technology Mac vs. PC

[Coco Pommel 669]

I prefer Windows over anything and even recently got into a debate with a teacher of mine in the middle of class over which is better. I admit, I'm kind of an asshole when it comes to which is better. PCs are just less costly, more customizable, more compatible, and can do anything a Mac can really. And if you're smart and know what you're doing, viruses can't touch you; whereas, macs can still get viruses.

 

And I don't understand how Macs are supposedly better for projects. I'm able to do projects just fine on my rig.

 

Almost twice, i switched over to Mac, but I'm really glad I never have.

 

 

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. 

 

I am virus free with avast and adblock. And it costed nothing.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Zenith

[Prismatic 49]

There are three easy rules with PCs.

 

1.  Don't do anything illegal.

2.  Don't P2P.

3.  And finally only run reputable software.

 

Doing those three typically means no viruses (note: Sun/Java is NOT reputable!)

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

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

 

*scratches head* Y'all do realize magnesium is a metal right? I also was not referring to just laptops with that comment.

 

Lenovo makes some decent rigs though, they just need better cooling if ya ask me. I personally also hate the feel of the plastic skin they use, I think a black aluminum skin would be better. I've thought about selling my Nexus 7 and getting an old x61 to use as a portable web browser instead, but I just don't know.

 

Toughbooks? Well I just don't see the point in those unless you are going to be fighting the front lines or working construction. Not something that would be good for sitting at a desk doing Maya, and I don't know anyone that does that "in the field".

[Prismatic 49]

*scratches head* Y'all do realize magnesium is a metal right? I also was not referring to just laptops with that comment.

 

Lenovo makes some decent rigs though, they just need better cooling if ya ask me. I personally also hate the feel of the plastic skin they use, I think a black aluminum skin would be better. I've thought about selling my Nexus 7 and getting an old x61 to use as a portable web browser instead, but I just don't know.

 

Toughbooks? Well I just don't see the point in those unless you are going to be fighting the front lines or working construction. Not something that would be good for sitting at a desk doing Maya, and I don't know anyone that does that "in the field".

 

Aluminum is a very malleable metal which is why neighter Lenovo nor Panasonic uses them.  I actually like the matte finish but from what I understand the 'skin' of the ThinkPad contrasts from its structural design (I mean, it's been this way for probably nearly 20 years now.  My 760 and my T60 feel identical on the LCD housings while they both have magnesium in certain parts).

 

Ironically the X6 was the worst in terms of cooling, I do believe the right hinge was known to fail due to heat related stresses.  But I dunno, between my 760 (which has no cooling, not pictured), my X31 and my T60 they all do pretty well in terms of cooling and battery management (i.e. the battery isn't the heatsink in any of them) so I am not sure where I follow in that comment.

 

Dunno, my ownership of a few Toughbooks was meant to be a gag seeing that my OC is a Royal Guard.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Prismatic

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

Aluminum is a very malleable metal which is why neighter Lenovo nor Panasonic uses them.  I actually like the matte finish but from what I understand the 'skin' of the ThinkPad contrasts from its structural design (I mean, it's been this way for probably nearly 20 years now.  My 760 and my T60 feel identical on the LCD housings while they both have magnesium in certain parts).

 

Ironically the X6 was the worst in terms of cooling, I do believe the right hinge was known to fail due to heat related stresses.  But I dunno, between my 760 (which has no cooling, not pictured), my X31 and my T60 they all do pretty well in terms of cooling and battery management (i.e. the battery isn't the heatsink in any of them) so I am not sure where I follow in that comment.

 

Dunno, my ownership of a few Toughbooks was meant to be a gag seeing that my OC is a Royal Guard.

 

Yup, IBM/Lenovo has used that same black plastic skin look for a very long time. It looks nice and professional at least, one of the best looking line of Windows laptops in my opinion. I don't want some flashy, ultra shiny  bright blue laptop.

