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I couldnt wait any longer.. went with Vista

dejo said:
And yet, not surprisingly, you still aren't... ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I noticed the two other hints as well.. Ok.. I'll go now... I guess I'm now concidered, "one of them"..... for those that can have an open discussion.. you better not let em see you talking to me.. you might end up getting in trouble or something.:rolleyes:
 
I'm not too sure what has happened to this thread but in my opinion both OSX and Windows have their advantages. I of course prefer OSX, but I don't prefer it enough to justify spending $2500 on a computer instead of $1500 for one with similar to superior specs, which is what the OP has done.

For the extra money that the OP has saved, he can get CS3 with After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop extended, Flash, Soundbooth, etc., and that will kick the crap out of iLife. If you think OSX provides more productivity then fine, but don't go leaving out all the things that a home built PC has to offer, while at the same time leaving out or justifying all of OSXs and Apples weaknesses.

I think the main reason I am arguing this point is because if it was my choice between my Mac Pro for $2500 and what the OP has built for $1500, I would have a very tough choice ahead of me, and that's mainly because I like Final Cut Studio. OSX is great and all, but it's not worth $1000.

Basically, the OP did not make a stupid choice, he made a choice that works for him and is very smart in quite a few ways. The only people in this thread who have acted foolishly are the ones who have been so deeply affected by Apples marketing that they have to blindly attack people making decisions that don't include Apple.
 
zero2dash said:
The fact remains that Dell's 'bottom dollar' machines have either Pentium D
or Athlon processors, both of which are outperformed by Core Duo.
Click to expand...

I've agreed with every one of your posts except a part of this one ... An Athlon will outperform any Intel. I've used Intel at work and Athlon at home for many, many years. And I continue to buy Athlon at home. At work, an Intel will choke on two instances of Visual Studio, with a web browser and one or two Enterprise Managers open. At home, on my Athlon AM2 Dual Core, I can run lots of programs in the background and still run CPU-intensive games like Gothic 3 flawlessly.

Now, if Apple would sell PCs with Athlon processors, I'd be a customer for life!
 
HardCode said:
I've agreed with every one of your posts except a part of this one ... An Athlon will outperform any Intel. I've used Intel at work and Athlon at home for many, many years. And I continue to buy Athlon at home. At work, an Intel will choke on two instances of Visual Studio, with a web browser and one or two Enterprise Managers open. At home, on my Athlon AM2 Dual Core, I can run lots of programs in the background and still run CPU-intensive games like Gothic 3 flawlessly.

Now, if Apple would sell PCs with Athlon processors, I'd be a customer for life!
Click to expand...

While you might have been right about this two years ago, Intel's line of Core-series CPUs (and particularly the Core 2 Duo) outperforms anything comparable that AMD offers.

AMD no longer has the performance crown. Intel does.
 
zero2dash said:
Is this the mentality of fence sitting switchers these days?
"I don't want to pay for the Mac Pro so I'll either complain about the other Apple desktops being underpowered or I'll just build a Windows box and tell myself I'm saving money." :rolleyes:

Enjoy your PC man. :eek:
I'll gladly pay the extra money for a Mac Pro just so I don't ever have to bother with critical updates, virus definitions, and spyware updates ever again.

FWIW - you paid $1500 for a desktop that runs Vista when you could've gotten a refurb Mac Pro for not too much more.
Click to expand...

This is his first contribution to the thread. If you agree with this then we live in completely different worlds. Not a single thing mentioned there is true. A REFURB Mac Pro is $700 more than this PC and has weaker video, RAM, and HD space. If avoiding a few updates is worth $700 then I can see how you might consider the Mac Pro such a bargain.
 
HardCode said:
I've agreed with every one of your posts except a part of this one ... An Athlon will outperform any Intel.
Click to expand...

The dual core Athlons (A64 X2s) will outperform a Core Duo, you're right about that.
but - Core 2s outperform everything AMD puts out (right now). When AMD moves to 65nm, they may get back the performance crown.

YoYoMa said:
This is his first contribution to the thread. If you agree with this then we live in completely different worlds. Not a single thing mentioned there is true. A REFURB Mac Pro is $700 more than this PC and has weaker video, RAM, and HD space. If avoiding a few updates is worth $700 then I can see how you might consider the Mac Pro such a bargain.
Click to expand...

Apparently you don't visit here often, do you.
95% of people who come here complaining about Apple's prices being too high want the power of a Mac Pro for the price of a Mini. Period.

He wants to build a computer? Fine. Build one. You go build one. Build 3, I could care less.

But don't come around saying "well I built one for this and Apples cost x$ higher so they're a ripoff" when you cannot build a Mac yourself therefore the comparison is MOOT.

