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MAC Pros and Cons


vchris

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I'm thinking of getting a MAC. I've read on some forums that OS X is slow compared to Win XP but don't know if it's true?Gimme some pros and cons!!! :)

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AFAIK the fasted MAC CPU is 1.8Ghz (although I am sure they make up for it in other ways) that is a bit slow. The biggest pro I have always heard is that MACs are great for multimedia (graphic, video, and audio editing).Another con is the price. You will pay more for a MAC then for a PC and the MAC will be slower.

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A major con is application compatibility.
They have a few applications you can install to fix that however.You can get Bootcamp, wich allows you to boot to a windows XP partition on your harddrive. Also a program called Parrallels allows you to run windows in its own window at the same time you are running MAC OS. The problem with Parrallels is that it doesnt render 3-D graphics very quickly and it doesnt have USB support.
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AFAIK the fasted MAC CPU is 1.8Ghz (although I am sure they make up for it in other ways) that is a bit slow.
Now that MacOSX is X86, you should be able to use the recent Intel and AMD procs with it. But, you can only use what Apple sells you, you can't really build your own like you can a PC.
Another con is the price. You will pay more for a MAC then for a PC and the MAC will be slower.
And Apple tries to lock you into its own hardware.
You can get Bootcamp, wich allows you to boot to a windows XP partition on your harddrive.
That's fine, but then you're just running Windows XP, so you might as well have a computer with more powerful hardware than what Apple will sell you. People buy an Apple computer for the OS, so if you just boot into a different OS, then there's not much point in getting the Mac in the first place.
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People buy an Apple computer for the OS, so if you just boot into a different OS, then there's not much point in getting the Mac in the first place.
If I were to buy a Mac, it wouldn't be for the operating system, because I much prefer windows, despite its "vulnerability" to attacks. I can understand the security holes being threats for average computer users, but I think the more active people on this forum at least are computer-savvy enough to know how to keep themselves protected. The only reason why I would buy a mac would be for the design. I'd buy something like mac mini and use it as a Media Center thing to keep in the living room. But I guess now with Apple's new "iTV" I don't have to buy a Mac... :)0912_itv250.jpg
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But the iTV isn't a Media Center. In and of itself it's not a computer. It's a (potentially wireless) link between all the computers in the house, linking them to the TV. The way I understand it is that it provides access to your computers around the house through remote on the television. Not to mention, it looks (to put it in the words of engadget) sexy. :)But like I said, that's the only reason I'd buy a Mac, the design part, so I only put it up there to illustrate that I now have no reason left to buy a Mac, as there are other Apple products to do the same thing, without having to get used to the Mac OSX. Its comparison to other solutions was not a part of my initial point. :)

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Possibly but you can have a wireless PC (mini tower or even a laptop) that connects to the network in your house and could play media from any of those computers onto your TV.I am not saying (well maybe I am) that it is not worth the price (way over-priced) Apple will sell if for but you can do anything iTV can do with a relatively inexpensive PC and WMC.

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Possibly but you can have a wireless PC (mini tower or even a laptop) that connects to the network in your house and could play media from any of those computers onto your TV.I am not saying (well maybe I am) that it is not worth the price (way over-priced) Apple will sell if for but you can do anything iTV can do with a relatively inexpensive PC and WMC.
I think part of apples price is in the style. Most of the products they come out with just look amazing. How sleek would a big computer tower in your entertainment center look? Not to mention the extra amount of electricity that computer would be using compared to a smaller device.
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Well, price isn't an argument the way I see it. ALL of Apple's products are way overpriced anyway, so no real news there. Either you buy it or you don't. Of course you could have a laptop or a small tower as you say, but there's the problem of noise from the fan and stuff that can be disturbing. Like you say, most (or all) of Apple's products have cheaper and just as (or more) effective counterparts offering the same solution. Yet people still buy Apple products, so there must be something about that design then. :)

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well I must be a miser then because I see no reason to spend extra money on "the way it looks"My office at home doesn't look so nice but I set it up the way it is because it was more practical. I have 3 PC's and 2 desks and a lot fo cables so this was the best way to do it and get everything plugged intot he 2 powerbars.

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Well heres why I won't be going to buy an apple iTV1.)Its going to be $2992.)I have an iPod video and a sweet little gadget that plays my iPod videos and music on my TV.3.)It doesnt record TV, it only plays files from your computer.So have you made a choice yet Vchris??? :)