 

But anyways... when I look at cooling in laptops I compare them to the Alienwares I had. They were second to none even when hardcore gaming with SLI graphics cards. Dell designed the new Alienwares perfectly as far as cooling goes, CPU is in the center, and the graphics cards are in the back corners away from each other and everything else. Each component has its own fan and heatsink. Might get a bit noisy when pushing things, but fan noise never bothers me. My current desktop has 6 120mm fans and a 200mm fan, all of them run at max speed 100% of the time. Needless to say, if you could take the weight, you could game with it on your lap and the laptop would actually cool your lap! lol

[Prismatic 49]

Yup, IBM/Lenovo has used that same black plastic skin look for a very long time. It looks nice and professional at least, one of the best looking line of Windows laptops in my opinion. I don't want some flashy, ultra shiny  bright blue laptop.

 

But anyways... when I look at cooling in laptops I compare them to the Alienwares I had. They were second to none even when hardcore gaming with SLI graphics cards. Dell designed the new Alienwares perfectly as far as cooling goes, CPU is in the center, and the graphics cards are in the back corners away from each other and everything else. Each component has its own fan and heatsink. Might get a bit noisy when pushing things, but fan noise never bothers me. My current desktop has 6 120mm fans and a 200mm fan, all of them run at max speed 100% of the time. Needless to say, if you could take the weight, you could game with it on your lap and the laptop would actually cool your lap! lol

 

Well you see that's the problem.  The laptop battery could easily substitute a heatsink because of how it's laid out.

 

My 760's heat is all in the back and is dissipated from the bottom.  The only time the battery bays get hot is when using Ni-MH packs as opposed to Li-Ion (strange enough if I recall Li-Ion were stock and Ni-MH were options).

 

The X31 has the heat in the back with the cooling fan on the right side; the GPU is passive (for a 16MB AGP chip anyways).  The battery was 'under the palmrest accessible from the bottom'.  It never got above 35C with normal usage.

 

The T60's is the more interesting.  It removes the spindle from the fan and instead relies on a very complex array of magnets to hold and spin the fan.  Hence why it runs all the time and can be damaged with compressed air (lol oops).  Since the area of heat is strictly on the left side the battery in the back nor the Ultrabay battery get hot (albeit since the Ultrabay battery is 'embedded' into the PC (and even can be locked with a screw) it does run 3C hotter than the back battery).

 

Cause I don't know about you but battery life is one of my bigger concerns...And yeah the battery I've had in my 760 for 10+ years hasn't seemed to degrade much, oh well.

[Piodx 49]

After all the arguing with Macs and Pc's, i've come to the conclusion Pc's are better, now, to the million dollar question...

 

...Why?

 

Let me separate some things that both computers have: 

 

Compatibility: 

 

Windows is basically a must for almost all softwares developed out there, need a program? In windows you got it! In Mac... well... some times it does, some times it doesn't, it's really annoying to have potential programs that you can't run in a Mac at all, it makes the computer completely limited. 

 

...And don't even make me start on Flash. 

 

Also, people say Macs have programs with more artistic potential than PC's do, well let me tell you that's a big lie, Final Cut Pro? You got Sony Vegas 12, Adobe Premiere and such. Garage Studio? There's also  Fruity Loops, you know? 

 

Durability

 

....

 

This comic explains my point quite perfectly: 

 

 

 

Prices

 

''Quality comes with a price'' They say, but some times the price shouldn't be this big, seriously, why does Mac overprice it's products? No, it's not because they are worth THAT much, it's because of marketing, and sadly, it's Marketing that has actually worked up to these days, you think you can't get a computer better than an actual MAC for a smaller price? Check this: 

 

 

Not so conveniant now, is it? 

 

Thus, ending my points of why i prefer PC's better. 

[Prismatic 49]

The other thing about ThinkPads is that Cadance's vinyl sticker looks very, very nice on that matte finish.  Then again white was the only color sticker they had (and I had no intention of becoming a crystal pony at the time, it was just coincedence).

 

In regards to durability laptops tend to be the same on both Mac and PC sides.  I can typically break down a ThinkPad in about 15 minutes or so (I'm hoping other business class notebooks are similar) since at times when a part fails it typically requires a bit of patience.  I had the mobo fail on my T60.

[Dr. Vojislav Seselj 691]

If I had tons of $ : MAC MAC MAC MAC !!!!!!!111!!!11one!!!! lol rofl soisoisoisoi

If I was middle class (like now): PC.

