Should I Get A Mac Or Pc?
Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I know that a lot of people will say Mac without question, but here’s what I need.
I need a computer that I can listen to music on, one that I surf the web on, play games, do homework (I’m a college student with a Marketing Major).
I don’t do video/audio/photo editing. Should I still spend more money on a Mac or just stick with PC’s because I don’t use the added goodies that Mac has.
Also, getting new software for the Mac will cost me a bundle, $150 for Office, $150 on games. I already have office for Windows and the games for Windows.
Category: Audio Surf
Tags: Should
October 17th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Who would say Mac without question? People that don’t know what a computer is?
Macs are horrible! There is not ONE single reason anyone could give me for buying one.
Stick with the PC. It is a real computer, not a Candy Flavored TV with the Internet.
October 17th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I suggest getting Mac for school and stuff if u use laptop cuz it a lot more helpful and less painful opening and closing the laptop… also pc has a higher chance in breaking down to a virus i would say…. i had a mac for my school last year and it was great but now my school provides pc this year and it suck as hell cuz when u close and open it again… u have to go through this process of typing in the password and waiting eons to get everything back to normal while mac takes a second…. mac of fast which is good for school but if u want something like a home computor… then go with pc
October 17th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
I would suggest that you go to the computer store in your area and see what platform all the games, software you like, printers, scanners, network devices, etc., are designed for, a Mac or a PC.
And if you are in college, your college courses may regulary require you to use certain software that you might have to install on your computer. Do they use macs at your school?
October 18th, 2009 at 2:21 am
PC because you are not doing any graphic stuff. You are not using Photoshop or other Adobe Programs. Get a PC Microsoft programs work on that and You can still have Firefox and IE. If you like IE then Get a PC. If you want music PC all the way. Macs are for Graphics PC for Business
October 18th, 2009 at 6:27 am
This question was way over-answered! Look, they mentioned games, GAMES. If you are a gamer, then you only have one choice to make, a PC with Windows XP or Vista. Period.
End of discussion.
October 18th, 2009 at 11:20 am
It really sounds like you already have your mind made up to go with a Microsoft Windows based solution. Either option will work for you (i.e. you haven’t listed any requirements that either system can’t meet).
FYI – I tend to favor UNIX based systems over MS Windows, but I also know that you apply the right tool to the job. I reveal this just so you know that I’m not a Apple Mac or MS Windows fanatic.
Based on the needs you have listed, a MS Windows based system is the logical choice. A mid-range dual core system with 1-2 GB of RAM should satisfy all your needs if you run with MS Vista. You can scale back the memory a bit (512MB – 1GB) if you go with MS XP.
Should you choose to go with Mac, consider getting Parallels or BootCamp so you can use your existing MS Win32 software. A co-worker of mine has a Mac laptop and runs several MS Win32 applications (Final Fantasy for example) without any issues. Oh, a reason to consider Mac over a PC would be tighter control from the OS vendor with the hardware vendors. Apple has a smaller target platform and can more thoroughly test against it, generally resulting in a more stable platform. This isn’t to say that you can’t get a reliable PC, just that you have a greater chance to get an unreliable PC (just look at some motherboard/memory reviews on NewEgg (or another vendor) and you’ll see components that have very poor reviews (i.e. stay away from those components).
Oh, for all the Mac fans that say Mac doesn’t get viruses, get your heads out of the sand. All operating systems are exploitable. While it is true that MS is the major target, Mac, Linux, UNIX, etc… have all been targets to some extent. Microsoft systems (pre-Vista) are generally easier targets, but more often due to users running with administrative privileges compared to actual exploits (memory overflow). A properly secured MS Windows system will be comparable to a properly secured Mac, Linux, UNIX based system from a user perspective.
Now where I do have a problem with Microsoft is that given their revenue from MS Windows/Office, you’d think that they’d be far ahead in development techniques to eliminate exploits. I haven’t seen this to be the case.
OK, after the long winded response, I’d recommend the PC over the Mac, but both will satisfy your needs.
October 18th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
i would suggest windows. it’s more powerful and more goal-oriented than flashy *in my opinion*. but either one would be good for that. if you really want something good, try Ubuntu Linux, with the WINE package, you can run a lot of windows programs without windows.
October 18th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I would get a PC. Macs are not all that great. I will never own another one.
October 18th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Mac is better for graphics, PC is better for everything else. I would personally get a Mac, if i could afford it
October 19th, 2009 at 1:17 am
I will go with PC
October 19th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Here’s my advice, if you want to spend less then purchase a PC. Macs are too expensive and it’s not worth buying because with the extra money you could further upgrade your current PC and more. Are you going to buy an expensive Mac and then pay more to install Microsoft Office and game? Just purchase a PC, it is preinstalled with Microsoft Office and some games. You could also listen to music with a PC or surf the web. You see, PC’s have what Macs have but PC’s have a little more.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:03 am
even though it costs more for a mac i hear its worth it they dont get viruses like pcs do but its your choice just giving u a advantage of getting a mac i hope you consider it
October 19th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Ok sure, get a PC, and deal with the viruses and software problems that come along with it.
What’s great about macs is that you can turn them into a PC with parallels. Not something you can do with a PC.
And if you download Office for Macs, it won’t cost you anything.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I asked a similar question & someone came up with these great reasons to get a MAC:
OK here’s my list of things I like about the Macintosh over Windows. I’m sorry that it is so long, but that’s how it goes.
* No computer viruses.
