Mac VS. PC

[JoeFahey]

Hi,

I'm sorry if this is a repeat, but I have a few friends who constantly argue on whether Macs are better,or if PC's are better. Which is better, and why?

 

[Mik3y]

technically, macs are the better overall systems imo. pc all the way tho.

 

[JoeFahey]

What makes a MAC better though? Is it faster? Is it better for gaming?

 

[fishmonger12]

some would say it looks better, others have a personal preference for the operating system. macs are NOT for gaming. that's a fact. the rest of the differences are matters of opinion, but when it comes to games pcs are FAR superior to macs.

pcs are generally on the less expensive end because there's competition. personally, i believe that anything that can be done on a mac can be done just as well on a pc for less cost. but i have limited experience with macs, so my opinion doesn't mean much

 

[CraigRT]

PC
more parts, more customization, more freedom to do what you want with it, and more software. (ease of finding it) also majority of EVERYTHING costs less.

reasons to use MAC? operating system. but that's it.

 

[KamiXkaze]

yep this topic has come up before just do a search and you will get to here all of the plus and minus

macs
decent os
they own desktop publishing/graphic design department(even tho pc's are closing in)
final cut pro is better than premier

PC's
expandable/upgradeable
DYI friendly (even tho at times it can be a pain in the ass)
games

sorry for the small list there are more but those are the ones that come up the most.

KxK

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Its only a matter of preference. I use both Macs and PC's, but I prefer the Mac, simply because I have had a better experience with them.

For gaming, PC's are going to be better. PC's have more games available than the Mac. Macs arent really gaming machines.

 

[JoeFahey]

Can you even upgrade an Imac? I personally have gotten the impression that Apple is coming out with products that are very cool looking, but I'm not sure about the performance. I think they base a lot of looks...which can mean a lot in today's marketing.

 

[SrGuapo]

Macs have uses, but for a gamer especially, PCs are superior.

All current games will run on windows, but only a few on Mac OS.
PCs are much cheaper for entry and high level systems.
Though the wuality can be argued, PCs have a much larger selection of software.

 

[JoeFahey]

sorry, double post.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Yes, the iMac is upgradeable. But you cannot replace the processor or the GPU. In order to do that, you have to replace the entire Midplane assembly.

 

[Ecgtheow]

The best computer is the one you are most comfortable with.

 

[KamiXkaze]

mac's are not very upgrade friendly thanks to apple's control over all of there products


KxK

 

[ViRGE]

Before this gets too far out of hand JoeFahey1, you may want to search the forums first, as there have been several discussions on this(most of which lead to flame wars). My advice to you is to first read Anand's excellent Mac article, which goes over a lot of what you're asking about. Past that, trying to compare a Mac to a PC is, well, like trying to compare apples to oranges. Macs aren't gaming machines(that day is long gone), but past that there's no consensus on if a Mac or a PC makes for a better workstation or other general use machine. There are some people who find the Mac the better general use machine, and others who don't, and it seems it's always going to be that way.

I personally am of the opinion that a Mac is the better general use machine, as I have a fondness for the OS(Unix + a good GUI) and the simplicity derived from the tightly controlled Mac hardware market; the lack of spyware and other nasties doesn't hurt either.

 

[CheesePoofs]

Originally posted by: KamiXkaze
mac's are not very upgrade friendly thanks to apple's control over all of there products


KxK

Macs are almost as upgradable as PC's. you can upgrade the cd drive, hard drive, graphics card, ram, add pci slots, and even change the processor through special kits. All of these you can upgrade with the same parts you would buy for a PC except the graphics card, which (i think) has to be a mac version, and the proc. The only thing you can't replace is the motherboard, but if you have to replace the motherboard its probably time to use get a new computer.


I have used both macs and pc's, and like both. i like to game, which i do on a pc, but i also like OSX, and the many small but usefull things apple slips into their OS and programs.

 

[KamiXkaze]

yep that is correct but it still cost a bit more to upgrade macs

and yeah I will say that OS X is great system besides I use final cut more than adobe premier

 

[nitromullet]

they (macs) own desktop publishing/graphic design department(even tho pc's are closing in)

This is true, but the mac has also found a new niche user... The UNIX sysadmin. Macs make for a very useful computer in a corporate environment where sysadmins have to access a lot of UNIX systems to perform their job functions, as well as document and deal with others in the company who are extensive MS Office users. In the past, these individuals have been foreced to use either OpenOffice on a *nix machine or run an something like VMWare/Wine to be able to run MS Office. Now, they can use a mac, which has a native version of Office and still allows for a *nix native platform. They have become pretty popular with this "ubergeek" crowd and companies are begining to take notice of the PowerBooks their sysadmins bring to work with them. ...at least mine is...

