Mac Vs PC Again

Good post, all very valid points/ I am a recent macbook owner and totally love the new computing experience thus far. However, I’m not shortsighted enough to think that Apple does not have its share of problems (as does the PC). Unlike what fanboys might think, Apple is not infallible.

I’m ready to jump right in Chris! I’ll let you know when I get my Macbook Pro.

I’ve made the switch myself recently. I explain why here.

And yeah, I got a Macbook Air while I was at it.

I love this video I non-biased pc user now, ever since I started watching you in September. I would love a macbook. But after watching this you changed my mind about getting a mac. I don’t care what brand it is i will eventually lose value so is this a “real” investment. eh… I mean You still have to have liscence to run vista on a mac Its a shame that mac wont allow OS X on a ‘pc’. Overall You gave me an even better reason to stay away from windows or mac. Im thinking off going to the linux side I’m a lite programmer and would like to learn more. So I would just dual boot just in case. Thanks for the video!

Touching on the games front.
Macs can run virtually any games on Boootcamp, so compatibility is not a question. The problem is the built in mac hardware. An iMac with it’s bargain basement video chipset will not do the job. You cannot upgrade it to a better one, so unless you’re planning on playing WOW for the rest of your life you might have a problem there.
And before the fanboys start replying that gaming should be done in consoles then I would argue that with that logic we should leave movies to DVD players, music to Hi-Fi systems and graphic design to pen and paper. A computer that can’t play is like a pair of shoes you can walk but not run with.

I guess it all just boils down to what you need and want. I personally am intrigued by mac. But i have WAY to much programs on Windows that i can’t take the time to find Mac equivalents..

Go with what you feel is right for you!

Apple Fan Boy

Although Mac OS X and its software is easy to use, I wouldn’t say that it is any easier to use than its PC counterparts. I have used both, and I can tell you that there isn’t really much difference.

Upgrades, you cannot upgrade the vital parts (processor, motherboard) on a Mac without voiding your warranty, but it is possible on the Mac Pro. The rest of the systems have the processors soldered on. Video cards and PCI cards, hard drives, and memory, can all be upgraded quite easily. The only problem is that you can only use certain graphics card, whereas on the PC you can use anything you want, provided that there is a driver around for it.

Games. Now, you can run all games in Boot Camp, but the problem is that the often low end graphics cards, if you don’t want to spend more money for a better one, will often not have the power to run the games at good enough settings. If you are a VERY casual gamer, and want to run a lot of software that is Mac only, or you have a very strict requirement for Macs, get one. Otherwise, stick with the PC.

Price is Apple’s big issue. Although they have got cheaper, saying that they are now as cheap as PC systems is not true. You can build a comparable PC for around half the price of a Mac, at most. It is possible to spend even less than that, 30% even. You aren’t paying a premium for the hardware, it is the same stuff that you find in your everyday PC. Overall I have found that a system can run good enough for 3-4 years, but anymore and you will struggle. In other words, using Macs are pretty expensive, and there isn’t really any advantage to them over the PC.

I’m speaking as a long-time Windows user about to switch to a mac…specifically an iMac. Even though I would describe myself as a power user, an iMac actually meets my needs better than a Mac Pro as I’m a student who spends half my time in one home, and half my time in another, so it’s going to be relatively easy just to put the iMac back in its box and put it in my car.

In response to what Bob is saying about Macs and games:

1. If you want a serious, powerful, fully upgradeable system, get a new Mac Pro. The new ones are awesome.

2. Most ‘all-in-one’ systems at a similar price to the iMac come with ‘integrared’ graphics or other budjet video chipsets. Apple could have just used integrated graphics chipsets in the iMac, but they chose to provide it with half-decent graphics, even when most ‘consumers’ who buy them havn’t a clue about the difference. This shows that Apple do want to provide something good to their customers. IMacs are quality systems, they’re not just pretty. Although they are very pretty to boot! (pun intended).

I’ve just gone onto the Sony Vaio website and found an all-in-one system called the ‘VGC-LM1E’ It’s a very nice-looking system and has a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, 250GB Hdd, a 19″ LCD display, BluRay drive, a 128MB GeForce 8400M. Bear in mind that I, as a student, can go into the Apple Higher Education store now and get an iMac with a 2GHz C2D. 1GB RAM, Superdrive, 128MB VRAM etc for….wait for it….£200 less than that Sony system!!!, btw that’s $400!!…and people are saying Macs are expensive. Even without my student discount you’re talking £100/£200 dollars. For me, the only thing the Sony has over the iMac is Blu-Ray, but what’s the point of watching a BluRay on a 19″ display and probably very tinny speakers.

