PC vs Mac notebook for college

Mac or PC for college

  • Intel Macbook Pro for alot of money $$$

    Votes: 8 19.5%

  • REALLY REALLY nice windows laptop for less $$

    Votes: 33 80.5%
  • Total voters
    41
fade2green514

fade2green514

Active Member
get a pc. more compatibility.
laptop != server, you dont need to use unix or linux.
basically, get the pc because its cheaper and more compatible. any laptop won't be the best in performance... so whichever you get, it will be good.

i love how everyone says MAC's are better for video editing.
my friend bought an eMac a year ago... single core 1.25ghz with 1gb of ram and a 9600pro 32mb.
im absolutely sure my comp would outperform that thing ANY day.
the new core duo's seem fast though... of course, you can get one of those for a pc too :)
 
A

atvshane

New Member
LithiumSunset said:
I work for a converged internet services company and the vast majority of our customers are college students. I can tell you first hand that many of them are making the move to MAC machines for many different reasons. I have an iMac (20 inch) sitting here and I absolutely love it. It has the Intel dual core and it pretty much runs most of the programs I can run in windows including some of my online games.

Now Apple is making it so you can run both OS X and Windows on an Intel based machine so, I would say, the MAC is an excellent choice.

http://www.apple.com/switch/reasons/reason09.html

http://news.com.com/2061-10793_3-6058832.html
Click to expand...


Well I've been looking at some Sony laptops lately and they seem really attractive, I must say.
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=VGNSZ140PC&Dept=computers&CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_SZSeries

Can you give me some reasons on why you would think the Mac to be a good choice? I know they have exceptional battery life, they are real cool, great functionality, ect.. But I'm not sure if it would be wise or any benefit to learn the mac's operating system. I know I can dual boot windows on there, but if I'm gonna do that, I might as well just buy a sony vaio with windows.

Also, I am worried about the compatibility problems I might incur. I was hoping that I could just share software and what not with my roomate but with the mac I can't put the alot of software on there. I'm so confused. :confused:

Also having my desktop there too, I would have problems sharing files and things between them as my desktop is windows. I'm just not sure if the benefits of a mac can out weigh the hassle of compatibility. And like I said, if I get a mac and partition it and put windows on it, it makes it more of a hassle and more complicated because it is like having ANOTHER computer. I have to turn the laptop off and select windows to boot anytime I want to access any files there or programs. It would be easier to just get a windows laptop.
 
LithiumSunset

LithiumSunset

New Member
atvshane said:
Well I've been looking at some Sony laptops lately and they seem really attractive, I must say.
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=VGNSZ140PC&Dept=computers&CategoryName=cpu_VAIONotebookComputers_SZSeries

Can you give me some reasons on why you would think the Mac to be a good choice? I know they have exceptional battery life, they are real cool, great functionality, ect.. But I'm not sure if it would be wise or any benefit to learn the mac's operating system. I know I can dual boot windows on there, but if I'm gonna do that, I might as well just buy a sony vaio with windows.

Also, I am worried about the compatibility problems I might incur. I was hoping that I could just share software and what not with my roomate but with the mac I can't put the alot of software on there. I'm so confused. :confused:

Also having my desktop there too, I would have problems sharing files and things between them as my desktop is windows. I'm just not sure if the benefits of a mac can out weigh the hassle of compatibility. And like I said, if I get a mac and partition it and put windows on it, it makes it more of a hassle and more complicated because it is like having ANOTHER computer. I have to turn the laptop off and select windows to boot anytime I want to access any files there or programs. It would be easier to just get a windows laptop.
Click to expand...

Well, I've only been a MAC user for a very short time as, this iMac I just got it like a month ago. I love it and it's a great machine. One of the reasons I see alot of college kids using MACs now is because they have courses that require them to use it. I believe that's one reason that Apple will have dual boot on their machines now.

Comparing MACs to PCs is a hardline grey area. I can tell you that once you go with a MAC, your either going to love it to death and never go back to Windows or, your going to absolutely hate it, get rid of it and stay with Windows. I work with guys that hold just about every Microsoft certification that exist and they have MACs sitting on their desks at home.

My advice would be to try a MAC or see if you can find a friend or family member that has one and let them show you. Of course the biggest factor too is budget. I have the luxury of having all sorts of machines but, if I were in your shoes, I would just research it as your doing now. Go with your instincts. If your even the least bit hesitant about going with MAC, don't do it as, you know you can get a good Windows machine and do what you want with it. Also, see if you can find out exactly what you'll need for college and if the MAC will support what you want to do.

