technology Mac vs. PC

[Krystal 1,468]

Just because you don't use CD's doesn't mean others don't. Typically most programs require an installation CD in order to activate itself (like Windows Office, Windows OS, PC Games, Photoshop, Antivirus Programs, Corel Draw, ect). Unless you have an external CD Drive or the company is benevolent enough to offer software download/Serial Installation, then you're not going to be well off.

I wouldn't want to install a Windows OS on a Mac because that would defeat the purpose. I bought a Mac to use OSX.

 

I installed Photoshop via internet download.

 

You don't need antivirus programs on a Mac. Macs ARE less prone to viruses for two reasons: they're sightly more difficult to code a virus for and hackers want to infect the maximum number of computers possible. Nobody's going to code a virus that will only work on computers which encompass ten percent of the market. That being said, if you're still that much of an idiot that you're afraid of getting a virus, Apple sells an external "Super Drive" for $79.

[Metatora 37]

Since my $1200 PC can wipe the floor with all but the top-end Macs (which cost well over $3000) it's not hard to guess what side of the fence I'm on. Even then, my rig would be better than any Mac in several areas. 

 

I've also logged quite a few hours on Mac machines and I wasn't impressed. In college I used Adobe Audition on both platforms and the Mac did no better than its PC counterpart. Same for graphic design programs. I saw no difference in performance in either OS, so why should I pay so much more for a machine that wont' preform any better? I can also upgrade my PC the way I want too, meaning I can buy parts from whoever I damn well please. With a Mac? Not so much. 

 

And since I'm a gamer, a Mac is simply out of the question. Yes, there are a few games you can play on a Mac, but only a handful of my 100+ games on Steam would work on a Mac. And speaking of gaming, my 2GB video card puts anything a Mac has to shame, and it makes my machine far better for video editing and other graphic intensive applications since my computer can handle the added stress. With a Mac, I'd be stuck with inferior GPU. 

 

Macs are simply shiny toys, nothing more. 

[Mr Dash 1,820]

 

Including the parts I bought I got this case

  That's the same case I got. Very nice.

 

I am not a fan of Mac's. I can see why some people would prefer it, but I just have a disdain toward it. For one, the price. Two, apple proprietary crap that is generally overpriced. I just don't like OSx. And I can't stand that Apple changed the meaning of what PC stands for. PC mean Personal Computer, not Windows. A Mac is a PC, you own it, it's your computer. It doesn't matter what operating system you have, if you have a computer, it's your PC (Personal Computer). Mac vs PC always gets me riled up.

 

I prefer Windows based PC's. I can do everything that a Mac can but at a much lower price point. With Windows you get a good variety of computers to select from. I spent probably around $1100 to build a computer running Windows. Specifically for video editing and similar purposes. The cheapest iMac is $1299 and it doesn't come close to what I have. I would have to spend close to $2000 to get an iMac that comes realitively close to what I built. And lets not get started on the Mac Pro. 

 

I'm going to stop, because If I don't, this will turn into an essay.

 

And I'm just going to leave this here.....

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I use PC, but I want to switch over to a Mac.  The pros overtake the cons for me.  They look great, I've heard they run great, and though they don't last as long as a PC, I would want to switchover.

[Krystal 1,468]

I use PC, but I want to switch over to a Mac.  The pros overtake the cons for me.  They look great, I've heard they run great, and though they don't last as long as a PC, I would want to switchover.

They actually do last longer. It's just that you can upgrade a PC until it eventually catastrophically fails but a Mac will last well over three years with no upgrades.

[khaine21x3 789]

@@Krystal,

 

A pc could last over a decade and it's very likely that you only need to replace the hard drive or GPU since they sometimes die off.If you're using it to play newer video games on max settings then that's a whole diffrent story altogether.

Edited February 3, 2013 by khaine21x3

[Agent505 661]

I grew up with a PC, that we wore down to the point it just wouldn't turn on anymore. I think we had it for about 13 years and it served us well, sure, you could come downstairs in the morning, turn it on and by night time you'll be able to log on and who doesn't love that speed? 

 

But since we shipped that off to the scrap, we bought a Mac and honestly I hated the idea at first. I had used Macs in college and I was religiously against using the Mac - ever. 

 

I have recently bought my own windows Laptop and I can see why over the past 2/3 years the Mac has won my favour. 

It's faster than any PC i've ever used (i'm not an avid PC gamer either, so that doesn't mean squat for me), it's easily more customisable as far as I like (mainly aesthetics) and it's easy to use once you get past the initial brick wall of a learning curve from the switch. 