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How sleek would a big computer tower in your entertainment center look? Not to mention the extra amount of electricity that computer would be using compared to a smaller device.
It wouldn't look very sleek at all. But who needs a big computer tower to operate as a media center? All you need is 1 hard drive, audio/video capability, DVD playback capability, network connectivity, mobo/cpu, and a power supply. All of those will fit into this:http://us.shuttle.com/I built one of those a few years ago (different, more bland case) and it's the coolest thing ever. It's got a micro-ATX motherboard, it comes as a barebones system for you to install your own hardware, and it's barely heavier than a laptop. And with one of these beasts in it, you would never need anything else. AND since you built it yourself, anything breaks and you know how to fix it. Throw in a backup server to mirror the data, and you make the Apple fanboys drool.Look at that, they even thought of that already:http://sys.us.shuttle.com/Media.aspxOoh, scratch the backup server, with 2 drive bays just set up a RAID array. 750GB SATA mirrored, how can you go wrong?To me, 'sexy' is not having a giant white Apple on the top. That to me is boring, oddly enough. Glossy and black? Yes, please.
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No I haven't made my choice yet... Price is the biggest down side for me.Today one of the guys at work brought his mac mini he bought last week for ~1000$ CAN. It was pretty fast compared to WIN XP. It does pretty much the same as Windows but nicer. Unfortunately he didn't have Photoshop so we couldn't see how fast it works with graphics. I love the look and the included softwares. Another plus is the silence! No noise at all.I checked into setting it up as a media center but this would cost ~2000$ CAN. Mac mini + tv tuner + extra HD for mac (stack it's called). Getting expensive.Why so expensive? It's the same hardware as a PC isn't it?

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I think the whole sleek look that apple provides is both a pro and a con. Yeah right now the products apple is putting out looks cool but it want last. Apple purposely changes thier design so often that people feel the need to go buy a new MAC and you cant upgrade even if the style didnt change.PCs on the other hand rarley have a style change, I mean yeah eery once in a while but not as often as the MAC, and since your PC equipment has the same style as last year you can just upgrade your system which is a lot easier in a PC than in a MAC.and whoever said the DELL thing, not true. Since DELL sells PCs it is totally different that MAC, I can use my DELL with any HARDWARE I have so they dont lock you in to there products.And it all has to do with what you are doing with it, If its graphic and videos go with a MAC, or better yet go to a Video supply store and ask about the TRi-CASTER its PC based but can do a lot more than the MAC final cut

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my comment about dell was more based on hear-say then actual experience. I frequent a hardware forum and hear everyday that Dell PCs are harder to upgrade than a self built generic PC and are limited to want parts you can use (mostly to do with the size of the part).That being said, if it is true, wouldn't be as bad as with a MAC.

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It's true, but it's not limited to Dell. Sony is really bad about that, and Compaq used to be terrible about it. HP as well. They use custom motherboards with daughterboards all over the place, custom power supplies, weird cases, sometimes even their own interfaces. It makes it a little difficult to try and swap out the power supply if it breaks, or replace a CD-ROM if you need to take out several daughterboards in order to even get access to it. They lock you in in the sense that you need to replace their proprietary parts with parts from them, and that's exactly the reason they do it.As for PCs looking the same, it's all in the case. Lian Li makes a lot of really cool looking cases, if you have the money:http://www.lian-li.com/main.htm (Click the Product link and check out the shell case)Or, if you have the tools and the time, you can just make your own case. The standards that most PC components follow make it easy to go to Fry's Electronics or shop online or whatever, buy a bunch of parts, and know that they will work with each other. You lose a lot of that with vendors like Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, etc.

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I should have said brand name pc's in general I remember my cousin asked me to change the power supply on her computer. I had done that a million times so I said sure.She brought it over and it was a compaq...I bought a PS and it woldn't fit...took it to a local tech shop to see if they had a PS that would fit...nope...had to go to the Compaq dealer that sold it to her and they said it would take 4-6 weeks to order the PS in and it would cost $65...what a rip off for a 300W PS. the generic one I had bought that didn't fit was 450W and it cost $26.From then on I have refused to work on brand name computers unless I am being paid to do so and I inform the client of possible delays.

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Yeah, brand name computers ######. I bought my current desktop computer through a norwegian IT news site that held a test, letting 8 huge net-based computer-stores compete on giving the most powerful computer for 12,000 NOK, which by today's currency is about 1,836.50 USD. Not only was it about best offers, but the news site also tested all the various offers, putting the computers through tests on gaming, graphics work, multi-tasking etc. They have a test like this every month, when I bought mine the theme was gaming computers, and they had gone to 12,000 NOK. Usually they vary between 6,000 and 10,000 though. Here's how my tower looks...RAIDMAX%20Scorpio%20868%20Mid-Tower%20Case%20Large.jpgNo brand name computer company in their right mind would go for something like that, because it doesn't target the average computer-user. But I think it's COOL. I have like 7 cooling fans, and frickin' NEON! :)But of course, I would never allow it in my living room. :)

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If we're comparing cooling fan count, at last count I think my system had 12 fans in it. Not all the normal size, that includes some smaller front-drive-bay fans, a system blower, etc. But when I got my Radeon 9800 XT Pro a couple years ago in preparation for Doom 3, my system kept going up to around 125 degrees and shutting down, so I packed in as many fans as I could. My cable system isn't exactly a work of art, and some of the fans are only held on by 1 screw (because my massive power supply blocks the other holes), and it sort of sounds like a Harrier jumpjet taking off, but hey, at least it doesn't shut down anymore.

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