Dilemma?

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I've been toying with the idea of getting a mac for a few years but never bit the bullet!

My concern is it isn't going to live up to the hype!

I currently have a windows PC that is the following spec: (which i primarily use for photo editing)

Core2duo E6850
4096MB DDR2
320GB HDD
8600GT graphics
Vista Home Premium 64bit.

I am thinking of getting a similar spec (to my PC) imac 24" 2.8 and installing 4GB myself..

But people go on about how fast macs are due to the amazing OSX operating system but i am not quite convinced, yes i've played with a mac in the store, but it's not really the same!

So what i would like is rational and balanced opinions on whether i am REALLY going to see a big improvement in terms of speed??

Many thanks.
 

CrimsonRequiem


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Your Mac's Specs
MBP 2.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 860 GB SSD, iMac 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32GB RAM, Fusion Drive 1TB
I don't know if it's faster or not, but it really has to due with the CPU and the storage device. IE HDD, SSD.
 
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Do it, I was in the same boat as you and do not regret switching at all. Actually I feel stupid for not doing it sooner and saving myself some headaches. OSX is reliable and not having to get a virus program, downloading updates for it, and scanning once a week is very liberating. And if i need to do some school work and it requires windows I can boot up in vista and get that done. It's just the best in both worlds. Speed I dunno, my mac has better specs then the dell it replaced. However, some tests I saw before the purchase showed that photoshop ran faster on the mac then a comparable win machine.
 
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Black Macbook C2D 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD iPhone 4 iPad 3G
Faster performance-wise? Perhaps a tiny bit faster as OS X is more efficient at managing resources, but you're really going to notice a difference when you start using OS X as you spend more time using it than maintaining it, which you would have to do with Windows.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Black Colorware PowerBook 1.67 GHz G4, 2 GB DDR2, 100GB 7200 RPM
I've been toying with the idea of getting a mac for a few years but never bit the bullet!

My concern is it isn't going to live up to the hype!

I currently have a windows PC that is the following spec: (which i primarily use for photo editing)

Core2duo E6850
4096MB DDR2
320GB HDD
8600GT graphics
Vista Home Premium 64bit.

I am thinking of getting a similar spec (to my PC) imac 24" 2.8 and installing 4GB myself..

But people go on about how fast macs are due to the amazing OSX operating system but i am not quite convinced, yes i've played with a mac in the store, but it's not really the same!

So what i would like is rational and balanced opinions on whether i am REALLY going to see a big improvement in terms of speed??

Many thanks.

If someone tells you Macs inherently run a lot faster, they're just not being truthful; it all comes down to the software you're using, the hardware in your system, and how well you take care of the computer. The only possible advantage I can think of is OS X defrags your hard drive as you go, so in that sense it might be a little bit faster, but I still find the claim dubious at best. I'd only switch if you like using the Mac better; if you find the operating system, ease of use, or just the intangibles more enjoyable. Don't switch for speed; you can make your Windows system fast.
 
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If someone tells you Macs inherently run a lot faster, they're just not being truthful; it all comes down to the software you're using, the hardware in your system, and how well you take care of the computer. The only possible advantage I can think of is OS X defrags your hard drive as you go, so in that sense it might be a little bit faster, but I still find the claim dubious at best. I'd only switch if you like using the Mac better; if you find the operating system, ease of use, or just the intangibles more enjoyable. Don't switch for speed; you can make your Windows system fast.

From doing a bit of research i think the advantage of mac is not so much raw speed, but the fact that they don't just randomally crash half as often as windows?

If this is the case i guess it's productivity that increases, due to less down time rather than the out and out speed of the mac being greater than a windows machine!
 
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Mac Mini Core i7 2012 | White 2009 MacBook 2 Ghz | 733 Mhz G4 Quicksilver
You will either love the mac, or want to return to the windows world

If you end up liking OS X it will not be for speed reasons, although OS X is a stellar operating system

Your perceptions of the mac will probably end up being more emotional, the mac is more friendly, gets out of your way and requires less TLC, but under the hood it is a UNIX monster all the same.

Hopefully you will end up booting up in to a machine that you know will not be trying to give you grief, is efficient, secure and a joy to use. (after you have gotten used to the OS X ways that is)
 

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