Should I go from a PC to Mac?
- Thread starter Smudge
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Droogie
New Member
qft
in fact you can get a PC that has more power than a mac for 1/2 - 1/3 the price
JoeSamo
Member
Stay with PC. If macs get popular they will have a crap ton of virus problems too..anything that's really popular is going to be attacked more..so the more people going MAC are just going to eventually cause hackers to go create virus's for macs..that's my theory at least. I've been a PC user for 12ish years now and sure ive had virus's crash's yada yada..but had way more better experience with a PC than a MAC...any hassle is worth staying in my opinion. Not saying Macs are bad..just not as good as a PC.
tlarkin
VIP Member
How do you measure power of a computer though? By just hardware specs alone? There are more factors to consider, and I am not talking about macs versus PCs either. I am talking about how the OS handles the hardware. You can have the fastest desktop on the market but if you load, say Windows 98 on it, it is going to run like crap regardless of how fast the hardware is. That is a bad example, but you get my drift?
To say that you get more power for half the price is false. I think I paid $1400 for my last PC build, which is more expensive than both the iMac and the Mac mini which would be their two desktops to compare to.
Granted the only difference in my build really is that I got a quad core processor and I got a GTX 260 video card. Spec for spec on everything else is pretty much the same. So, it is hardly half the price.
bomberboysk
Active Member
Imac 24", $2,199:
4GB Memory
3.06Ghz Core 2 Duo
GT130(Basically a 9600gt)
1TB HDD
You could prolly build a pc similar to this for that price(maybe more maybe less):
Core i7 920
Coolermaster V8
X58 motherboard
6gb Memory
GTX275/285
850W PSU
24" 1920x1200 monitor
Windows 7/Vista x64
2x 1TB hdd
Lets see, quad core itself is double the power of dual, plus its i7 so add in an extra 20% or so. Next about double the storage, 50% more memory, GPU immensely more powerful, Superior cooling. Now if you went mac pro vs pc you will get more similar in performance, but you can get more for the price with a pc..
Droogie
New Member
i meant buy a mac vs building your own pc. i guess i worded it wrong.
i realize this isn't just mac, PC companies (dell, hp) are extremely over priced as well.
when it comes to mac osx vs windows, all i can is that is simply a preference.
these are the specs that ran it up to $3,249, plus it its on a 24' display.
iMac:
# 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
# 1.0TB Serial ATA Drive
# ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
# Apple Mighty Mouse
# Apple Keyboard (English) and User's Guide
here is a build that i did (i think i included everything), as you can see each part is better than that of the iMac (except it has 2gb less ram). i even gave it and a 27in. display. $1,662.91 without rebates, 1457.91 with rebates.
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tlarkin
VIP Member
+20% performance in what, running Windows? That is incorrect, the actual difference in running Windows on a dual core, quad core, or i7 is really nil because windows does not take advantage of such technologies, nor will it for a while. It took windows forever to take advantage of multiple cores, or address 64bit hardware.
Also, you must make sure that monitor is LED back lit for it to be comparable. I agree that it is cheaper and that is why I built a PC to play games with and I like it. However, to say that a custom built PC is half the price of an equivalent Mac is wrong, because you aren't comparing all the features.
It is just Apple's business model I don't think you all understand. It is much like the Asian car business model and which is what made Asian cars such a success. They are engineered upon a similar business model.
I am not a fanboy of either, but misinformation is misinformation and every time you try to say that a PC is half the cost of a Mac I will prove you wrong every time.
Also, who buys RAM from the manufacturer? No one does because all of them like to jack the price up. HP, Dell, Apple, and everyone else does that. Plus RAM is something that can be easily upgraded on almost any machine by anyone who can turn a screw driver.
A Cheese Danish
New Member
lol wow a flame war 
Why not just custom build a computer and install OS X on it if you don't like windows anymore.
Done.
However, you can run whatever operating system you want on it.
Why not just custom build a computer and install OS X on it if you don't like windows anymore.
Done.
