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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
Will I be happy?
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<blockquote data-quote="mac57" data-source="post: 353988" data-attributes="member: 17052"><p>Oddly, in this, a Mac group, I would offer a dissenting opinion in your case. If Microsoft Office is your KEY application, you may wish to stay with Dell for now. Consider this. Microsoft Office is not presently available in Universal Binary for the Mac. This means that there is no Intel compatible version. Instead it is a PPC (G3/G4/G5) application and has to be interpreted via the Rosetta interpreter on the Mac. Its OK - it works, but it works quite a bit more slowly than a native application.</p><p></p><p>What about the processor on the Mac? Is it slower? Well, not really. The iMac you would get would be a 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo chip. The Dell you would get would be a 2.8 GHz Pentium IV (since there are no 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duos, it is safe to assume it is a Pentium IV). There is a world of difference between these two processors. The speed ratings don't tell the story at all. A 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo is very nearly as fast as a 2.8 GHz Pentium IV. I would consider them to be nearly identical. So, the difference in performance for your Microsoft Office apps will come mostly from having to run through Rosetta. Even with equivalent speed processors, Microsoft Office will run more slowly on your Mac than on your Dell. Plus you will have to buy a new version of Microsoft Office when the Universal Binary comes out if you find the interpreted version too slow.</p><p></p><p>So, in summary, if Microsoft Office is your key app, you will get a faster box for what your are doing, for less money, with the Dell. I hate to recommend PCs to *anyone*, but in your case, it may just fit.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mac57, post: 353988, member: 17052"] Oddly, in this, a Mac group, I would offer a dissenting opinion in your case. If Microsoft Office is your KEY application, you may wish to stay with Dell for now. Consider this. Microsoft Office is not presently available in Universal Binary for the Mac. This means that there is no Intel compatible version. Instead it is a PPC (G3/G4/G5) application and has to be interpreted via the Rosetta interpreter on the Mac. Its OK - it works, but it works quite a bit more slowly than a native application. What about the processor on the Mac? Is it slower? Well, not really. The iMac you would get would be a 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo chip. The Dell you would get would be a 2.8 GHz Pentium IV (since there are no 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duos, it is safe to assume it is a Pentium IV). There is a world of difference between these two processors. The speed ratings don't tell the story at all. A 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo is very nearly as fast as a 2.8 GHz Pentium IV. I would consider them to be nearly identical. So, the difference in performance for your Microsoft Office apps will come mostly from having to run through Rosetta. Even with equivalent speed processors, Microsoft Office will run more slowly on your Mac than on your Dell. Plus you will have to buy a new version of Microsoft Office when the Universal Binary comes out if you find the interpreted version too slow. So, in summary, if Microsoft Office is your key app, you will get a faster box for what your are doing, for less money, with the Dell. I hate to recommend PCs to *anyone*, but in your case, it may just fit. [/QUOTE]
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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
Will I be happy?
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