostly effected and I also read that someone believes that the display panels used in the new iMacs are 2-3 years old and well I don't particularly want an iMac with an old display panel.

If anyone can clear any of the above up I would be quite grateful.
 
Fatboy71

Fatboy71

macrumors 65816
Dec 21, 2010
1,489
427
UK
Geekazoid said:
I will ask this though, has anyone noticed a yellow tinge or hue to their iMac screens? It seems as though the 27" models are mostly effected and I also read that someone believes that the display panels used in the new iMacs are 2-3 years old and well I don't particularly want an iMac with an old display panel.

If anyone can clear any of the above up I would be quite grateful.
Click to expand...

I've seen a few iMac's in various shops and I've never noticed any yellowness on any of them.

My iMac has really good colours and no yellowness. I really cannot emphasise enough how good the clarity, colours of the iMac's screen.

I've heard of iPhone's, iPad's, MacBooks having a yellow cast for a number of years.

The thing is, if you were not entirely satisfied with the screen on your iMac, its an easy enough job to get the iMac replaced, has Apple customer service is superb.

Just remember, you'll mostly only read people complaining about a yellow cast, and not the massively larger proportion of people who are happy with their iMac's screen :)
 
G

Geekazoid

Suspended
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
154
52
I've actualy now have officially decided that I'm going to buy the custom PC that I had originally thought about doing and just buying a Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Trackpad and hooking my MBA up to the external display I'll get with my PC so that I can have bigger screen for OS X when I want it. This way I can get a much more powerful CPU and GPU for my money and use my MBA as an iMac-like setup for when I want to do that.

The iMac may have a great display but I just can't justify spending upwards of $2,000 on a computer that can barely equal the performance of the custom PC that I'll get. Plus I love Windows 8 and will be using that mostly anyway because I prefer to use Sony Vegas Pro as my video editor of choice.

I know that you can use Windows on the Mac but I prefer to go the route I've chosen. And I actually feel so much happier going with the custom PC because it just makes sense for my uses.

Don't get me wrong I love OS X, hence the setup I'll have with my MBA, but My gut feeling is to go with the PC option.
 
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