Now, go run along and spec out a Dell with dual Xeons to compare to a Mac Pro and tell me how much more expensive the Mac Pro is again. :rolleyes: :cool:

Here, I did it for you. :rolleyes:
# Dell Precision 690


Date 5/2/2007 3:13:50 PM Central Standard Time
Catalog Number 4 Retail 04
Catalog Number / Description Product Code SKU Id
Dell Precision Workstation 690 (1KW - 32bit):
Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5150 2.66GHz, 4MB L2,1333 T2614 [222-3761] 1
2nd Processor:
Dual Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5150 2.66GHz, 4MB L2,1333 PR264 [311-6280] 2
Operating System:
Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2 with Media XPP2E [310-8617][420-4860] 11
Graphic Cards:
256MB PCIe x16 ATI FireGL V7200, Dual DVI or Dual VGA or DVI + VGA ATI7200 [320-4833] 6
Memory:
2GB, DDR2 SDRAM FBD Memory, 667MHz, ECC in Riser (2 DIMMS) 2G2E6R [311-6354] 3
CD-ROM, DVD, and Read-Write Devices:
48XCDRW AND 16XDVD+/-RW, w/Cyberlink PowerDVD™ and Roxio Creator™ CDRM16 [313-4283] 16
Hard Drive Configuration:
C1 All SATA drives, Non-RAID, 1 or 2 drive total configuration SATA12 [341-3378] 9
Boot Hard Drive:
250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s,7200 RPM Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst Cache™ 250ST [341-3729] 8
Hard Drive Internal Controller Option:
SATA/SAS Integrated Card - For Connecting Internal Hard Drives SASCTL [341-3435] 24
Monitors:
No Monitor NMN [320-3316] 5
Mail- In Rebate:
None NONE [464-5004] 81
Miscellaneous:
Precision 690N 1KW 64Bit 690N110 [465-4073] 82
Labels:
Genuine Windows® XP Sticker VC [466-2909] 750
Keyboard:
USB Entry Quietkey, No Hot Keys U [310-7949] 4
Mouse:
Dell USB 2-Button Mechanical Mouse with Scroll ELD [310-7959] 12
Floppy Drive and Media Card Reader Options:
No Floppy Drive NFD [341-3414] 10
Speakers:
No Speaker option NSPKR [313-2663] 18
Security Software:
McAfee SecurityCenter 30 Day Trial MCF30EV [410-0885] 25
Resource CD:
No Resource CD NORCD [313-3673] 21
SERVICES & SUPPORT PLANS:
3 Year On-site Economy Plan W3YOS [970-0892][970-6460][984-2827][984-2828][986-4419] 29
On-Site System Setup:
No Onsite System Setup NOINSTL [900-9987] 32
Purchase Intent:
Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138
Click to expand...

$3992 for a dual Xeon 2.6 Precision 690 with 2 gigs of ram, a 250g HD, and a lower end base 256meg video card. XP, standard keyboard and mouse, NO SOUND, NO FIREWIRE.

Mac Pro 2.6 is base + ram upgrade to 2gig. Cost $2798.

Dell for $3992. Mac Pro for $2798. Dell is $1200 more. :rolleyes:

Here's more.
17" iMac 1.86 vs. Dimension E520 w 19" LCD
iMac = $999 | Dimension = $909
# Dimension E520


Date 5/2/2007 3:36:51 PM Central Standard Time
Catalog Number 4 Retail 04
Catalog Number / Description Product Code SKU Id
Processor:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6300 (1.86GHz, 1066 FSB) SSE63B [222-5008] 1
Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic VHB3E [313-4911][420-5769][420-5924][420-6436][420-6481][420-6533][420-6577][463-2282] 11
Memory:
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs 1GB62 [311-6461] 3
Hard Drives:
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 160S [341-4210] 8
CD or DVD Drive:
16x DVD+/-RW Drive 16DVDRW [313-4579][420-6464] 16
Monitor:
19 inch Ultrasharp™ 1908FP Digital Flat Panel 1908FP [320-5344] 5
Video Cards:
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000 IV [320-4270] 6
Sound Cards:
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio IS [313-2758] 17
Optional Ports:
IEEE 1394 Adapter 1394 [320-4596] 85
Miscellaneous:
Dimension E520 DE52001 [465-7557] 82
Labels:
Windows Vista™ Basic VBD [310-8625] 750
Floppy Drive and Media Reader:
No Floppy Drive Included NFD [341-4028] 10
Modem:
No Modem N [313-3137] 14
Speakers:
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system) N [313-2198] 18
Keyboard:
Dell USB Keyboard EK [310-8164] 4
Mouse:
Dell® 2-button USB mouse SM [310-7965] 12
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Intalled):
Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD DWRK [412-0912] 22
Security Software:
No security subscription (McAfee 30-day trial) VNS2 [420-6594] 25
Warranty & Service:
1 Year On-site Economy Plan B111DNO [950-9797][960-2800][980-3110][985-1178][986-4208] 29
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS:
6 Months of America Online Membership Included AOLSMB [412-0933][412-0934] 37
Purchase Intent:
Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138
Adobe Software:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0 AAREAD [412-0914] 15
Digitial Music:
No Digital Music Software Requested NOMM [461-8388] 27
Digital Photography:
Corel Snapfire Basic - Organize and Edit your photos DPS [412-0931] 28
Network Interface:
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0441]
Click to expand...
 
