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 ) 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. 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. 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

 

[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!