Thinking about buying a Mac.

[Geiser34]

After so many problems with the PC, and buying an iBook last year, I really started to like Macs.

So, I'm going to buy a computer and I am thinking about buying a Mac Pro or a Dell XPS 700.

I'm leaning towards the Mac, because it's sooo much easier to use, and it has an Intel processor, so it can boot up in Windows, so I don't even need a PC to run Windows.

I am a little bit afraid that there are glitches in Apple's Boot Camp (I haven't heard of any, but is still in beta).

On the other hand, PC computers cannot boot up in OS X, an operating system I have grown to love.

I know that Windows Vista is comming out in late January next year, but I was a beta tester, and I've been using it on my second PC for close to a year.
I've tried the RTM build, and it is just not as clean and sharp as OS X.

So before I buy the Mac, I am asking to you guys the pros and cons of buying one.
What do you think...Mac or PC?

 

[themisfit610]

Boot camp works great, provided you slipstream in the Intel drivers to your installation CD, otherwise you get SLOOOWWW hard drive speeds.

You simply cannot buy a computer with as much expansion as the MacPro. Nowhere else do you get 4 full length PCIe slots. Sure, they're not all 16 lane, but no other boards let you have 4 PCIe video cards. You pay through the nose for FB-DIMMs, but the machine is just SO FAST. And its a real bargain considering how much horsepower it packs.

I've been using one at work with Tiger and XP on it, and I absolutely love it. Gaming and video encoding in Windows is flawless and lightning fast, and everything else in Mac OS X - especially Final Cut Studio, Shake, and Aperture. OMG Love those apps. It's without a doubt the best computer I've ever had the pleasure of using.

7300gt in one slot, Blackmagic Multibridge Pro HD Capture card in another, Sonnet eSATA controller in another, and one free. You can NOT have all this in any other computer to my knowledge.

Get it. Just don't pay apple for extra drives / RAM. Buy that on your own and add it in. Braindead simple.

~MiSfit

 

[Geiser34]

Yeah, I saw the same RAM on other sites for like $200 less.
I'm gunna buy a $300 20 inch Dell LCD.
That Mac Pro does have a lot of PCI slots, but can I just buy a standard Geforce 8800 with PCI express and put it in the Mac Pro?

 

[themisfit610]

No you cant - at least dont expect it to work in Mac OS X. You have to buy one from Apple, because its BIOS/firmware has to have special code to talk to the EFI on the new Intel Macs.

It might work correctly in Boot Camp, but that's not very functional

 

[themisfit610]

If you just want to play games though, get a PC. You don't need all those PCIe slots, and would be MUCH better off just having a single Core 2 Duo - cheaper all around and much better video card upgradability. For any kind of serious content creation, MacPro is the only way to go.

 

[Geiser34]

Ok, so Apple sells video cards for the Mac Pro?
Cause the video card it comes with won't be so great next year, and I'll want to buy a new one.

EDIT:found Apple does offer video cards.


Anyway, does anyone have any other ideas?
Are there any pros to buying a dell?

 

[fire400]

A PC will outmatch a Mac at the same price, generally speaking.

2K will get you a nice Mac. 2K will get you a Vista computer with a Crossfire setup and a hardcore extreme processor. Weight the options.

The Asus 975 Core2 board is very stable at stock, and done right, you got it OC'd with good RAM, and you're square.

Mac? Windows XP Pro has done a lot of things that a Mac system can only dream of. It's more universal and is supported by nearly every large computer company in the world, offering flexibility and much wider support, more programmability and various options that let you work your computer more professionally.

It makes me think twice when I see people going Mac. I feel sorry for businesses going Mac computers for their employees.

"Mac is better with graphics than the PC will ever be." -that was true several years ago.

-Highend graphics cards showed wider support for PC's. Also, did SLI and Crossfire come out on Mac first?

-PC's replace Macs 10 to 1. The economic industries saw this, the smart companies started developing for the PC early, and some of them have even abandoned their Mac clients, seeing profit in the PC arena. Windows will always dominate Mac. Microsoft just did it right in the first place, higher lead from the time Windows existed.

