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Buying Dillema - PC vs. Mac - HUGE $$$ Difference

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Something else to consider is software. How much more software will you have to buy to get the same software that comes bundled w/OS X?
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Of course, the flip-side of that is: How much Windows software do you currently use that you'd have to purchase Mac versions of? Office? Photoshop?

For me, that was the most expensive part of my switch.

PS- Has anyone mentioned that the price quoted on that G5 seems way off? :p
 
The closest Microsoft equivalent to Mac OS X is either Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional. Don't even consider XP Home. You didn't include any pricing for that in your PC estimate.

Also, you are getting a 32-bit PC, so you should be comparing with a single-processor G4 tower, not a G5. As another poster stated, to get a 64-bit PC you have to find an Athlon 64. The Athlon 64 is a fine processor, but you will be stuck with 32-bit code for some time -- unless you use Linux.

As it is, you are comparing the last of the 32-bit PC generation with the first of the 64-bit Mac generation. If we all compared that way, we'd all still be running Z80s and Apple IIs.
 
3rd party add-ons

Apple computers are surprisingly friendly when it comes to 3rd party peripherals and upgrades. Since not all of us were on HBO's "Born Rich" special, you can save a lot of cash by looking elsewhere.

Must buy 3rd party items:
RAM, Printers, Scanners, Cameras

Worth considering: (Apple has great products but 3rd party are sometimes cheaper or provide more choices)
Monitors, 2nd or upgrade hard drives/optical drives, wireless routers, keyboards, mice, mp3 players, other USB
 
Re: Buying Dillema - PC vs. Mac - HUGE $$$ Difference

Originally posted by ~Shard~


Kay, here's the kicker - the price:

PC: $2879.07 taxes in ($2193.80 USD)
Mac: $ 4652.15 taxes in ($3545.33 USD)
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His numbers are right on if you look at the USD price.


Note- He is in Canada.



-jeff
 
What happened to Shard? (The thread starter?)

Meanwhile, I agree with everyone. The Mac price quoted is way off, and you can the whole thing much cheaper if you follow everyone's suggestions.
 
don't forget I think he's INCLUDING Canadian Sales Taxes Provincial and Goods&services- this roughly (depending on where in Canada you are) spikes the cost 15%.

cheers matt
 
Yeah, and his "friend" is apparently gouging him on the LCD, speakers, and router. These items are the exact same from system to system. And since apple doesn't offer 2x256 + 2x512 I can only assume his "buddy" is adding the ram himself and paying himself handsomely for it.

Why do I think this? Stock 1.8Ghz G5 w/Superdrive, 2x256 Ram, etc, as described by the original post, taxes out: $2399US.
Granted the taxes might be high, but again, tax isn't avoidable. He's paying the same high tax on the PC system, so tax should be removed from any comparison.

If you are paying $1200US for 1Gb ram (in 512MB sticks no less), a 17"lcd, "basic" speakers, and a four-port router (not even wireless???), I'd like to be your personal shopper.
 
Originally posted by iJon
well first thing is where the hell did you get that price for the mac. most of that stuff is stock but way over stock price. after you explain that how about you tell us what you plan to do with your computer and we will be able to tell you if the mac would benefit you at all.

iJon
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First of all, thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate them. As for the Mac quote, the base 1.8 GHz system listed on the Apple Store is $3300 CAD. My buddy gets it for $3100. Throw on the other components (1 GB more of RAM = $236, LCD = $646, speakers = $32, router = $66) then 13% tax and bam, you're at the total! This is buying the RAM separately as well....

As for what I want to do, I do a fair bit of audio editing, some video editing, no gaming, a lot of burning... nothing major. I guess this might mean I don't need the G5, and would be fine with an iMac, but it kinda sucks when I could get a top-of-the-line PC for as much as a non-top-of-the-line Mac, in some respects.

I have given it some more thought and am still wanting a Mac, so maybe I have to figure out if I should go for the PowerMac G5 now, save up and get the Rev Bs in a few months, or get an iMac.

Any more houghts would be appreciated... I'll add some more comments too once I finish reading all the posts.

