PC or Mac

[setfree]

Which is better PC or Mac, and what exactly makes one better than the other. Im hoping some of you can help me by providing some information on this topic as I am doing a research paper on why a PC is better than a Mac. Any info you could provide would be appreciated.

[TwoRails]

Hi setfree,

The PC!!

You can build it yourself.
You can easily customize it yourself.
Faster.
More Software.
More Software.
More Software.
You can update it as your needs or wallet grows.
You can have an old PC and upgrade a little at a time, as your wallet allows.

Besides, you miss out on the Intel versus AMD wars LOL



TwoRails

[Jeradln82]

Besides, you miss out on the Intel versus AMD wars LOL

LOL, ain't that the Truth!


setfree. I hate the way Macs are set up, look, operate, smell, and feel.... lol. No seriously, I personally don't like them. It may be my very little experience w/mac computers or It could be the fact that I can't figure out how to open the monitor/computer But hopfully some more ppl will be by to help ya out. Good Luck

-Jerad

Sorry, my post prob. seems pointless but I had to laugh at what TwoRails said about the wars.

[Ryan2318]

mac lost everything cause they didn't tell people how they made thier os. So no one could create any programs for it outside of mac. Thats why. They didn't get all of the suppourt they could've had.

[Reedimus]

I think the main reason that people buy macs today are that they look really cool. They have also managed to convince much of the graphic design community that macs are better for that kind of stuff.

[Ryan2318]

that and their annoying commercials.

Hello i'm stupid and I bought a mac.

[HAL9000]

I wouldn't say that one is better than the other. Mac's are superiour for some functions over a PC. Heck, just go down to the production room of your local newspaper... bet they're all using Macs and there's a reason for it. Need a comparison, try Quark Express. It's childs play on a Mac, a nightmare on a PC.

[Trent]

that and their annoying commercials. Hello I'm stupid and i bought a mac.

ROFL

[mouse1]

is it posible to build a mac from scratch???

[DrZaius]

is it posible to build a mac from scratch???

Nope.

[HAL9000]

You wouldn't wanna if you could. Had to do a warranty on an i-Mac a while back that the logic board (equiv of a motherboard) went south on... the part was $947CDN.

[DrZaius]

the part was $947CDN.

$600USD! I knew they where expensive, but sheesh!

[CorruptedSanitY]

whoa thats an expensive mobo..

I agree with TwoRails

[ssahl]

As far as price goes, for sure a PC is better, beyound that I wouldnt own an i-mac, but a G4 tower or powerbook, those are pretty bad. (bad as in good) as for the OS's go, the newest Mac OS X (jaguar) thats pretty good, maybe even better then windows (maybe not including XP) but again the money thing there cheap programs (shareware/freeware) to get for Mac OS is almost non-existence. I have used both (and still do) and I think that mac's are more simple to use/learn. My brother say's he will not touch a PC because they are infected (he works at MacDaddy) even though I started out on a mac, and I still like um, my main computer is a PC, I would say the reason if for nothing else because that's what most people have, dont think I could make a living fixing mac's. For the most part though it kind of seems like people who start off using PC's, stay with PC's and people who start with Mac's, stay with using Mac's.
More then anything it depends on what you want to use a computer for.

[LawyerRon]

I use both and actually, on the hardware side, the two machines are very similar. The biggest difference is the OS. On a Mac, all the inner workings of the OS are hidden from you. In fact, the OS is really the focus on Macs. In our world of PCs, the hardware is the main focus with the OS being secondary IMO.

[Confused]

I don't know that one is better than the other. For certain people or jobs one may be better than the other (see Hal's post). For me a PC is better. Not necessairly because it is superior. I'm sure a MAC will do everything I currently do on a PC. But I'm able to build my own PC's and upgrade them far cheaper than the cost of a MAC. When I want a new one I can build it and transfer my OS and all the software to it and save a lot over the cost of a MAC.
Chas

[setfree]

thanks for all the replies. In my opinion pc is better than mac and that is the position I am taking in my paper. I knew most of the info but I wanted to see if there was anything I was missing.

[Texuspete00]

Look for some benches of the Mac verus Intel or AMD. I know I've seen them. It ain't pretty.

[Force Flow]

The mac O/S seems to be more stable than windows. Macs are also sometimes better for graphics and video. PC's are better for gaming.

There is better support, more hardware and software available for PC's. PC's are usually cheaper.

