PC user 'downgrading' to a Mac

[0098386]

I think it would be fun to mod GTA V when that comes out and that's a big game, but I'm not too worried.

You'll be lucky! Rockstar are notorious for unoptimised games. What they accomplished on GTAV on the PS3 was outstanding, but the PS4 port is poor. I don't have high hopes for the PC version.

That said I only buy iMacs, because they can run both Windows and OSX. You don't get much bang for your buck with a Macbook Pro.

 

[LMC91]

chrono1081, weird how your Mac outperforms your new higher spec'd Dell, but that's interesting to hear. Yep, SSD is what I'd like, I hear that's the biggest thing these days. Will keep that game development stuff in mind too, thanks for that.

alvindarkness, an in between does sound good, something more powerful than a mini, but not as expensive as a Mac Pro. I'm not so confident in going Hackintosh though, it's just that I want things to be hassle free, without having to worry about things going wrong, but it sounds the best of both worlds.

Dameatball, it's a Dell XPS 8100, 6gb ram, Nvidia Geforce GTS 240. As for the i7, it says on CPU-Z that it's name is 'Intel Core i7 860', Code Name: 'Lynnfield', not sure if there's anything else here that would help or not. This is my PC here:
http://www.dell.com/uk/dfh/p/studio-xps-8100/pd
The computer really does everything I need, I plan to take it in this week and see if I can get it sorted, I'm not sure if it's the graphics card or if it's the heatsink, but if I can make this last longer I'll be happy enough, I'm really just gathering information for future reference.

Dagless, heard that about Rockstar PC games, but I'm not too worried about it.

A big thanks to everyone who has replied, it's been a lot of help.

 

[Renzatic]

...it's a Dell XPS 8100, 6gb ram, Nvidia Geforce GTS 240. As for the i7, it says on CPU-Z that it's name is 'Intel Core i7 860', Code Name: 'Lynnfield', not sure if there's anything else here that would help or not. This is my PC here:
http://www.dell.com/uk/dfh/p/studio-xps-8100/pd

Question is, do you want a faster computer, or do you want a Mac specifically? If it's the former, you could pop 16GB ram into your system alongside an SSD and a new GPU, and get a healthy boost in performance at a quarter of the price of a brand new machine.

This page will give you an idea on how your CPU stacks up to a Haswell i7 (the latest rev). If that's all gobbledegook to you, I'll just say that you're comparing a fast computer to an even faster one. Unless you're planning on doing some high end video work, and speed is of the utmost essence, your current machine is still pretty damn good for you stated needs.

But if you don't feel comfortable upgrading, got a bit of extra spending cash, and you want something that you just plug into a wall and watch it work like a charm without having to poke and prod at it a bit, then a Mac is your best choice.

 

[LMC91]

Question is, do you want a faster computer, or do you want a Mac specifically? If it's the former, you could pop 16GB ram into your system alongside an SSD and a new GPU, and get a healthy boost in performance at a quarter of the price of a brand new machine.

This page will give you an idea on how your CPU stacks up to a Haswell i7 (the latest rev). If that's all gobbledegook to you, I'll just say that you're comparing a fast computer to an even faster one. Unless you're planning on doing some high end video work, and speed is of the utmost essence, your current machine is still pretty damn good for you stated needs.

But if you don't feel comfortable upgrading, got a bit of extra spending cash, and you want something that you just plug into a wall and watch it work like a charm without having to poke and prod at it a bit, then a Mac is your best choice.

Thanks for the link, it seems newer i7s are quite a bit better, but I will say a lot of the information here does go over my head.

If it works out much cheaper, and upgrading certain parts is easy and is guaranteed to last longer, I'll highly consider it, I was just afraid to spend money on a PC that might not last long. The PC does work fine though apart from the noise, and really if I got this thing quiet, and an SSD in here, it'll probably be perfect. I don't need features of a Mac right now or anything like that, I actually don't know a whole lot about them, but considering they can run Windows too, I started wondering if a Mac would be a smart option for my next computer. I like the idea of a Mac as something different, it's own range of software, and that you can publish stuff to the App Store, but that's something I'm in no use for probably a long time.

What's probably best for me is to take it in to get it looked at, and they'll tell me what's wrong. I was on the phone to Dell, but they wanted to charge me for them to tell me what to look for lol.

 

[tillsbury]

If you think that Apple computers are more expensive than Windows ones, you're not comparing similar quality or specification machines. When you do, you'll often find that the Apple ones are significantly cheaper and/or higher specified. That was the reason I converted in the first place a few years ago.

 

[Renzatic]

Thanks for the link, it seems newer i7s are quite a bit better, but I will say a lot of the information here does go over my head.

It's faster, yeah. Roughly 64% faster for single threaded applications. But computers, Macs, PCs, and all, don't depreciate nearly as quickly as they used to. If you've got an i7, even a first gen one, you're sitting pretty decently.