 

They both have their uses, but personally I prefer a mac due to not having to wait an hour for it to install an update before I can use it. 

In my experience, it's just far better than the PC's -> I HAVE USED <-. That doesn't mean PCs are bad by any stretch of the imagination, they served me well for several years as I said, but now...y'know...for me their time has passed. 

 

That said, when I get my own place, i'll probably still by a PC first...you know...£££ an' all...

[CloudsdaleCompanion 342]

They actually do last longer. It's just that you can upgrade a PC until it eventually catastrophically fails but a Mac will last well over three years with no upgrades.

 

My oldest PC's have all lasted over a decade. None of the parts have died, however some have been upgraded because I needed more performance.

 

My oldest Laptop is 13 years old and not a single part was changed. Only the RAM was upgraded to 576MB because 64MB just doesn't cut it if you now what I mean.

 

I'm sure Mac's last long as well, why shouldn't they, but it's a false assumption that PC's don't last as long.

[Krystal 1,468]

My oldest PC's have all lasted over a decade. None of the parts have died, however some have been upgraded because I needed more performance.

 

My oldest Laptop is 13 years old and not a single part was changed. Only the RAM was upgraded to 576MB because 64MB just doesn't cut it if you now what I mean.

 

I'm sure Mac's last long as well, why shouldn't they, but it's a false assumption that PC's don't last as long.

True, PC's can last pretty long. I just think that an average PC won't last as long as a Mac unless you do some upgrades every now and then. PCs will get slow over time and Macs won't. Okay, they will but not nearly as much.

 

IMPORTANT: I added a poll at the beginning of this thread.

Edited February 3, 2013 by Krystal

[CloudsdaleCompanion 342]

What exactly do you mean with slow? Do you mean performance-wise or due to OS getting filled with junk? If it's the latter, a fresh install once in a while usually helps. I end up reinstalling Windows every 3 months. Yes, that often. It has become a ritual.

 

As for performance: As more demanding software is released it is to be expected that PC start to "feel" slower. Back in the days, you could surf the Web with a 500MHz Pentium III, no problem at all. Nowadays, I don't recommend that.

 

I'm currently using a ThinkPad X301 which is 4 years old and hasn't had a single upgrade and it's still running great. It might only have a 1,4GHz ULV CPU, but I don't notice any difference to my i3 machine. Both are running Windows 8.

 

I really doubt it's running any slower than back in 2009. In fact, I think it's faster now because of Windows 8 vs. Vista. I don't think I have to explain that point. BTW, it "only" has 2GB RAM which oddly enough is more than sufficient. I would not have expected that.

 

Mac's use the same hardware as PC's: Intel CPU's, DDR RAM, HDD's or SSD's, I don't see why PC's should become slower over time unless of course the OS is at fault but like I already mentioned, a clean install always solves that problem. Or you could use Linux which is what Mac OS actually is in the end.

[khaine21x3 789]

@@CloudsdaleCompanion,

 

Formatting once in a while helps but usually just defragging does the trick if using windows, it's significantly more noticeable for gaming performance.

[Concord 1,982]

Hello!

 

Considering there's a "Linux" Option, i couldn't not vote for Linux . Linux has so much potential, to beat both PC and MAC. Linux, is also free. I preffer Linux, even though i use Windows.

 

Now, as for PC vs Mac. It's a really tough decision, but i'd have to go with Apple. Apple prices are way to high, i'll agree on that, but there's alot more quality in their products. BUT! now that Jobs is dead, the company isn't doing to well.

[CloudsdaleCompanion 342]

@khaine21x3

 

I don't play any games, so it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

 

You can't or at least shouldn't defrag a solid state drive. Trust me, it doesn't work.

 

I too think that Linux has great potential, but for some reason I just don't feel quite as at home when using Linux.

 

I totally agree on that high quality thing, like I stated earlier, if it weren't for ThinkPads I'd have a MacBook because nothing else can compare quality-wise.

 

Not all of their products are overpriced though, the small Air is actually pretty much what you'd expect to pay for the hardware you get.

Edited February 3, 2013 by CloudsdaleCompanion

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

I was a PC user, but now I'm a Mac user. For me, Mac is better because I don't have to go spending all of that needed money for anti-virus software. I have apple protection 24-7-365, which is a big advantage, since I'm at college. 

[Darth Fader 24]

My early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" is my workhorse ,so to speak, and the only machine that will run Qlab. I have an HP laptop running Vista, it's a few years old, I use it for Windows based software since I don't have a desktop for now. I've just this afternoon finished installing Ubuntu on my netbook as I made some foolish mistakes on XP rendering it unusable.

