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A dilemma - Should I sell my Mac?

Jigglelicious

Jigglelicious

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 25, 2004
421
0
NYC
About 6 months ago, i ditched my PC and got my first Mac. While I love Apple's products, I would normally never have switched, since i'm an avid gamer, and to put it mildly - Macs aren't all that great for games. While it took some getting used to, I've come to love OSX and my Mac, and I couldn't imagine parting with it.

Now comes the problem: I'm having gamers withdrawal. I guess old habits are hard to break, but I need a PC to quench the gamer in me. Not to mention, i'd also like to take up level design again. I can easily build a top of the line PC for about $500, and I pretty much intend to soon. The problem is, what should I do with my Mac? As much as I hate to admit it, there is really nothing I can do in OSX that I can't do in windows. And far more I CAN do in windows compared to my Mac. As much as i'd love to keep both, I don't really have the desk space (although I could buy a new desk), and I don't see the logic in keeping my Mac around for something as simple as web browsing and IMing, which I can do just fine on a PC.

I've put a lot of hard work into customizing my Mac, and I'd hate to sell it. But i honestly don't have a need for two computers. The electric bill alone is worth only keeping one. Does anyone have any advice? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and keep my Mac after all? While i'm not really short on cash (I can afford both), I simply don't have the NEED for both. Does anyone have more than 1 computer in the same room? Or both a Mac and a PC? How do you use them?
 
what are the specs on the mac? or is it the emac.im about to switch but i do do much gaming.and i have a playstation but i understand that playing games on a pc is so much better.I like sports games and i can play those on the station.anyway what kind of mac do you have i maybe interested.Maybe ;)
 
Is this the only issue with macs.They cant play games well.I hear the g5 crashes alot .im looking forward to the convention .
 
Squareball said:
Buy a playstation :)
Click to expand...

If only it were that easy :)

Actually, I do own a Gamecube, but gaming on a computer is nothing like on a PC. If I want to play an MMORPG, I need a keyboard and mouse. THere is just no [good] way to do it using a gamepad. On top of that, console games bore me lately.

And yes, its the eMac in my signature. I love it to death, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't really have any uses for it. I don't use iLife at all (except for iTunes, which is free, and available for windows).

Even if I did want to sell it, I wouldn't even know how. I don't like eBay, and trying to sell it on forums probably wouldn't be too successful.

<sighs> And all this time I was telling my friends how great OSX is, and that they should switch. Now, they'll be laughing at me, cause i'm the one who's switched back to windows!
 
wat u need to do is get a ps2, get socom 2 and get online with that , it has taken over my life .
 
Jigglelicious said:
I can easily build a top of the line PC for about $500, and I pretty much intend to soon.
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No, top of the line would cost you that much for the graphics card right now. You know, those shiny new NV6800 and ATI x800s? I love this myth. Everyone always claims they could build some nitro-burning funny car of a gaming rig for pennies, and when you go and spec out a system, getting even close to what actually is top of the line at the moment is more like $1400-2000 in parts alone.

Believe me, I've looked.

But i honestly don't have a need for two computers. The electric bill alone is worth only keeping one. Does anyone have any advice? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and keep my Mac after all? While i'm not really short on cash (I can afford both), I simply don't have the NEED for both. Does anyone have more than 1 computer in the same room? Or both a Mac and a PC? How do you use them?
Click to expand...

I have an eMac that I use for daily taskes and which sits on my desk in my room, serving as jukebox and digital hub. It's what I do my surfing on, my email writing, and all the other mundane stuff. Then I have an older, upgraded G4 tower I game on. I play Halo and Warcraft III mostly, but the only game to run poorly on it so far is C&C Generals, and I've been reading how that's just very badly optimized.

Keep the mac.
 