As far as which is better... You can look at this from a number of angles... If you are looking for a cheap basic computer, go with a Dell or other PC. If you like simple, proprietay, don't game, and can spend a little extra cash, get a mac. For the absolute top end, I personally feel that for the cost of a top end mac, you can get an absolutlely amazing PC (SLI, etc...). Undoubtedly, your environment will probably play the biggest role in what you decide on.

 

[hopejr]

I use both, and have used PC's for years, but only recently started using macs more recently. I quite like macs, mainly because of the power of OS X and relative stability and robustness compared to Windows (about on par with linux imho). Before OS X, macs were absolute pieces of crap to me, and I had no use for them. If one wants to do gaming, PC's are way better at this stage, but the situation is improving on Macs (albeit slowly). I like the lack of viruses, spyware, and addware on macs, and that's one thing that bothers me with Windows.
I have 1 mac a 3 PC's. I use my mac the most. It just works, and I hardly have to maintain it. I like that (I think it's making me lazy )
PC's also have a speed advantage over stock Macs, but when you add more memory to a mac, the margin closes. They both have good points, but personally, after years of continuous maintenance on my PC's and then moving to a mac where it's not necessary, I prefer macs.

 

[SunSamurai]

Thank you asshat, for the flamebait.

 

[amol]

yeah, i've used pcs for all my life (and am in the process of building a gaming pc)

but i know that in the next couple of years, i am going to own a mac, just because of the OS stability and lack of viruses, etc on the system

plus, everything runs smoothly

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: Amol
yeah, i've used pcs for all my life (and am in the process of building a gaming pc)

but i know that in the next couple of years, i am going to own a mac, just because of the OS stability and lack of viruses, etc on the system

plus, everything runs smoothly

I agree that the OS is nice.

However, if the Mac ever became as popular as the PC, viruses would be abundant there too. People that write viruses are going to write for the most popular platform at the time. For the purposes of spreading easier, and faster.

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: CraigRT

reasons to use MAC? operating system. but that's it.

Hardly. THe mac OSX is shite. I have to use macs at work and from a usability perspective (worked in usability for a while) OSX is simply a nightmare.

The best thing about macs? FreeBSD kernel.

 

[Eug]

I think we should start a new thread like this every week. Once every 2 weeks is just not enough.

 

[Erasmus-X]

Being a Mac owner/user myself, I'll be the first to say that you really need to know what you're going to do with it before you make a much larger investment on a Mac (yes, Macs are significantly more expensive for somewhat equivalent performance).

Pros:

Superior operating system
No spyware and very little to worry about in the virus dept.*
Stylish design
Good software for editing and media
Built like tanks (really, they are)

Cons:

Expensive initial purchase (plan on spending at least $2500 w/o display for a decent PowerMac)
Difficult to upgrade/modify (even PowerMac towers are)
Expensive parts
Terrible for games (due to lack of available graphics hardware and developer support)

*To elaborate, spyware is essentially non-existent on the Mac (no ActiveX garbage to worry about, as Macs use Apple Safari as their default browser and not Internet Explorer). Viruses are almost never a problem on Macs because Apple has one of the best (if not THE best) software update systems I've seen; and the fact remains, Apple only has like a 5% market share at best. Who wants to write a virus for only 5% of the total PC user base? That's a waste of time. In fact, I've never ONCE had a virus infection in OS X nor have I even thought about installing a 3rd-party virus scanner. Doesn't even seem like I need one.


I'd recommend a Mac if your primary computer use is media and editing (although Windows PCs are really coming very close in capabilities). Other than that, I find them hard to recommend for a variety of reasons. First off, you can get a very fast PC with a good 17" LCD for under $2000, perhaps less. Buy a dual G5 PowerMac with a 17" Apple LCD display and you're talking over $3000. And that's assuming you don't add extras (i.e. a better graphics card, Airport Extreme, etc.). Secondly, upgrading an Apple isn't as easy as going to your favorite computer store and pulling something off the shelf. Lots of Apple machines are very picky with memory timings, requiring you to buy "Apple-compatible" RAM and upgrade graphics cards have to be designed specifically for Apple machines (PC cards, although they use the same bus technology are NOT). Third, if you're a gamer, it's simply not realistic to try to make an Apple game-friendly. Very few software developers think it's worth their time to even port popular PC games to the Mac platform. Although you CAN get an GF6800GT as an option on the PowerMac G5, good luck finding a game for the Mac that will even take advantage of its advanced features.

So, you might ask that amidst all of this negativity why I actually use a Mac. Well's here's why:

1) I don't play games nor do I have time for them anymore.
2) I edit video and layer soundtracks for school - Macs simply have more streamlined software for these tasks.
3) I love the useability and stability of OS X (and I wish Microsoft would get a clue from this).

If it weren't for the combination of those three reasons, I would had just bought another Windows PC.

 

[tigerdee]

Mac is better for graphic and nice interface...and video playback

PC is better in compatabilty with many hardware and software.