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

[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!!!

 

[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. 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.