MAC / PC questions

[Curiousgb]

I was reading the other post about MAC and wanted to ask some questions but didn't want to hijack the thread. I am in the market for a new laptop. I have always been a PC guy and don't know much about MAC's, but I thought it might be time to make the leap. Especially since you can easily install Windows. There are so many conflicting reviews and reports it is hard to tell fact from fan boy. I am just trying to justify the extra cost of the MAC vs. a comparable PC. I can get a MBP with I7 processor (no I5's at the base) for a little under 1400 at my local base exchange. I would need to add an oem copy of windows, etc. My other idea is a Samsung QX411-W01 it is a 14" with 6g ram, 750g hdd and a 512 graphics card, but it is on a I5. The Samsung can be had for a little over 1000 with an extended warranty. Any thoughts?

[Guest nicemac]

I support Macs in a corporate environment. I stared using them years ago–and we use them here– because we believe them to be the best value in the long run. Total cost of ownership matters.

If you spec them comparably, the Mac will not be more expensive. A 14" and a 15" are not comparable. An i5 and an i7 are not comparable. Compare the same RAM, same video, same HD, same display and the hardware will be priced nearly the same. If one is lower these days, it is usually the Apple. We have done this type of comparison on Dell's website time and again.

The hardware is not he only thing to consider. Out of the box, the Mac does most everything most people want to do–there is nothing else to buy; music, video, surf, etc… iLife is an excellent product. Despite what some who will comment here will say, there are no virus worries with the Mac. Apple has had #1 rating for customer service for several years running with J.D. Power.

Do Macs have issues? Sure. If they didn't, I wouldn't have a job. But in our environment we have one support engineer for 405 Macs and he spends a lot of time doing nothing. We have an engineer for every 200 pcs. We still have Macs in daily use (in a corporate environment) that went into service in 2004. We just don't have to work on them…

[Guest mustangdave]

Mac...or PC...hmmm...Lets see...I work on MAC platforms...but have PC's at home. I have the military to thank for becoming multi-platform capable...for my work as a Graphic Designer...the MAC just has no competition...for my "personal"use I just can't justify the cash outlay for a MAC and the associated software bundle I would want...from a USER stand point I don't see much difference in how the individual systems perform...most especially since both now have INTEL inside...you still some what less vulnerable to virus attacks on a MAC...but still. I work on a I-Mac with a 24 inch monitor and 2.93Ghz Intel Core i7...home gear is a Dell laptop(wife) HP laptop (me)...and a custom built desk top system...I have a son that works in the computer retail/repair sector...so I sometimes get "deals"

[Guest UberDuper]

Depends on what you want to use it for. I like OSX (a lot) but I don't particularly care for Macs. I have several macs but I use a PC running OSX daily.

Apple is a walled garden. Love it or hate it.

[Guest mustangdave]

Apple is also...LOL...elitist...but its just a product with what...10% of market share?

[Curiousgb]

I don't plan to do a great deal of graphics work. It will be used as my personal/work computer. Work being IT/Telcom and personal being games internet productivity, office etc.. I guess the only reason I am considering a MAC is because I don't know anything about them and want to learn. The price is stiff and I am not sure you get a lot more for your money. Customer service is an excellent selling point. And I would think a MBP will last at least 3 years. Who knows, I tend to mind f#$% this stuff to death.

[G27]

With Macs you pay for other things than the hardware - basically all-in-one customer service that's based here in the US and (imo) a superior OS. Software upgrades are cheap (the new version of OSX will be $29/license) and ime, the systems generally just work better.

I'd recommend trying a Mac out if you can and see what you think. Most everyone I've ever known that bought a Mac absolutely loved it.

ETA: oh, and after three years, you'll be able to sell your Macbook for about half of what you pay for it new. the resale value is great with Mac computers.

[walton6467]

I work in a mixed Mac/PC environment. We find the price point is nearly the same for comparable Mac vs. PC hardware. Spyware/Virus problems the clear winner is Mac. When there is a hardware problem, however, the winner is PC. Anyone can repair a PC (my staff proves it), but Macs have to be sent to a Apple certified repair location or shipped back to corporate, based on the warranty. Our Dell laptops and desktops come with a damage warranty meaning that when a user pours OJ in the laptop, the warranty covers it. However, Apple offers NOTHING of the sort, so if you drop it or spill something or any other ID10t error, you pay out of pocket for the repairs.

[G27]

To be fair, AppleCare covers most everything, and while they say they don't cover spills, they repaired my Macbook under AppleCare after I spilled a full Taddy Porter into it...