In conclusion, Mac isn't for everyone. I strongly recommend PC over Mac for anybody. Mac is a deadend in my eyes. There is just so much more the modern PC has. You have nothing to lose if you go PC compared to going Mac.

I want to say this so bad. Just get XP PRO for crying out loud. Do the research and get it over with.

here's my punch:
Anyway, I think Mac's suck anyway. They are a rip off and perform a lot slower than PC's. I don't care if it's a dualcore Mac. They're a rip off.

 

[uclaChris]

I have a PC desktop and a Macbook and I would say the only edge a PC has over a Mac is its ability to handle games and its general ease of upgrading components, but other than that I think Macs are great, fast computers and having OSX is really icing on the cake.

Anyone that says they perform a lot slower obviously hasnt seen Macs after the intel transition.

 

[Geiser34]

Well, I think there is more support for a Mac Pro than like an HP a350n, or whatever model numbers the PC makers name their stuff.

If your Mac has a problem, you can get support from Apple or its forums.
If a PC has a problem, very few people have the same model number, let alone the same problem.

I can't see why Mac is a dead end, it uses Windows...

I can put Apple care on the Mac Pro (if anything goes wrong within 3 years, I get it replaced).
Dell offers 1 year support, I asume I'm gunna use that computer for at least 2 more years than that.

Graphic design just isn't the same with a Dell, I'm gunna need Final Cut.

I do have 4 licenses left for XP pro, I could install on any computer.
Why not a Mac?

 

[pcgeek11]

If a PC has a problem, very few people have the same model number, let alone the same problem

This is complete BS. Read this board, read the internet...

Buy a MAC if you want but they have their issues too. If they were as good as all the MAC Addicts say, then everybody would want one. But they don't, because they aren't.

pcgeek11

 

[Geiser34]

Name a PC model that has this much support.

It just hit me that I would be spending around 6k for the Mac, so I configured the Dell to equal specs and got $500 less than the Apple. There's something to think about.

I do want a computer that just works, and I think Macs are the way to go.

I have a Pentium 4, 2.8ghz, 1.5GB Ram, Geforce 6600 PC.
It's no beast, so it's time for an upgrade.

BF2 and WoW play at max setting with a Mac pro or the Dell.

I think the Mac is worth the extra $500 dollars to just have the joy of working with the stylish OS X.

Honestly, put a Windows XP, or even Vista desktop next to an OS X desktop.
Windows looks cluttered an unorganized.

I like to be neat and tidy, Windows seems unpolished, unclean (all that virus protection you need), and visually uninteresting.

If I have to use Windows, I can boot into it, I still don't see the advantage in buying a PC.

 

[zainali]

what are you exactly arguing about? if you are so certain that macs are so nice just buy them.

what do you exactly mean by support? a online forum on apple.com or something? if you buy hp/dell business class devices they will come with better service. macs cost more so they also come with better service.

dells are on sale most of the time whereas the macs are never on sale. big difference in actual price vs. retail price.

 

[Geiser34]

HP offers a desktop with a Xeon processor, but not dell, I might go for that.
HP does have good online support, I have used it for years.
Do you recomend one over an Apple?

 

[pcgeek11]

Originally posted by: Geiser34
Name a PC model that has this much support.

It just hit me that I would be spending around 6k for the Mac, so I configured the Dell to equal specs and got $500 less than the Apple. There's something to think about.

I do want a computer that just works, and I think Macs are the way to go.

I have a Pentium 4, 2.8ghz, 1.5GB Ram, Geforce 6600 PC.
It's no beast, so it's time for an upgrade.

BF2 and WoW play at max setting with a Mac pro or the Dell.

I think the Mac is worth the extra $500 dollars to just have the joy of working with the stylish OS X.

Honestly, put a Windows XP, or even Vista desktop next to an OS X desktop.
Windows looks cluttered an unorganized.

I like to be neat and tidy, Windows seems unpolished, unclean (all that virus protection you need), and visually uninteresting.

If I have to use Windows, I can boot into it, I still don't see the advantage in buying a PC.

