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To Mac, or not to Mac? That is my question
QuarterMaster
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've been going back and forth on this for a loong time. It started last summer, when I was almost convinced that getting a Mac would be the best way to go. However, I eventually went back to the PC because I love the compatibility. Now, I'm starting to regret my decision. My computers been a pain in the you know where as of late, which isn't that hard to fix, but I'm starting to get fed up with all the problems that plague the PC world. Here's all the essential info:
I'm a casual gamer (occasional BF2, CoD, WarRock)
I'm starting to get more into photography/photo editing
I love graphic design
Would be used for study/papers
I have a Creative Vision:M, so that needs to be compatible.
Lots of music/photos/videos, so storage is important, which is one reason I'm not sure about the Mac..160GB isn't a lot anymore. tongue.gif
And last, but probably most importantly: I'm in highschool, so my budget is very small. The biggest I could go is the 17" Core 2 Duo setup, probably from eBay.
My current PC is very capable, but like I've said, the problems are starting to drive me nuts. So..what do you think? Thanks.
I'm a casual gamer (occasional BF2, CoD, WarRock)
I'm starting to get more into photography/photo editing
I love graphic design
Would be used for study/papers
I have a Creative Vision:M, so that needs to be compatible.
Lots of music/photos/videos, so storage is important, which is one reason I'm not sure about the Mac..160GB isn't a lot anymore. tongue.gif
And last, but probably most importantly: I'm in highschool, so my budget is very small. The biggest I could go is the 17" Core 2 Duo setup, probably from eBay.
My current PC is very capable, but like I've said, the problems are starting to drive me nuts. So..what do you think? Thanks.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
QuarterMaster on
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TWICE.
I looked through creative's site, and there appear to be OS X drivers. It wasn't for the M specifically, but for the Vision series in general.
GFWL: studaud (for SF4)
Hold the command key (apple key) activates right click. And you can attach mice with more buttons. I use a Logitech MX-510 with my iBook.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
In addition, you can set it so putting two fingers on the trackpad and clicking works as a right-click. Fairly intuitive, but kind of a pain. I just plug a mouse in whenever possible. For the most part OS X can be operated without much right clicking.
As for my response to the original post, hell yes. I bought a MacBook Pro 15" several months ago and have had no cause to regret my decision as yet. The hardware is so much better-designed than the average PC laptop, and OS X is so much more pleasant to use (once you get to know it). I have XP installed for games, but it really is like the shitty side of town (and it runs a lot better than on my PC desktop, which I emphasize has zero hardware issues or anything of that sort). XP is just outdated, kludgy, and inconsistent. Vista improves a lot, but is still lacking sorely in the design and consistency department, as compared to OS X.
To summarize:
- OS X works better than XP (and even Vista in many cases) for various reasons and in various ways
- Document-based GUI means it's easier to work on lots of different things at once
- Lack of issues and more powerful OS means more work done with photography and graphic design
- Mac version of Quicktime/iTunes is a shitton better than the Windows version. Very fast, nice programs.
- Video playback works just fine if you install a few codecs or use VLC (and the Apple remote is awesome.)
- For what it is, the iLife suite is damn good. I'm particularly getting a lot of mileage out of iPhoto since I'm spending a semester in France (only really need to run to Photoshop for more complicated edits).
- There are enough Mac games to game casually, and you can dual-boot for the rest.
- Read this article.
Basically, if you're sick of issues, getting a Mac will make a lot of them go away, as long as you don't mind learning a new OS. (Once you do I personally guarantee it'll be better than Windows - which I have used as my primary OS for years - though.) They don't always look the best on paper in terms of hardware to price ratio, but as soon as you mess around for a bit you'll probably find like I did that the $1000+ was well worth it. I can't believe I ever considered getting a PC laptop, or spending half my time in XP.
There are some downsides. Most obvious is the lack of games, but if you're only a casual gamer you'll be fine. I mostly get my fix from my collection of game consoles and I fire up Civ 4 now and then. There are also hardware problems to deal with; Apple laptops are made of the same crap hardware as Wintel laptops by the same Taiwanese company, but Apple laptops are designed to be thin and look pretty as opposed to actually working well. Power management is a constant thorn in my side—at least 1 in 10 times my laptop goes to sleep it simply refuses to wake up. It doesn't help that Apple's tech support is a huge pain in the ass to deal with; getting an appointment at many Apple stores requires doing it at exactly midnight because so many people need their laptops and iPods fixed, if you go the phone route expect to spend hours on hold, being transferred, etc.
