Macs aren't "perfect". They require some basic maintenance and have their issues. After 20 years with PCs, I switched. Haven't looked back. I've had corrupted files in WoW, got locked out of my system after updating to 10.6.6, and met the permissions issue face to face among other things. The problems are just a lot quicker to fix on a Mac and for the most part answers can be found pretty quickly via Google. Networking a mixed system of Mac and 3 flavors of Windows was pretty much painless.
That said, after my fiasco with my first Alienware, I pretty much told my husband that my "flirtations" with trying a Mac were over. I was switching. Haven't regretted it for a moment. I regretted it so little that when Alienware finally replaced the laptop, I gave it to my husband. I didn't want PC headaches. It runs very well for a PC, BTW. I'd have loved it had I not met the iMac first.
As far as gaming, I think it works smoother on a Mac. I'm usually running WoW and switching back and forth between iTunes, Skype with DH, and any number of browser windows, and I don't have the lag switching between them that I've always had on the PC. You know the one: The display blinks and the hourglass comes up as if the PC is startled that you're gonna work and play at the same time. I don't get that with a Mac. My base 2010 iMac can hold her own with that Alienware, and specwise it shouldn't be able to. I have half the RAM, only 1 vid card, and an i3 processor versus an i7. Unfortunately, it's this ease of switching between programs that has relegated me to the "hey, google this quest for me, I'm confused" person when DH and I game together.
We've both built rigs, we've had insanely high end machines, and in the end I'm in love with an entry level iMac. That is saying something. DH refuses to touch it. He says he is afraid he'll like it as much as I do and his Alienware has to last him a couple of years before he can upgrade. He's seen me trying to get educational stuff for the kids going on the PC, having trouble getting it to work properly, and then swapping it to the Mac where it inevitably works flawlessly. It buys me time to troubleshoot the PC.
I've been scanning knitting books and magazines here lately to declutter the house. On my PC, I'd start getting memory errors and would have to scan a magazine into 3 files and then combine them. On my Mac, I can scan a 200-page book in full color all at once with no complaints. At the end of the day, when I sit down to do something at the computer, I want it to shut up, get out of my way, and do it. From what I've seen so far, the odds of that happening are just better on a Mac. I got by on Windows for years, and sure it's fine for a lot of things. Why settle for fine when you can have good?
BTW, as far as price, I think a decent quality PC is gonna run you $1200, which is what I paid for my iMac. Unless you're really really broke and having to buy your PCs off the shelf from Walmart, you should be able to pull it off.
