Mac or PC?

[Texas Jim]

I am considering a new computer and I know absolutely nothing about them I have had two PC's and they eventually get all balled up from what ever I do or someone else does. I will not be the only one using it another adult and my Mother who is 83 will be playing, I think it's spider on it. Which format is going to be easier to deal with and I am getting tired of the GIANT MS crap that doesn't always work... TJ

[calrockx]

I am a big PC fan over Mac. I mean big time, I really can't stand the Mac OS or much else about em.

But I'm gonna say get a mac.

If you want to simply use the computer for everyday tasks and aren't really "into" computers, a mac would probably be easier for you. A PC can run perfectly smoothly, but you have to invest a little time and effort into it.

[reggie 00]

Its gonna all be up to you there Big Guy.
Both have there ups and downs.

PC gonna have the same problems you mentioned, it would help to implement a spring cleaning session every so often though.

Mac gonna have to learn a different way of doing things, and depending on how easy you pick up stuff will determine how easy it is for you. If all you are going to do is play a few games and surf the net. it will be easy enough.

Macs are have fewer virus and what not targeted at them, but there will be programs you will not be able to find for them, most likely alternates but maybe not.

I would like to get a Mac, just so i can really try it out. All my experience has been with customers machines.

PCs are PCs, they have there ups and downs as you find out, but i have been running the same load on my machine for quite a while, i just make sure everyone stays off it and doesnt jack it all up. Its a hard road to travel but you pick up little things to help make your machine more reliable.

If it was me i would do the Mac just for a change.

[d0ubledown]

if you want a trouble free, constant upgrade free, virus/spyware/adware/tupperware free, maintenance free computer..get the mac. they're simpler than they look..and the learning curve is quick. play around with one in a store to get the feel for it. some places here offer quickie basic courses for free with a purchase of a new mac (for the newbie mac users of course). of course getting one from a retailer with a good return policy helps if youre still not 100% sure. cant go wrong. you'll find that computers dont really need to be replaced every couple years.

oh..and if you really miss your windoze if you do end up getting a mac..you can run MS on a mac.

[rubysRunner]

I generally think of it like import vs domestic. Mac's are easy to use once you get used to them, and they are more likely to run forever with little problems. PC's are easy to run and cheap to fix, but can require constant maintenance & repair...This has basically been my experience.

If you aren't too computer savvy and have a bigger budget then personally, I'd recommend a mac.

[TDiddy]

I recently made the switch to a mac and haven't looked back.

[MTL_4runner]

I am a big PC fan over Mac. I mean big time, I really can't stand the Mac OS or much else about em.

Chuck, I'm shocked.....I thought any graphic designer worth his weight would be using nothing but Macs?!

I agree, I'm seeing alot more people using macs now than ever because the barriers are coming down fast (ie you can run MS Office on them and even run a slow version of Win XP if you need to). I have recently considered going for a mac as well, but I still have so much I do in win XP that it's not worth my while and I can't afford to have apps running slowly. Maybe in a few years, but I'll remain a diehard PC user for now.

TJ, as for ease of use, I'd have have to say go with the mac as well.

[Texas Jim]

Thanks gang!! I really like the idea of a mac, My Mother uses one at her job at school. Please keep the info flowing here I would like to see a little more about them. TJ

[calrockx]

Chuck, I'm shocked.....I thought any graphic designer worth his weight would be using nothing but Macs?!


That's no so much the case anymore. Sure more designers use Mac, but PCs can do anything a Mac can do and use the same software. I have two part-time grahpic design jobs, both use exclusively PC.

I can get by on a Mac, but am 47 times faster on a PC.

[Lee]

yup. PC's are only "bad" for graphic design because windows and its programs are more of a resource hog than mac programs and OS.

however, if you have a good graphics card and a lot of ram, you can do everything on a PC.

I personally love PC's and will never use apple products. I hate the ipod, i hate itunes, i hate the OS, the interface, etc. all of it is garbage to me.

[mastacox]

I have WAAAAY too many programs to even think about going Mac. Plus, I'm a big computer gamer (which Macs are not the strongest at) and I like to customize my computer in terms of water cooling, fans, choose my own mobo/cpu/ram, etc.

[surf4runner]

I really like the idea of a mac...
there ya go. :thumbup:



should have a good spell check for ya too ;) :burnout:

[paddlenbike]

I just bought a new laptop last week and struggled with the same decision you're making. I ended up buying a Dell PC, mainly for cost reasons.

A Macbook Pro (the model with a 15" display) with a 2.16 ghz Intel processor, 2GB RAM, 160 GB harddrive costs $2,274 per apple.com.

