Mac or PC?

[lobra97]

Well,
My Compaq took a shit and I took it to get diagnosed. Motherboard is done but hard drive was OK. Guy said its not worth saving such a crappy computer I've had for 3 years. I went to best buy for black Friday and decided to see what was on the market. After looking around I talked to the Apple rep and he pretty much sold me on a Mac Mini desktop for $757 OTD. He answered pretty much everything we threw at him as its our first Mac ever. I went to the PC side and lady tried to sell me a $1k laptop and in the end she said Mac was better. I mainly use it for post processing pics (LR), my son uses it for games, and wife for school work. In the end it fit our needs and at $757 I was way under my budget. We wanted a laptop but they run about $1100 for a pro and well we hardly ever take it with us anywhere, even school. Think I'm going to pull the Tigger tomorrow on a desktop unless there's some crazy reason why its not worth it. The virus protection, big screen, and everything he showed us seemed to fit the bill. The MB air seemed to small a screen for us and at $1k for a Toshiba, lenovo, etc well its not really worth it when I can have the same in our 3rd bedroom or dinner table lol. Anyone have any reasons or insight as to why I shouldn't? RDJ , I know you have a lot of info on computers lol, any advice?

 

[oldmodman]

I have to answer. Yes.

I have one older PC and two Macs, one of which needs a new power supply.

No gaming. Just business invoicing and general internet time wasting.

 

[Blown 89]

Both will do anything you need but to say one is better than the other in such a general sense is B.S.

Here's a review of the mini. It wouldn't be my first choice but everyone is different:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/11/not-the-upgrade-we-were-hoping-for-the-2014-mac-mini-reviewed/

 

[CobraBob]

I have both a custom built PC and a MacBook Pro Retina 13" laptop (2014 version). I like them both equally. For laptop, I definitely prefer the MacBook Pro Retina. Just a solid laptop. I know there are excellent PC based laptops available, but most do not equal the build quality of the MacBook Pro. Love that the operating system upgrades are always free. And that it comes with a nice suite of free apps. For a desktop, I'd lean towards a PC for the better choice of options and the ability to easily build your own. JMO.

 

[lobra97]

Oh the gaming I mean like nikelodeon (sp) games nothing crazy, son is 7 lol

Hmmmm seems like the laptop if the way to go. Damn , I didn't wanna drop $1k and the mini seemed like a better deals guess I'll read more on it. Yeah, I agree with the laptop part as my buddy has one and he's always happy with it.

 

[venom_inc]

Biggest lie out there is that Macs fair better against a virus. Macs are not compatable with a lot of games so I would check on that beforehand. The only reason I would ever consider a Mac is if I had an iPhone/iPad/iPod...and wanted seemless transition. PCs do everything a Mac with more support and for cheaper.

 

[lobra97]

Found a used 2011 13in pro for $475 on cl. Looks to be in good shape but I'm debating to buy new or used .

 

[Sladester2]

Would never consider a MAC and you can buy a hell of a lot better pc's laptops or desktops in your price range than the ones you are looking at right now.

 

[lobra97]

Like what?

 

[James Snover]

A long time PC user, about six months ago I got an iMac. It just works. Everything is simpler than with a PC, but there is an initial learning curve. The only reason I keep my PC is that there is a drafting program I use that only runs on PC. But even that reason may be gone, as Autodesk recently released Fusion 360, which is finally reasonably priced version of Autocad.

 

[Steve@TF]

unless your'e a computer "geek" it seems that the mac will outlast the pc. and even then....

3 years sounds about right for a pc to take a dump. seems like theyre just disposable computers now. of course, people will chime in about building their own custom rig but for those who dont have time or skill to do that, we're left to rely on out of the box computers. macs just have that big fat up front cost.

im not a mac person, so i dont have one. i have an HP desktop that i bought for about $500 (just the tower). the built in wifi lasted about a year. nice... so far its hanging in there. going on about 2 years now..

all my laptops have started to suck after about a year. need to be wiped clean with everything reinstalled again. they just end up getting soooo slow. last year i picked up a chrome book for my laptop needs. basic internet usage. the desktop remains the work horse. so far the chrome book has been non-stop awesome. i love it.

i gave my daughter a brand new pc laptop. i maxed out the memory for it. after about a year she was complaining it was running super slow. i had my buddy wipe it clean and reinstall windows etc... ran good for a while then started getting super slow again. finally she inherited a macbook and she's been doing much better with it. but the cost difference is huuuge.

