PC or MAC

S

Skorax

New Member
I know there are many boards on this already, i've read at least 10 of them. so starting off with that. I will be doing some gaming on this computer, but very graphic intensive games, mainly games like World of Warcraft, diablo 2(and 3 when it comes out), Starcraft(starcraft 3 when it comes out). Other than those i will just be using it to surf the web. I never play games other than made by blizzard, just never been interested. so all the games that come out for blizzard are compatable with both mac/pc.
My budget is $3800. So the mac i was looking at has a 4850 radeon chip, 2.93ghz quad core, 500gb HD, i would be using a custom monitor, only thing is in there towers i'm not sure how there air flow is but i heard its not an issue. Are they overcloakable? I would be adding extra fans if they are.
I know you can get more for your buck for a pc just curious if i pay $3800 for a mac, can it handle games for about the next 3-4 years worth?
 
if you only want to do gaming, then i wouldn't bother with a mac, especially at that price, macs have some nice software, but no games for them unless you do bootcamp, and load windows onto them, they aren't overclockable as far as i know, and that one really sucks especially for the price, you could have a core i7 920, a pair of gt300 gpu's, and a 30 inch moniter with that kind of a budget
 
Skorax said:
I know there are many boards on this already, i've read at least 10 of them. so starting off with that. I will be doing some gaming on this computer, but very graphic intensive games, mainly games like World of Warcraft, diablo 2(and 3 when it comes out), Starcraft(starcraft 3 when it comes out). Other than those i will just be using it to surf the web. I never play games other than made by blizzard, just never been interested. so all the games that come out for blizzard are compatable with both mac/pc.
My budget is $3800. So the mac i was looking at has a 4850 radeon chip, 2.93ghz quad core, 500gb HD, i would be using a custom monitor, only thing is in there towers i'm not sure how there air flow is but i heard its not an issue. Are they overcloakable? I would be adding extra fans if they are.
I know you can get more for your buck for a pc just curious if i pay $3800 for a mac, can it handle games for about the next 3-4 years worth?
Click to expand...

The Mac Pros are very nice machines... and insanely overpriced. The difference between the new Xeon (in the mac pros) and i7 is non-existent. Mac is a great suft the web, check your mail machine... and extremely fun to multitask with. However Windows 7 is damn good and just as fast as Snow Leopard. If you're interested in my opinion:

I own a 13" MacBook Pro (2009), and a 2.33Ghz Core2Duo machine i put together myself... and run a Mac OSX 10.5.8, Windows 7, Linux Mint Tri-Boot on it. The only reason i bought the MacBook Pro is because their aluminum design is very nice... but make no mistake it's about $300 overpriced. I would possibly consider buying an iMac at some pont in the future as a general use web surfer e-mail machine, it's a nice compact beautiful machine that takes up minimal desktop space but again... overpriced by about $300.

Now even thought the Mac Pro is a beautifully engineered machine it is probably Mac's most overpriced machine. If you absolutely have to have OSX and can't be bothered with a Hackintosh install and have that kind of money to throw around by all means buy one. But believe me when i say that machine is NOT worth $2499... not even close. If they included one of their new 24" back-lit LED's with it, it might start to be worth the price... but i could build an i7 that is faster and cheaper. It may not be as beautifully engineered, but it will have better airflow and performance than anything Apple could throw together.

So in to sum it up... if you HAVE to have OSX and you can afford to throw around that kind of money go for it... the Mac Pros is a beautiful machine. If you want the fastest possible machine and don't care about having OSX... build a PC, an i7 rig under Windows 7 will blow you away!
 
For the record you can over clock your Mac, I have read on it many times but have no idea why you would want to.

If you are going to do primarily gaming, a PC has many more merits however, there is so much misinformation in this thread I don't even know where to begin.

The i7 and the Xeons are not the exact same processor, if they were Intel would have no market to sell them separately. While, the core of each processor may be built off the same technology there are some major differences, and they are present in the Mac Pro.