I had Dell build me an Inspiron 6400 (the E1505 is the same computer) with the same specs only a 1.73 ghz process rather than the Macbook's 2.16 ghz processor, but the Dell also came with a built-in modem (not really needed these days), an 8X DVD-RW compared to the Mac's 6X and bluetooth (an option I couldn't seem to add to the Macbook) for just over $800. HUGE difference in price.

Considering they are using mostly the same Intel hardware anyway, I am wondering if you could buy the PC hardware and run the Mac OS.

[Texas Jim]

Wow!!! peddlenbike; that is a lot of difference in moo-la!!! I am like you I'm thinking we may need another dell.....$1400 will almost pay for another week of my lawyers time. I really hate paying lawyers... mine charges by the freeking 6 minuet interval. That's $17.50 She has a great PC program that lets her bill that way.... :chair: TJ

[neliconcept]

paddlenbike, i think all macs have bluetooth built in, my ibook has it.

just for future reference.

[Seanz0rz]

i used to recommend the mac to people like you, who need a computer for basic stuff but arent really INTO computers. however, i have since seen the quality of mac products drop greatly. ive been to a number of calls of dead harddrives, motherboards, screens, completely failure and weird stuff like not booting every 10th time.

i have a dell e1405, great machine. i would highly recommend the smaller Toshiba's, they are great too.

[firebane]

PC > Mac

More software, more upgradability, more support and all around just cooler!

macs are for people who don't want to think :D

[Peter]

I recently made the switch to a mac and haven't looked back.


Ditto.
As everyone has already mentioned... PC is going to be for those that need to have absolute control over their computers. Me? I was tired to having to reboot when programs froze or things got too slow, etc. There are definitely more options available to a PC though.

[DHC6twinotter]

I've just built a pc, mostly due to cost constraints. Once I graduate and have some extra money, I'll probably go with a Mac. Macs are really great and mostly problem free. My boss at works has a 15.4" macbook pro and thinks it's the greatest thing. We just set up a Mac Mini behind a 40" NEC LCD at work to use as a timeclock. :D

Nice thing too, is that you can run Windows on the intel based Macs. :D

[firebane]

A pc is only as stable as the person who built it, the parts that went into it and how it was assembled.

Every machine I've had I've never had any issues with it simply because I know what works well with what and know how to take care of it which is what people don't know how to do.

[garrett]

A pc is only as stable as the person who built it, the parts that went into it and how it was assembled.

Every machine I've had I've never had any issues with it simply because I know what works well with what and know how to take care of it which is what people don't know how to do.


very true.

i built a my computer originally back in 2003. due to cost, i used some cheap parts. after my motherboard failed in 2005, i replaced the motherboard, processor, graphics card, and power supply and it has worked fine since.

software issues on the other hand (freezing, etc....) are EXTREMELY rare for my computer.

that being said, i wish i had the money for a mac.

[firebane]

I work as a computer tech and I have so many people coming in all the time saying they regret buying a mac and wish they had bought a pc due to the limitations of a mac.

[Markduce]

I work as a computer tech and I have so many people coming in all the time saying they regret buying a mac and wish they had bought a pc due to the limitations of a mac.


Other then gaming which will be coming back to the mac vary soon. I dont see any limitations with the new intel mac.

[firebane]

I work as a computer tech and I have so many people coming in all the time saying they regret buying a mac and wish they had bought a pc due to the limitations of a mac.


Other then gaming which will be coming back to the mac vary soon. I dont see any limitations with the new intel mac.


Software choice, software costs, and the sole fact if you want to do any upgrades to the system it can be difficult.

[neliconcept]

I work as a computer tech and I have so many people coming in all the time saying they regret buying a mac and wish they had bought a pc due to the limitations of a mac.


Other then gaming which will be coming back to the mac vary soon. I dont see any limitations with the new intel mac.


Software choice, software costs, and the sole fact if you want to do any upgrades to the system it can be difficult.


use from the consumer can make a difference too, Mac is trying to get more into business it seems, but for stuff that I do (graphic design, photography, 3d modeling/rendering) it fits perfect

for some others, maybe they just didnt know what they wanted or knew how to use it to its full effect.

iMacs, yeah kinda limited in hardware.

macpro? just in the processer of upgrading, can add up to 4 gfx cards, 4 hdds and 8 sticks of memory for 16gb total. which is my plan (yeah right on the 16gb)

[firebane]

I work as a computer tech and I have so many people coming in all the time saying they regret buying a mac and wish they had bought a pc due to the limitations of a mac.