[Ryan2318]

Originally posted by HAL9000 You wouldn't wanna if you could. Had to do a warranty on an i-Mac a while back that the logic board (equiv of a motherboard) went south on... the part was $947CDN.

why don't you just buy a mobo that supports quad cpu? lmao

[got AMD]

PC: Games
MAC: for computer programming, web paging

[Ryan2318]

yeah right i'd never use a mac for my programing or webdesign.

you want to have the same platform as people who are gonna use/see your stuff. Just like in webdesign you aren't gonna design somethign in 640 by 480 res when everyone else has 1024 by 768

[Mac Medic]

Wow, where do I start.

"yeah right i'd never use a mac for my programing or webdesign.

you want to have the same platform as people who are gonna use/see your stuff. Just like in webdesign you aren't gonna design somethign in 640 by 480 res when everyone else has 1024 by 768"
First of all I fail to see how the platform you use for Web design affects the end-user viewing the page in any way shape or form, but I guess you could color me "stupid" because I am a Mac User.

Which brings me to this jewel of a statement: “Hello i'm stupid and I bought a mac.”
This statement only succeeds in exposing the ignorance of the person mouthing it, and therefore should be treated with the contempt it deserves. Almost as inane as thinking the development platform effects the final user.

Next we move on to software availability: Again I'm stumped. Apparently there is no software for my Mac although I seem to be doing quite well compiling and using the very same open source programs that Linux users have access to. Now why is this you may ask if there is limited software available for a Mac. Well because in this modern-day, OS X is a UNIX-based operating system, which is capable of running open source programs such as those available from the GNU project. Naturally mainstream software manufacturers aren't going to rush forward to support the Mac OS until their marketshare picks up, but luckily the open source community have embraced Mac OS X and will continue to do so. So let's put the software availability argument to bed shall we.

"mac lost everything cause they didn't tell people how they made thier os. So no one could create any programs for it outside of mac. Thats why."
I'm not entirely sure I follow this one but let me give a shot. I'm guessing he's referring to the availability of source code. Which unfortunately for him is not the reason software wasn't produced en masse for the Macintosh platform. The reason more software was available for the Windows platform was simple supply and demand. But now that has changed, refer to the previous paragraph.

"I think the main reason that people buy macs today are that they look really cool. They have also managed to convince much of the graphic design community that macs are better for that kind of stuff."
There is a reason the graphics design community thinks Macs are better for that kind of stuff, it’s because they are better for that kind of stuff. Sure they're more expensive, far more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I would put a dual 1.25 GHz Mac up against a 3 GHz P4 any day of the week and twice on Sundays when it comes to rendering video, raster based imaging, or basically anything that requires a great deal of computational power. And yes, they really do look cool.

Ultimately I think what it boils down to for me is a lack of understanding from the majority of Windows users of what a Mac is capable of. How many people here who use a Mac on a regular basis would consider themselves "stupid". I'm sure none of them would. But those who are stuck in their one-dimensional Windows world will never understand what the Mac has to offer. They can't seem to come to terms with the fact that Macs are more expensive, are not as upgradeable as a PC and in many cases are easier to use than a PC. I have made this challenge once before and I'll make again. Go to your local apple store and spend one hour playing with a new Mac running OS X Jaguar and you will walk away with an entirely new impression of the Macintosh. I understand there are some here who are too closed minded to even give this a try, and to them, I wish happy blue screens.

By the way, I own five PCs and two Macs. I love them all. I'm writing this on a Dell notebook running Windows XP professional. And it's absolutely fantastic. I wouldn't recommend that just anyone go out and buy a Mac, most people are far happier with the Windows platform, but I would recommend that everyone go to the local store and play with a Mac, if only to broaden their horizons.

[TwoRails]

dang, oem_guy_2002, hope your night is going OK... I felt ya thru the post, which was very detailed and enlightening.

You are absolutely right on about most people don't know diddle about a Mac of any kind. I'm one of those. You're also right on about people not even wanting to learn. I'm also one of those.

But we're dealing with Human nature here, so those kind of things are expected. PCs (meaning both flavors) are indeed a personal thing. Just like anything else personal, changing someone's mind is more than a difficult thing to do.

If I hit the Lotto or the like, then I'd get a the latest Mac just to have a new toy, but why should / would I even consider a Mac otherwise? I love the PC for one. Even if I only "liked" computers, I have far too much invested to think of starting over.

And isn't that exactly what I'd be doing? Starting over? What about the equipment I have now?? All the software?? And I don't have the time right now to do all the things on my own list, not to mention the infamous "honey-do" list, so why burden myself with the new learning curve and figuring out open source this or that. I already know that in my little, 20 + year PC world.