First off, in a dual Xeon workstation/server you will have separate memory controllers for each processor, allowing the xeons to access RAM nearly at twice the rate. On top of that Xeons offer support for ECC RAM, which the i7 does not. This makes your RAM a lot more expensive, but still higher end and way more stable.

The i7 is meant for high end desktop computing, where the Xeons are made for high end workstation/server computing. So, to say that the i7 is equal to the Xeon is a false statement, because it is not. However, the i7 is a better choice for consumer computers and gaming because of the lower cost of ownership.

If really all you want to do is gaming, and while I really do Mac computers, you should probably build a PC. If you want to do other things, like video/audio editing, software development, so on and so forth then Macs are still awesome machines.

Unix is like a billion times better than Windows, and OS X is built off of Unix.
 
A Core i7 build would be overkill for you if you're mainly going to be gaming, and you can build one with a decent GPU for around $1500.

There's no reason for a mainstream gamer or consumer to buy a Mac Pro.
 
Bodaggit23 said:
A Core i7 build would be overkill for you if you're mainly going to be gaming, and you can build one with a decent GPU for around $1500.

There's no reason for a mainstream gamer or consumer to buy a Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Yeah if you are just going to play games building a PC is best. If you are going to game and do professional work a Mac Pro is a very powerful machine, but as Bodaddit said, it is overkill for most users. Most users don't need dual quad-core Xeons with 12MB of Cache on each processor.

I am not even sure if video games would utilize such hardware?
 
theres really no need to spend that much on a gaming computer if you go with a pc, for a mac u probably would have no other option but to spend that much. but after a few nice selections from newegg u should at the most only have to spend $1500 for a gaming pc
 
i would sooner chop off my arm than spend almost 4 grand for a mac. you could get SOOOOOOOOO much more power for that price with a pc! you'd have to be a fool to not see that. for gaming, pc > mac.
 
get a mac, i heard they don't get viruses.




...but seriously, you can spend half of what your budget is, and build an AWESOME rig.
 
dubesinhower said:
i would sooner chop off my arm than spend almost 4 grand for a mac. you could get SOOOOOOOOO much more power for that price with a pc! you'd have to be a fool to not see that. for gaming, pc > mac.
Click to expand...

No you cannot. i7 != Xeon. If that were true why in the hell would Intel still sell them? Why would servers and high end work stations drop the Xeon support and just use i7? That is because the Xeon still offers advantages that the i7 does not have.

Go build a dual xeon work station for cheaper than a Mac Pro, and remember Xeon's use ECC RAM. You won't be able to build one near cheaper than Apple offers out of the box. However, it has been stated that for most users the Mac Pro is over kill. It is meant for serious work, not for gaming.

I don't even know why I bother correcting so much misinformation on subjects like this, it is not like anyone ever listens...:mad:
 
THERMAL-REACTOR said:
There are motherboards out there with DDR3 and dual 1366 sockets. (Link) You can build a dual Xeon rig for much less than a Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

Then do it and post it so I can tell you how it is not anywhere near spec for spec of a Mac Pro. I have had this debate with so many people, and they never win.

I bet that motherboard is probably $400 to $500 and the Xeons are probably $600ish each right there is $1,800+ for just the processors and motherboard. Then add in the ECC RAM, and all the other features a Mac Pro comes with standard and try to beat the price. Oh, and the Mac Pros come standard with 1,000 watt power supply. So please, humor me and build your superior and cheaper PC spec for spec over a Mac Pro.
 
Last edited:
tlarkin said:
No you cannot. i7 != Xeon. If that were true why in the hell would Intel still sell them? Why would servers and high end work stations drop the Xeon support and just use i7? That is because the Xeon still offers advantages that the i7 does not have.

Go build a dual xeon work station for cheaper than a Mac Pro, and remember Xeon's use ECC RAM. You won't be able to build one near cheaper than Apple offers out of the box. However, it has been stated that for most users the Mac Pro is over kill. It is meant for serious work, not for gaming.