Wow i wanted to switch myself and i to fell in love (figurtivley speakin i think) with the emac.now im hesitant again.i was looking at the voodoo pc rig.with all due respect to the mac users.im still not sure.unless at the covention steve jobs comes up with something good ill have to stay with the xp
 
Jigglelicious said:
About 6 months ago, i ditched my PC and got my first Mac. While I love Apple's products, I would normally never have switched, since i'm an avid gamer, and to put it mildly - Macs aren't all that great for games. While it took some getting used to, I've come to love OSX and my Mac, and I couldn't imagine parting with it.

Now comes the problem: I'm having gamers withdrawal. I guess old habits are hard to break, but I need a PC to quench the gamer in me. Not to mention, i'd also like to take up level design again. I can easily build a top of the line PC for about $500, and I pretty much intend to soon. The problem is, what should I do with my Mac? As much as I hate to admit it, there is really nothing I can do in OSX that I can't do in windows. And far more I CAN do in windows compared to my Mac. As much as i'd love to keep both, I don't really have the desk space (although I could buy a new desk), and I don't see the logic in keeping my Mac around for something as simple as web browsing and IMing, which I can do just fine on a PC.

I've put a lot of hard work into customizing my Mac, and I'd hate to sell it. But i honestly don't have a need for two computers. The electric bill alone is worth only keeping one. Does anyone have any advice? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and keep my Mac after all? While i'm not really short on cash (I can afford both), I simply don't have the NEED for both. Does anyone have more than 1 computer in the same room? Or both a Mac and a PC? How do you use them?
Click to expand...

It sounds like you've already answered your own question. You need to pick a machine which is the best tool for the tasks you wish to complete. If your primary interests are gaming and game level design, then there really is only one sensible platform to choose: x86/Windows. Although many good games are getting released for the Mac these days (UT2004, Halo, C&C Generals, BF1942, Call of Duty, Splinter Cell, WarCraft III, for example), the Mac simply doesn't have anything approaching the catalog of games a PC has, and many of the level builders and mod/patch tools aren't available either. In addition, with so many games being written to the DirectX API these days, it's an unfortunate side effect that when Mac ports of games eventually do appear, they often don't run as well as they do on similarly specced Windows machines due to porting and conversion issues.

While for $500 I doubt you will truly be able to build a real 'top of the line' x86 machine, you should still be able to put together something very decent. Mid-level graphics cards like the Radeon 9600XT are cheap and solid performers, and with major new releases from nVidia and ATI starting to dribble out, formerly high end cards like the 9700 Pro and 9800XT will probably drop in price soon too.

If you really can't afford to keep two machines due to space and financial restrictions, then at least you will probably get quite a good re-sale value for your Mac on places like eBay. Slower product revisions cycles in the Mac world mean that Mac hardware retains its resale value for longer. Depending on what model Mac you currently have (you don't say in your post), the re-sale of your Mac might even cover the cost of the new PC.

As long as you're prepared to accept the tradeoffs that come from running XP versus OS X (insert the standard list of XP/OS X comparisons here...left as an exercise to the reader), from your description of the problem, it really doesn't sound like there is any other logical alternative than to buy the platform that has the tools and software you need. It'll be a shame to get rid of your Mac, but I'm sure you'll be able to find a good home for it. :)
 
No, top of the line would cost you that much for the graphics card right now. You know, those shiny new NV6800 and ATI x800s? I love this myth. Everyone always claims they could build some nitro-burning funny car of a gaming rig for pennies, and when you go and spec out a system, getting even close to what actually is top of the line at the moment is more like $1400-2000 in parts alone.
Click to expand...

Well by top of the line I mean "The fastest PC I can build without spending a boatload". Reusing my old case, DVD drive, etc, i can build something very powerful that should be able to play todays and tomorrows game at high resolution with all options turned on. This would be my current layout:

AthlonXP mobile 2400+(1.8GHz) OCed to ~2.4-2.6GHz = $77
Shuttle Nforce2 motherboard = $61
1GB PC3200 Kingston RAM = $150
Radeon 9800 Pro = $190
Samsung 80gb HDD = $67

Total = $545

Ok, so i'm cheating a little by reusing parts. But for the price, this system would simply scream.

And my Mac is in my sig. :)
Thanks again to everyone who has replied!
 
