question about Upgrading

question about Upgrading Macs

I don't have a Mac, but am thinking about getting one.

I would just like to know what the upgrading process is like for a mac. I do a lot of up-to-date PC gaming, and upgrade whenever I need to. Can I do that on a Mac? If it won't run a next-gen game very well, can I just buy a new video card, or more RAM, and install it?

...or, does upgrading have to be done by a technician? And, if so, what's the pricing like, for the entire process?

Thanks for answering my questions.

The only things that are user upgradedable are RAM on all Mac's and HDD's on some models ie) MacBook and Mac Mini (I think).

All-in-one computers on the Mac side, much like on the PC side, are not good gaming computers due to their near complete lack of upgradeability. With that in mind, a G5 tower may suite you, or wait until the new Intel based towers are released.

A G5 tower will not work for gaming. Sure they are fast and come with an upgradeable video card but they cannot run Windows and there are virtually no games available for macs. If you are a huge PC gamer then your only options are to stay with a PC or wait for a very expensive intel based PowerMac model to come out. These will be a conventional desktop computer with PCI-E slots and a dedicated user changeable video card. Moral of the story is Macs just don't game well.

The Power Mac G5 is the only machine Apple makes with a removable video card. It's also the only one with a case that's easily to open.

If you intend to run Windows, for gaming or anything else, you might wait until the "Mac Pro" (or whatever the Intel version of the Power Mac tower is called) comes out. This should be within the next three to six months.

Okay, thank you for the replies. I understand.

As curious as I am about using a Mac (mostly as a platform for work), there are a few things that aren't supported that I need to use... like games, frequent hardware upgrades for the games, 3d Studio Max (which doesn't have a Mac version that I know of), Unreal Editor for Unreal Tournament 2004/2007 (no mac version), Book Writer, and a couple other irreplaceable apps that I use on a daily basis.

Still, if I ever have the money, I would like to invest in a Mac, so that I can add some diversity to my computer-useage. I compute a LOT, so it gets dull. The same windows shortcomings, day after day, and the same workarounds for them. I'm tired of computing like a cripple, and having to hold my PC's hand is it walks through the minefield. I want something that simply works perfectly at all times, that I don't have to think about, if you get my drift. I guess that's why most of you are here.

Edit: That reminds me; Is there a way to emulate running Windows software on a Mac, or vice-versa? [does some Google searching] Okay, is there a way to run OSX on a PC, that doesn't require a seperate partition or SSE2? I guess that would be most economical for me right now.