What's probably best for me is to take it in to get it looked at, and they'll tell me what's wrong. I was on the phone to Dell, but they wanted to charge me for them to tell me what to look for lol.

Eh. I wouldn't do that. I googled up a pic of the inside of your case, and it doesn't look like it's using any proprietary parts (rare for Dell). From the looks of things, you've got two fans in there, one on the CPU, and one along the back of the case. They look like bog standard 80mm case fans in a bog standard case hooked up to a bog standard motherboard, which means you won't be spending an arm and a leg for them. They'll run you anywhere between $5-$25 depending on how fancy you want to get. The ones that advertise their quiet performance usually land on the higher end of that spectrum.

If the main reason you want to upgrade is because your computer's noisy, well...there you go. For $50 on the high end, and about 10 minutes of your time, you can fix that.

Or you could get a Mac. Since you're asking questions on a Mac site, I have to say that. It's contractual.

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If you think that Apple computers are more expensive than Windows ones, you're not comparing similar quality or specification machines. When you do, you'll often find that the Apple ones are significantly cheaper and/or higher specified. That was the reason I converted in the first place a few years ago.

This is very true on the high end of things. You can't get a Windows PC with the same specs at the same price as the retina iMac or the Mac Pro. They're great machines, and shockingly affordable considering what they're sporting.

But he's swimming in the middle of the pool, that space between the casual user and the cutting edge professional. This is where Macs are weakest, and Windows the strongest. Here, PCs tend to trump Macs in the price vs. performance range.

 

[LMC91]

tillsbury, like Renzatic said, I'm in the middle, and I don't have much choice when it comes to comparing. As for the price, I can get a PC desktop rather than a PC all-in-one, but for Mac's I have to go All-in-one, which will increase price for the type of machine it is. A MacPro is way more than I'll ever need.

Renzatic, thanks a lot for having a look inside the machine, when I looked I remember seeing three, two is probably the one's you mentioned, and then a tiny one on the graphics card itself. Is those fans the only thing cooling my PC? Do you think if those fans were replaced, that could be the end of my problems? If so that might be the smart option.

Yep, the noise is my main problem with the PC, the other is my C drive is 53gb and filled up quickly even when I installed everything in the D drive, but I suppose an SSD would fix that. I'm open to the idea of owning a Mac someday though, which is why I was interested in hearing opinions even if I do get this fixed.

I was already joined this site, I know if anywhere, you'll find the biggest fans of Apple on an Apple related site, so a lot will support the Mac, but I know a lot here will have probably of been in the same boat as me, or are PC users as well. I have probably now turned my own thread into a PC repair thread instead lol.

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

tillsbury, like Renzatic said, I'm in the middle, and I don't have much choice when it comes to comparing. As for the price, I can get a PC desktop rather than a PC all-in-one, but for Mac's I have to go All-in-one, which will increase price for the type of machine it is. A MacPro is way more than I'll ever need.

Renzatic, thanks a lot for having a look inside the machine, when I looked I remember seeing three, two is probably the one's you mentioned, and then a tiny one on the graphics card itself. Is those fans the only thing cooling my PC? Do you think if those fans were replaced, that could be the end of my problems? If so that might be the smart option.

Yep, the noise is my main problem with the PC, the other is my C drive is 53gb and filled up quickly even when I installed everything in the D drive, but I suppose an SSD would fix that. I'm open to the idea of owning a Mac someday though, which is why I was interested in hearing opinions even if I do get this fixed.

I was already joined this site, I know if anywhere, you'll find the biggest fans of Apple on an Apple related site, so a lot will support the Mac, but I know a lot here will have probably of been in the same boat as me, or are PC users as well. I have probably now turned my own thread into a PC repair thread instead lol.

Honestly it's entirely up to you but I'd honestly recommend you go the PC route. If you're already happy using Microsoft Windows and find that your software all runs well on it and your workflow is effective with their operating system, then surely it'd be better for you to save your money and get a sensible Windows machine?

To be honest if you're open to the idea (although I gather you're not) I'd definitely recommend you give building a PC a shot. You can get incredibly good value for money. Take a look at this video if you're curious.

I doubt replacing the fans would help a whole lot - the heatsink is usually the more important component when it comes to cooling.

I'd say the main bottleneck in your current system is the harddrive - an SSD would help dramatically. In addition, the graphics card isn't great but depending on your use case that might not be an issue.

 

[Renzatic]

Renzatic, thanks a lot for having a look inside the machine, when I looked I remember seeing three, two is probably the one's you mentioned, and then a tiny one on the graphics card itself. Is those fans the only thing cooling my PC? Do you think if those fans were replaced, that could be the end of my problems? If so that might be the smart option.