Anyway, I’m in a similar to Chris…I’m a long time Windows user who has slowly been converted, with an iPhone as a kind of major stepping stone. Have I ever met anyone in the last year who has regretted switching to a Mac? No. Have I met anyone who has regretted paying a slight premium for the Apple logo? No. Right now, for me, it’s a no-brainer.

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Chris Pirillo »Mac Vs PC AgainPosted 72 minutes ago About the RSS Aggregator

All very valid points, and all are worth discussing.

Just a comment on Mac Gaming. The Mac can run Windows via Boot Camp, then good for the user. However, I see that running Windows on a Mac defeats the purpose of getting a Mac in the first place, because a Mac running Windows reduces itself to like any other laptop. In terms of hardware, softare and functionality, they are all the same. And a Windows-based Mac is an expensive piece of computer versus getting a PC. What does a Windows-based Mac have that Windows PCs don’t? The style? The white casing? The keyboard? The glowing Apple logo? The “Bootcamp” task icon? The magnetic power plug? Hardly anything substantial! Unless you’re going for looks alone, then maybe you should think twice about buying technology in general.

So what am I saying? You buy a Mac for its entirety (unsurprisingly since Apple is such a closed system). The operating makes the Mac unique. All of its substance is found in the operating system. All the programs that “are easy to use” are all there, the fancy visuals and the Apple product operability is there–not in Windows. If you are going to use Bootcamp for gaming, then might as well get a PC.

One can argue that Bootcamp can be used just for gaming, and all productivity in OS X. That is true, but are you willing to pay for it? Let’s assume we’re all ideal here: you buy a legitimate Windows license. That sets you back ~US$100-US$300. Remember, you still have to buy legitimate games. If ever you get to game, the Mac doesn’t have as much horsepower to game and the flexibility to upgrade.

Casual gamer? No need for max settings? Then it’s the same deal. You’ll be paying so much for such a selected reason. In my opinion, not worth it.

I’m not bashing Macs nor promoting PCs. I’m just being realistic and reasonable. The spirit of the Mac is in its operating system. OS X makes the Mac work, so don’t trade it in. I just find Macs running Windows ludicrous.

i think macs are a waist of time inless you have alot of money and not much software. i mean, what runs on a mac?? one type of webcam. one type of music thing on a pc you can do it all. yes it might be outdated but its still alot easier, ive had a pc for.. 2 years now and its fine. yes im getting abit bored of xp but still i love it. i would say pc anytime!

Point by Point from a switcher before Apple coined the term switcher:

Is Mac software really easier to use than Windows software? In the Mac world there is something called the ‘Mac Way’ which permeates good Mac software. Mac users come to expect all software to follow the Mac Way. For example, the Preferences option is always found under the application menu and has the same shortcut. In the Windows world there is no Windows Way - not even Microsoft programmers follow the same conventions. The Mac Way makes using the Macintosh easier - once you’ve come to understand and embrace it. As an experienced Win user you’ll find it difficult at first because you’ve developed your own workflows. But give it time and you’ll begin to understand and embrace it yourself. Then you’ll begin to notice just how much easier Mac software is to use.

New Windows computers are released every 3-6 months too but will little fanfair. Dell and HP just don’t announce that they’ve bumped up the processor speed or switched to a different graphics chip. And of course, selling dozens and dozens of models, who can tell when Dell silently drops its Uninspiron 10043 and replaces it with model 10044? Just because Apple (or Dell or HP or Acer) releases a new model doesn’t make your computer obsolete.

Consumer Macs are not as upgradable as PCs have traditionally been. In the mini-tower days we’d slap in a new video card, swap out a processor and bump our PC up a notch. But there are two things to note: first, only some of us PC owners actually do that. Market research shows that the vast majority of PCs that are replaced by new ones have never been upgraded and most of those that have been upgraded were memory upgrades. Why pay for upgradeability if it won’t be used? Note I stuck in traditionally above - because PC manufacturers have begun paying attention to Apple’s all-in-one success and making their own. Dell’s is selling quite well. All Macs can get memory upgrades and replacement drives but only the MacPro is as upgradeable as the traditional PC tower.

The PC isn’t where the games are - the console is. With just a tiny bump up in 2006, PC gaming has been giving way to consoles in both dollar sales and new releases. This is going to continue. Casual games, games that aren’t graphically or processor intensive are the only growing PC game market - and it is also growing in the Mac world too. But to the second part of your question - every PC game I’ve wanted to play on my iMac has run just fine in BootCamp. Note that the MacBook uses integrated video so there are a few issues there because some games don’t run on integrated video.