[Guest mustangdave]

I'm in the stone age where gaming is concerned...so thats a no go...and I've heard that MACS are not all that GAME friendly...that may have changed...I also will parrot the IT support angle...getting IT to do anything on the MACS at Lightning Source where I work...is like pulling an impacted elephant molar...they basically ignore us...and when we have a dedicated MAC guy hired...he usually doesn't hang around to long...we've become proficient in being our own IT Dept.

Don't get me wrong...I've actually embraced the dark side of the force...I'd love to have a MAC at home...but I'm typing ths from my HP Pavilion DM4 laptop.

[Guest bkelm18]

...and I've heard that MACS are not all that GAME friendly...that may have changed...

The only way a Mac is not very game friendly is that there just aren't as many games out for Macs than there are for PCs. Macs are very capable of playing the best games available to them, though.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Can't swear to it, but from personal experience, a Mac may last at least a little longer before wearing out compared to equivalent PC. Seems usually when a puter starts having hardware problems it is like an old car where everything starts breaking at once. I don't think I've ever avoided ultimately losing money on repairs if I unwisely repair or upgrade a computer once it gets past 2 or 3 years old. So if a computer stays relatively trouble-free past about 3 years it is gravy. I run my computers 24/7. Maybe they last longer with less use.

I never had a PC laptop with battery runtime anywhere as good as a MacBook. Maybe there are PC laptops with comparable runtime but I never had one. MacBook used to be a lot better battery runtime in the PowerPC processor days, but is still pretty good on intel chips.

I like winders better than MacOS for many things, but MacOS is OK.

If you want the highest performance of winders on a Mac, install winders via bootcamp. Then you can dual-boot to either winders or MacOS. When running winders it will have as good performance as the same hardware with some other brand name on it.

But when booted into windows it is hard to share the Mac data and vice-versa.

You can install VMWare Fusion and run windows in emulation along with MacOS and share data between them and drag files between windows and Mac running same time on the same box. You can also run linux or whatever in VMWare Fusion same deal. You could be running several specialized linux machines + windows + MacOS all the same time.

Performance of windows under Fusion is not bad for most purposes, but it will lag for instance on pro music apps or games.

However, you can install winders with boot camp and also install VMWare fusion. Dual-boot direct into windows for best performance or alternately run the same windows as a virtual machine in Fusion for easy concurrent application and data sharing between Mac and PC.

If you want the best options running winders on Mac, you should pay the extra and buy a retail non-upgrade copy of Windows. The licensing restrictions on the less expensive OEM or Upgrade windows products are rather onerous and you will eventually get mad at Microsoft's Indian tech support personnel trying to beg them to re-authorize a re-install of an OEM version under conditions which may not appear to fit the OEM licensing restrictions.

Theoretically with any Retail Non-Upgrade windows, you can do anything you dam well please with it, as long as it is only installed on one computer at a time. It is worth paying the extra money for me.

[ted]

love my Mac and my iPhones and my iPads Thay all work with out any problems AT. ALL

[Guest WyattEarp]

each has it's upsides and downsides.

I've been a PC guy all my life, and I finally got a 27" iMAC in April. I love it. The only thing I hate about this computer, is there is no physical button on the side of the damn thing to eject a cd/dvd. (Not to mention there was no blu-ray drive option when I purchased this, but no matter, I'll just pick up an external Blu-Ray drive later). The problem with the no eject button on the side, is when I use Parallels to run Windows 7 for some other programs, Win 7 takes over my CD/DVD Drive, and I can't access it from the MAC side. so you have to control it from Windows, and it's just a pain in the butt, because both OS's can't operate it simulatenously, it's one or the other, and once I shut down Boot Camp, and couldn't get the drive to eject the disc, it was a huge pain, but alas, I finally got it.

Now, MAC's, they are good if you want to do design layout, graphics editing, video editing, graphics design, web design, print layout for flyers, advertising, newspapers, anything that is graphics heavy, or uses a lot of media, watching movies, music, etc.

PC's, they are better for the corporate/business side of things. Running spreadsheets, email, database programming, SQL, C++, keep track of your finances, business expenses i.e. quickbooks, and gaming.

MAC is more stable, less errors, no blue screens of death (as were common with XP and Vista), while not impossible to get viruses/trojans, you just don't see it with MAC's as much as you do with PC.

