Mac vs. PC

[The Rambler]

Hey all my parents are getting a new computer and may dad wants to get a mac
he wants this http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...VmXy1FG/1.?p=0

but i want a good PC for the games and because i like windows more

thoughts and replies please

[iacas]

  The Rambler said:

Hey all my parents are getting a new computer and may dad wants to get a mac

First off, that link doesn't work because it contains a session variable. Why not just tell us which computer he wants to get?

Second, Windows sucks. No, seriously, with Intel chips inside and the existence of things like Parallels and even Boot Camp (software that lets you run Windows AND Mac OS X, both at full speed), the whole gaming thing shouldn't be much of an issue. Third, I use consoles for gaming. It's a better experience. Fourth, there's still quite a bit more you can do "better" (or can just plain "do") on a Mac that you can't do on a PC. iMovie is still tops, iPhoto still does its job well, etc. My wife used to like PCs, too. But that was before she had any experience with Macs.

[titleistglfer]

Thats easy, Mac. My wife used to be a PCer, until we got our macbook and went on from there. It is easy to use, little to learn, and fantasticly developed. I have NEVER had a virus. The only junk mail I get is because I have signed up for it somewhere. The computer rarely, if ever randomly needs to be rebooted (I think twice in a year). You'll love imovie, idvd, iphoto, and it's compatability with all of the microsoft office and windows programs.

[tdinneen]

Yeah, Mac's kick ass. For anyone wanting a computer to browse the web, do emails, make movies, handle photo's, not get virus's etc. then the Mac is the only choice. Having said that, the game support is not great.

As Iacas mentioned you can use BootCamp ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ ) which is an Apple product that allows you to install Windows (including Vista) on Mac computers. This means that you can restart the computer into either Windows or OS X (Mac's operating system).

The other choice is Parallels ( http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/ ) or VMWare. Parallels allows you to run Windows whilst OS X is running. It's pretty cool, but doesn't have great support for 3D acceleration (they have added some to the latest version, but it's flaky, does't support more recent games etc.. it only supports a subset of DirectX 8.1 I think??)

In short get a Mac and use OS X for day to day use and reboot into BootCamp when you want to play games.

[bornfishy]

  iacas said:

First off, that link doesn't work because it contains a session variable. Why not just tell us which computer he wants to get?

Boot Camp is pretty much an equivalent, in terms of speed; disregarding the requisite reboot, obviously. Parallels, though, is not. It's around a third slower than Boot Camp, and as mentioned, has shitty 3d acceleration support. Some areas of performance are poorer than others, though, and it's still a bloody good compromise.

That said, I'm a pure mac afficionado, and you'll not go wrong using one. You'll always get biased responses to a mac vs. PC thread though, simply because comparitively few PC users are enthusiasts. I can only wonder why... andy.

[Silvertree]

Just to clarify, you can use both Parallels and Boot Camp. It isn't an either/or type scenario. Right now I have XP, Vista, and OS X on my machine for work purposes.

That being said, as a long time Windows user who converted, the more time you spend in OS X the more you will love it. I can't imagine booting to Windows unless it was to game, and I rarely do that as WoW is OS X compatible. Couple that with the last Steve Jobs announcement on Mac gaming and you are going to have less reason then ever to be in Windows.

One of the many things that I do is support. I can tell you, OS X just works better. Overall OS X is a much better experience.

[iacas]

  Silvertree said:

Just to clarify, you can use both Parallels and Boot Camp. It isn't an either/or type scenario. Right now I have XP, Vista, and OS X on my machine for work purposes.

Yes, you can do that, though not many people have reason to. One reason I could see going this route is to use Parallels for business type applications (some real estate software is still IE/Windows-only) and then use Boot Camp for games, each with a customized installation of Windows suitable for the purposes.

But yeah, Xavier, look at it this way: get a Mac and you can run both OSes. Get a PC and you're "stuck" being able to run only the worse of the two.

[withdrew]

  iacas said:

But yeah, Xavier, look at it this way: get a Mac and you can run both OSes. Get a PC and you're "stuck" being able to run only the worse of the two.

MAC, HANDS DOWN

[Striper]

I use a PC and have been very happy with it. I haven't used a Mac since college so I can't make a current comparison. I do know this......He who pays for the computer, gets to choose.

[mkoreiwo]

I switched to a Mac years ago, and now have the G5 desktop, and an Intel dual core Macbook Pro.

PC's are the better gaming platform, but with BootCamp, you can get that on your Mac, and then have the best consumer OS out there when you're NOT playing games... Heck - I've got Half-Life on my MacBook and it plays ust fine for me!

[The Rambler]

wow such a response thanks a lot

[Silvertree]

I think you will find that Mac users are a passionate lot.

[Shindig]

  The Rambler said:

Hey all my parents are getting a new computer and may dad wants to get a mac

Build a PC, but forget Windows. There are great Linux distributions out there, and you can use WINE (

http://www.winehq.org/ ) to run many Windows programs. As for games -- get a console or a different hobby.

[The Rambler]

Well i forgot to tell you guys that on top of the Mac i will be getting a laptop for school because it's part of my HS tuition Windows and Mac Hurray

[Shindig]

  The Rambler said:

Well i forgot to tell you guys that on top of the Mac i will be getting a laptop for school because it's part of my HS tuition

Has the laptop for school been specified? If it's Windows, you can get a Mac desktop and, with the right adapter, hook the laptop up to its monitor when you want to play games. Then you can also do a dual boot for Linux on your laptop, and use that at school -- not only won't people be able to find your games, but they won't be able to do most functions on your machine, and you'll seem all the smarter for using it (even though it's no harder than Windows or OS X)

[iacas]

  Shindig said:

Has the laptop for school been specified? If it's Windows, you can get a Mac desktop and, with the right adapter, hook the laptop up to its monitor when you want to play games. Then you can also do a dual boot for Linux on your laptop, and use that at school -- not only won't people be able to find your games, but they won't be able to do most functions on your machine, and you'll seem all the smarter for using it (even though it's no harder than Windows or OS X)

I think Linux is becoming more and more irrelevant as the years go by. Mac OS X is killing it - if you want a full Unix environment with a cohesive GUI, it ain't Linux. Linux is still relevant for servers, I suppose, but that's about it.

[The Rambler]

My laptop is a Fujitsu tablet with windows

[mgolfer]

I like the fact that on all these threads the only people that post are the mac users but the windows users are happy with what they have and don't have to post to try and prove a point.