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Games - Windows Vs. Mac
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Nov 2007
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For games that are out in both Windows and Universal Binary, would there be much of a difference in performance? I have XP installed, but I hate constantly rebooting to switch between OS/X and Windows. I'm sure that it can't be good for the hardware. I also like to use Windows as little as possible to avoid viruses and what not. However, I've heard that OS/X doesn't take full advantage of the graphics card. Any truth to this? For example, would I notice much difference playing World of Warcraft on the same computer using Windows or OS/X?
2.4ghz Macbook Pro
4 Gig RAM
160 GB Hdd @7200
Leopard
Windows XP via Boot Camp
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Mar 2006
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It's not bad for your hardware in any reasonable sense. You also need a better anti-virus strategy than that.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Nov 2007
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I have symantec antivirus and firewall installed on the windows side, as well as Microsoft Windows Defender and Ad Aware.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Well then using Windows as little as possible adds little to your virus resilience....
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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Yes, there usually is 'a' difference (~10-30% in favor of Windows), but sometimes the Windows version is 10x faster (mostly due to drivers). See the barefeats benchmarks here.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Nov 2007
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"It's not bad for your hardware in any reasonable sense. You also need a better anti-virus strategy than that."
Constant rebooting, meaning switching between operating systems many times every day, adds a lot of unnecessary wear. This is true of any mechanical device. Any moving parts will deteriorate with overuse, including those in a hard drive. While there may be no immediate difference, it would potentially, and yes, reasonably, lessen the life-span of the drive. This is why it is suggested to put the computer into sleep or hibernation mode in between sessions that are less than a day or so apart, rather than turning off the computer.
"Well then using Windows as little as possible adds little to your virus resilience...."
As is well known, Windows hosts a great deal of viruses, trojans, adware, spyware, etc. that do not affect the Mac OS. This is one of the primary reasons that people use Macs. Every time I boot into Windows, I am opening my system to these ~115,000 viruses, along with all of the other problems associated with Windows, i.e. crashes, fatal errors, system freezes, driver errors, etc. Regardless of the amount of software used to combat these issues, things quite frequently slip through the cracks. I, along with plenty of other people, have experienced viruses, trojans, and plenty of ads, even with the proper safety precautions in place. These utilities are far from flawless. And, on top of that, virus definitions are not added to the software until the viruses affect at least one computer. The virus always comes before the protection. Therefore, by using Windows as little as possible, all of these threats are lessened.
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Forum Regular
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Canada
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Yeah you will almost always see a nice boost under XP vs OS X. Companies want to spend their time optimizing for the highest number of users.
I don't think it's a big deal to reboot each day or a couple times a day. Try to lock down XP as much as you can. A good anti-virus (like NOD) and a good firewall. Only punch holes in the firewall for the games you play online. And if you don't play online; all the better. Then you just can disable internet access and keep yourself even safer.
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