What are the advantages of a Mac over a PC?
- Thread starter Opeqa16x
- Start date
Afrodisiac
Member
Well, Steam being Mac-friendly now, as well as many Valve games, gaming is no longer Mac's disadvantage IMO. As for me, I wouldn't buy a Mac desktop because I prefer custom building/tinkering, and I wouldn't buy a Mac laptop because I'll be spending more on things that don't really matter to me like looks. Above all, I'm too used to Windows to willingly take away the comfort of it away from myself. But yeah, Macs aren't bad at all. It's just that they have some fans that make them look bad, but then again, so does Windows (like the people who write Macs off as garbage based on principle instead of evidence).
Perineum
Well-known member
Well, gaming is still a severe disadvantage in my opinion but overall another good post. The hardware on either side isn't the problem most times, it's the users that screw them up.
enaberif
Well-known member
Those games that do run on the mac I would assume take advantage of OpenGL not DX libraries so in essence no further ahead.
FlyingFish
Well-known member
The graphics card options on Apple products still lags really far behind Windows PC options. It's getting better now, but still not great, unless you want to pay a hefty premium.
Being a gamer, I'm not really interested in Apple stuff, although using iMovie on a friends MBP was a pleasant experience. Macs do come with a decent selection of software.
And iTunes which is either crap or awesome depending on your point of view.
Being a gamer, I'm not really interested in Apple stuff, although using iMovie on a friends MBP was a pleasant experience. Macs do come with a decent selection of software.
And iTunes which is either crap or awesome depending on your point of view.
What I really don't like about Mac is not necessarily any of the products themselves, but rather: their fan base. I can understand why some people would have bias towards a certain brand but apple's fanboys are a little bit more ridiculous than others. The other day I was arguing with one of my friends about viruses. I told him that the last time I ever had a virus was like 5 years ago and my computer has never crashed once in the 9 years that I've had it. He actually ended up calling me a liar because he doesn't think there's a single PC out there that won't crash. You can't even reason with people like this..
Anyways, fanboys aside, I really don't care much for Mac's aluminum finish or "awesome touchpad". I will admit it does look quite nice but looks are subjective, and it's not like I'm going to buy a macbook just because it looks pretty. I want to buy a machine that suits me for my needs, not just something that caters to a large group of people.
Also, in terms of OS you could also say that whether or not an OS is easy to use is also subjective. It wasn't that difficult for me to get a hang of Windows XP when I first got it. Everything was pretty much straightforward and was there to do a job. Now I'm not saying Macs can't do a job just as well, but I really just can't see myself wanting to pay more for something that does the same thing/not as much as a PC for a higher price tag. Sure, it looks nice and it's "easy", but is that all there is to it these days?
Perineum
Well-known member
Well software developers have the ability to still cause hard locks from gaming. Last one that did it to me was borderlands.... I wasn't impressed. I don't mind CTDs (crash to desktop) too much but a full blown graphical glitch solid lockup pisses me off since my RAID has to rebuild.
But anyway, as far as Windows goes, I've not seen crashes due to it for some years now.... right around release of WinXP SP1, I'd guess.
But anyway, as far as Windows goes, I've not seen crashes due to it for some years now.... right around release of WinXP SP1, I'd guess.
SneakySnake
Well-known member
I seriously doubt that you haven't had a crash in the last 9 years either 
To the point though.
I'm a long time mac user (was bread on them), but I got my own gaming rig. I use both daily (See signature).
Mac Advantages:
1. They do just kinda work (not saying they don't crash, but just that everything in the OS, and a lot of 3rd party stuff integrates a lot better into the OS)
2. OS X is more streamlined, and faster on comparable hardware (faster in OS response, and boot times etc.). For example, my work laptop (not in the signature) is a 3.0 GHz C2D Macbook Pro with 4 GB's of DDR3 RAM, and a 256 GB SSD (I can't tell you which one, came with the computer, and I'm not gonna open it up to look, although that's quite easy), beats my brothers Dell XPS i7 720, 4 GB's DDR3, and this Corsair 128 GB SSD. In response time, boot time, etc. (OS speeds)
3. Build Quality is excellent. By this I mean the computer's construction, not the components
4. Exceptional Customer Support - if you have a problem and are under warrenty it will be fixed and fast. Dealt with them on numerous occasions for issues ranging from a bad RAM stick, to a dying GPU in my Mac Pro.
