New machine - Mac or PC?

Oneironaut said:

Macs aren't gaming rigs, but there are enough games out there if you look.

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Not yet, but we are well on our way.

Oneironaut said:

Did you actually have a question you actually want an answer to, or are you just trolling?

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Probably the latter....

Jay Riffs said:

my machine must obey me, for i am its rightful master and the only god.

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errmmm... creepy... :/

Personally I'd take a Mac Pro Quad-Core Intel Xeon with the 16gb RAM you mentioned and the SSD raided. But I obviously wouldn't buy the extra upgrades from Apple directly. Go to NewEgg or OWC or something like that.

I think you'll find you like OSX alot more than Windows7. I Have Snow Leopard on my MacBook Pro and I run Windows7 as a virtual machine with VMWare Fusion and it runs great. I don't know what you mean by you can't play some of your older games on a VM??

But I think you'll find with OSX rather than with Windows7, that it will just work! It's a beautiful OS and everything is set out great! Ofcourse if you are a hardcore gamer and have been using Windows your whole life and you want to custom build your machine and be able to customize more, I think a PC may be the better option. Also a cheaper option. But if you are willing to pay a little extra, and don't want problems like you're having with your PC, take the Mac.

Also for your external monitors you should look at the Apple Monitors. They are very expensive but the colours are awesome, especially if you are a photographer! Or if you don't mind that, look at Dell monitors. Those are awesome!

PC/Windows7 - Cheaper, more customizable, crash more, ugly OS

Mac/OSX - More expensive, just works, very stable, great OS, great machine!

I hope you choose the right machine for you.... Goodluck mate!

-Ben

DaFlake, I sometimes suspect Apple flamers post things like this on Mac message boards so they can point to them to use as an example of how people don't really like Macs better than Windows PC's. "See, even on this Mac message board there are people who hate Macs and switch back to Windows."

You can always tell because they only have one or two posts and they tend to focus on Macs perceived weaknesses (no games, lack of customization) that true Mac owners know don't really exist.

Oneironaut said:

DaFlake, I sometimes suspect Apple flamers post things like this on Mac message boards so they can point to them to use as an example of how people don't really like Macs better than Windows PC's. "See, even on this Mac message board there are people who hate Macs and switch back to Windows."

You can always tell because they only have one or two posts and they tend to focus on Macs perceived weaknesses (no games, lack of customization) that true Mac owners know don't really exist.

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I used to frequent a bunch of automotive message boards. Sometimes the Chevy hicks wold come into the Mercedes and BMW forums and pull the same bag of tricks. They need something to validate their existence.
Its sad.

Truth be told not everyone can afford a Mac. Just like not everyone can afford a Mercedes. Sometimes even Windows is actually the correct platform to choose. A construction worker wouldn't buy a Mercedes E-Class; for him the Silverado is actually the correct choice. Just as there aren't many New York based stock brokers charging down Wall Street in a Silverado Quad Cab Dually.
Right tool for the right job.

heh, great analogy, TechieJustin!

Oneironaut said:

heh, great analogy, TechieJustin!

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Indeed.
However, you have to admit, BMW, Mercedes and especially Audi drivers tend to have a certain 'tude... Mac-philes can exhibit similar behavior.

Yeah, just because we ARE superior doesn't mean we have to ACT superior. heheh...

Oneironaut said:

Yeah, just because we ARE superior doesn't mean we have to ACT superior. heheh...

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Exactly. You don't see SL600 drivers going around racing riced up Civics.
Both sides know the SL600 is the better car.

hey guys!

thats a ton of feedback, thank you very much!

as soon as i find the time, i will google all the customization software/options for mac you mentioned (atm gotta prepare my exhibition, so my time is short)

hardware:

someone mentioned a different way of RAM-handling on a mac - how much more effective IS it actually? (yes, i Do need at least 16 gb, not every time i work, but the times I need it, I need it badly)

so does a 16 gb RAM mac bring a better result then a 24 gb RAM pc (16 gb for mac and the new 24 gb kit for pc are about the same price)

also, the thing about macs being build as one piece is nice, but what happens when you decide to get a custom RAM set or a custom GFX card for your mac pro? i am still talking about hardware made specially for macs, but just not the one you get "out of the box". as mentioned, i would sure want an SSD RAID for system partition, as well as a powerful gfx card. does the "one piece perfect match" stuff work less great then?