I'm in the same circumstances as you. I'm a gamer. And I love OS X.

What did I do? Get both! :D I have a iBook G3 that I use for everyday things - web surfing, mail, etc. And a monster of a rig that I built last year with Windoze XP installed on it. I keep the ethernet cable unplugged much of the time, as the rig is purely a gaming rig now - no AIM, no antivirus, no AdAware, no thing. Just Windoze and an army of games. A super-fast boot up into the desktop, and right there are icons to all the games on the HD. Almost as easy as a console! Which is what the PC essentially boils down to. A glorified console :D
 
They have quite a few keyboards for PS2. And now they have FFXI so you have a MMO. Consoles fill all my gaming needs. Granted I have all 3 of them. With the games out right now and the ones coming there is more than I can think of to play. Not to mention if you are into MMO's the mother of them all Everquest is available for mac.
 
Jigglelicious said:
Its quite overclocked :)
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Nice work :) Well, even a 1.4GHz eMac isn't ever going to be a great gaming machine due to the non-upgradable entry level GPU. Still...that's a nice compact machine for most other common computing tasks. Are you sure you can't find some room somewhere to stash it?
 
Jigglelicious said:
If only it were that easy :)
Actually, I do own a Gamecube, but gaming on a computer is nothing like on a PC. If I want to play an MMORPG, I need a keyboard and mouse. THere is just no [good] way to do it using a gamepad. On top of that, console games bore me lately.
Click to expand...

I totally understand, I was just being sarcastic when I made that comment ;)

I too don't care for console gaming. I have my PC next to my mac and I use it pretty much ONLY for playing games. I LOVE Madden football but don't care for it on the console. I am so used to the keyboard that a gamepad just throws me off. And then there are games like Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds.. of course that has a mac version.

You can always sell on Ebay. It's not that hard and I myself am about to sell my ibook (since my new one will be here tomorrow) on ebay. But you can also go to the forums and list it. Selling it is a pain in that you have to deal with processing the payment and shipping it out and all that but it might be worth it.

Or you can get a new hobby besides gaming... :eek:
Just kidding!!! That is such a horrible thought!
 
oingoboingo said:
Nice work :) Well, even a 1.4GHz eMac isn't ever going to be a great gaming machine due to the non-upgradable entry level GPU. Still...that's a nice compact machine for most other common computing tasks. Are you sure you can't find some room somewhere to stash it?
Click to expand...

Finding somewhere to stash it isn't the problem. My concern is that would use would I be getting out of it. I love OSX and I wish I could continue to use it. But there is no point for me to keep around a $900 computer just for web browsing and chatting online.

I *can* play games on the eMac decently. War3 runs very nice with all options turned on, and UT2k4 is decent with all options turned off. But performance is not my only concern. I have stacks of games that i've purchased - all for windows. I'm not about to go out and buy the same game again for the Mac. I think this is another huge problem that developers should address. With the exception of Blizzard, I can't think of any developer that puts both the Mac and PC version in the same box. Even UT2k4 which was released simultaneously for both, sell in seperate boxes.

For now, I think i'm going to keep my eMac around. I'll build my PC and see how having both works out. If I don't have room, i'll probably try to sell the eMac. I'd like to avoid ebay, but it might be my only option. (I have no feedback, and people don't like buying expensive items from people with no feedback. Also, how much % does eBay take from your sale?). I also have an old iMac (350mhz which I OCed to 500mhz - yep, i love overclocking!) which I can use when I want to try out Apples latest apps.
 
Buy a Pcheese , is this a joke?

OK < I am going to stay calm here, and not spew spittle on my screen! :D

Firstly, I love all the quotes about the PC being a game machine.
Now that is SO funny only because it SO true!

But buying a Windoze box is just sad.

You must first realize that a gaming habit isnt that good for you.
Look at all the other addictions for related wisdom.

Being on a mac and not having all that many games to choose from is good news, I think,.. and has helped me get other things done.
Who wants to get old in front of a screen playing. lamers version2.