5. Multitouch. In my opinion the best multitouch available on any laptop. I think most would agree.
Mac Negatives:
1. PRICE. If your looking at a pure hardware standpoint they are very overpriced. Some people (like me) take into account the build construction (all their laptops are less then an 1" thick, and have at least 7 hour batteries), which offsets the cost somewhat, but you definitely pay an apple tax.
2. Gaming. I've got several thousand posts on a mac gaming site, and know my stuff. The gaming scene exists on mac, but is relatively young (Steam came out just in the spring, and before that there was hardly anything. It's getting better now, but if you call yourself a gamer get a PC (which is what I did)
3. GPU drivers (nvidia). OS X does not use DX (MS would never let them), they use OpenGL, and apple likes to control GPU driver updates, so they are very few and far between (like 2 per year). A good mac port of game (like Bioshock) will get about 15% better performance in windows. Poor ports will get double or triple the framerate in windows. Which means that unless you have a top end iMac, a Mac Pro, or a mid-high end MBP, your not playing any new releases in OS X.
4. No Blu-Ray, if thats any factor to you (isn't for me)
5. Well I can almost guarantee you that you won't get a virus in the immediate future, but there is no real good virus/malware/etc. protection like there is in windows.
Overall thoughts:
Really comes down to personal preference of the OS. I can tell you that OS X is VERY fast, once you learn the shortcuts, especially with a trackpad or 5 button mouse. Not saying Win7 is slow, but OS X just has that blazing speed. Oh, Apple's apps work better is OS X (safari, itunes, etc. cuz obviously they get more love there).
Umm, well since I'm a mac guy: get a mac :bleh: but seriously, look at your needs and wants, balance them, and get the computer that you think fits best.
To the point though.
I'm a long time mac user (was bread on them), but I got my own gaming rig. I use both daily (See signature).
Mac Advantages:
1. They do just kinda work (not saying they don't crash, but just that everything in the OS, and a lot of 3rd party stuff integrates a lot better into the OS)
2. OS X is more streamlined, and faster on comparable hardware (faster in OS response, and boot times etc.). For example, my work laptop (not in the signature) is a 3.0 GHz C2D Macbook Pro with 4 GB's of DDR3 RAM, and a 256 GB SSD (I can't tell you which one, came with the computer, and I'm not gonna open it up to look, although that's quite easy), beats my brothers Dell XPS i7 720, 4 GB's DDR3, and this Corsair 128 GB SSD. In response time, boot time, etc. (OS speeds)
3. Build Quality is excellent. By this I mean the computer's construction, not the components
4. Exceptional Customer Support - if you have a problem and are under warrenty it will be fixed and fast. Dealt with them on numerous occasions for issues ranging from a bad RAM stick, to a dying GPU in my Mac Pro.
5. Multitouch. In my opinion the best multitouch available on any laptop. I think most would agree.
Mac Negatives:
1. PRICE. If your looking at a pure hardware standpoint they are very overpriced. Some people (like me) take into account the build construction (all their laptops are less then an 1" thick, and have at least 7 hour batteries), which offsets the cost somewhat, but you definitely pay an apple tax.
2. Gaming. I've got several thousand posts on a mac gaming site, and know my stuff. The gaming scene exists on mac, but is relatively young (Steam came out just in the spring, and before that there was hardly anything. It's getting better now, but if you call yourself a gamer get a PC (which is what I did)
3. GPU drivers (nvidia). OS X does not use DX (MS would never let them), they use OpenGL, and apple likes to control GPU driver updates, so they are very few and far between (like 2 per year). A good mac port of game (like Bioshock) will get about 15% better performance in windows. Poor ports will get double or triple the framerate in windows. Which means that unless you have a top end iMac, a Mac Pro, or a mid-high end MBP, your not playing any new releases in OS X.
4. No Blu-Ray, if thats any factor to you (isn't for me)
5. Well I can almost guarantee you that you won't get a virus in the immediate future, but there is no real good virus/malware/etc. protection like there is in windows.
Overall thoughts:
Really comes down to personal preference of the OS. I can tell you that OS X is VERY fast, once you learn the shortcuts, especially with a trackpad or 5 button mouse. Not saying Win7 is slow, but OS X just has that blazing speed. Oh, Apple's apps work better is OS X (safari, itunes, etc. cuz obviously they get more love there).
Umm, well since I'm a mac guy: get a mac :bleh: but seriously, look at your needs and wants, balance them, and get the computer that you think fits best.
