Don't know much, please fill me in.

First of all I am new here so if this is not in the correct forum please move it or do tell me where i can repost it.

Next is that I am not only new here but I am semi new to the Mac world. I have owned a Pc forever and I am very familiar with them. But I have worked on a Mac at school for hundred of tasks (used mostly all the adobe programs) and I know them pretty well. I will be leaving for collage this summer and I plan on taking my PC, but I am looking at a laptop as well. This is where I need some advice. If apple is not the path for me please tell me so and try to avoid being fan boys.

Anyways I am looking at the Macbook Pro as of now, they have a nice look to them too. So far they have everything I need for collage and personal interest. But I am usually a gamer and this is something I have noticed Macs tend to lack. Now I have looked around at this Virtual PC and Guest PC. Supposidly they allow me to install window based program on macs. Are these any good and do they actually work? will the macbook pro even have enough power to run these programs? If not thes programs is there any other ways or programs you can suggest for me to allow these macs to run PC games.

Also Maybe some tips as to why I should get a mac instead of the PC? Do they really have anything that is much better. Also Since I will not be getting this laptop for a while does anyone know what apple might have in the future (next 6 months) of their notebooks.
Thanks!

Gordy77 said:

First of all I am new here so if this is not in the correct forum please move it or do tell me where i can repost it.

Next is that I am not only new here but I am semi new to the Mac world.

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As am I. I bought a Mac Mini about 5 weeks ago, and it's my first Mac. So, I think I can field a few questions, but the veterans should most certainly jump in and correct or add to what I post.

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Gordy77 said:

Anyways I am looking at the Macbook Pro as of now, they have a nice look to them too. So far they have everything I need for collage and personal interest. But I am usually a gamer and this is something I have noticed Macs tend to lack.

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I believe you're correct in noting that Mac's aren't typically the choice of gamers. But, why not invest in a game console, and save whichever machines you end up with for all other tasks. I am not a gamer, but I'm pretty confident you'd need to throw a lot of cash at a box that runs either O/S, to do what a $400 game console can probably do better. Again though, I'm not a gamer. That's just an assumption on my part.

Gordy77 said:

Now I have looked around at this Virtual PC and Guest PC. Supposidly they allow me to install window based program on macs. Are these any good and do they actually work? will the macbook pro even have enough power to run these programs? If not thes programs is there any other ways or programs you can suggest for me to allow these macs to run PC games.

Click to expand...

Why even bother running Windows apps on the Mac? In the 5 weeks or so that I've had this Mac, I don't think I've sat in front of the Windows machine more than just a few times, and none of them were out of true necessity. I have found apps in the Mac world that cover all of the functions/apps I use in the Windows world. I'm sure there may be a few cases where Virtual PC is an absolute necessity, but if there's any truth to my assumption that it takes a lot of "horsepower" to run games on a Windows box in the first place, I think you'll *really* be disappointed running them through an emulator on a Mac.

Gordy77 said:

Also Maybe some tips as to why I should get a mac instead of the PC? Do they really have anything that is much better. Also Since I will not be getting this laptop for a while does anyone know what apple might have in the future (next 6 months) of their notebooks.
Thanks!

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Actually, based on the feel I get from what you want to do with your machine(s), I think you're better off with a Windows machine. My impression so far, is that what Macs offer that's better, more than anything, is the user experience. If you're considering a Mac with the intention of remaining rooted in the Windows world, but with a different "wrapper" around it, then I think you're probably better off not getting one.

Mark

Well thanks for your help. But i might have worded a few things wrong. I actually want to try to get into the mac world, the only real reason I want to get an emulator is to run PC games. Otherwise I want to get to know the mac. Anyways I won an xbox 360 in that mountain dew contest . I just might want to enjoy a few games no matter where I am.

From what I have read here, and you can search the board to verify. You don't want to use an emulator to play games. You will not be happy with your gaming experience.

You need to look at your priorities. If gaming is first on your list then a PC maybe better for you.