If I was a hobo: The fatass penguin Ubuntu

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

I know my Alienwares and Macs I have had to dig into have been very easy so I don't get this argument much. Obviously other than HDD and RAM I couldn't do much in the Macs, but the AWs were fully upgradable and I did it all. Changed all the cooling pads over to Arctic Silver and did a few heatsink mods to make them run even colder. Either way though getting to stuff was easy and if I needed to swap out a mobo on both would have been super simple, had to do it on one of my AWs actually.

 

That issue aside (which was actually just Dell exhausting all options before giving me a new AW) I have found durability to be great with both. Until last fall my dad was using an old 1999 hp P4 laptop of mine, even after getting hit by lightning a few times it mostly worked fine (only the speakers quit) and I still have a 1999 Apple G3 PowerBook sitting next to me that looks and works great.

 

I always went with silver on my Alienwares, just a preference of mine, especially when it just ends up being bare aluminum. Flat black decals look great on it, had my signature wolf paw print on the lids of every laptop I've had so far. And this is one reason I prefer plain looking laptops, so I can customize the case with decals or engraving.

Edited February 4, 2013 by Puddlejumper

[Night Shine 767]

I've always been an avid PC user, even though I own an iPhone.

 

I could make some attempt to argue that they're less expensive, or more user-friendly, or more practical, or better for gaming, or something, but quite honestly I shouldn't. The only reason I use PCs is because I always have, and I haven't legitimately given Macs a try so I can't pass judgement on them.

[StormzInvader 127]

Apparently, Windows computers seem to be way way more flexible because most software are created for that. (of course)

 

I use my Mac more than my Windows because I have all my creating software, downloads, music, and all of that here.

 

I use my Windows when playing CoD 4 or something.

 

Both have their ups and downs. You can't really say something is better.

 

AS FOR LINUX... I really have never tried Linux before so you probably shouldn't ask me.

[Prismatic 49]

I still have my Pentium I ThinkPad.  Complete with a 4GB SLC Solid State Drive.  It's the only true way to play anything DOS (and I have this obsession with really odd but unique features in the 760 line).

[Gigachip 148]

My vote is towards PC/Windows.

I had a Macbook Pro when I started college. (close to graduating...YAY!!)

It died in 3 years. Which made me very sad to be honest. Considering that I read many great things about Macs. Though I'm not hating on the brand in any way. Just think I got a bad apple among the lot. It ruined my taste for Macs in many Ways.

[Starflower 323]

I've always wanted to try out the Mac because I was so interested in the hardware. But I find myself going back to the PC/Windows because of durability. I have a friend who got a Macbook last year, and it died just a month ago after the warranty expired.  I've gone through great experiences with PCs, as most of them lasted an average of 3-5 years with me. Plus, with PCs, most of the stuff inside of them can be replaced easily. New power supply? Piece of cake. RAM needs some expansion? Let's go on ebay or newegg and order some! 

 

Sooo yes. PC wins my vote. 

[Coco Pommel 669]

Also, people say Macs have programs with more artistic potential than PC's do, well let me tell you that's a big lie, Final Cut Pro? You got Sony Vegas 12, Adobe Premiere and such. Garage Studio? There's also  Fruity Loops, you know? 

^

 

Personally, I'm as artsy as a most people get, but Windows has never failed me. If anything, it has more artistic potential because there is more to choose from and more options.

[Ron J 276]

I use a PC for just about everything. I previously had a Toshiba laptop with no real use for it other than for personal stuff (web browsing, images and music, what-not), so I installed Ubuntu on it and almost instantly fell in love. The only trouble I had with it was the fact that steam wasn't compatible with Linux at the time, so I had to use wine to chat with my friends on steam, and it was VERY buggy.

For everything else (digital media, gaming, etc...), PC. In terms of compatibility, not everything really worked with Linux. If I want to play TF2 or Minecraft, maybe a bit of CoD, I'll hop on a PC and get going. I've considered reinstalling Ubuntu, I think I'm gonna do so some time in the future.

As for Mac, I think all the reasoning for the Mac-hate has been covered in this thread.

