PC or Mac?

[ninerr]

So I'm in the market for a new computer -- I have a really basic laptop that I use for web surfing and watching movies and such when I'm away for work, and at home I have a pretty souped up PC, but it's a few years old and I'm starting to notice some significant lag.

This is where the age-old debate comes in... PC or Mac? I'd like to hear people's experiences. I like the idea that Macs don't crash and don't really slow down, and I like that they're Unix-based. I don't like that it's hard to find software/games/etc. to work on them sometimes.

As for PCs, they're pretty much a standard, but Windows is just getting greedier and greedier and it's ticking me off.

I haven't decided whether to get another tower or a new laptop that'll just be for personal use.. any thoughts?

 

[debeli]

You didn't write what are you using the computer for other than lpsg

Anyway, if you really want the best suited machine for you, write down your requirements with ponders, match it against machines you're considering, then you'll see which suits your needs best after you compare the sums.

 

[Phil Ayesho]

Buy a Mac- It's a superior piece of hardware and, with the Apple Care plan, it will be well taken care of.

You can have all the fun you want on the Mac and surf the internet knowing you are practically bulletproof without any antivirus software...


But here's the Kicker...

With the Mac- you can initialize a Windows partition via BootCamp and install Windows XP or Vista...

Which means that with the Mac you can KEEP all your PC software and simply boot into windows whenever you need to... OR- for most software, run windows under Fusion or Parallels which will allow you to run Windows apps as a window in the Mac OS...

So, the Mac offers you a better looking and more durable laptop, with a better operating system, AND the option of running windows on it when you feel like it.


Just one caveat... get religious about ONLY booting into Mac OS to surf the internet, download data or email...

...And you will NEVER see another virus.

 

[PowayWolfman]

Mac user here.. Graphic artist and writer on my spare time... Love the mac.. have two.. a G5 tower and a mini.. was a PC guy before and went through 5 of the fuckers..

 

[flame boy]

Mac gets my vote too. I used to be a PC user and when my 3rd PC broke in as many years I decided to buy a mac and I haven't looked back since. If you don't want to run bootcamp there is also software called Parallels which is basically a windows emulator - pretty good.

They do cost more but their efficiency and long term saleaability (sold a 3 year old mac for only £200 less than I paid for it) outweigh anything i've seen on a PC. Oh also, they're stylish as hell.

 

[Phillysingleguy]

I have a MacBook Pro and highly recommend it.

When I first got it, I was concerned with software/games/etc, but it has turned out to be a non-issue for me.

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

 

[HazelGod]

If you know computers, I say go for the PC and build it yourself.

Everything Phil A. says about Macs goes the same when you replace "MacOS" with "Linux."

99% of the time, my main system runs Linux...the few "Windows" applications that I use run perfectly under Wine (the Windows emulation layer for Linux), but truth be told, most everything I do is with a native application.

The other 1% of the time, I boot the system into WinXP to play games that require it.

Even portability between the two isn't a problem...Linux can read and write files on the Windows partition (FAT32 or NTFS), and I have a filesystem driver installed in Windows that lets it read and write to the Linux partitions (ext2 or ext3).

 

[transformer_99]

HazelGod's suggestion is what I opted for. You really don't need bleeding edge pc components to get brand new and faster than what you're used to.

Linux has it's pluses, I'm still waiting on a program that plays commercial dvd movies ? So in that regard it isn't Windows or OS X, but at every other turn, Linux will give 99 % or better productivity as the pay per view OS's and applications.

 

[darkbond007]

I have a macbook pro with OSX (obviously) windows XP, windows 7 (old beta) and ubuntu all installed in seperate partitions using VMware Fusion. Quite honestly if you have the money I can only recommend a Macbook Pro (one of the high end models).

We're talking at least a 2K investment. The funny thing is my macbook pro is almost two years old and it has only failed on me once, and when it did I took it back to Apple and they fixed it for free due to me being on Applecare. (it had to do with the known GPU issue with their older macbook pros it has since been completely rectified). From a support standpoint you dont get any better.

Hazel is right about Linux however my only problem with any Linux platform for the normal consumer is where do you get the same level of support from with regards to the OS? Sure there are many sites over the internet and a number of individuals possibly on these boards, myself included, can assist but there is nothing like walking into a place and just telling them fix it or give me a new one!

And dare I say 29 bucks for OS upgrade in September?

 

[MarkLondon]

<snip> at home I have a pretty souped up PC, but it's a few years old and I'm starting to notice some significant lag. <snip>

If you haven't already done so, defrag your hard disk before you spend any money. My system was getting sluggish untill I did that for the first time in a few years.

 

[Daddy Lucas]

As you can see from my logo I'm a Mac addict! I bought my 1st Mac in 1987 and it lasted 19 years!!! I have a Macbook Pro laptop (on it's second year) along with my eMac (5 years) iMac (7 years, I think) and an old Power PC dating back to the mid 1990's - they will not die! LOL They cost more because they last and last and last!