Actually, a PC does cost relatively less than getting a personal Macintosh. Compare the same system built buy, say, HP or Dell, or even iBuyPower, and it costs less.
However, you can run whatever operating system you want on it.
tlarkin
VIP Member
lol wow a flame war
Why not just custom build a computer and install OS X on it if you don't like windows anymore.
Done.
Actually, a PC does cost relatively less than getting a personal Macintosh. Compare the same system built buy, say, HP or Dell, or even iBuyPower, and it costs less.
However, you can run whatever operating system you want on it.
No it doesn't because a mac has every bell and whistle you could want. You are going to have to match FW, FW800, 802.11ABGN wifi, bluetooth EDR, built in web cam (if you look at iMac or laptops), SMS sensor, ambient light sensor, LED back lit screens, so on and so forth. If you build a PC part for part matching what you get with a Mac it is not way cheaper, they are about the same price almost.
Now, with building a PC you can cut corners and if you don't want blue tooth or wifi or care about ambient light sensors then yeah, you can cut that out of the price. If you want to make a fair comparison though you must have those features or at least put a price on them to compare the value of what you are getting.
It isn't a flame war, it is just plain and simple facts.
Droogie
New Member
ok then minus the ram from apple it's still $2,200. saying that all the specs from my i7 build are better.
iMac: $2,200
Custom PC: $1,400 (after rebates)
i'll add $300 for all the "bells and whistles" and it's still a $500 difference. So you're paying $500 more for the parts that are not nearly as good.
i'm not arguing the quality of apple computers. they're great machines, but c'mon you just cannot deny that they're are overpriced.
iMac: $2,200
Custom PC: $1,400 (after rebates)
i'll add $300 for all the "bells and whistles" and it's still a $500 difference. So you're paying $500 more for the parts that are not nearly as good.
i'm not arguing the quality of apple computers. they're great machines, but c'mon you just cannot deny that they're are overpriced.
bomberboysk
Active Member
Wha? Im talking the core i7 has an increased performance clock for clock over a core 2 dual/quad. More performance means more performance on any operating system. As for led backlit screens, add another $40-50 to a monitor. Apples main problem is that the imac uses laptop parts which cost more, they need something back like the cube, a somewhat user upgradeably tower within peoples budgets(unlike a mac pro for example). Even if you go for the lowest cost imac for example, your getting a 20" 1680x1050 display and specs than can be beat with a pc for $600 or so, the graphics arent even dedicated in the low end imac, they are integrated(which for the uses of many osx users, suits just fine). True you cant get that sexy full aluminum sleek enclosure, but you can get a nice tower case(for me i prefer my tower over an all in one, although many peoples opinions differ).
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speedyink
VIP Member
With all those bells and whistles where the HELL is the SD card reader? It is such a lame thing to not have.
tlarkin
VIP Member
Yeah but you can buy those for 5 bucks I bought an all in one like 9 card reader for 7 dollars at a computer store. I hear ya though some things are over looked.
ABGN wifi is also quite expensive in comparison to just BGN and A radios are more rare to find so it is not used as much thus it makes it more expensive.
I am not saying that custom builds don't have high quality parts, I am just saying the business model is different and if you factor everything the Mac platform has to offer it is not over priced.
I used to not like macs years ago and it took me a long time to come around about them. When you sit down and really look at everything you are getting it is a good price.
I used to say that they were way over priced. Now that I have used them for a long time along side PCs since I never stopped using PCs when I used Macs I can clearly see the advantages of having a mac, and I can clearly see Apple's business model.
You can go out and by a V6 KIA and it will be cheaper than a 4 cylinder BMW, but they won't perform the same. You also have to factor in everything you get,the experience and how long it lasts. I have a Mac that is 5 years old sitting on my desk right now (dual 2.5 G5, 3gig of RAM, 500Gig HD, Nvidia 6800 DDL video card) and it runs the current OS by Apple 10.5.7 super fast. I don't see many 5 year old PCs running Vista that fast. Then again, that has to do with Microsoft's business model versus Apple's business model.