 

Also have an iPad for portability and browsing and an iPhone.

[Guest]

Hello!

 

Considering there's a "Linux" Option, i couldn't not vote for Linux . Linux has so much potential, to beat both PC and MAC. Linux, is also free. I preffer Linux, even though i use Windows.

 

Now, as for PC vs Mac. It's a really tough decision, but i'd have to go with Apple. Apple prices are way to high, i'll agree on that, but there's alot more quality in their products. BUT! now that Jobs is dead, the company isn't doing to well.

I fail to see what quality you are talking about. The hardware is exactly the same as hardware you can get for Windows PCs (except more expensive). The frame is hardly a quality as you can get PCs in a massive variety of frames for anything that suits you.

 

I was a PC user, but now I'm a Mac user. For me, Mac is better because I don't have to go spending all of that needed money for anti-virus software. I have apple protection 24-7-365, which is a big advantage, since I'm at college. 

There is no need to spend money on anti-virus software. Microsoft Security Essentials is Microsoft's own free anti-virus and is sufficient to protect your PC. There's even a built-in version on Windows 8. And never forget, the best anti-virus is being cautious

[DusK 1,264]

PCs will get slow over time

If the person using it is a complete idiot, yeah. Most PC users don't have to deal with slowdowns because upkeeping a PC really isn't that hard at all.

[AzuelFox102 18]

PC, definitely, but i have to use a Mac for school stuff. and they break a lot, considering the computers at my school are little less than 3 years old...... ugh. D:

[Kaneki 1,073]

PC, Windows and/or Linux here. Linux is good but WINE (it's Windows plugin) is nowhere good enough to run every Windows program, but with Steam coming to Linux, it's gonna get easier to game on Linux.

 

BTW, Ingenu Linux, my Linux distro should be out at the end of the month with a pre-release (a beta with not everything finished). Anyone interested?

[Cupcake Ice Cream 436]

Never liked the Mac platform...I've always loved that spoof of the Mac vs PC commercials where it goes

 

Mac: "Hey PC what are you doing?"

 

PC: "Playing a game"

 

Mac: "Which game?"

 

PC: "Oh you know...all of them"

 

lol...

 

The other thing I hate is the whole "PC's get all the viruses"

 

Yeah the popularity has created a boat load of hackers and viruses...but I've discovered...and don't tell a lot of people...I'd hate to have a sudden breakout of logic

 

STOP DOWNLOADING PORN AND MALWARE

 

funny because the day I stopped downloading from untrusted sources...no more virus!

[Prismatic 49]

 

I'm sorry but a portable electronic device should be metal IMHO.

 

Metal...I prefer magnesium really.  There are plenty of portable laptops that have them if you're willing to pay the price, haha.

 

 

 

 

[Cowl 128]

Windows is the best all around operating system, mostly because it is what everyone uses and so almost every program runs on it.

 

Linux is great for serious work. I have a few programs that I use for work that only run on Linux but it has about 90% of the function of a windows computer for free.

 

I don't respect anyone who uses an Apple computer, unless they do graphic design/multimedia work. The other exception is if they build themselves a hackintosh.

 

PS: Thinkpads are the best laptops. Incredible build quality at a fair price.

Magnesium roll cage all the way.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Cowl

[Prismatic 49]

 

PS: Thinkpads are the best laptops. Incredible build quality at a fair price. Magnesium roll cage all the way.

 

Hehe...I actually was pushed over with a ThinkPad 760 (circa. 1997ish) in my backpack with about 200 pounds on it not including momentum.  It only cracked the back of the LCD and put a six inch gash on the body.  I still have that machine and it still works to this day, although the LCD wiring broke a few times.

 

Sadly the laptop on the left is military grade, too bad they're much harder to come by.

[Kaneki 1,073]

I need an extra laptop to develop my Linux distro on. This Compaq I use to develop right now overheats after about 15 minutes of coding.

[Celtore 2,770]

As far as operating systems go, I prefer linux over the other two options. I love the control and I have tailored my dwm desktop to be exactly what I need and nothing more. The whole environment is literally designed to what I want my experience to be. It can be a bit buggy at times, but honestly, most of the time it's because flashplayer is stupid.

 

Windows is a good second with OSX following dead last. It just feels so restrictive in comparison to the other choices. I am not going to war over it, but I just haven't had a good experience with them besides messing around with the bash terminal (which is a thousand times better than freaking MS-DOS).

Edited February 4, 2013 by Celtore