Personally, I'd recommend that you just download a bootleg copy of Mac OS and run it on your PC, if it works right buy a copy of OS X to pay back Apple.
I originally paid 1800 for it.
You can come to your own conclusions.
is that with applecare?
That, good sir, is illegal.
I've searched around and found various websites with tips on migrating to OS X and it doesn't look too hard. What do you think the best way to go about selling my current PC would be? I've listed it on a couple forums, but would I get more if I parted it out instead of selling it as a whole? I'm trying to get around $700-800 for it and my monitor, depending on whether or not the latter is included.
Thanks for the advice so far everyone! You've been most helpful!
Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what I figured when I originally decided to stay with a PC. The price/performance ratio is definitely better with PC's, but my main gripe is really with Windows more than the hardware it runs on. I also debated going with a brand-name PC (Gateway, HP, etc.) but decided against it simply because, well, they run Windows. Now, if I did get one of those name-brand computers I would get a free upgrade to Vista..so, that might be worth considering. Still, I love that Macs..just work. Or so I've heard. :P
This solution will allow you to play the occasional game but makes it just enough of a PITA when your on your Linux partition to keep you focused on your work. It is also probably the cheapest solution.
Now it sounds like I'm trying to convince myself..which I sort of am.
Edit: Regarding the prebuilt PC's I was talking about, something like thisis what I'd get.
I'd finish with this: don't expect to *never* encounter any problem with your Mac. It's a computer like any other computer on the market and it's prone to all kind of failures (power supply and whatnot). Treat it as such and you won't be too disappointed if you have a bad experience.
My 12" PowerBook apparently gets hot enough even during routine use to warp the bottom of the case. I've had it replaced once, and it's now warping again (and it's no longer under warranty...opted not to go with AppleCare). It rocks when placed on a level surface. Last time it warped enough that the strip of metal between the drive and the keyboard started to protrude. After a little searching, I find my problem is not unique.
Annoying. And this isn't even a first-generation issue...mine was the last generation of PowerBooks, IIRC.
Macs are not perfect, and they have their share of defects. They are often expensive as fuck to fix, too (unless you opt for AppleCare, which can also be expensive as fuck...after buying one of their expensive as fuck computers, you may not be able to afford it).
Despite all that, I love my Mac. I love OSX, I find it's much more enjoyable for everyday use, and I really don't even miss the gaming all that much (helps that I own a Wii, Xbox, and PS2...and soon a 360). I think you'll enjoy it, especially now with dualbooting. I currently run Windows inside of VirtualPC, and I find it meets all my non-gaming needs. I can't imagine how nice it would be if it could run Windows native.
Unless I'm mistaken, the MacBooks (replacement for iBooks) only have integrated graphics...so your game performance may not be all you're hoping for. As long as that's not an issue, then yes you should have no issues doing so.
The MacBook Pros come with some form of Mobility Radeons, but they also start at $2000 (without student discount).
Actually I think hardware is your issue. Most problems people attribute to Windows (at least when you running XP) are actually problems caused by cheap or incompatible hardware. When you buy those pre-made computers you are getting cheap hardware (that is how they make money and keep prices low).
What kind of computer are you running now?
If you want a new computer I'd research and buy the best parts you can and then assemble it yourself (or get a good shop to do it). You'll get a way better machine then you could ever get if you bought a Mac, and it'll run great too.
Mac prices are just plain stupid for what you get (laptops excluded). With your limited budget I just can't see a reason to spend that kind of money.
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
i bought a macbook a few weeks ago
new, 1100 dollar model.
right now i've got skype, messenger, and fire fox running.
i'm typing about five seconds faster than my typing can load. This is constantly a problem. Microsoft office takes forever to open, or even switch between documents. This thing is near useless if i try to boot up pandora.