You hear from the Windows people that it’s because there are fewer Macs out there, but I think it’s because of the Mac OS and it’s Unix kernel. That doesn’t explain why Vista got viruses before it was officially released. The Macintosh comes out of the box as a closed system. If you want it to be networked and remotely operated, you can make that happen, but you have to change it’s settings first. Windows machines come out of the box as a wide open vulnerable system. That’s so the IT guy can set up the hardware, attach it to the company’s network, and install the software remotely from the comfort of his own desk. ActiveX and InternetExplorer leaves the Windows OS wide open to hacks and viruses. The Macintosh OS simply isn’t set up that way.
If you want to install any kind of software onto your Mac, you first need to type in your administrative password. There is no auto-install for a virus to attach itself to your Mac without your Okay. That is the simple answer why there hasn’t been any viruses for the Macintosh in the past 6 years. Another is that first year programmers learn how to create simple Windows script viruses their first year of class. Mac programmers simply love their computers and have no desire to create such an abomination. We love our Mac programmers and happily pay what ever they ask for their good, hard work.
* Games.
I enjoy the games that I play on my Mac, but It’s true that there simply aren’t as many games out there for the Mac as Windows. Hopefully, with the Mac now using an Intel processor, we will start to see more games being developed for the Mac. But, honestly, don’t most people get their gaming fix by playing with video game consoles (such as NES, PS, Wii, or XBox), rather than playing games on their computers?
* Software.
There’s a lot more software for the Macintosh now, than before Mac OS X arrived. Much of the Mac’s new software is simply Unix ports. There is also a large open source and public domain/shareware development community that has been supporting the Mac OS.http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/
You can run Unix X-windows on your Macintosh now too. Apple has been designated as the largest distributor of Unix in the world. If you have one of the new Intel-based Macs you can now run Windows programs natively using a program called Boot Camp and/or Parallel. There is also a Java Virtual Machine for the Mac too.
There’s still a ton of programs made specifically for the Mac. Most of these are programmed in machine language, so they’re lightening fast. Apple watches over their developers closely, to make sure everything runs like it’s supposed to; that it runs the Macintosh way. There’s also a lot of Windows ports too. I use Microsoft Office on my Mac at work all the time. Although the Macintosh versions of Windows software are way behind in features than their Windows brethren, the Macintosh programs seem to run better, faster and are not as susceptible to problems as the Windows ports. Go figure!
Where the Macintosh really shines is in the creative software area. I’m a printer, so I know that the Macintosh pioneered desktop publishing. I think that most structured drawing, paint/graphics, and music programs got their start here too. Video and film editing and production is now very big on the Mac. Many people complain about how expensive some of these programs are, but frankly, professional programs are always more expensive than the cheaper consumer-level programs that are out there. Stuff like iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, etc. come free with your Macintosh, while other programs are quite affordable.http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx
* Less problems
The Macintosh simply works. There really isn’t very many problems using a Mac compared to a Windows PC. Check out the computer questions here on Yahoo! Answers. There are a lot of Windows, “Why can’t I get this to work?” questions here. Even though there are a lot of Mac users here, there doesn’t seem to be very many Mac questions. The Mac simply works. Naturally, there are a few problems with any kind of computer hardware, but these are few and far between on a Mac.
* Hardware Power -vrs- Expense
Right, the Macintosh is a little more proprietary and you really need to buy hardware that tells you that it’s Macintosh compatible. You can’t just buy some cheap hardware, piece it together, and make a Mac, like you can with some PCs. But, then, you don’t have Plug-and-Pray either. Again, the Mac simply works.
We also hear from Windows users that Windows PCs are cheaper than Macs. True, you can buy hardware with the barest of graphics cards, hard drives, and other components, or you can buy the best and end up spending the same amount as a Mac. It’s your choice, but that’s why you see Macs holding up and being used a lot longer than these Window PCs.
Oh, and since we’re talking about hardware, yes, you can get yourself a USB multiple-buttoned mouse, plug it into your Mac, and use it just fine, thank you. Don’t worry about it.
* Mac OS X
It’s a very simple, basic, easy-to-use OS. It’s highly graphic, so your kids or your grandmother could learn to use it, and it’s also got a terminal, so the geekiest guy can enjoy using it to it’s fullest extent. Windows users will recognize many of the same features that they use on their OS, but there are a few things that are strictly Macintosh. http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/http://switchtoamac.com/guides/
I have loved it because it’s always responsive. You throw in a CD and the icon for it pops up on the desktop along with a dialog box asking if you want a specific program to use with it. There’s no need to search for drives. If it’s a music CD, iTunes launches to play it. If you plug in your digital camera iPhoto launches to import the pictures. If you’re looking for a file buried deep inside your Mac’s file structure, you can use Spotlight and it might find the file before you’re done typing the first three letters of the name.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Gamers should stick with Windows, or use BootCamp on the (INTEL only) MAC. BootCamp runs Windows very well.
TIP: The video card may be a limiting factor on OS X.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
iLife is bundled with a Mac so it is FREE.
Vista actually costs a lot more than Leopard.
A MacBook is only $1099 – edu discount.
iWork08 is only $79 which is cheaper than MS Office for Mac
Macs also run Windows so you can keep your PC games.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
well for work i would say mac but games i would go with pc but since u dont edit anything for sure pc u can get good ones cheap from like walmart or circut city but my vote is pc
i have both mac is very good for the web and work
pc is good on the gameside since they dont have may good games for mac
October 20th, 2009 at 2:37 am
if you are trying to be cheap about it then you have answered your own question the PC but… the mac will be more user-friendly and problem free
October 20th, 2009 at 4:02 am
Get a Mac. If you really really miss windows, you can install bootcamp and have the best of both worlds!
October 20th, 2009 at 9:45 am
okay, if your not a patient person then i suggest you get a mac
because they are very fast
i have one
its on a very rare occasion that a mac breaks down or slows down
but you say that your are gamer
sometimes some applications (eg. games) dont run on macs
but really these computers are for programing, editing etc.