Mac as a viable desktop option?

So, I am going to be buying a new desktop system very soon and have always preferred linux (because it is better in every way that I can think of) but before spending my hard earned money I wanted to check to see if there have been any advances with mac that I am unaware of that would make anyone other than a hipster use one as their main pc.

Thanks in advance.

Hello mate,

I literally made the move this month from a Windows desktop to an IMac. I can honestly say it was the best decision I have ever made, I will now NEVER buy a Windows machine again. I know you mention you like Linux but I tried that and found massive compatibility issues with almost everything I used.

Thus far my Mac has been massively quick, awesome to look at, has not hung or crashed and has NO compatibility issues with anything I use. Everything has a Mac native client (Eve Online, World Of Warcraft just 2 things to start with).

My config I brought:-

27" IMac
8GB RAM
2TB HDD
Intel i7 Processor

It cost in the region of £2300 which is a lot of money, but this is worth every penny and in 2-3 years time will have retained its value so over a 10 year period it would probably cost more to keep buying Windows desktops .

The IMac also makes for an awesome media centre with the Apple remote.

I hope this helped from one noobie to another

IMac_Gav

but what i would spend on a mac, couldn't I build a much more powerful machine and put linux on it?

Welcome to start with ...

It is going to be hard to know if there have been any advances with Mac, because i have know idea what you are aware of ??? Get my drift..
There is sooooo many people that arent *HIPSTERS* and have iMacs as there main PC ...
I dont see any problems what so ever in having it as one. Me i have my MBP and another monitor, but thats me.
You havent mentioned what you will be doing with it either, to give the folks here a better idea to answer you. IMO the new iMacs are the biggest and best  has apart from the Mac Pro's ......

Ohh FYI
mac: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric
MAC: a data communication protocol sub-layer, also known as the Media Access Control
Mac: a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

Cheers

linuxisbetter said:

but what i would spend on a mac, couldn't I build a much more powerful machine and put linux on it?

Click to expand...

If you can ... Do it then .... You can see the specs on the  Website, so do the comparison yourself ......
To me sounds like you dont want to loose Linux ......
Why not get a iMac and dual boot ???

Cheers

I don't want to lose linux but I've been hearing a lot of unsubstantiated claims that macs are the way forward so I thought I'd try and get some first hand accounts that might change my mind

If you want trouble free, fast, compatible computing then Apple is the way my friend As I said above its well worth every penny.

More and more developers are now taking Mac OS X on board including game devs so soon I think Apple will start to take a bigger market share.

I have never been fond of Linux as its such a ball ache to make anything work properly on it.

i get that mac is simpler but does that make it better? would you rather ride a bicycle or a motorbike?

A Mac is like riding a bicycle that gives you the speed and instant coolness of riding a motorbike with none of the dangerous crashes you could experience.

linuxisbetter said:

i get that mac is simpler but does that make it better?

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YES IMO, but please do remember, you are buying the OS really not the Hardware if you purchase  Computers .... Different story on all there other stuff

Cheers

So it's not true that with equivalent system specs a linux machine would outperform a mac?

vansmith ..... Where are you!!!!!!!

Im betting that the Mac OS will out perform the Linux OS on a same spec machine, but a quick Google will help you more, looking for OS X Vs Linux Benchmarks .....

HERE is one page, and i didnt read it so not sure if it what you looking for, but the header read "Vista, Linux and OS X benchmarking"

Google is your friend

Cheers

well i did some googling but all i got was the impression linux was way better in every way so i thought i'd be fair and come ask people who should be able to give me a different viewpoint

linuxisbetter said:

well i did some googling but all i got was the impression linux was way better in every way so i thought i'd be fair and come ask people who should be able to give me a different viewpoint

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Well sorry to sound harsh, but this post is a bit off. If your looking for as you say, If OS X is better than Linux, then Benchmarks are you only real option. If you had the impression that Linux is better, there is no hard facts to go by. Benchmarks is the only Factual information you will get to see if there is any real difference

Have you tried a Linux Forum ??
Cheers

TattooedMac said:

Have you tried a Linux Forum ??

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I thought a mac forum might be more forthcoming with data to show the viability of the mac

also, that link provided doesn't seem to work for me

We're kind of stabbing in the dark because you haven't been terribly forthcoming about what *you want.*

You asked "I get that it's simpler but does that make it better?"

To even ask this indicates that you are one of those rare people who actually enjoy spending lots and lots of time "managing" a computer. Most people do not enjoy that, and buy a computer in order to accomplish other tasks, not just "play with computers."

If you are one of those people, I'm not sure a Mac is for you. Of course you can run multiple operating systems on a Mac, which is more difficult on a "Linux" machine, and programming is probably nicer on a Mac than any other system aesthetically, but OS X will simply not present the constant challenges and obstacles to overcome (which some people greatly enjoy) that other operating systems will.

What makes a Mac better for most buyers is the fact that the OS tries hard to stay out of your way and let you get on with whatever programs you wish to run. It does this in a thousand mostly-subtle ways, from better typography to more logical management.

The fact that OS X largely takes care of itself, is virus-free and requires very little maintenance from users leaves them free to explore more of the potential instead of locking in to a handful of programs and praying everything keeps working as so many Windows users do. Mac OS X is a consumer OS with a hidden UNIX side, in many ways the best of both geeky and non-geeky worlds IMO.

Is that something that fits in with what you want? Only you can answer that.

chas_m said:

you haven't been terribly forthcoming about what *you want.*

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Thanks Chas .... And the rest of your post was what i was trying to get at, but i got fed up because he/she wasnt giving me/us anything to go on. to the point of *painful* But you summed it up nicely ....

Cheers

The proof is in the pudding.

linuxisbetter said:

I thought a mac forum might be more forthcoming with data to show the viability of the mac

Click to expand...

Why and start a flame war?

If you are comfortable with Linux, or Windows for that matter, stuck with what you like.