BestBuyBoy said:
Yeah, I noticed the two other hints as well.. Ok.. I'll go now... I guess I'm now concidered, "one of them"..... for those that can have an open discussion.. you better not let em see you talking to me.. you might end up getting in trouble or something.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I'm not against open discussion. But I am against claiming to be leaving when one, in fact, isn't, "gnome-sane"? :)
 
Can't we all just get along? ;) Look at the beginning of this thread and see how civil it was kept.
 
What's this iWipe product you mentioned? Sounds awesome. Can I stand in line somewhere to get it before everyone else? :D

OP is absolutely right. Apple product line needs to be updated, and now's not a good time to buy any Apple product because you'll be paying more for old technology.

BUT...

That's why you buy an Apple product when you have the opportunity. Did you have the opportunity back in September or October when the new product line was released? I bet you did...

So what's the lesson to be learned? Apple sucks? Not at all. It's that when Apple releases a good product, you go buy it. Don't wait seven months and then complain that there's nothing good and you can't wait for the next update so you have to run out and get the latest garbage from Microsoft and run it on the homebrew special. If you had bought in September or October, you'd be doing just fine now.

Heed the lesson people. When the Mac Rumor's buyers guide says Buy Now, they're not kidding, and they're not just giving you friendly advice or make a recommendation. They're trying to save you from this guy's fate. Here is the man who heard but did not listen. Ecco homo.

BTW there will be an update within 4-6 weeks, guaranteed, and OP will still be stuck with that PC for 2+ years.
 
BestBuyBoy said:
Should you expect that an $800.00 box will allow you to render a half hour video in less time than it takes to drive to NY from Boston... I do. Should I expect that in April of 2007 if I am spending 600 or 700 dollars on a computer it is going to have a chipset that is newer than a year old. I mean please, go on Newegg and look how much a core duo is selling for... For me, functionality was far more important than how pretty the unit looked on my desk.
Click to expand...

Functionality is exactly why the mac is an ideal platform for video editing. It's a turn-key system. If you're just looking to add horse power to a render farm, then you definitely made the right choice. As for me, a streamlined editing cycle and professional grade productions are more important - I don't hang around for the rendering ;)
 
kajitox said:
Can't we all just get along? ;) Look at the beginning of this thread and see how civil it was kept.
Click to expand...

very true...very civil, but posting a 'couldn't wait and got vista' on a mac forum is asking for it :)

i'm glad it worked out for the OP, BUT, I have to ask...and yes, this is with sarcasm, but i'll say 'guarded sarcasm' - you were going to video edit on a mac mini?????? i get that you may have been ticked at the long update wait b/c i think that's a long time too, but editing on a mac mini? i nearly choked when i read that. i'm sure it does an 'ok' job at best, but man oh man...my mac pro friggin' HUMS! no..it doesn't hum...it ZIPS...it roars! I couldn't imagine editing on anything else.

but, like i said, glad it worked out for you. i just feel bad that you had to get vista. tiger is so beyond vista as it is - i mean, heck, vista was copied from tiger (well, except for the registry type garbage ;)

Cheers,
Keebler
 
I just got a mac mini in march. OSX is great. But not everything is mac compadible. Vista has a few drawbacks. But is far more stable than XP. I kept reinstalling XP every 3 to 4 months. I installed Vista Home Basic on the mini with bootcamp. It's not too bad. One blue screens ever are because drivers, etc. Only 1 device I have. But it otherwise it's not too bad. Lots of improvements.

Thanks,
ivnj
 
Why is there is continuing idea amongst many that one computer, or one OS, will be best for everyone? Why are people so much more civil when it comes to cars? We all know people who only buy one brand of car b/c of their great experience with them, a love for how they look or perform, even if it is a luxury brand and you're paying more. Yet, there are a bajillion different kinds of cars out there, and they all sell, and these fans don't treat fans of other brands like they are crazy (well, i'm sure there are some)

I think the OP is absolutely right in what he did. I have been an avid mac user for more than 10 years, from back in the dark days. I think that if you are an average user, i.e. joe public, then these things are great for you. But, I've always maintained, if you can muck around inside the guts of a machine, and have a very specific desire as to what you want to do, then a mac might not be best for you.