Edited February 5, 2013 by ursnampls

[Prismatic 49]

 

The only trouble I had with it was the fact that steam wasn't compatible with Linux at the time, so I had to use wine to chat with my friends on steam, and it was VERY buggy.

 

Steam is still very buggy on PC.  I don't know if they ever fixed the shared dependcies issues...Haha.  Probably why I never use it anyways.

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

Can't say I've ever had a problem with Steam. I had a problem with PvZ once it was able to be synced between both PC and Mac, somehow the save in their system became corrupt or something and the game wouldn't load anymore. Otherwise not a single hiccup. I love Steam, use it for everything game related. I always add non-Steam games to my library as well so I can use the overlay to chat and browse the web if I need to look something up quick.

 

I've not tried it on Linux yet, only just installed Ubuntu for the first time and not sure if I like it or not. I can't figure out how to do a lot of simple things I want, but I can't say I've tried very hard either. It's just something I need to play with I guess. Would help if I had a spare laptop to toss it on and mess with rather than it hogging my main rig.

[Prismatic 49]

 

Can't say I've ever had a problem with Steam.

 

I've had problems such as extreme RAM usage (i.e. 200MB or so for something that resides in the taskbar), issues where it refuses to terminate during shutdown, where it forgets registration during shutdown, downloading multiple games with the same core library causes it to leak CPU cycles and spin into an infinite loop.  Sadly I've had this problem on Windows 5, 6, 7 and beta versions of 8 so it isn't an old issue. XD

[astrosheep 12]

PC PC all the wayyyy~

 

Despite using Macs at school since I was in second grade PCs are way more intuitive for me. Besides that there's easily a twenty times larger market when you're shopping for one whereas Mac you're kind of stuck with whatever Apple is offering at the moment.

 

I also disagree with Macs being more "professional" or "creative". Virtually every professional workplace I have visited or been employed at has used the Windows operating system over Mac. Furthermore creative capability depends more on the program being used/the person using it than the operating system imo.

 

Really in the end though it comes down to whatever shortcut keys you're more comfortable with and whatever aesthetics you find more appealing. I find the "dock" in Macs cluttering and the system hard to navigate. What's more I could never by a laptop without a "delete" (not backspace, delete -- it deletes the forward, rather than backward, letter) key.

 

TL;DR: PCs, reputations are dumb, Apple is limiting, it totally doesn't matter anyway

[Lost Profile 644]

I have a Mac book pro... But I run boot camp to run windows...

 

Idk... I like the style of apple products and all the awesome features like icloud... But windows has all the good games and programs that don't run on OSX...

 

Idk what I like better...

[Charcoal 23]

if you are going by price, you can easily buy a 600$ pc with the same amount of ram as a 1200$ mac. but I we are talking about other capability's:

 

Mac

 

good for productivity or any type of art.

default software wise, mac wins hands down in the arts department. 

 

PC

 

good for gaming and good in general, considering exe files are fairly common on the interwebs and cannot be run with a Mac.

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

One thing that really bothers me most about PC's though, and I'm still talking laptops here since I've never had a branded desktop, is all the bloatware. I mean technically you could say Macs have it too since it comes with things like iLife and whatnot, but that stuff isn't nearly as bad or invasive like what comes on most PC's. I mean, why does my sister's VAIO have to have some proprietary Sony software for her webcam to function right, or her battery to charge fully, and why do they have to shove garbage virus programs down your throat? Why can't they just let Windows handle the things that it can and only include/require drivers? Provide the programs on their support site for those that want them and sell the PC with plain old non-molested Windows. That's one reason I loved my AW's, no bloatware.

 

And yes I'm being serious, my sister's battery in her VAIO will no longer charge to 100% ever since we did a format/reinstall because we can't figure out which silly Sony program on their horribly done support site was the one that had the battery life extending feature. ugh

Edited February 5, 2013 by Puddlejumper

[Prismatic 49]

If you can PM me the model number I can help.

 

But the fact the battery extender is on means that the durability of her battery has been doubled!

 

Edit: You could check to see if it is also not a CMOS toggle as well.

Edited February 5, 2013 by Prismatic