Yes, alot of people still can't stand the thought of owning a MAC. The problem is, MAC is making gains in marketshare. Yes, it may not ever topple Windows but, I see ALOT more people using MAC now then ever before and theres obviously reasons for it. Good luck in your choice and let us know what you decide. No matter what, your still in a win-win situation.
 
A

atvshane

New Member
Ok, thanks alot. I'll check in with the college to see if a Mac will suite my needs for my classes and what not. Thanks again for your advice.

Oh, and lithiumsunset... why did u vote for the nice windows PC as opposed to Mac? I saw your vote on there
 
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Geoff

Geoff

VIP Member
Apokarteron said:
Mac as an OS is way better than Windows, just that there aren't enough programs for it.
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Thats an opinion.

If you have to pay more money for a slower, less compatible mac, why would you?
 
LithiumSunset

LithiumSunset

New Member
atvshane said:
Ok, thanks alot. I'll check in with the college to see if a Mac will suite my needs for my classes and what not. Thanks again for your advice.

Oh, and lithiumsunset... why did u vote for the nice windows PC as opposed to Mac? I saw your vote on there
Click to expand...

Because I know how to build a very nice Windows PC vs. a MAC. Windows still holds an advantage as, it will run all of my games and apps while the MAC can't. It's only a slight advantage though.
 
R

Rdrnatn24

New Member
I thought id bump this since im thinking the exact same thing. I will be majoring in computer engineering also next fall. Now that the new mac laptop came out what do you experts think? Should i buy a mac or pc for the same price? I will use it for all my computer engineering needs plus a lot of multimedia stuff. Or would I be better off building a new pc and using my older laptop for portability. If i go the desktop route, what do i need to look for when it comes to computer engineering? Thanks.
 
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MONKEY BOY

MONKEY BOY

New Member
i recon pc would be the way to go because well over here most college servers run server 2003 so its easyer to network... but if u use a mac server 2003 has wholes that u can well use ahum...
 
QACJared

QACJared

New Member
All current Mac notebooks can run windows quite well....besides the fact you dont need to buy an antivirus.
 
Apathetic

Apathetic

New Member
If you have the money mac wouldnt be a bad option at all, if you dont have the money probably consider pc. If money doesnt matter to much, personally I would get a mac for the hell of it lol. If you put some $$$ into it, it would be really nice, plus you could put windows on it like people said if you needed or wanted to.
 
Clutch

Clutch

banned
QACJared said:
All current Mac notebooks can run windows quite well....besides the fact you dont need to buy an antivirus.
Click to expand...
Since you are running Windows on a Macbook, you all of a sudden don't need an antivirus?

You are sadly mistaken if you really beleive that you don't need an antivirus when a Macbook runs Windows, as the Macbook is able to run Windows natively and generally all Windows based applications (as the Core Duo inside the Macbook is x86 based). Therefore, this means it can also run viruses natively.

And, even if you are running MacOSX, that doesn't mean that you are automatically exempt from getting viruses, as there are viruses for MacOSX also.
 
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B

bptba93

New Member
get the intel mac it can run windows and apple supports it with their "FREE" program...plus you'll get used to Mac OS X the never crashing, no virus, no spyware, totally rocking O.S. Mac's are more common in colleges these days yes their courses require them because there is programs for macs that aren't for PCs...now if I would get a Intel Mac Book I would install Windows XP on it so you can do gaming or stuff that only Windows can do. Get the mac then you have the best of both worlds. Oh and what Monkey Boy said mac do windows networks...

EDIT: if running windows get a antivirus because windows has too many holes if running mac os x don't it's all patched up. It's Unix based. Actually it's FreeBSD with a cool looking layer slapped on if you ask me

Edit again: There is only 1 virus ever known for osx but it never became widespread and all it was a picture virus i don't think it caused anything serious to occur.
 
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jancz3rt

jancz3rt

<b>VIP Member</b>
Hmm

In my view, MACs are way overpriced for what they deliver. A lappy costing less will give you as much, if not more than the MAC.

JAN :D
 
K

kitmk

New Member
grab a windows, and just to have fun with unix and spend no money on another os, install kororaa linux :D like me i am with xp home and kororaa
 
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