I don't even know why I bother correcting so much misinformation on subjects like this, it is not like anyone ever listens...:mad:
Click to expand...

why would you assume i ment the i7? im just saying, pcs are better for gaming for the price. nice job being a mac fanboy btw.
 
dubesinhower said:
why would you assume i ment the i7? im just saying, pcs are better for gaming for the price. nice job being a mac fanboy btw.
Click to expand...

I am simply correcting your wrong information how you can build a PC better than a Mac Pro for under half the price. When you can't begin to compare spec for spec what a Mac Pro is, versus what some kid builds to play games on, or adult I guess since I built my PC to play games as well.

The point is, that is just wrong information and it has nothing really to do with a Mac Vs a PC since they use the same hardware anyway. It is more about what the hardware does.

A Xeon Processor will out perform an i7 in many different ways and the i7 is not meant to replace it. Saying that you can build a PC just as powerful as a Mac Pro way cheaper is a flat out lie.

I don't care if you compared it to a Dell or Sun work station that uses Xeons in it. The fact of the matter is, you can't compare what you build for gaming and say it is way more powerful than a Mac Pro and way more cheaper.

Your quote:

i would sooner chop off my arm than spend almost 4 grand for a mac. you could get SOOOOOOOOO much more power for that price with a pc! you'd have to be a fool to not see that. for gaming, pc > mac.
Click to expand...

Is pretty much a lie. You can't build a way more powerful PC for $4,000.00. The Mac Pro also starts at $2500 and has the upgrade model for $3300, so they aren't even $4,000.00 with out adding extras to them.
 
tlarkin said:
I am simply correcting your wrong information how you can build a PC better than a Mac Pro for under half the price. When you can't begin to compare spec for spec what a Mac Pro is, versus what some kid builds to play games on, or adult I guess since I built my PC to play games as well.
Click to expand...

o rly? i said half the price huh? damn you know me better than i do. stop being a downer and assuming that everyone is hating on macs with no argument.

i simply ment that in the gaming aspect, it would be nuts to spend that price for a mac.
 
tlarkin said:
I don't even know why I bother correcting so much misinformation on subjects like this, it is not like anyone ever listens...:mad:
Click to expand...

At the risk of starting a bitch-fest,

People don't like know-it-alls that talk down to others. You may be knowledgeable, and thats awesome and very useful on a forum like this, but you consistently go about it in the wrong way by coming across like an asshole!

Sorry man, but I'd like to learn from people like you, and I'm sure others would too, but its hard to read/listen to people that come across like they know it all and seem to enjoy shooting people down.

and it's not just you! so this is not a personal attack! just stating what I've noticed in the short time I've been around.
 
dubesinhower said:
o rly? i said half the price huh? damn you know me better than i do. stop being a downer and assuming that everyone is hating on macs with no argument.

i simply ment that in the gaming aspect, it would be nuts to spend that price for a mac.
Click to expand...

*facepalm*

You still don't get it. Throw the world "Mac" out of this conversation. The hardware in what you propose to build for the same price, as say A dell dual Xeon workstation will not be cheaper than building one yourself, nor will it be way more powerful.

That is the only point I am trying to make.
 
Laquer Head said:
At the risk of starting a bitch-fest,

People don't like know-it-alls that talk down to others. You may be knowledgeable, and thats awesome and very useful on a forum like this, but you consistently go about it in the wrong way by coming across like an asshole!

Sorry man, but I'd like to learn from people like you, and I'm sure others would too, but its hard to read/listen to people that come across like they know it all and seem to enjoy shooting people down.

and it's not just you! so this is not a personal attack! just stating what I've noticed in the short time I've been around.
Click to expand...

I don't claim to know it all. If you don't like what I post and you think I am being an asshole then just hit the ignore feature and you don't have to see any of my posts ever again.

I just tell it like it is, and I am saying that when someone says you can build a way more powerful PC over a Mac pro for way cheaper, it is misinformation because the hardware won't match up.

The problem is you can't see my body language nor my facial expressions when reading what I post on an internet message board. I assure you I am very laid back in person and I am very to the point when I talk to people. If you were to hear me say the exact same thing I wrote on this message board you would have a completely different experience.

If you still don't like it, hit the ignore button.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top