I'm not downing you. If you want a MAC have a ball, but to think that they don't have issues is an illusion the MAC Addicts push. Everything has issues. There is a huge support base for PCs on the web. If you are going to spend 6K on a computer and it isn't making money for you then ... well I'm not going to say it... I don't think I need to, do I.

OSX will run on a PC X86 that isn't a MAC also, just so ya know.

Buy an Abacus. You sound like you are arguing with yourself. Get what you want, just don't go into it blindly.

pcgeek11

 

[Geiser34]

Well, I am arguing with myself because I haven't chosen which to buy...

This computer isn't going to make me money, I just want a good computer, and I have been saving up for a while for this machine.

I am havin second thoughts about the Mac now, I guess I'll make my choice before black friday..

 

[Blain]

If you like the OS and the system does what you need it to do, then Get The Mac. :laugh:
If you like your iBook, the Mac Pro will be that much better.

 

[KaChow]

Originally posted by: Blain
If you like the OS and the system does what you need it to do, then Get The Mac. :laugh:

I agree. I work with PC's and my house is littered with them, but I bought an iMac when the Intel machines came out this year. I don't really use it for anything more than web surfing and organizing my mp3's on my file server but I foresee that changing as I get more into playing with my video cam.

 

[Atheus]

OP: If you like Macs, buy one, don't listen to fire400.

Originally posted by: fire400
more programmability and various options that let you work your computer more professionally.

What does that even mean? Work professionally? You sound like a marketing campaign. And programmability? All computers are programmable... that's why they are computers... do you mean configurability? I think you'll find that OSX is unix, with unix command line and unix scripting, and is therefore plenty configurable.

It makes me think twice when I see people going Mac. I feel sorry for businesses going Mac computers for their employees.

You feel sorry for them? Why? What will their Macs be unable to do for their business?

-Highend graphics cards showed wider support for PC's. Also, did SLI and Crossfire come out on Mac first?

Did, like, graphical user interfaces come out on the Mac first? Yes they did. Which is a more important innovation... hmmm. It's not like this sort of thing matters for his buying decision anyway. And BTW - who wants crossfire on a machine that's not even for gaming?

Windows will always dominate Mac.

You cannot possibly know this.

Microsoft just did it right in the first place, higher lead from the time Windows existed.

Early Windows was trash and everyone knows it. Again - this does not matter for his buying decision.

You have nothing to lose if you go PC compared to going Mac.

The nice build quality? The support? The Mac software? The power of Unix?

Anyway, I think Mac's suck anyway.

Yea we got that, thanks.

They are a rip off and perform a lot slower than PC's. I don't care if it's a dualcore Mac. They're a rip off.

Considering they use the exact same Intel hardware as a PC these days, I can't see how they could possibly be a lot slower. Where are the numbers?

IMO there are only 2 real reasons to buy a PC over a Mac - Windows software, and upgradability. If there is a program you want to run, or there is a bit of hardware you want to install which will only work with Windows, then you must get Windows. This includes almost all modern games.

Personally I am a PC guy (not so much a Windows guy), but I have used Macs plenty and have recommended them to several people. Either machine is absolutely fine.

 

[Tarrant64]

Just skipped down through the thread, but I just wanted to comment on something if someone else hasn't already. To the OP, if you are worried about dual booting, you can use Paralles.

http://www.parallels.com/

This seems to work great for many people.

Also: Screw the PC. Try something new for once. Don't go some route and get bored with something you're already used to. I wouldn't call Windows or OS X easier to use when comparing them to each other. I like to think they are just different OS's, and that's all there is to it. If you are tired of windows, go Mac. If not, go Mac. That's all there is to it.

 

[50cent1228]

go with a mac

 

[Laminator]

Hi there; I have no opinion in this Mac versus PC debate (buy whatever you want) but some questions about performance were raised. From all the reviews I've read, a Mac running Windows XP on Boot Camp will perform identically with a PC with equivalent hardware. Performance is the same because the hardware is the same. Whether the premium for OS X is worth it is up to your personal preference.

EDIT: Crap; I think I just revived a dead thread. Sorry.

 

[chcarnage]

Well, the threadstarter didn't reveal if he went with the Apple or the Dell, so technically speaking this topic is still open