Should I get a mac?

[KmanCat]

I don't want this to turn into a flame war:shifty:, but should I get a mac?

[Coolidge]

It's a good time to buy a "last years model". Especially if you can get the student discount at the Apple Store.

[Stratification]

Why are you considering it, and what would you use it for? Also, what Mac are you considering? Pretty hard to answer with just that question.

[Rabasaurus]

I have both a Dual 1.8ghz G5 and an AMD athlon 64 3000+ and I can honestly say that youd probably be better off with a PC if you are planning on mainly working in web based media. Macs are a bit pricey, and you could get a great PC for half the price of the G5 I got. If you want to work more in the print side of things or with video Id definitly get a Mac. Industry standard for both print and video, the G5 is great at running processor heavy apps at once, such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark Xpress (also I usually have iTunes, Safari and Mail running too, hehe). It basically all boils down to what you want to do with it.

[ya3]

should I get a mac?
um... Yes, you have my permission :|

:P

gah... Just go to an Apple Store and see how you like it. or buy an old iMac off eBay... OR just grab a Mac mini.

You'll never know if you don't try it yourself ;)

[MTsoul]

I got the same question. Currently I have a desktop PC (pretty high ranked) and no laptop.

I really have a hobby of music production stuff, so a Mac would be really great for that. I just got accepted into Engineering of University of British Columbia. I think I would really need a laptop for a lot of things. But PC? Cause engineering has a lot of programming and stuff - is Mac optimized for that?

[Photogenius]

From wat ive heard macs are sooooo much more reliable than PC's. is this true?
Cos they are more expensive, and I may get a mac...

[KalakalasH]

I wouldnt bother with a Mac. Just get a decent PC (Alienware is a great make)

[B3NKobe]

NO! pc :D:D

[Butters]

I wouldnt bother with a Mac. Just get a decent PC (Alienware is a great make)
Yeah but Alienware are so expensive, if you have the money for one, you might aswel just get a Mac lol


From wat ive heard macs are sooooo much more reliable than PC's. is this true?
Cos they are more expensive, and I may get a mac...
Yes they are far more reliable.

[MTsoul]

Is Mac optimized for Engineering? In a couple of months I'd have to program stuff w/ a notebook computer I guess.

[kirupa]

Is Mac optimized for Engineering? In a couple of months I'd have to program stuff w/ a notebook computer I guess.
It would be better for you to know which programs you will be using beforehand. In my case, many of the programs that I program in for classes are either Win/Linux only because the compilers are optimized for X86 based processors.

:opera:

[fasterthanlight™]

More reliable? Without a doubt. Sexier? Hands down. What you'll find too is that a few years down the road your G5 or whatever you want to get will still be fast enough to run the latest software. With a pc, new ones come out every single week, but they are cheaper... I STRONGLY suggest a mac though. Strongly.

[cr125rider]

No, PCs have a LOT more software (specifically games), all work and no gaming makes KmanCat a dull boy.

[Butters]

Macs do have quite a few descent games actually, it used to be that you coulden't get any games for Mac, but now there are plenty. Anyway, why would you buy a Mac for gaming, stupid idea.

And about software, that's bullcrap becuse you can't get any of Apple's software on anything else (some of which is the best you can buy, like Final Cut Pro). You can get most software you get on a PC on a Mac, even Micro$ofts stuff.

[Templarian]

name a game for mac that we would know... lol
im a true pc fan at heart but their laptops kick ***** at design and editing.

[MTsoul]

I remember there's this dinosaurs game that was on the Mac 8/9. You could rent $5000 in the beginning and build your own dinosaurs park. You had to feed the dinosaurs. That was fun. I was in grade 5 back then though.

kirupa: engineering on a pc laptop is much more flexible? because of the support that's available for each program. Do you use your laptop for engineering a lot (in classes)? If not, I'd just come home and program on my desktop.

[Butters]

name a game for mac that we would know... lol
Call of Duty
Halo
Doom 3
Medal of Honor (w/ all expansions)
Raven Shiled (w/ all expansions)

There's a ton more but I cant be bothered to list them all.

[Skinny_T]

I say go for it, or at least find one that you can use for a bit. Me personally, I'd use either without a worry.

[Oli-G]

I'm headin back to PC. More bang for your buck, much better support.

[Desire]

I asked my self the same question a year back before starting a multimedia college course, I thought it would help me greatly and after reading alot about macs i nearly got one without question but then i decided to wait and try out the mac's first hand insted of just going off what people say.