 

[RDJ]

Asking this question is like asking which is better .. blue or blue? anymore they both do just about everything the other does and just about equally as well. I have both pc and macs in laptop and desktop form. For travel I prefer my MacBook Pro 15" but it was VERY pricey since I got it fully loaded and it is entirely solid state, the down side of that is if something blows it's done lol.

I would NOT buy a 13" anything, unless you plan on hooking it up to an external monitor. Price wise in the 15" market, which again I would use with an external moniter PC are going to have the price advantage. The MAC advantage as far as software performance is minimal with things like Lightroom. But if I were going Grahics and stuff like CAD drawings I would stick with the MAC.

Software is generally more expensive for the MAC, games are still a bit limited in selection but they are getting better. Frankly for your stated uses if the MAC desktop is that far under budget I would say get that and put the difference in your savings Assuming that the price includes at least a 21" monitor.

 

[Drive XR7]

What irritates me about Apple is that they release new OS and iTunes versions that gradually require new hardware to continue working quickly. You'll find iPhones slow down over time because of new versions of iOS... forcing you to buy a new one.

That said, I use a PC for work and a Mac for personal. They both work fine. They both don't cost a whole lot. There isn't much of a debate anymore.

Mac. Not MAC. It's not an acronym.

 

[RDJ]

What irritates me about Apple is that they release new OS and iTunes versions that gradually require new hardware to continue working quickly. You'll find iPhones slow down over time because of new versions of iOS... forcing you to buy a new one.

That said, I use a PC for work and a Mac for personal. They both work fine. They both don't cost a whole lot. There isn't much of a debate anymore.

Mac. Not MAC. It's not an acronym.

Seeing as how context is not lost .. nobody gives a **** which way you type it

 

[NyteByte]

3 years sounds about right for a pc to take a dump. seems like theyre just disposable computers now.

The amount of utter fail in this thread is unbelievable.

PC's don't "take a dump in 3-years" unless the person using it is a complete moron.

I've had my current PC 8 years and it's still just fine. Never had a single issue with it.
Started with Windows Vista back in 2006 and now running Windows 7, no problem. Will upgrade it to Windows 10 when it comes out.

 

[Lambeau]

For me - Windows at work, Mac at home. I like Macs a little better.

What you think will work best for you will. Buy one and don't look back.

 

[thomas91169]

A long time PC user, about six months ago I got an iMac. It just works. Everything is simpler than with a PC, but there is an initial learning curve. The only reason I keep my PC is that there is a drafting program I use that only runs on PC. But even that reason may be gone, as Autodesk recently released Fusion 360, which is finally reasonably priced version of Autocad.

The problem with this is that you likely are comparing moderate to high end mac's to low end pc's (dell $399 specials). Of course when you spend 3x the amount on a mac you get 3x the product.

Its funny, as soon as someone builds a rig or spends the same for a good name brand pc setup that costs similar to a mac, itll shit all over that mac.

 

[99GreenCobra]

Went to Mac a few years ago and I would never go back to PC. It's ny personal preference. I have found they work better and for longer. Resale is always good when you want to upgrade as well. I like how are computers, iPhones, iPads and apple tvs all sync smooth like butter.

 

[chikenkiwi2]

The amount of utter fail in this thread is unbelievable.

PC's don't "take a dump in 3-years" unless the person using it is a complete moron.

I've had my current PC 8 years and it's still just fine. Never had a single issue with it.
Started with Windows Vista back in 2006 and now running Windows 7, no problem. Will upgrade it to Windows 10 when it comes out.

This.

 

[Blown 89]

The amount of utter fail in this thread is unbelievable.

PC's don't "take a dump in 3-years" unless the person using it is a complete moron.

I've had my current PC 8 years and it's still just fine. Never had a single issue with it.
Started with Windows Vista back in 2006 and now running Windows 7, no problem. Will upgrade it to Windows 10 when it comes out.

Agreed. I annoys me hearing people spout marketing slogans like "it just works". If you asked someone why they bought a Ford and they replied that they are built tougher than other brands you'd look at them like they are morons. My other favorite is the "I replaced my 10 year old PC with a Mac and the Mac is sooooo much faster. Therefore Macs are faster than PC's". Ugh.

A high end PC and a similarly priced Mac will last the same amount of time. Open up that Mac and you'll find that it's built with the same hardware low end PC's are built with.

Get whichever one you want, they will both do the same thing and last the same amount of time.