need a computer that works

Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
do macs work ?

i've owned a computer for a while now and it now how i make a living .

i am a cheap skate which sometimes costs more , ive got though many used laptops so might as well of bought a decent one to begin with .

im interested in a mac air but they are extremely expensive .

what i need is a computer that fires up and is ready within say 5 mins , my pc and laptop
take 10 mins , sometimes longer to get be ready to use .

i need to be able to get to library for photos within at least a minute to access photos etc
my pc and laptop can sometimes freeze for 5 mins just trying to access a photo ,
the hard drive going mental .

its took me since 9 o'clock this mourning just to get operational on this computer .

i clean it regular and have very minimal software or personal files installed .

if macs work ill have one or am i expecting too much out of computers ?
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2004
Messages
4,781
Reaction score
166
Points
63
Location
Groves, Texas
How old is your computer? My oldest PC boots in about a minute and a half. Yes macs "work". For that matter most pc's "work".
"It took me since 9 o'clock this mourning" - posted at 4:34 am?
Do I smell troll? If this is a legitimate question we'll be happy to help.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Who knows? If he's actually in the UK, would be 10:34 there.

But, If you've never owned a computer that takes less than 10 minutes to start up and you paid more than $10 for any of them, you've been ripped off.
Over 30+ years, have never owned a properly functioning computer that took longer than 1.5 minutes to start up and most of them in 20-45 seconds and with an ssd, 15 seconds.
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2004
Messages
4,781
Reaction score
166
Points
63
Location
Groves, Texas
Sorry, I didn't look at his/her profile and wasn't aware of his/her location.
Must have a very old, slow computer over there.

Edit: just looked. You must have access to more information than us peons :)
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
No way for you to know - I have extra senses... Does smell doesn't it?

Would suggest they take a trip to town and visit their nearest Apple store and ask for a tour of a Mac and then go visit a store the carries Windows computers and ask for a tour of a windows machine and see which one you'd rather buy since "any" new computer will do what you have requested.
 
OP
W
Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
sorry i did search for a uk based forum and this came up as .co.uk.

it only takes a few mins for my pc/laptops to start but to get working fully up to speed without freezing can take as long as i suggested .

and sometimes accessing librarys can freeze the machine solid for 5 mis or more .

yes my machines are getting on a bit , but statistically they are better specs than a modern macbook air.


my question really is am i going to get a noticeable improvement in performance in a mac ,
it seems to me the specs are quite weak but if they work well it does not matter , if not i may as well
buy a relatively inexpensive windows laptop for a fraction of the cost not intersted in specs now to be honest
as said most coumpters are fast enough now but i want reliability , functionality


they do look nice but for £1000 i want a bit more than looks .
 

RavingMac

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
8,303
Reaction score
242
Points
63
Location
In Denial
Your Mac's Specs
16Gb Mac Mini 2018, 15" MacBook Pro 2012 1 TB SSD
Yes they do work very well. But, I agree with the other posters you shouldn't be having the problems you are are your current PC.

Post more info and we'll try to help.

In particular how much RAM do you have installed, how much HD free space, and where and how large are these libraries?
 
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Messages
4,695
Reaction score
73
Points
48
Location
houston texas
Your Mac's Specs
09 MBP 8GB ram 500GB HD OS 10.9 32B iPad 4 32GB iPhone 5 iOs7 2TB TC Apple TV3
You really can not go by specs alone when comparing a Windows to Mac computer , Mac's have always performed better than my PC's with less but thats my experience.
As for cost this has been shown if everything is close to being equal build and spec they are closer in price than people realize priced any Ultrabooks lately they seem mighty close to Apple's price.
 
Joined
Apr 6, 2011
Messages
1,291
Reaction score
43
Points
48
Location
Louisville, KY - USA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 17" 2011, 2.3GHz Intel Quad-Core i7, 8GB RAM, MacMini 2011, 2.7GHz Intel Dual-Core i7, 8GB RAM
I cant complain about my MBP. Bought it almost 3 years ago, still only takes about 30 seconds to boot up from cold to firing off the first app. I have never (knock on wood) had to reimage or reinstall the OS at any point and i have had no issues or errors. But then, I also take time to do some maintenance on the machine and some spring cleaning once a month or so. Pay attention to what you are doing on any machine and it will run for a long time.

I have found, in nearly 18 years in the IT world, that people who continually have problems on any given OS will have similar problems on all OS's due to bad habits.
 
OP
W
Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
on my laptop now atom 1.6ghz 1gb 250gb with 177gb remaining



older packard bell comp
has slightly better cpu but less hdd capacity
but still 25% or less max capacity .


regular maintence .

now again i bought both used and have had both
3 years myself(did not realise id owned this long , time flys)

but ive always had these problems and had to wipe hdd
etc and reinstall OS etc along the way with all my pcs and laptops
ive always thought with was normal.


i was putting blame down to windows but maybe its just old equipment
maybe im just trying to do too much to soon ..

anyway ill do so studing and veiw some macbooks locally ,

but i do see a major price difference even between
equal specs but like i say i would not mind paying a premium
for a machine that reliable .
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I hope this not come off as mean but a 1.6Ghz ATOM is a Netbook CPU and slower than molasses on a cold day. No it's not even close in specs to any Air leave alone a modern one. A Core i5 is many times faster than an Atom which is a very underpowered CPU.