And how much would it cost to consider a Mac and start over? Besides just the box (or whatever that package is), how many printers and scanners would I have to replace? What about software cost? Forget about the general stuff, like word processors and the like, what would it cost to replace my audio editing software? Or my video editing software? I'd almost bet that those two items alone would cost more than my current PC in cost. (Let me know if I'm incorrect)

Little things, too.... How 'bout if I just don't like the sound card, or would just prefer the 24 bit Audigy 2. Or maybe I just want a better vid card, say the GF 5 to play Doom III. Can I just pop either one in? I would guess not. And, if I could, gee, I already have the capability.

I'm not, and never have slammed Apple. Dang, some of my friends have had them. But they are just not for everyone, and I personally don't feel they are for the masses in general, but that's just my opinion, not a slam.

So, you're right, some of use just don't want get more personal with the Mac. I'm one of those.

Sincerely,

TwoRails


PS: Maybe "Hello i'm stupid..." was just being facetious.

PPS: Edited some typos...

[Strider]

"I would put a dual 1.25 GHz Mac up against a 3 GHz P4 any day of the week and twice on Sundays when it comes to rendering video, raster based imaging, or basically anything that requires a great deal of computational power. And yes, they really do look cool" - OEM_guy

I would highly doubt that dual 1.25 Ghz would beat a 3 Ghz computer (even if it's a PC). I can't remember where I saw the quote from Steve Jobs, but he has basically admitted that Apple is lagging behind the the PC when it comes to speed, but will make it up in the next generation of Apple computers (Still waiting). I'm not knocking Apple, but to say a computer that is less than half in speed (even if it's a dual processor) is going to win in the speed department is incorrect. It might perform better in the rendering department than the PC for I have never worked on an Apple..

[Mac Medic]

An excellent rebuttal, and I have to say I agree with every word of it. Apple Computer's are very expensive, extremely proprietary and definitely require a fresh start mentality. Anyone who decides to purchase a Mac will ultimately follow the same path I have i.e. new hardware new software and a new outlook. That doesn't necessarily mean I got rid of all of my x86 based PC hardware, in fact I continue to upgrade my PCs as often as I can to try to keep up with the newest technologies. Unfortunately in the case of Apple, this generally means purchasing a brand-new computer. I just bought my wife a brand new i-book on Tuesday to the tune of $1700, ouch. But in my opinion it was well worth the money. I realized $1700 would bought me an excellent x86 based PC, but she already has an excellent x86 based PC and decided that to have one of each may well pay off.

I have said in another post we own a production company, we both edit video and sound. The only software on the Mac that I think is worth using is final cut pro, and you're right this program will set you back $1000. I also use Adobe Premier on my PCs, not as expensive but just as good when it comes to marking in, marking out and any other timeline based editing etc. but when it comes time to render unfortunately I don't have time to wait on my x86 based PC and would rather let the Apple have a bash at it. Because quite frankly it is much faster.

Personally I have never had to replace a printer or scanner etc. although I'm sure there are a lot that exist that are not compatible and of course this would add considerable expense, but I doubt many people nowadays would be bitten by this bug.

But you're right, they're not for everyone and as I said I would not recommend anyone purchase one, just try one out. Unless they're heavily into image editing, video editing etc. and then I would recommend wholeheartedly.

[setfree]

OEM_GUY_2002 I would put a dual 1.25 GHz Mac up against a 3 GHz P4 any day of the week and twice on Sundays when it comes to rendering video, raster based imaging, or basically anything that requires a great deal of computational power

Oh really. Looks like someone already did. I was checking out digitalvideo.com and found an article where they pitted a new dell with a 3.06ghz p4 against a dual 1.25ghz macs and the results seem to go against your comments. see for yourself http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/H...itHomeSet1.htm its the PC vs MAC III article

[jon611]

Just some more quick reference links...

This one even has pretty graphs that are easy to read
http://www.digitalproducer.com/2002/...w_macvspc2.htm

I didn't check all of these out but looked pretty much for the Intel, Amd side
http://www.geocities.com/sw_perf/

[Fuze]

This is just like one of those freaking AMD vs. Intel, Nvidia vs. ATI arguments. Each have their good aspects, each have their bad aspects. Just buy what you like :-p

[Mac Medic]

Excellent showing for the hyper threaded P4, looks really good and I am surprised considering how badly the 1.25 x 2 G4 spanks the 2.54 p4. I guess hyper threading is going to make a huge difference. But until I can get my hands on one I guess I’ll still be using the Mac to render. Of course by the time I can get a 3 GHz P4 the G5 and hammer processors will be available. Oh the decisions I have to make on how to spend money.