AkG
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2007
- Messages
- 5,274
I seriously doubt that you haven't had a crash in the last 9 years either
To the point though.
I'm a long time mac user (was bread on them), but I got my own gaming rig. I use both daily (See signature).
Mac Advantages:
1. They do just kinda work (not saying they don't crash, but just that everything in the OS, and a lot of 3rd party stuff integrates a lot better into the OS)
2. OS X is more streamlined, and faster on comparable hardware (faster in OS response, and boot times etc.). For example, my work laptop (not in the signature) is a 3.0 GHz C2D Macbook Pro with 4 GB's of DDR3 RAM, and a 256 GB SSD (I can't tell you which one, came with the computer, and I'm not gonna open it up to look, although that's quite easy), beats my brothers Dell XPS i7 720, 4 GB's DDR3, and this Corsair 128 GB SSD. In response time, boot time, etc. (OS speeds)
3. Build Quality is excellent. By this I mean the computer's construction, not the components
4. Exceptional Customer Support - if you have a problem and are under warrenty it will be fixed and fast. Dealt with them on numerous occasions for issues ranging from a bad RAM stick, to a dying GPU in my Mac Pro.
5. Multitouch. In my opinion the best multitouch available on any laptop. I think most would agree.
Mac Negatives:
1. PRICE. If your looking at a pure hardware standpoint they are very overpriced. Some people (like me) take into account the build construction (all their laptops are less then an 1" thick, and have at least 7 hour batteries), which offsets the cost somewhat, but you definitely pay an apple tax.
2. Gaming. I've got several thousand posts on a mac gaming site, and know my stuff. The gaming scene exists on mac, but is relatively young (Steam came out just in the spring, and before that there was hardly anything. It's getting better now, but if you call yourself a gamer get a PC (which is what I did)
3. GPU drivers (nvidia). OS X does not use DX (MS would never let them), they use OpenGL, and apple likes to control GPU driver updates, so they are very few and far between (like 2 per year). A good mac port of game (like Bioshock) will get about 15% better performance in windows. Poor ports will get double or triple the framerate in windows. Which means that unless you have a top end iMac, a Mac Pro, or a mid-high end MBP, your not playing any new releases in OS X.
4. No Blu-Ray, if thats any factor to you (isn't for me)
5. Well I can almost guarantee you that you won't get a virus in the immediate future, but there is no real good virus/malware/etc. protection like there is in windows.
Overall thoughts:
Really comes down to personal preference of the OS. I can tell you that OS X is VERY fast, once you learn the shortcuts, especially with a trackpad or 5 button mouse. Not saying Win7 is slow, but OS X just has that blazing speed. Oh, Apple's apps work better is OS X (safari, itunes, etc. cuz obviously they get more love there).
Umm, well since I'm a mac guy: get a mac :bleh: but seriously, look at your needs and wants, balance them, and get the computer that you think fits best.
1) Windows 7 also kinda works....and works on more then OSX and apple does. Id give the OSX a slight advantage here though.
2) You SSD is most likely a Toshiba made one. Very similar to the Kingston V+. So comparing it to an old arsed (and even slow when it was new) SSD....not exactly apples to apples. Honestly, Id say this is one is tie as both OS's with a SSD are going to be fast.
3) Build quality. Yawn. Gone over a million times before. Same as any other good wintel OEM. Tie here too.
4) Customer support with Apple is just as variable as any of the big ones. Some peeps get great service...some....not so much. Buy the aftermarket warranty for any of the big 3 and you will get the same. THOUGH with apple you get way more OS support. Slight advantage to OSX.
5) You are joking right? Windows 7 has multiouch. Apple has more experience with multi, so a slight advantage to OSX.
Cons
Yup spot on. Gaming is windows domain. Always has been, probably always will be. But once again no virsus on apple is not because its more secure. Its not. Its just not a wise investment for the scum bags to waste their time on. This is still a big point in OSX's favour.
Overall thoughts:
I could easily say the same of XP vs any OS IF I was using a blazing fast SSD on it and not my other systems. This doesnt make it factually correct for anyone else....just my7 "own" experience (I am not saying this BTW, win 7 is faster with SSDs then XP with SSDs!) Your experience in saying OSX is fast and streamlined is skewed. Drop a fast SSD in both and both will be fast. Drop a slow assed hard drive in both and both will be slow.
YMMV but I agree, get what best fits a peeps needs and ENJOY!
