Why shouldn't you buy a Mac?

[Rajj]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


being a pc tech and a former computer salesman, it is almost as cheap to go to a computer superstore and buy a new, better computer that has that new logic board or video card for the same price as that logic board and video card...plus tax

when i wanted to possibly get a faster processor and more ram for my pentium 1, and new video card and make it a new machine...i found that the sales aisle had a pentium II for $299 us...i couldn't buy the upgraded pentium I components for that

we are getting to a time where the pc box will be a throwaway computer...of course i saw the brand new pentium II tower in san jose, the heart of silicon valley, and i know not everywhere in the world is going to be selling a six hundred dollar computer for $299...but that's san jose for you and the experience of Fry's Superstores

so why expand when for twice the price of a new video card, one can get a new computer with faster processor, faster ram, faster system bus, larger and faster l1, l2, and l3 cache, as well as newer, more, and updated ports...not to mention lots of new software and freeware...and sometimes other stuff thrown in for free

i wish the mac world slashed prices on three month old macs "new in the box" but the macs just don't move that fast...not even in cupertino, ca

as a salesman at office depot in a fairly large store, i did not once sell a video card by nvidia or ati...mommy and daddy walked in and bought their kid a new computer with the works...and for dirt cheap

and if you didn't mind driving an extra 53 miles, you might save 100-150 extra dollars and get other perks thrown in at Fry's Superstores

you can get a 1.4 ghz celeron from compaq for $549 with pc 133 RAM, decent video card, cd rom, floppy, usb and legacy ports, and one year warranty...how can you beat that on the pc side! it's amazing

that's why we need to get the lowest price crt imac and bring it on down to $699, or even $599, and when technology pushes further in the pc domain...shove a 800 mhz G3fx chip in it, 256 MB RAM in it, and sell the puppy for $499 us to compete with those rather decent entry level PCs for the same price

we have to up our market share on the low end, too as much as the medium end and the high end

I have never and will never buy a name brand P.C. (unless it's a notebook), they are just simply not upgradeable!!
And it depends on what logicboard and semicondutor you want!!! For instance.... You can buy a Athlon XP 1700+ combined with the logicboard for about 160 USD!!! It may not be a superb logicboard but it works for the average computer user!!

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by xrhajj


I have never and will never buy a name brand P.C. (unless it's a notebook), they are just simply not upgradeable!!
And it depends on what logicboard and semicondutor you want!!! For instance.... You can buy a Athlon XP 1700+ combined with the logicboard for about 160 USD!!! It may not be a superb logicboard but it works for the average computer user!!

you must be a techie or a closet techie, because it's a lot more fun to build and modify

it's still cheaper, all factors involved, to get a brand name box...and don't forget the warranty that's standard

 

[jefhatfield]

xrhajj,

this may not be related,

but there are a ton of guys out there who like to buy a thrashed out used car, modify the hell out of it piece by piece, and end up with a huge investment and nice trick car

when they could have bought a car already tricked out for five thousand dollars cheaper

 

[Rajj]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
xrhajj,

this may not be related,

but there are a ton of guys out there who like to buy a thrashed out used car, modify the hell out of it piece by piece, and end up with a huge investment and nice trick car

when they could have bought a car already tricked out for five thousand dollars cheaper

Superb point!!!

 

[Rajj]

Originally posted by jefhatfield


you must be a techie or a closet techie, because it's a lot more fun to build and modify

it's still cheaper, all factors involved, to get a brand name box...and don't forget the warranty that's standard

I am a para techie!! That is until people just call me for tech support or to get them a really cheap computer price wise and don't want to pay for it or to get free software uhem....family members..... freeloading bastards

 

[Doctor Q]

Re: Why shouldn't you buy a Mac?

Originally posted by edvniow
I've seen a lot of threads here recently about why you should buy a Mac.

Are there any good reasons why someone shouldn't?

Silly answer: masochism!

Serious answer: When people ask me whether to buy a PC or a Mac, I always ask them who they will rely on for help. People with a technical instinct figure things out for themselves, go online for help, or even pay for help. They can compare platforms on technical merits.

But many non-technical people feel lost and intimidated about going to stores or strangers for help. They often plan to rely on "my friend Joe" or "my co-worker" or even "my kids"(!) for help. When this is the case, I tell them to get the kind of computer that their support person can best help them with. Sometime that turns out to be a PC, and sometimes a Mac.

Example: You are getting Grandpa his first computer. If you know PCs best, get him a PC. if you know Macs best, get him a Mac.

 

[DakotaGuy]

Originally posted by jefhatfield

you can get a 1.4 ghz celeron from compaq for $549 with pc 133 RAM, decent video card, cd rom, floppy, usb and legacy ports, and one year warranty...how can you beat that on the pc side! it's amazing

Yeah I love my Macs, but that would be a downfall, the speed thing for the price. You have to spend thousands to get a Mac that still does not run as fast as that PC for $549. How much is a 1.25GHz and it still does not have as much Mhz as that $549 PC.

But I think my iMac and iBook are great computers and both were pretty good deals $ wise when I bought them. The Macs offer a lot more features then the budget PC's but for raw megahertz they are behind. I wonder what type of a Mac it would take to compete for speed with that bottom of the barrel PC. Since I hear all the time on here PC's are so much faster at stuff.

 

[MacSlut]

Games
But for about $150 you can upgrade any Mac to a much superior game system than any PC. Think about that, for $150 you get a better system than what it would cost with add-ons to make your PC a real game system. This upgrade is called the "Xbox" and is sold by none other than Microsoft.

Software
OSX only has tens of thousands of applications. Mac OS only adds a few thousand more, although VirtualPC does add a few thousand more. This could be a problem if you need to run more than a few hundred word processing programs.

Cost
With the Mac, it's all up front. With the PC, you get to pay a little less up front, but then pay as you go. For example, after you lose all of your data from a virus (not a problem with Macs) you'll realize that you have to pay each year for Norton Antivirus. You'll also find that you're going to replace your PC more often than if you had purchased a Mac. Personally, my Mac tend to last more than twice as long as my PCs. I have both for development/testing/support reasons.

The only reason why I would ever buy a PC is if I absolutely needed a PC. This would be if I had software at a job that only ran well on a PC. This wouldn't be mainstream software since all mainstream software can run well on a Mac or there are alternatives. Most likely it would be some custom application made specifically for a company.

BTW: Whenever considering a job, I do look at whether they are (in order of preference):
1) Mac only
2) Mixed, but will provide you with a Mac
3) Allow you to use your own Mac
4) Disallow Macs