Buying a PC is NOT an option.
If your emac is not fast enough buy a lower G5!!!

Or get a X-Box thats a great dedicated game box and cheaper and I hear that they have speech integrated also, sounds like great addicted fun!

But I beg of you, dont make a horrible mistake and buy a PC,
YOU WILL REGRET IT!

I have SPOKEN! :cool:
 
it's really a shame you have an emac instead of a tower. if it didn't have a built-in monitor, desk space would not be a problem since you could get a switch and run both boxes with the same keyboard/mouse and off the same screen.

that being said, if you think the mac would really have no use, you should try to sell it (though that would be disappointing since you have obviously put a lot of time into making it run to the limit of its abilities).

if you don't really need to sell it, though, i like the idea of leaving it off the internet except at times you wish to play an online game. use the mac for your internet needs, and the PC will stay much happier with much less effort.

other than that, you could try to integrate the emac into some sort of entertainment center as well as a fun computer to play around on. (you know you would love to throw that bad boy in another room of the house to show it off while keeping it useful)
 
Grokgod said:
You must first realize that a gaming habit isnt that good for you.
Click to expand...
Sorry, "find another hobby" is not an adequate or valid response to Jigglelicious' dilemma. A computer should do what you need it to do; no one should restrict their activities just to stick with a particular computing platform.

Jigglelicious--If you can only do level design in an x86 environment, and that's what you want to do, then it does kind of make having a Mac just to do everything else kind of superfluous. Though, before ditching your Mac, you might want to check into whether anyone is doing this kind of thing on the Mac side.... :)
 
Since he's overclocked it, and essentially voided any apple warranty left on it as well as the potential to buy applecare, he could maybe only sell this email for less than 50%. Anyone who pays more than $399 for this, considering it's overclocked and possibly damaged already is crazy!

So yea. I wouldn't give more than $399, shipping included (big heavey monitor!)

m
 
Jigglelicious said:
Now comes the problem: I'm having gamers withdrawal . . . As much as i'd love to keep both, I don't really have the desk space (although I could buy a new desk), and I don't see the logic in keeping my Mac around for something as simple as web browsing and IMing, which I can do just fine on a PC.

. . . I simply don't have the NEED for both. Does anyone have more than 1 computer in the same room? Or both a Mac and a PC? How do you use them?
Click to expand...

Somehow I bet there are a lot of people at MacRumors who have more than 1 computer in the same room. I have several: an old dual-boot OS/2 + Windows 95 box with some legacy hardware that doesn't like to work in newer systems, an overclocked NT 4 box that I really need to clean off and donate (almost never used now), my main Windows 2000 box which I use once or twice a month, a 400MHz Pentium II which dual-boots Red Hat Linux 7.0 and BeOS 4.5 (I play with it a couple times a month; BeOS kicks ass), my "real" PC which runs Red Hat 9 but is going to try some new flavors soon, my antique PowerBook 3400c from eBay running MacOS 8.6, a Silicon Graphics Indy (also from eBay), and my dual-800MHz G4, which gets used more than everything else combined. I use a KVM switch, so there is only one monitor for all the PCs, one (huge) monitor for the Indy, and two monitors on the G4. It all doesn't take up as much space as it sounds. ;-)

Sometimes it is nice to have a Windows box around, if only for when my mom calls me for free tech support. And I do like playing with Linux, BeOS, and the Indy. When I first got the Mac, my usage was about split between Linux and the Mac. Now, I could get rid of everything except the G4 and not shed a tear. I don't play computer games, though.

Jigglicious, I don't know what to tell you. It sounds like you could go either way. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have just one computer; other times it's great to have a selection. If I ever wanted to reformat the Mac, or if it had some kind of hardware failure/downtime (knock on wood) I'd sure be glad to have my Linux box as a backup. If it were me, I think you can guess I'd keep the eMac, just because MacOS X is fun to use. But they are just tools, and you pick the most suitable for the task at hand.

Good luck!


Crikey
 
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