and WHEN is an update on mac pros expected?? is there already any info on it, or at least a smart guess??

software and OS:

what REALLY bugs the **** out of me on windows is the thing with user accounts/admin blargh/, and also the programs saving their settings etc. to CDocuments and Settings\All Users\Application Data or a similar BS directory, instead of just saving it to the directory i specified when installing the program. like if i got ALL my photoshop stuff in c/programs/adobe/photoshop, why would it wanna save its settings ELSEWHERE, where i must use the search function every time when i want to see it?

also, *** with windows always needing me to run stuff "as admin" .. whats the point?

im generally the only person using my comptuer anyway, ever, and i also dont suffer from schizophrenia, so this user accoutn stuff bothers me. in a perfect world, my computer would just ignore the fact that it has the possibility for different user accounts, like its never been invented.

now, i didnt look further into win 7 blargh-agent disabling abilities (i got win 7 already thou, will install on this tincan and try soon)..

..but you sure can tell me how macs handle this user account stuff

oh, and also- im getting adobe master suite cs5, as soon as it comes out.. meaning i need to know if you can get a version for a different platform free once you bought the product already. like "hey adobe guys, i got a mac now, change my pc version to mac version plz"

Just get whatever you want. There really is no right or wrong decision. These are only computers.....some people love Macs, others love PCs.....the formula really isn't so complicated.

Jay Riffs said:

and WHEN is an update on mac pros expected?? is there already any info on it, or at least a smart guess??

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I'm pretty sure they will be getting refreshed at the WWDC in June.

Jay Riffs said:

im generally the only person using my comptuer anyway, ever, and i also dont suffer from schizophrenia, so this user accoutn stuff bothers me. in a perfect world, my computer would just ignore the fact that it has the possibility for different user accounts, like its never been invented.

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In Windows you can disable User Account Control (UAC) in control panel to fix that stupid feature in Win7 that asks you o always confirm an action you perform. Another reason why Windows is an ugly OS!!

Jay Riffs said:

oh, and also- im getting adobe master suite cs5, as soon as it comes out.. meaning i need to know if you can get a version for a different platform free once you bought the product already. like "hey adobe guys, i got a mac now, change my pc version to mac version plz"

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I'm 99% sure that Adobe won't let you trade in your PC version of Photoshop CS5 to a Mac version! Very sure actually. Thought to be 100% sure, I would contact Adobe Sales and ask them. But just buy Photoshop CS5 once you know what computer you're going to buy... a Mac or a PC.


Always on this forum we get people asking: Should I get a Mac or PC. People will tell you the PROs and CONs about each, but at theend of the day it's up to personal prefernce and general NEED.... So it's up to you to make the decision. Not anyone else on this forum!

Goodluck buddy. Hope you get what's best or you.

-Ben

Jay, Mac Pro's are completely customizable, including graphics card, processor, etc. Macbooks and iMacs are completely enclosed, but with the MB's at least you still have access to the RAM slots and I THINK the hard drive as well. I think that in order to keep things so compact, the processor and motherboard in the MB's and iMacs are not customizable. Have you seen the inside of the Mac Pro? It practically begs for customization:



Up to 4 HD's of 2 TB each, up to 32 GB of RAM... I want one soooo bad! But I digress...

I don't know exactly how much more efficiently OS X uses RAM, but I know that with only 4GB on my MBP I can use Final Cut Pro, have mail and itunes open, have my Windows partition open in Fusion, and transcode video without any noticeable difference in overall performance. I've been using my MBP like this for a couple of years now and it's just as fast as the day I bought it.

Specs aren't everything. I would "test drive" different Mac models to see what feels right for what you're using it for.

Macs ask for an administrator password whenever you try to install an app or make major system changes. This is one way Macs stay more secure. You can never accidentally or unknowingly download any malware, or at least you can't do it without allowing it to download. But settings and documents and all that are always stored in each user's home folder. This folder should never be renamed or moved or deleted, unless you want major problems.