Windows 7 is probably the most stable Windows operating system I've ever seen and I have no complaints with it. I have a Dell Latitude E610 that I use with Win 7 Ultimate, and I hardly if ever have a problem with Windows. I use it for school, notes, when I travel, or stay at a friends house. However when it comes time to buy another laptop several years down the road, I'm probably going to buy a Macbook Pro, just because I have really become fond of MAC. Everything's pretty simple to run, preferences are easy to change, control panel is easy to use.

You really can't wrong with either one, it just comes down to what you want and what you prefer.

I prefer the MAC, because I can load MAC OSX, and I can load Windows 7, and dual boot, and do EVERYTHING i need to from the same computer. But you can also dual boot a PC with Windows 7 and MAC OSX too, so it really works both ways.

[Jonnin]

dells are pricy due to the service agreement, or they used to be, I havent bought anything this year. If a mac and a dell cost about the same, the mac (and the dell) are probably both overpriced unless you like the dell service.

But if you want to learn it osx is pretty cool, its one of the few stable "unix" platforms that isnt either super expensive or an ongoing hobby to keep functional -- you can actually USE the computer rather than fight the OS all day.

I have a problem with mac and Job's attitude about data rights and freedom of speech and other things, so I avoid them for personal reasons, but osx is the best thing to come out of mac since the 2E and learning to use it is time well spent. If nothing else, you can use on the off windows years (have you noticed that every other windows version is very poor?! 7 is a good one though, vista was a sorry hog, xp was good, the pattern goes all the way back to 95/nt).

[Curiousgb]

Thanks for all the feedback. It is pretty much confirming what I already thought. At this point I am still on the fence but am leaning towards the MBP I7. Who knows when SSD's go up in size and down in price it could make for really fearsome laptop, with dual boot and VMware.

[1gewehr]

The MAC wins every time. Whether it's a M10/45 with 30rds of .45acp, the M10/9 with 36rds of 9mm, the little M11/9 with 30rds of 9mm, or even the tiny M11/380 with 30 rds of .380 devastation, no PC can stand up to that kind of firepower.

[jonlisha]

Build your own PC, end of story. Well I might as well elaborate, mac is way overpriced for the cheap software it uses, compared to a dell sure its prices are great but dells are absolute garbage as well so that argument is invalid. Do some research, browse some tech forums, you will find that you can build a computer better than anything in big stores and at half the price. If you don't want to build your own I recommend a lot of HP models, generally cheap with some alright hardware.

[Guest nicemac]

Build your own PC, end of story. Well I might as well elaborate, mac is way overpriced for the cheap software it uses, compared to a dell sure its prices are great but dells are absolute garbage as well so that argument is invalid. Do some research, browse some tech forums, you will find that you can build a computer better than anything in big stores and at half the price. If you don't want to build your own I recommend a lot of HP models, generally cheap with some alright hardware.

Yes, do this if you want to work on your computer al the time. I, however, want the computer to work FOR ME.

[Guest nashvegas]

If you don't need the 17" of screen size, I'd go with the 15". The 17" can end up being cumbersome to drag around. Love the MBP.

[Guest nicemac]

If you don't need the 17" of screen size, I'd go with the 15". The 17" can end up being cumbersome to drag around. Love the MBP.

I would always go with the 15 over the 17. If you really need a big screen, get an external display to go with the smaller mb.

[G27]

Yah, I buy the smallest screen i can get that has the performance I need / want. My current Macbook has a 13" screen - just right, imo.

[Jonnin]

How times have changed, haha, my first desktop had a 13 inch screen I think.

[Guest nicemac]

How times have changed, haha, my first desktop had a 13 inch screen I think.

When I started in my current job, graphic designers had 17" screens and 32MB of RA. Editorial staff had 13" screens and 16MB of RAM. Now, graphic Designers typically have 27" displays, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB H. Editorial has 21", 8GB of RAM and 250GB HD as standards.

Our publishing server was 4GB in 1997. We now have 200TB and anticipate 25% growth per year..

Edited July 14, 2011 by nicemac

[Curiousgb]

Build your own PC, end of story. Well I might as well elaborate, mac is way overpriced for the cheap software it uses, compared to a dell sure its prices are great but dells are absolute garbage as well so that argument is invalid. Do some research, browse some tech forums, you will find that you can build a computer better than anything in big stores and at half the price. If you don't want to build your own I recommend a lot of HP models, generally cheap with some alright hardware.

Every desktop I have ever owned, going back to dosxxx I have built. My linux server is a home built (used to be my top of the line window machine). But I tend to buy store bought laptops.