That said my Quad Core PC with Windows 7 boots to a fully useable desktop in 30 seconds or less. In fact the desktop shows in 12-14 seconds. Even a Netbook should not take that long to boot. I own a first gen Acer Aspire One Netbook that takes less than 45 seconds.

What version of Windows is on that PC? It sounds like Windows is all messed up with much Maleware.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Benchmarks don't tell the whole story, but they are a good starting point and will give you a clue as to how long it will take to accomplish any processor intensive activities.

Passmark CPU scores which you can find here.

Atom 230 @ 1.6 Ghz - 311
Atom 330 @ 1.6 Ghz - 600
Core i5 @ 1.3 Ghz - 3,572 - this is the lowest end Macbook Air
Core i7 @ 1.7 Ghz - 4,442 - also MBA
Core i7 @ 2.8 Ghz - 9,023 - this is top of the line in the MBP
(the 3.0 Ghz in the MBP is much slower than the 2.8 listed above and is only marginally faster than the 1.7 in the MBA)

Combine either of those MBA Core iSeries with flash storage vs Atom and a hard drive and there just is no comparison between them. The current gen MBAs are going to boot to the desktop ready to go in 15-20 seconds max.

Whether you buy a Mac or get another windows machine, if you're really "making your living" on a computer - time is money - get a processor that can handle the job.

Ex.
And equal specs, while there could be, I don't think so... at least not at drastically different price points.
Have to realize Intel puts out multiple CPUs with the same clock speed that do not an anyway perform the same and there can be a drastic difference in pricing.
Ex. the Core i7 @ 3.0 Ghz that can also be had in a MBP - score is only 4,780 vs the 4,440 of the 1.7Ghz i7 - while the top of the line is only a 2.8 Ghz that can get it's work load done in approx half the time it takes the above listed 3.0 Ghz chip.

Have to know specifically what model CPU a company uses in the machines to be able to make any comparison at all related to specs.
 
OP
W
Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
i think i was just looking for a yes or no to give me the final push to spend,

but as usual there is no easy answer to these types of questions .

i dont know why i tried to get technical because im not 100% clued up on all that side of thing , i do know is my
Pc and laptop are fast enough for my needs but as mentioned freeze up at vital times .

I do need a new computer and although an expensive initial purchase , hopefully ill get 3 or years out of it , it could work out at less that £1 a day .

plus used macbooks seem to hold there price so you could end up if lucky getting a good amount back .

anyway thanks for your help .
 
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Messages
5,073
Reaction score
758
Points
113
Location
Ohio (USA)
Your Mac's Specs
2023-14" M3max MBPro, 64GB/1TB, iPhone 15 Pro, Watch Ultra
I am a long time PC user who recently purchased a macbook pro (late 2011, i7, 16GB ram, 1TB HD) with Mt Lion. I also have a Asus (i7, 8 GB of ram, 750 GB HD) with Windows 8. I can say from comparing the two the mac will smoke the asus. Why? Operating system. OS X is just so much more simplistically clean.

I work in media and use adobe software daily. The mac runs premiere pro CS6 and photoshop CS6 smoother than my Asus with Windows 8. Saving, scrolling, encoding, editing of video or photos are all smoothly done. With Windows there is always those slight hesitations and moments of waiting for whatever it is doing.

It just depends on what you are doing and believe me, an upgrade from the atom processor to anything else - an i3, i5, i7, will make a HUGE difference in performance.

As to start up times...I usually "sleep" my mac and rarely restart so start up is instant. I have never had a Windows OS that would "sleep" well. They all seemed to eventually over time start hanging up and have to be restarted.

Granted the mac will cost more but "you get what you pay for" is very true.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
A Mac is a nice machine - no doubt.

We're not trying to steer you away nor specifically towards a Mac.
Most of us are around here because we like our Macs.
But, we don't have too many "fan boys" here that are just going to tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread no matter what.

Would still suggest you head out and visit both an Apple store - get some one on one time with an associate and get them to show you around a Mac - ask questions - talk to them about the sorts of things you need to do and how is that done. Then go visit a Windows shop. You should come away from that experience with a lot better idea of which you would like to invest your hard earned money in.

Just from your first post, the lowest end Mac you can buy will "for sure" work circles around what you're using now.

But then, the lowest end "brand new" Windows box likely will also - although, possible not for as long without more maintenance than is required on a Mac. As this as you say is a "work" machine - don't buy some el cheapo $300-$500 netbook.

edit:
Stick around the forum for awhile and you'll see a lot of posts similar to the above from Iclev.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
It is your bucks buy what you wish. You do need an upgrade whichever way you go.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top