I'm taking it back monday, when my company is buying me a pc laptop. It'd be going back regardless because of my company, but i'll probably give it the finger as i hand it back because of all the shit i've put up with.
oh, it's reset about 10 times in the last two weeks, ruining an hour or so of work each time.
It makes me kind of wary with all these problems you guys seem to be having, but when you think about it, I think a fewer percentage of Mac users have problems when compared with the PC community.
As with anything, do some research before buying. Again, my problem with the 12" PowerBook was apparently a fairly common issue...it's basically just a design flaw. Fucked up part, though, is that this design flaw has made it through like four revisions without being fixed. Basically it's just accepted that PowerBooks will often warp a little on the bottom, and it's really noticeable on the 12" ones.
Fucked up part is that it leads to functionality issues...the protruding piece near the optical drive was interfering with ejection on mine, and might have gotten bad if I hadn't fixed it. Looking closely at it, it seems my new case is doing the same. It can also lead to battery latching issues. Too bad it's out of warranty, because I hear this costs over a hundred bucks to fix.
So yeah, research. Probably won't be as much of an issue with desktops...then again, if we're talking iMac rather than PowerMac (or Mac Pro, I guess they call them now) those things are in many ways laptops on a stand.
Most of the Intel models are still in early revisions, but I'd bet that already most of the serious kinks have already been identified by the community. Look around, and make sure you aren't surprised.
Seriously, read it, bookmark it, refer to it the next time we have one of these topics.
Buying a Mac is not about how much hardware you get for your money.
(Though to be honest, XP has always seemed slow to me no matter what you throw at it. Vista, as I've said, is improved, but still has some very fucking slow bits - the kind of thing Apple's spent the past five years removing in OS X. Certainly runs a little slower than XP on my PC, though overall I prefer it.)
Also, I would really argue against Linux. In my experience even Ubuntu is far more of a bitch to set up and get things working in than XP. Plus GTK is the pits for GUI responsiveness, and KDE isn't much better. And finally, this is a pet peeve of mine, but I hate the majority of open-source software. It always sacrifices being able to find the functionality you want within the next few hours for having ten million features. Makes my day so stressful.
Hey, I couldn't find this earlier for some reason.
apple's customer care is pretty good about fixing or replacing (I believe replacement is some kind of 3 strike rule) hardware. Like I said in my earlier post, I've had my power supply replaced 2 times. The price of applecare is worth it.
Of course, my experience with the genius bar is another story... but they still fixed it on time and under the terms of the warranty.
Office is not a universal app yet, so you're emulating the ibm chip. And the return policy is 14 days
I have both a PC and Powerbook G4 (the aluminum one). I have had the powerbook for 3 years with no issues and its used daily. I went to a lan months ago where a couple of guys had 21 inch iMacs and were playing Battlefield with the rest of the folks. The tech office here in my building has switched to running macs for the phone techs. their reason was that they had a pc, a mac and a linux machine under their desk to support the different setups here. Now they run parallesis (sp) so they can run windows and os X. (they play WoW on the windows side after hours so far no complaints) Granted they have the latest and greatest iMacs at if i recall they maxed out the ram in all the machines.
Bottomline quarter is you are really not going to generate an educated opinion until you use it. [buy it then return it if you don't like]
As far as the refurb stuff people have mentioned.. Apple has a firesale at their brick and morter stores the last full weekend of the month... if you call they will tell you NOTHING. thats just the way it is.. its normally just one table full of stuff. DONT BELIEVE THE PRICES ask them for a price check while you hang on to the item.. they have a black notebook they have to dig out to actually check the price. half the time the price on the box is wrong and is actually MUCH cheaper.
at the firesale i acquired every single ipod video accessory for 50-70% off retail. I got a firewire 800 Lacie rugged hard drive for 70 bucks and ALMOST bought a mac mini for 300 bucks off retail.
last but not least (sorry for the long post)
if your going to school check the apple educational discount.. at my university the discount comes out to not paying taxes.
If I were you, I'd wait a month or two before my purchase. iLife '07 is bound to be announced any time in the next couple of weeks. Normally, the new iLife is announced during MacWorld in early January, but this year, the iPhone stole the show.
Also, bear in mind that Mac OS X 10.5 is coming out this spring.
Thanks for the help everyone! I'll let you know how it works when I get it!