If you know what a boot.ini file is and can build your own computer then go ahead and run windows. If you know what sudo does, go ahead and run linux. Only in the cases where those two sentences read like greek to someone, do I say you must use OS X. If you're knowledgeable, do what you think is best.

If you're highest goal is performance per dollar, go with it, but respect those who want to pay more for an overall experience. If you think experience is paramount, go with it, but respect those who value performance, or price, or style, or brand loyalty above all else.

My name is Schroedinger, and my cat and I approved this message. :)
 
Schroedinger said:
Why is there is continuing idea amongst many that one computer, or one OS, will be best for everyone? Why are people so much more civil when it comes to cars? We all know people who only buy one brand of car b/c of their great experience with them, a love for how they look or perform, even if it is a luxury brand and you're paying more. Yet, there are a bajillion different kinds of cars out there, and they all sell, and these fans don't treat fans of other brands like they are crazy (well, i'm sure there are some)

I think the OP is absolutely right in what he did. I have been an avid mac user for more than 10 years, from back in the dark days. I think that if you are an average user, i.e. joe public, then these things are great for you. But, I've always maintained, if you can muck around inside the guts of a machine, and have a very specific desire as to what you want to do, then a mac might not be best for you.

If you know what a boot.ini file is and can build your own computer then go ahead and run windows. If you know what sudo does, go ahead and run linux. Only in the cases where those two sentences read like greek to someone, do I say you must use OS X. If you're knowledgeable, do what you think is best.

If you're highest goal is performance per dollar, go with it, but respect those who want to pay more for an overall experience. If you think experience is paramount, go with it, but respect those who value performance, or price, or style, or brand loyalty above all else.

My name is Schroedinger, and my cat and I approved this message. :)
Click to expand...

So true. People say which I like better and before I answer, I always consider who I'm talking to. For a music lover/photography nerd I might suggest a Mac. For a gamer, of course I'd say a PC. They both have their advantages over the other, no doubt.
 
YoYoMa said:
Are you suggesting that Apple doesn't want my business? Or the OPs business? Or any of the other millions out there who think the same way?
Click to expand...
Actually, I believe I said that outright, no hinting required. Apple is doing just fine selling millions to other people, they don't seem interested in the DIY-as-cheap-as-possible crowd. If they come out with something to sell to you, I'll be sure to send you an email. But they apparently haven't in over 30 years, so....

And seriously, why do you come to Mac forums and bash Apple for this? I don't go to Chrysler forums and bash their vehicles, which I would never own. I don't go to Vista forums and laugh at them. Get a new hobby.

Dell may charge more than Apple for a Mac Pro equivalent, but Dell offers coupons making it cheaper than the Apple, offers better video options, and upgraded to the quad core chips last november.

Dell ALSO offers non professional systems at more reasonable prices, similar to the ones we are discussing now.
Click to expand...
Wait, are you now comparing the Dell pro models to the Mini? Or is it the Mac Pro models to the Dimensions? I'm so confused. Maybe we could just compare models that are actually intended for the same market to each other. Otherwise, I'm going to just start comparing your Dell to my Zebra pen, just for kicks. (this pen kicks ass, you better have a good Dell)
 
BestBuyBoy said:
LOL.. yeah I know.. I got all wacky and lost my head and apparently ability to spell... Hey, lots of good comments.. beleive me.. I wish Apple had something anyone one of those 19 Tuesday mornings that I would check in at 5am.. even refurbished.. when I checked Sunday, Monday and this morning, the page had nothing!! Lets face it.. the mac mini is a great little machine.. but its a laptop in a box.. no GPU, no core 2 duo... The imac is nice but I wanted a vesa mount.. and hey.. I can go on but Macs OS is great but the hardware in my opinion isnt a value today.. maybe next week, maybe next month.. but right now, I dont think so. And when you have a 6 yr old pentium sitting on the floor with the left cover leaning against it and its pushed to the wall holding in the ga cable and if it moves an inch my display goes blank.. then every tuesdya at 5:01am get more and more painful.. oh well.. see ya in 3 to 5.. until then STAY COOL EVERYONE.. I'LL BE BACK!
Click to expand...

Is there a website that you are to log-in at 5 o'clock to get a get deL t this time? If yes, what's the site?
 
QCassidy352 said:
eh, AAPL is trading at over $100/share... I guess whatever marketshare they have is working out ok for them. :)
Click to expand...

It's all in the iPods man!!!!! :D

JAT So if you build of own computer your cheap? What happens if people enjoying building computers? He is not bashing Apple, he is simply stating his own opinion, this is a free country you know. So what if he went with Vista? Is it your money? Not eveyrone has thousands to spend on computers, there are other needs.

If the OP has bought a PC then let it be, it's his own choice I'm not going to lecture him on why Mac/Apple is superior. Yes Macs may be better in "your" eyes but not in everyones. So to the OP, good luck with the purchase!
 
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