Other then gaming which will be coming back to the mac vary soon. I dont see any limitations with the new intel mac.


Software choice, software costs, and the sole fact if you want to do any upgrades to the system it can be difficult.


use from the consumer can make a difference too, Mac is trying to get more into business it seems, but for stuff that I do (graphic design, photography, 3d modeling/rendering) it fits perfect

for some others, maybe they just didnt know what they wanted or knew how to use it to its full effect.

iMacs, yeah kinda limited in hardware.

macpro? just in the processer of upgrading, can add up to 4 gfx cards, 4 hdds and 8 sticks of memory for 16gb total. which is my plan (yeah right on the 16gb)




I will always stick to my guns that if you want something to piddle around with and enjoy a pc is the way to go. If you want something to do multimedia (graphic/music/video) is the best.

[calrockx]

aye....as someone in the industry, let me say this: a PC can do anything a mac can do in terms of media, like graphic design. i don't doubt macs were the superior machines years ago, but not these days.

both design jobs i work for use PC exclusively.

[hillbilly]

I'm a diehard PC fan and former LAN Admin who was responsible for over 175 PCs + numerous servers (all PC based) for well over 15 years. IBM & Dell make some great boxes, while Gateway and others seemed to have faded in quality over the years. The Mac thing intrigued me, but I never felt the need to venture into the 'hype' :bowdown:.... until about a year ago. I was on the upgrade cycle at work last year, so I opted for a MacBook Pro (the Duo Core could run both Win/OSX). The way I figured it, if the MacOS sucked, I'd just run XP. Since then, I've acquired a 24" iMac as a desktop replacement about a month and a half ago. Since migrating all my junk to the iMac, I've dropped my Dell desktop like a bad cold!! Haven't even turned it on in over two/three weeks. I moved on from my LAN Admin days many years ago, but I've simply grown tired of 'baby sitting' just my own work/home PC/Windows environments. Coddling all the nuances of conflicting apps, patching, protecting, etc has simply gotten old. :screwy:

There's nothing I haven't been apply to do with my Mac's. I even picked up a USB/serial adapter for locally consoling into my routers and such (Mac's don't have RS-232 ports). With Parallels installed, I can slid over to XP and run Visio, and even share the files between either OS in a "share folder". In all honesty, XP boots and runs considerably faster on my 2.16GHz Intel Mac than it does on my 2.26GHz Dell (to be fair the Mac does have more RAM than the Dell). Hell, I've even moved away from MS Office for Mac and gone to NeoOfiice. I'm almost entirely MS free (minus Visio; that's a work process issue)... and I wasn't even trying (I've never had a beef with MS).:thumbup:

[rubysRunner]

I just bought a MacBook Pro 2 days ago, and I'm totally loving it so far. It's been a lot of years since I used a Mac, but I'm picking it up pretty quick. It was pricey for sure, but I'm looking forward to years of mostly hassle free use (I hope). Since I got it I haven't even been able to bring myself to turn on the pc to transfer stuff over. I still have a few things to figure out, but it looks like I'll probably be a lifer. Now I just have to get my family to convert so they'll quit asking me to fix their PCs all the time.

[neliconcept]

aye....as someone in the industry, let me say this: a PC can do anything a mac can do in terms of media, like graphic design. i don't doubt macs were the superior machines years ago, but not these days.

both design jobs i work for use PC exclusively.


very true.

I used to work for 2advancedstudios www.2advanced.com and actually I was the creater of the v2 version of the site. however these guys all used PCs, mainly due to ease of coding in flash and xml. now its really the user. what feels comfortable can either be PC based or MAC based.

[calrockx]

are you joking me, you worked at 2advanced?

[neliconcept]

are you joking me, you worked at 2advanced?


back when I was just getting out of highschool, did a lot of the main layouts, and Tony/Eric did the flash work. This was when 2advanced was more 2d oriented with design instead of what it is now with the 3d sectional bgs with flash overlay going on (which destroys your loadup times btw)

I worked with some studio max with John, now their is a senior management team and they have merged with some company in Japan and have a headquarters there.

but they are based out of Aliso Viejo.

Fun times but man I was soo busy with school I couldnt keep track of my own butt to save myself.

[calrockx]

well cool. my boss idolizes their site.

[neliconcept]

well cool. my boss idolizes their site.


yeah the work thats come out of that company is top notch, theyve grown huuuge compared to when I was on the roster. only like 8 peoples names are shown as far as mgt goes but their are about 20 others that do work for them.