[zanc]

I have been a mac addict since my first 128K, and a friend (a PC user) is after many years considering a Mac as a replacement. However, the opposition is

P4 3.4GHz (800MHzFSB)
GeForce 6610XL (128MB) (Dual head PCI-Express) + SCART O/P to TV
DVD-RW (Dual layer)/CD-RW
TV (Analogue & Digital) and FM tuner card with Remote control
DVD Rom
512MB DDR
250GB HD
6*USB, 2*Firewire
Ethernet & Modem
9in1 Memory card reader
WiFi (54Mbits), Bluetooth
Wireless Keyboard, Mouse
7.1 Surround Sound
S/W XP Home + stacks of other possibly crap s/w (for which I have no evidence to compare)
>>>> 3 year Warranty <<<<

For £699 ($1300) and reuse old monitor
or £898 ($1670) with 17" TFT

OR

an iMac £1049 ($1950) without most of the extras above.
>>>> Only 1 Year Warranty <<<<

Although I have always tried to push Macs for the last 20 years, I find it difficult to put down the PC package described above, especially when he saves £350, by using his old but serviceable monitor.

Help

[D'Espice]

If he don't want to you can't make him. Deal with it.

[Jens Peter]

I was in the same situation a few weeks ago. A friend of mine were to buy a new machine, and asked for mny advice. I told him about the new iMac and eMac but he wanted a windows-machine because he could get more for his money, and all of his other friends have windows-machines.
I told him about viruses / spyware, but he didn't care. He wanted a windows-machine so he could get software/games from his other friends.

Just after a week, he got his first serious virus thing, and had to reformat. I laughed when he told me, and I was all "What did I say"....

I would tell him about OS X, iApps, virus-thing and design of the hardware, and if he still insists on getting a windows-machine, the he should do that.

[the_glassman]

Sure it would be great to convince him to get one, but you can't make somebody if they don't want to. That and if they aren't smart enough to figure it out on their own, forget about them. I guess you could try showing them the differences, but it probably wouldn't work. I got tired of replacing parts and reinstalling OS and software for my PC friends and family, I don't even bother to help them anymore when they have a problem. I tell them to brush up on their Hindi and call Dell.

[Bookie]

An eMac can be a tough sell from the hardware side of things, given the specs you can put together on the PC side. If the friend is an avid gamer, I'd just give up, as you wouldn't be doing him a favor recommending an eMac, or even an iMac. Apple's software is the better value, and better in a work environment, but their overall package doesn't compete too well on the gaming front.

[deboerjo]

> P4 3.4GHz (800MHzFSB)

Also known as a personal spaceheater. Those things suck down over 100 watts of energy all by themselves, let alone trying to keep them cool. It's like burning money for heat. In the middle of summer.

If he's going to insist on a PC, at least get an Athlon64. More speed, less electricity, 64-bit horsepower for the future.

> GeForce 6610XL (128MB) (Dual head PCI-Express) + SCART O/P to TV

Is he a gamer? If he is, well, frankly I'd advise him to get a PC. Otherwise, this uber graphics card doesn't do him any good, for day to day tasks it's no better than the 5200 in the iMac (except for the dualhead capability)

> DVD-RW (Dual layer)/CD-RW

Yeah, Apple hasn't adopted dual-layer yet, have they. OK, so score one for the PC, but is this another feature he'd never use?

> TV (Analogue & Digital) and FM tuner card with Remote control

Not to hard to add an external firewire unit to an iMac (for a price)
Kinda too bad, after Apple led the industry in integrated TV tuners, way back in the Performa 6x00 days, now it's unheard of.

> DVD Rom

Kinda reduntant if it's also got a DVD-RW

>250GB HD

What's he need that much for? I do video editing and collect gobs of fansubbed anime on a 120GB drive, the average user doesn't need more than 40GB, 80GB tops.

And be careful with those, Windows has all kinds of glitches with ATA drives over 120GB. Unless it's a SATA drive, stick to 120GB or below.

> 9in1 Memory card reader

easy and cheap to add to an iMac.

>Wireless Keyboard, Mouse

I'd advise against it; wireless devices are a) insecure (it's easy for a hacker to hijack your keyboard, and possible to decode the signal and record your keystrokes) and b) unreliable. Expect frequent delays, disconnects, and poor mouse tracking.

> S/W XP Home + stacks of other possibly crap s/w

XP Home is crap. XP Pro is worth the extra money.

In every other way, the iMac is comparable. You can upgrade the warrenty to 3yr.

And most important is the intangible benefits: no viruses, no spyware, etc, etc.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

If he hasn't folded in 20 years I think you should just let him get a PC as he seems to really like him and saving money seems #1.

[ApeInTheShell]

try again

[Warhaven]

I'd suggest the PC, especially if he's doing mostly games. That's a pretty sweet setup for that price.

However, if he's unlucky (or lucky, depending on how you view it) like me, when he's on his 3rd mobo, 2nd CPU, and 2nd power supply a year down the road, he may decide it wasn't worth the effort & extra money to maintain his PC and decide to get a Mac the next time around.

Just for reference: My old PowerMac 8600 is still all original equipment, asside from the 350 G4 upgrade, 1 GB ram, and 30 GBs of full-height-50lb HD goodness -- and it still runs as good as the day I bought it in 1998 (well, better actually). With the added PCI 64MB Radeon 8500, I can even play NwN and other semi-intensive games.

It's now a TiVO. I love my 8600...

[Krusty]

If you can't sell him on a Mac now, I doubt you'll ever be able to. The price/performance equations for Macs right now are the best they've been since the DV series iMacs (circa '99). The deal with Macs is all the cool, uncrippled, USEFUL software you get with them for free ... and the amazing industrial design. If you're looking for gaming ... look PC or Mac + Console. If you are looking for best "numbers" for the money, look PC. As iPod owners, both Mac and PC, have found. Sometimes a 10-20% premium is, to put it bluntly, f*cking WORTH IT.

For me personally: I really USE a lot of iLife. I really USE the Dev tools. I could care less about gaming. These things make a Mac a much better bargain for me than a PC because the stuff I use comes FREE and the things that are lacking (games) are harder to find. If he's a gamer, he should go PC.