If you want to discuss the differences in their business model I would be glad to take part of it, so we can go down that route too.
bomberboysk
Active Member
Firewire is on pretty much any computer these days, 802.11ABGN cards can be had for $40-50 (if you even have the use/need for one), SMS is only on laptops i believe, ambient light sensor- ill give ya that one, even though its not that important, LED screens are not that much greater....Except they are brighter, Bluetooth can also be had with a simple usb dongle, many monitors these days have webcams built into them though. But the thing with a pc is- if you dont need any of those things, you dont have to pay for it, which is one place that apple fails, is at customizability.
Edit- Response to your 5 year old computer post, the G5's costed how much when they were released? YOu could have built a geforce 6800 card based system with an athlon x2 that would also run vista
I have nothing against macs/osx, thye have their place. But that place is not on my desk
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tlarkin
VIP Member
Firewire is on pretty much any computer these days, 802.11ABGN cards can be had for $40-50 (if you even have the use/need for one), SMS is only on laptops i believe, ambient light sensor- ill give ya that one, even though its not that important, LED screens are not that much greater....Except they are brighter, Bluetooth can also be had with a simple usb dongle, many monitors these days have webcams built into them though. But the thing with a pc is- if you dont need any of those things, you dont have to pay for it, which is one place that apple fails, is at customizability.
Edit- Response to your 5 year old computer post, the G5's costed how much when they were released? YOu could have built a geforce 6800 card based system with an athlon x2 that would also run vista
I honestly don't remember the costs of the G5s but they were top of the line PPC processors used in servers and the G5 desktop and the same technology IBM based the cell process off of. My point is that even though it was more expensive, they do last longer. My first ibook I got lasted about 4 years with solid performance and then I sold it for $400. Macs also retain their resell value.
It all has to do with the business model and that is a long discussion but we can have it, but for now I am going to go outside, enjoy the weather and have a beer on the deck area of a local bar.
speedyink
VIP Member
But come on, on a laptop? My $300 Asus EEE has one, and I use it almost daily. The fewer accessories I need to bring the better. I don't wanna be packing sd card adapters and mini dvi to normal dvi adapters and the like every time I go anywhere.
A Cheese Danish
New Member
Some, last longer. I have 2 computers from the mid 90's, 1 runs 95 and the other 98 SE. Both run fast as hell for being that old.
I know people that had macs crap out on them the first month. So it is incorrect to say they last longer.
Really, any computer you take care of will last however long you want it to.
But OP: just put OS X and Vista and/or XP in Parallel and call it a day.
PohTayToez
Active Member
When is the last time that you used 802.11a? By that same rationale, lets say that PCs have more value because you can pop a $5 obsolete zip disk drive in them, but for a Mac you would have to get a pricey OS X compatible USB zip disk drive.
Hey, let's say I want to set up 3+ monitors. Easy on a PC. Want to do that on an iMac? You'll have to shell out $230 for something like this.
So the Mac has a few features that would be pricey to stick on a PC. I could come up with an endless list of features possible on a PC that are either very pricey or impossible to do on a Mac.
You're point is that for all of the features you get, the Mac isn't a bad price. I don't necessarily disagree with that. My issue with Macs is that there is no option to go without those features for a cheaper computer, and if I had to spend $1000-$2000 on a computer, I would put that money into processing and graphics power, and not into ambient light sensors and obsolete wireless connectivity.
brunoxyz
New Member
If windows doesn't improve with an i7 neither does leopard or any mac OS.
The 20% performance increase is meant to be for the software that takes advantage of it. Whatever that is. 3ds max for instance uses all cores and the performance difference from one cpu to the next is amazing.
I can render videos as fast as a workstation MAC with a computer of 1/3 the price. Don't tell us there isn't a performance/cost rate difference. It's actually huge.
Also latest mac workstation xeons are basically i7s with a different name.
sorry to throw more off topic rant here, can't help it.