I personaly hate the things now which sucks a lot because they are used a lot within the industry, They seem to crash without reason at the most annoying times like when ur about to click save to save your work and it just quits and gives no reason?

just get on google and slap in mac vs pc, theres a million websites that pitch the 2 agaisnt each other and while mac's claim to be more powerfull in programs such as photoshop and other macromeida products the truth on some of the test are far from that.

i also urge you to go to a libary, go find a book on how to fix a pc no problems :) then try and do the same for a mac :( and if its in need of parts or major repair just hope u aint in the middle of a project cos ur gonna be waiting awhile.

well i hope u make the right choice you just got to sift through the pro's and con's and work out if they will help you or not.


hope u make the right choice for yourself

laters ppl.
desire

[kirupa]

kirupa: engineering on a pc laptop is much more flexible? because of the support that's available for each program. Do you use your laptop for engineering a lot (in classes)? If not, I'd just come home and program on my desktop.
I use my laptop for all my class-related work, but I never take my laptop to class. In hindsight, I would have been better off with a desktop (larger screen, keyboard, cheaper price haha) :)

[von_dragon]

Templarian dont forget that all the blizzard game like starcraft, warcraft 3, world of warcraft and diablo are mac compatible.

[T-O]

Macs are cool :D

I wish I had a mac.. with Macromedia Suite and Adobe Suite...

My life would be perfect. :D

[MTsoul]

Woot thanks Kirupa! :D

[KalakalasH]

OSX is based on BSD which is based on UNIX hence as extremely reliable. However, i find the price tag on any recent Mac ridicilous! Why are they so expensive anyway??

[Butters]

They arn't that expensive. I mean sure, the G5 really is, but the Mac Mini is very affordable, the iBook is pretty cheap aswel.

[ya3]

OSX is based on BSD which is based on UNIX hence as extremely reliable. However, i find the price tag on any recent Mac ridicilous! Why are they so expensive anyway??
They're not.

Here's the thing: G5 PowerMacs are powerful - comparable to a dual Xeon or Opteron. Now, you don't see those in every computer store or catalogue, do you? For a Xeon or Opteron system capable of editing real-time HDV video, you'd probably be looking at about US$3000-$4000. It's just that Apple doesn't really seperate the G5's from the other more affordable models. So you see the G5's and say "Whoa! Macs are expensive."

I mean, an eMac would be about the equivalent to your average home P4 system (as in, not a psycho-gamer rig). Add a $100-$200 premium for Apple quality and all the bundled software (usually to the value of $200-$300) and thare you have it.

AU$0.02

[Mik3]

I wouldnt bother with a Mac. Just get a decent PC (Alienware is a great make)

Uhh I think that ruins the relevancy of your post. :D

[Mik3]

They're not.

Here's the thing: G5 PowerMacs are powerful - comparable to a dual Xeon or Opteron. Now, you don't see those in every computer store or catalogue, do you? For a Xeon or Opteron system capable of editing real-time HDV video, you'd probably be looking at about US$3000-$4000. It's just that Apple doesn't really seperate the G5's from the other more affordable models. So you see the G5's and say "Whoa! Macs are expensive."

I mean, an eMac would be about the equivalent to your average home P4 system (as in, not a psycho-gamer rig). Add a $100-$200 premium for Apple quality and all the bundled software (usually to the value of $200-$300) and thare you have it.

AU$0.02

Well said! Macs truly aren't that expensive, they are very powerful. Even if the numbers don't compare, there is so much more to it... Nobody seems to realize that. Computers aren't just numbers, there is actually stuff to learn.

[KalakalasH]

I'm not against Macs or any other system but I just cannot see "myself" buying a Mac for any particular reason (ie real time hdv video editing). PC's and Mac's both have their advantages and disadvantages which could be listed here but personally most of the things I do on my computer, I can do even with a celeron PC (Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator) and therefore neednt pay any more than $500 for a computer capable of running those apps without a problem... Does it crash? rarely... Has it ever crashed while running any of the said apps?? Never...

[ya3]

I'm not against Macs or any other system but I just cannot see "myself" buying a Mac for any particular reason (ie real time hdv video editing). PC's and Mac's both have their advantages and disadvantages which could be listed here but personally most of the things I do on my computer, I can do even with a celeron PC (Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator) and therefore neednt pay any more than $500 for a computer capable of running those apps without a problem... Does it crash? rarely... Has it ever crashed while running any of the said apps?? Never...
Well then good for you.

Really. :)

Whatever suits you.
A horse and cart will get you from A to B. If that's all you need, then fine. A Jaguar XJ6 will do pretty-much the same job, but with some obvious differences.
Yes, the obligatory car analogy :P

[Butters]

lol, it's all about the car analogy :lol:

[G]

I can do even with a celeron PC (Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator) and therefore neednt pay any more than $500 for a computer capable of running those apps without a problem... Does it crash? rarely... Has it ever crashed while running any of the said apps?? Never...

well put :)

[KmanCat]

No, PCs have a LOT more software (specifically games), all work and no gaming makes KmanCat a dull boy. I would keep my PC for games and use my mac for flash and just working.

[simplistik]

I wouldnt bother with a Mac. Just get a decent PC (Alienware is a great make)
LMAO... that's a great quote... I must write it down.

If you want my opinion... here it is... if you want one get it... plain and simple. There are to many ppl that will say PC or Mac is better (of course Mac always wins :P). But for real if you want a Mac then get one... asking a question like this will get you no where.

[KmanCat]

I recently got a virus, so I haven't been on much.
I have decided to get a Mac sometime, for one thing because they are a heck of a lot more secure and I got nothing to lose with a Mac and a PC, um, besides money?