Thanks again!
Scott
 
Originally posted by ~Shard~
As for what I want to do, I do a fair bit of audio editing, some video editing, no gaming, a lot of burning... nothing major. I guess this might mean I don't need the G5, and would be fine with an iMac, but it kinda sucks when I could get a top-of-the-line PC for as much as a non-top-of-the-line Mac, in some respects.
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Don't forget that Apple still sells the Dual 1.25 G4 Power Macs. More power and expandability than the iMac, and significantly cheaper than the G5 1.8.
 
Hi all,

I finished reading all these posts and wanted to thank everyone again. (And sorry for not replying to some of your comments sooner!) You have all made great points and that's exactly what I wanted. I feel more comfortable about buying a Mac now, and all that remains is to decide if I want to get an iMac instead, or just go with the 1.8 G5, or save up a bit more and get a Rev B - even if it's the same price, I would at least get a little more bang for the buck ;)

Any idea when the Rev B's might come out? Or a G5 iMac? Anything at MWSF in January?

Thanks again everyone - I really appreciate this forum and its knowledgable members. Hopefully I'll be a member one of these days myself!

Cheers,
Scott

P.S. If anyone had any outstanding questions that they wanted clarification on from my previous post, let me know and I'd be happy to explain. :)

edit: added P.S.
 
Originally posted by Flowbee
Don't forget that Apple still sells the Dual 1.25 G4 Power Macs. More power and expandability than the iMac, and significantly cheaper than the G5 1.8.
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Agreed, this would be your best performance for dollar value for editing work. I personally thing the dual G5 is so much better for a bargain price than the single G5s. Remember that the G5s gain WAY more performance by adding another proc than the G4s do.

And I have to add, if you're getting the G5, try to at least get the Radeon 9600, it's a significantly better card for $50US.
 
If you are going for over a GB ram then you will NOT want the P4. OSx has a high over head and a p4 may out preform a memory starved Mac but Windoze will not utilize the ram you are getting as well as a Mac. I prefer PCs for compatibility, hence they are always my desktop. But I would never give up my power book for a PC.

A Xeon 3.02 with 1mb cache will be close to the G4 1.8 $2600 via dell. Buy the second proc later from a vender=save a butload. $400 or less for another 3.02
Look on dell's website under small business and build one you like.

The only way you will get more power than a dual G5 will be the dual AMD 64 Opteron. 16xx FSB 8gb ram 128 bit rambus 400mhz true parallel processing and a few otherthings put it just over the top of the G5s. Good luck tring to get one in the next 3 months though, I haven't even seen one yet. The 64 Xp is not bad at all and can be found, But will not dual (as far as I know)

For now Mac reigns king. But the 3rd gen PCs will bring Mac a new challenge.

Unless you have legacy PC hardware you need to use. Buy Pc for Mac (formerly connectex) software for compatibility and get a wonderfull new Mac. Or have a crazy "prototype" PC built for the same price.

P.S. I am actually a little bias toward PC, but I fell that a mac will work best in your case. Find an internet cafe/ lan parlor if you must game. $4/$2 an hr here.
I seriously doubt you will regret buying a Mac.
 
My dear friend, If you are wiliing to spend the extra money on a mac don't bother. The Athlon 64/FX/Opteron/clawhammer/sledge hammer or what ever you want to call it is ahead of both the current intel and IBM chipsets.

You cannot upgrade a mac (almost at all) except for RAM, very few consumer based PCI cards will fit in the 3.3v extended slots (32-bit PCI ie 5v.) You cant even add a second internal optical drive.

Intel's Prescott core should be release by christmas, and that is something to look out for. My next computer is going to be Dual Opterons with a Tyan MB, beats the G5 Hands down in my opinion. Good Luck
 
Originally posted by KWSN-SirShades
The only way you will get more power than a dual G5 will be the dual AMD 64 Opteron. 16xx FSB 8gb ram 128 bit rambus 400mhz true parallel processing and a few other things put it just over the top of the G5s. Good luck tring to get one in the next 3 months though, I haven't even seen one yet.
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This is the board, one of only 4 or 5 avalible with AGP for the ATX form factor. The Tyan The Thunder K8W (S2885) supports 32GB:eek: of RAM. Another thing you wont; repeat will not find one of these built up yet, you have to build htem yourself, or order the parts in and pay someone to build it for you. For a Truly BTO machine, not 3 or 4 variables which mac define as BTO.
 