If it's the GPU, good luck switching that. They're not standardized, so you'll have to either special order the part, or get a new one.

As for the rest, yeah, those fans, along with the heatsink on the CPU and GPU, are what are cooling your computer. The one on the CPU is an absolute necessity, you can't just take it off, and hope for the best. The one on the case works as an exhaust. They're nice to have in there, and will lower the overall temp, but aren't 100% mission critical. As an experiment, you could unplug it, and see if it quietens down. If it does, you can just replace it at your leisure.

Oh, and something that totally slipped my mind until now. CPU fans hook directly to the motherboard, rather than using a standard 4 pin molex connection. If you replace both, you'll have to get one case fan, and one CPU fan.

 

[LMC91]

To be honest if you're open to the idea (although I gather you're not) I'd definitely recommend you give building a PC a shot. You can get incredibly good value for money. Take a look at this video if you're curious.

I doubt replacing the fans would help a whole lot - the heatsink is usually the more important component when it comes to cooling.

I'd say the main bottleneck in your current system is the harddrive - an SSD would help dramatically. In addition, the graphics card isn't great but depending on your use case that might not be an issue.

Thanks Joel, don't think I want to bother with making my own PC, but I'll check the video out anyway, it could still be an option. If I get this PC quiet, I'll definitely see about getting an SSD in here.

I actually thought that my graphics card was the problem, but it could actually be the heatsink, anyone know if this is something that is easy to fix or replace?

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If it's the GPU, good luck switching that. They're not standardized, so you'll have to either special order the part, or get a new one.

As for the rest, yeah, those fans, along with the heatsink on the CPU and GPU, are what are cooling your computer. The one on the CPU is an absolute necessity, you can't just take it off, and hope for the best. The one on the case works as an exhaust. They're nice to have in there, and will lower the overall temp, but aren't 100% mission critical. As an experiment, you could unplug it, and see if it quietens down. If it does, you can just replace it at your leisure.

Oh, and something that totally slipped my mind until now. CPU fans hook directly to the motherboard, rather than using a standard 4 pin molex connection. If you replace both, you'll have to get one case fan, and one CPU fan.

I didn't really mean switching the fan in the GPU, I would just replace the GPU itself. I was reading about someone who had the same computer as me who thought it was the GPU making noise, but was another fan. I'll see if I can unplug one of the fans, but I'm a bit worried trying that.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

It'll be weird going from something with 2TB down to 512gb.

I recently replaced my 2008 iMac with a Dell XPS 27 All-in-One. I really liked the iMac, but when I looked at the latest models, I didn't see what I'd be getting for the premium, so that was one reason why I got the Dell instead.

Going with a smaller HD/SSD might not be an issue if you have cloud storage, which is cheap and often free. My Dell has a 2 TB HD, but I store most stuff on OneDrive.

 

[Dameatball]

chrono1081, weird how your Mac outperforms your new higher spec'd Dell, but that's interesting to hear. Yep, SSD is what I'd like, I hear that's the biggest thing these days. Will keep that game development stuff in mind too, thanks for that.

alvindarkness, an in between does sound good, something more powerful than a mini, but not as expensive as a Mac Pro. I'm not so confident in going Hackintosh though, it's just that I want things to be hassle free, without having to worry about things going wrong, but it sounds the best of both worlds.

Dameatball, it's a Dell XPS 8100, 6gb ram, Nvidia Geforce GTS 240. As for the i7, it says on CPU-Z that it's name is 'Intel Core i7 860', Code Name: 'Lynnfield', not sure if there's anything else here that would help or not. This is my PC here:
http://www.dell.com/uk/dfh/p/studio-xps-8100/pd
The computer really does everything I need, I plan to take it in this week and see if I can get it sorted, I'm not sure if it's the graphics card or if it's the heatsink, but if I can make this last longer I'll be happy enough, I'm really just gathering information for future reference.

Dagless, heard that about Rockstar PC games, but I'm not too worried about it.

A big thanks to everyone who has replied, it's been a lot of help.

Cool, well if I understood correctly you spent 960 GBP in 2010 (about $1,500 US). Your benchmarks are right at 5k which there's nothing wrong with (assuming not a huge gamer by today's standards). Sounds like you spent fairly big back then so I definitely understand the need to try to keep it going. With inflation it's pretty close to a new 15' macbook quad core. In terms of your question, you're going to get a better more powerful machine from the new macs. Actually the 2011 and 2012 mac mini quads are also going to get more power from (especially 2012). Even with the intel integrated GPU is going to be faster (neither is going to be up to snuff with today's high end games). So ultimately to answer your question- yes you'll definitely get a better machine for what you spent in 2010. That's technology, 5 years is a long time. All that said, if you're happy with what you got- run it as long as you can. No point in making the investment unless you have too or fid yourself limited in some capacity.
Hope that helps. Good luck