Your two year old PC notebook isn’t basically as powerful as the current Mac notebooks. Apple has been keeping pace with Intel’s CPU releases so there’s no way your 2 year old PC is as powerful. Aside from that: you get what you pay for. Obviously a PC manufacturer is able to shave prices somewhat and make it up in volume, but there’s a limit there and if the specs of a $500 PC notebook and $1000 Mac notebook look similar, you can be sure the PC notebook is lacking somewhere. Durability is where. How many 5 year old PC notebooks do you see in use and what would a 5 year old PC notebook be worth in resale? I just sold 2 5 year old Mac notebooks and made enough to buy a new Mac notebook with pocket change thrown in. When you consider the price of a new computer always consider the resale value of what it will replace. The Mac is always cheaper than a PC when you do so.

When I switched I augmented my homebuilt PC with a basic Mac model. Originally the Mac was intended for DTP use only but then I bought Office and Filemaker. Soon I was doing my all my work related stuff on the Mac and using the PC only for browsing with IE and some games. As I continued to fight with malware I decided the PC just wasn’t worth the trouble and traded it for a game console. My Windows needs were handled by Virtual PC and now by VMWare (and BootCamp).

Is a Mac perfect? Of course not. Does Apple make mistakes? Look no further than every mouse that has shipped with Macs since the iMac’s hockey puck. But Apple gets it right more often than it gets it wrong and when problems do crop up I’ve found Apple to be more responsive than the PC world of ‘point the finger’.

thanks i currently have a pc but i am trying to switch over because of vista. This video helped alot. keep posting

good, chris, do you know much about parrallels on the PC, and or MAC, because it sounds pretty interesting but kinda difficult to set up do you know how to use it

system. Right now my primary desktop running at 2.2 Ghz with a 1 GB of ram just to paint a picture. Would it even be worth it to upgrade to a Mac if I’m not willing to spend $3,000, although I’m not saying I just looking at the basics packages.Source

It’s windows!!! It’s windows !!! haha

well I think your completely right on all the cuastion, and the fact that a mac retains it’s value totaly correct I live in argentina and yes that’s just dead on.

but a mac is not cheap at all for the hardware your getting the OS yes great. I’m not a fan, GO beryl for me hehe. and as i sead i live in argentina and pay say 30-50% more on all that is IT especially if it’s from a know brand like apple.

so if you want to swicth to mac I’d try the OS first like chriss sead or like i sead on: http://www.lockergnome.com/news/2008/02/01/why-os-x-has-no-paint-from-windows/

OS X can run on a PC well. a mac is a PC made for the pure perpuse of running apple’s own OS (and yes whith boot camp window)

but to get to the point, my friend the one that I saw runnig on his PC OS X
is a editor/designer and can’t really aford a mac probebly just like me really.
so running it on a PC was the best thing to do and it work you get a feel for the OS and it ran all the apps but one can’t remember which one :P

till next time yours truly
mura

Dennis - Parallels Desktop (or VMWare Fusion, they are both great products) is no more difficult to set up than any other PC. In the early days of each product there were issues getting various ports and/or devices to work properly, but those days are long gone. I just got a new iMac this week and set up Parallels with XP in about 2 hours which is just about how long it would take me to install a new OS, configure the network, download updates, and install Thunderbird and Firefox on any PC box.

I love the design of the Apple products. But they are way too expensive here in Brazil.

Thanks so much for responding Chris. After watching this I’m trueling really, really thinking about a Mac as my next computer. Now the only downside is that I can’t build a Mac, it’s just so satisfying to have that MS-DOS screen come up after hours of work.
Now, I didn’t mean is the software easy as much as I meant better. Although you adressed what I was thinking about any way.
PS. My last name is Dumicich (Italian), stupid yahoo doesn’t work perfectly.
Once again, thank you so much for responding and adressing my points.

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Macs look cool, and cost a ton of money, compared to most PC’s of the same hardware. I’ve been quite disappointed in my Mac mini. It’s more of a toy than anything else. My buddy has had nothing but problems with his macbook since ‘upgrading’ to OSX.5. He just got it back from Applecare after his hard drive failed a year after buying it. His wireless now resets and disconnects every 30-40 seconds with 10.5. Unlike most of the people who post here, I’ve been impressed with Vista.

If you’re looking for a laptop, the Asus G1S-B1 is one of the best out there. It’s raging fast, not overly expensive and is from a great manufacturer (they make most of the Apple motherboards). With the 7,200 rpm drive and 1 gig of intel turbocache, it screams with Vista, and puts even the macbook pro to shame for specs.