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Where did all the money come from?

I seem to rememeber you trying to qualify the difference in the prices between the two systems you looked at. As someone else posted earlier, its true you wouldn't be getting a top of the line PC system, since Xeons, Opterons, etc. are more comparable.

Now that those kind of systems are being thrown around, i don't understand where all your hard earned Canadian Cash will be coming from, unless you're waiting to save up more.

In which case, and this is onyl according to a page 2 rumor, Apple should eb realsing rev. 2 g5's aorund late Jan - Mid February, with 90mm process and speed thought to be between 2.2 & 2.8. Assuming apple keep shte same kinda pricing model (best pro desktop 3k, mid range 2.5k, and entry 2k. sorry about the US dollars!) the prices on 1.6 & 1.8 should fall like stones.

Then you could compare xeons & 1.8 or maybe whatver the new entry level is, and also compare Presccotts and rev 2 g5's when u have more money saved up.
 
Buy Both!

I'm all for wanting top-of-the-line stuff but sometimes even I can't justify the expense. How's this scenario:

Buy a P 2.4 GHz PC with, I don't know, an 80 GB HD, a 128 MB graphics card, a 5.1 Audigy, and 1 GB of RAM. Then, grab a 17" iMac, extra RAM, and a box of Panther.


Best of both worlds. (Well, you know what I mean.)
Squire

<Edit: Oh, and about that "G3 being faster than a P4" comment... Well, all I can say is that my 1 GHz iMac is just a tad slower on everyday tasks than my P4 1.6 GHz. I don't, however, have more than the original 256 MB of RAM in it. I'll get that later.>
 
Originally posted by manitoubalck
My dear friend, If you are wiliing to spend the extra money on a mac don't bother. The Athlon 64/FX/Opteron/clawhammer/sledge hammer or what ever you want to call it is ahead of both the current intel and IBM chipsets.

You cannot upgrade a mac (almost at all) except for RAM, very few consumer based PCI cards will fit in the 3.3v extended slots (32-bit PCI ie 5v.) You cant even add a second internal optical drive.

Intel's Prescott core should be release by christmas, and that is something to look out for. My next computer is going to be Dual Opterons with a Tyan MB, beats the G5 Hands down in my opinion. Good Luck
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*holds nose* Whew, man, what smells like troll in here?

Yeah, and for the price of a BMW I could buy an old Civic chassis and a lot of high-performance parts to make a much faster car. But I still wouldn't have a BMW.

Look, I build my own Windows systems too, but not everyone is that kind of hobbyist. And not everyone views the pinnacle of high-performance techno-geekery to be the only yardstick in making their decisions.
 
Originally posted by Gelfin
*holds nose* Whew, man, what smells like troll in here?
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Hey, hey lets not jump the gun here and call the guy a troll. He could just be ignorant (I believe in giving people the bennifit of the doubt). ;)

The only thing on any tower Mac that is not upgradable is the mobo.

If you need a 2nd optical drive there are many FW and USB 2.0 solutions. A nice thing about an external optical is it means you don't have to have the tower w/arms reach in order to insert/remove your disks.

I'm sure people complained too when PCI replaced ISA, but I guess everyone got over it 'cause I don't here anyone screaming to bring back ISA.

Speed is nice but IMO it's the most important thing. I'd rather have a slower, more dependable machine than a faster, less dependable machine. Clients don't get uneasy when they have to wait for a render, but they do get uneasy when the computer keeps malfunctioning.


Lethal
 
Originally posted by LethalWolfe
(...snippage...)

Speed is nice but IMO it's the most important thing. I'd rather have a slower, more dependable machine than a faster, less dependable machine. Clients don't get uneasy when they have to wait for a render, but they do get uneasy when the computer keeps malfunctioning.


Lethal
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And realize that in this case, the "slower" machine (i.e. presumably the G5) isn't exactly poking far behind the faster one. If I have to choose fast and reliable vs. a tidge faster and possibly less reliable, I'll pick option one and head home thanksverymuch.
 
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