[PC Man]

Part of me wants to move to a mac, because there are some annoying things about windows, but there is one big issue holding me back at this point.

I have spent some time researching mac vs. pc tests, and generally, top notch pcs outperform the macs in tests where each is asked to do the same tasks in the same program, with the same amount of memory. I have seen the mac win a few, but in most independent tests, the mac gets beaten, or owned. I just have a problem with the fact that they cost so much more, and get beaten (sometimes badly), by pcs of the same or even lesser prices. I know it is great to not have to worry about viruses, and some of the other nonsense, but for this much money they need to be faster. In photoshop and illustrator tests, the pcs almost always thump the apple computers. This is a good example of what I have found:

After Effects Showdown: Mac vs. PC

Right now I use a dual core amd laptop with 2g ram and a 120gb / 8mb / 7200 rpm hard drive, DVDRW LS 8X, and windows, and it has a firewire port. To get an apple with all of this I have to spend over $2000, and this machine was $900. And apple doesn't even offer the 7200 RPM HD, I would have to put one in. That is a ridiculous difference IMHO.

I know people buy them for the "cute" icons & animations, but I want PERFORMANCE first and foremost. They are supposed to be faster in media editing, but in real world tests they lose.

At the same time I hate the whole virus /security mess that comes with windows, but I am not wealthy, and crave real world performance, so I am not sure.

[passmaster16]

Originally Posted by PC Man 

I know people buy them for the "cute" icons & animations, but I want PERFORMANCE first and foremost. They are supposed to be faster in media editing, but in real world tests they lose.

At the same time I hate the whole virus /security mess that comes with windows, but I am not wealthy, and crave real world performance, so I am not sure.

As a PC person for many years (still am for work) who switched to Mac when 10.1 came out, I understand where you are coming from. My best advice is to look at the total picture. The reason that you buy a Mac is for OS X, the Apple apps that run on it, and how the software works with the hardware. Yes, the Mac is more expensive than a PC in many cases but I've always found the "premium" price to be worth it. While I know there are a lot of benchmarks where the PC will beat the Mac, I would argue that it's not just about raw power. You have to factor in the ease of use with a Mac. You need to consider how the Mac just works. Will the PC do the equivalent, of course but maybe not with the same simplicity or without having to configure things beforehand.

For me, I don't want to have to spend time fooling with drivers, updating antivirus software, or removing spyware. I do that at work all the time. I just like to be able fire up my apps and go. I like the Unix stability that OS X brings to the table and while I've been pretty happy with XP, I just like how simple the Mac is to use. I also like the features that are specific to the Mac that just work. And while Macs usually cost more than PCs, they usually hold their value longer in case you ever want to get rid of them. If you're looking to save some money, take a look at the refurbs on the online Apple store, or if you qualify for a gov't, student, or company discount, look into that as well. It would be tough to get a Mac for the exact same price as a PC but if you look around, sometimes you can close the gap a bit.

[Peabo]

I'd like to point out that the example you chose is 5 years old and comparing 2 completely different processors. Macs now run on the same chips as PCs (intel) so you won't be seeing that kind of difference anymore. If it comes to the worst, you can always boot Windows on them anyway.

[CJM]

your "good example" is similar to saying "i'm thinking about switching to Windows but i'm worried about stability" and then linking to a page about crashes in Windows 95.

[iREZ]

and im almost certain that macs aren't and arm and a leg more than pc's anymore. the macpro and macbook are both good examples of how competitive things have gotten.

[Xyrrus]

Originally Posted by PC Man 

Part of me wants to move to a mac, because there are some annoying things about windows, but there is one big issue holding me back at this point.

I have spent some time researching mac vs. pc tests, and generally, top notch pcs outperform the macs in tests where each is asked to do the same tasks in the same program, with the same amount of memory. I have seen the mac win a few, but in most independent tests, the mac gets beaten, or owned. I just have a problem with the fact that they cost so much more, and get beaten (sometimes badly), by pcs of the same or even lesser prices. I know it is great to not have to worry about viruses, and some of the other nonsense, but for this much money they need to be faster. In photoshop and illustrator tests, the pcs almost always thump the apple computers. This is a good example of what I have found:

After Effects Showdown: Mac vs. PC

Right now I use a dual core amd laptop with 2g ram and a 120gb / 8mb / 7200 rpm hard drive, DVDRW LS 8X, and windows, and it has a firewire port. To get an apple with all of this I have to spend over $2000, and this machine was $900. And apple doesn't even offer the 7200 RPM HD, I would have to put one in. That is a ridiculous difference IMHO.

I know people buy them for the "cute" icons & animations, but I want PERFORMANCE first and foremost. They are supposed to be faster in media editing, but in real world tests they lose.

At the same time I hate the whole virus /security mess that comes with windows, but I am not wealthy, and crave real world performance, so I am not sure.

Here's the deal with mac/pc pricing. *IN GENERAL* If you take a mac, and attempt to spec a PC to meet it exactly, the PC will always be more expensive, because apple puts in "details" like the iSight camera. If you take a PC, and attempt to spec a Mac to it, the mac will be more expensive. This is because Apple often witholds key features for their most expensive machines. Upgradable graphics are ONLY available on a $2500 mac pro, for instance.

In terms of performance. Somebody pointed out that Macs and PCs now run the same chips. This doesn't mean that performance in after effects, or whatever, is going to be identical because different OSes handle some tasks differently. It does, however, mean that performance is going to be pretty close. Close enough that you're not going to notice.

Macs aren't about "cute graphics" any more than a luxury car is about "leather wrapped steering wheels" The design, - interior, exterior and on screen - are all parts of a whole. I would suspect that most Mac users would be in agreement that Apple's computers are more than the sum of their parts.

Lastly, Macs do tend to hold their value well, so if you take the plunge so to speak and are unhappy, you can always resell the machine or simply use it as an xp/vista notebook.

-Xy

[Sub]

And I think a name like "PC Man" isn't going to help him with getting any friends around here.