I laugh a little everytime mac die hards exclaim the benefits of running two (expensive) operating systems. Good job, you spent way more money to get the same OS on a ’shiny’ machine.

i was a windows user fot many many years, and from september 2007 i switched to mac, i won’t regret it NEVER EVER, this is the best thing that happened to me in the term of working on my computer, and after only 2 weeks, i could say i HATE WINDOWS. is’t just ****.MAC rulez. nothing else to say

I recently bought an older G4 tower w/AGP graphics for $300 off eBay and I’ve thrown a couple hundred in upgrades into it; it runs Tiger, has 760 mb of memory, and a 40 gig hard drive. I’ve been a diehard Windows user for years, and have four systems (including a laptop) that all run Windows - I’ve successfully networked the two OS’s together (wirelessly, yet) and have upgraded the G4 in a number of ways. I’ve added 512 mb of memory, a USB card, an AirPort wireless (clone!) card, a new DVD writer, an old internal zip drive (finally found a use for it), and the hard drive I mentioned (it came with a 20 gig). It’s upgradeable even further when I get more money - I can switch out its processor, add more RAM, etc. It runs the full CS2 suite reasonably well, along with Microsoft Office and a host of other applications. I SHOULD bump up the processor and the memory before I switch it to Leopard, but once those swaps are done it would run that OS version nicely.

Am I abandoning Windows? Not in the slightest. Do I love this old Mac? Absolutely! Am I glad I bought this older machine? One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. This particular “flavor” of Macs was one of the most upgradeable machines Apple ever offered, and it’s been FUN.

For me games aren’t an issue, so that one thing I can’t speak to - but everything else has been - well - dreamy :)

The only place at my school that uses Macs is the Graphic Arts class and they are probably outdated by several years.

im currently taking games designing in hartfordshire uni. yet they all tell us to use Windows machines, even tho the uni is mostly Mac based… By the way Nvidia Quattro is for supercomputers… On windows machines quattro can do up to 16GB of graphics — see the difference??? I can get my windows machine to use 2Gigs of graphics power if i want to, yet my mobo was only £60.

mmm yep, nice but very expensive

im a teenager. for illegal music downloading or anything else kinda sketchy online like bitorrent downlaods its better cuz you cant get viruses. games u can use bootcamp or something. mac is just pricy but other than that its just better for everything cuz it can do windows.

sry to tell ya but Macs cant run vista better if they got more then 2gigs of ram

imac can upgrade the video card , ram cpu …and so on

really? video card??? thats new to me :p every day you learn something new

yes man
u have to buy a mobile video card with pci-e mobile….just ask for a video card for a laptop

sell the mac in a different country!!!!!!!!!

the video card in IMAC is integrated in the motherboard. so you can’t replace it. you can easily replace it in a Mac Pro , but there is no way to do that with an Imac.

no its not google it and u’ll see

dude, the IMAC , i repeat , The IMAC has the video chipset integrated. You google it and you’ll see. Only the MAC PRO , I repeat, the MAC PRO has a “stand-alone” video card.

aaa.. only the 24″ IMAC has a MXM PCI Express connector…

I’d Say Mac, But I use a Windows XP

I’d rather have the PC nerd represent me than CHRIS. Chris is full of **** and yet I find he doesnt really know anything.

at 16:50….what the hell happens to you man

Who the **** ins this guy? I watched him and felt my IQ drop 30 points. Apple gave him a hummer and now he’s all over them. “Money is not an object”

Mac resells because of it’s name and targets the preppy majority. Plus it’s “art” acording to Steve.

Please, shoot this guy, he’s worthless.

Okay responding to your sentences in order:
Chris Pirillo
You’re IQ couldn’t possibly drop any farther
Apple didn’t give him anything, his sponsors (who aren’t affiliated with Apple) did.

Mac targets the people who would prefer an operating system that is intuitive and elegant and are willing to pay the extra money for it.

What’s wrong with calling designing products art?

Shooting people is just wrong, you shouldn’t ask people to kill others.

MAC OS is gloss. It’s a resource hog. Granted, Vista is a piece of ****, I will give you that, but mac is nothing special. Why? Mac OS is a knock off of Linux. You want a mac os, get linux. My point is, he makes it sound like that money isn’t a object and shouldn’t be considered when purchasing a mac. Thats just not true. Why would I spend 2,799 [the average price of a mac pro] when i could build a pc that would blow it away for less money.

A resource hog? Are you serious? I can run Leopard on a G4 processor with 256MB of RAM. Smoothly.
However I do agree with you about the high prices of their computers. I mean they are very well built and sturdy, but their prices are a tad high sometimes.
And Mac OS isn’t “gloss” IMO, if you’re talking about the “perty colours” that windows fanboys complain about, there IS no color to the Mac OS (it’s white, black and grey), and the animations are to add smoothness and realism, not just eye-candy

Oh sorry FutureChuckNorris is another account I made since I ran out of favorites again…

It’s Gloss. I’m no fan of windows [I run a linux box with a cedega compilation] but xp is very stable, it’s user friendly, and not filled with fluff. Again, Vista is a piece of ****. Apple and Windows are just as bad. Mac charges an out landish price for “style” even though their pro looks like a cheese grader. With that, if you want to purchase upgrades for your mac, you have to purchase it from mac, which you will pay a premium.

As far as vista, why anyone purchases it is beyond me.

Only reason I’m using Vista right now is for gaming, I built a really nice gaming PC with two 9800 GTXs :D
I WISH they had DX10 for XP though, since Vista is hogging my memory during gaming…
But no way could I recommend Vista to an average (well, non-gaming) user (I build custom PCs for people as a side-job).

Very well put video. Well done Chris.

What a mouthpiece. lol

Please get a clue. There are no drivers for OSX from nvidia, ie, you are stuck with the limited amount of cards offered by apple store. Same thing applies to ATI. So no, no gaming for you!

[...] It all boils down to whether you need to do high end video editing or not as the MAC frame rates are sync’d to broadcast quality. But check out this link: http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/02/mac-vs-pc-again/ [...]

I do not agree mac hardware is overpriced. You pay for what you get. The design and built quality should be put into consideration. Besides, unless you are building your own system, you won’t get a similar hardware for half the price of what Apple is charging you. Most vendors selling the same specs are at best charging 80% of Apples price. And you will most likely not have firewire, LED backlight screens and IR remote just to mention a few.

If the only reason you use a computer is to game, I suppose any system will do, since game run in their own runtime and don’t really use any OS level APIs. All you’ll need to do is launch the game and there’s no more Mac vs PC debate :-P

However, if you do anything more than that on a computer, a mac will most likely do things better and faster than a PC.

[...] OK, it’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of Microsoft Products. I went through a period where it seemed to be working (last half of 2004 lol) and I wasn’t as vociferous, but I feel as though I really need to warn people about Windows Vista and Office 2007. It gives me daily fits and starts, and negatively affects the productivity of my business. Here are the top ten reasons why you’ll want to buy a Mac after using it, and computer maven Chris Pirillo is way ahead of me on this. [...]

I just built myself a PC this past weekend for about $1600. Here is what i built:
CPU= Quad-Core q6600 Overclocked to 3Ghz - $178
Motherboard= ASROCK P43TWINS1600 - $79
RAM= 4 gigs G.Skill DDR3 1333- $124
Hard Drive= 500 gig Western Digital SATA2 - $69
Video Card= Nvidia 260 GTX w/896 mb RAM- $200
Sound Card= Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality Edition- $140
Power Supply= Enermax 1000Watt - $254.99
Optical Drive= LiteOn 20X SATA DVD RW- $23
Vista Ultimate= $200
Reused Case i had from previous PC= $0

I configured the closest thing i could on the Apple Website:
One 2.8GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xeon
4GB (4×1GB)
500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Keyboard + User’s Guide

Total: $2999

Major Differences-
MAC= 8800gt pushes 57.6 Gb per second
PC= 260GTX pushes about 120 Gb per second
= PC FTW
the optical drive-
Mac= gives 16x Superdrive
PC = 20X DVDRW
= PC FTW
PRICE-
PC $1600
MAC$ 2900
= PC FTW

It is plain to see that macs cost too much for less processing power and smaller library of software.
= PC FTW

I’m thinking about getting an iMac. But can the iMac network with my other PC computer?

I have heard the countless arguements that Bootcamp allows you to run Windows games. That is completely true. My sister uses a Mac and I have indeed installed Halo 2 onto it. And guess what? I’ve had better performances with a 3-year old PC. Ok, no, but it’s just horrible. From personal experience, I can tell you that despite Bootcamp, you will get lagged so badly every frame you see is of someone teabagging you.

I’ve had better plays with a laptop without a charger and on minimum performance. At least there are pretty graphics and actual movement.

However, if you’re a casual gamer and play games like the Sims and want to join the in crowd today, get a mac.

Sure, Bootcamp can run Windows. It can also install Windows games, as I have done with Halo 2. And what happens when I click Join Game? I get graphics remniscent of Doom 1 and a guy teabagging me almost instantly. I’ve had better gaming incidents with a laptop on no plug and minimum performance. Now, if you are a casual gamer who plays games like the Sims and want to join the “in” crowd, the Mac is for you. It’s stylish, user-friendly apparently, though I have trouble navigating, and everybody’s using it.