Mac vs. PC and no, this is not a poll, kinda

[Arehexes]

I love my Mac, why because it's Mac. No other reason, any Mac user will (probably) agree with me that a Mac... It just feels right. I still use windows for gaming, but other than that I do everything with my Overpowered 12 Core rendering beast of a Mac. (Very soon 16 Core)

Not going to lie, that's a really crappy reason to like anything. Just because it feels right, if it feels right you should have reasons for why it feels right.

I like Mac better because I have grown attached to it and learned to accept it's flaws. a PC may be 'better' technically (not even gonna deny that), but for me it isn't better. It's just my opinion, opinions tend to differ and people should accept those differences.

Ok well your opinion really has no weight if you can't explain it. If this was a debate match you would lose so bad. I respect your opinion for your choice of computer but I don't give it a second thought since you have given NO REASON. I like it does not hold weight when someone wants to ask "What reasons is Mac better then windows", you can just say "I think the interface of a Mac is nice to look at then a Windows machine" and it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Baby Tea]

Mac Hardware is the only hardware that can stably run Mac OSX for an extended time.

There is no such thing as Mac hardware....They use other companies for all their hardware e.g. AMD, Intel, Nvidia, Western Digital etc.

Wrong.

The chip-sets are the same, not the physical boards. They are all manufactured specifically for Macs. Go take a look at a Mac motherboard. That isn't something you can buy on the shelf to build yourself a PC.

There is a lot of people in this thread who have zero idea of what they are talking about.

I'm a Linux guy first, a Windows guy second, and a Mac guy very last, but unless you're totally ignorant about the engineering and construction of a Mac, then nobody can say they aren't great machines. Not only does OSX have far less overhead then that bloated whale known as Windows, but the physical engineering built into their machines is just brilliant. You can't make a Macbook Air or iMac with out that excellent engineering.

People are complaining about price, but that engineering is what you're paying for. Brand? Yeah, sure some 'brand cost' is in there, but the size and stability (uniform cases, baby) is where the big chunk of money comes from.

Yes, you can go build yourself a PC for $800 USD and slap it all together into a fat ATX case.
Knock yourself out. I did that for years.

But not everyone either A) has the ability to do that, or B) wants to bother.
And OEM or Brand PC systems? Don't make me laugh. I worked for years in computer sales. I watched brand new 'high end' HPs, Sony Vaio's, Toshiba's, etc. fry in a week. High end my ass.

If you want to talk about cheaping out on computer parts, go buy an HP or something form a big box store. Or go build a computer from the cheapest parts you can find. Then watch the whole thing fall apart after a years or two of real use (Cue 'that guy' replying to me saying how his works awesome after many years, therefore they all do).

That all isn't taking into account how much Windows just sucks the power from your system.
What a bloated mess. Windows 7 is better, but still not great.

The bottom line is that Mac, from the OS to the physical machine, are well built, fast machines. People like them for a reason, and no: That reason isn't always 'they just don't know any better'. If you honestly think that, you have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[scrambledeggs]

Mac's are more expensive than PC's relative to what hardware you'll get for your buck. This alone should make it impossible for Mac's to be on the market. There's absolutely no difference in the function of either computer - cosmetics and marketing (gotta be cool to own a Mac) are all that separates them...

Actually, Mac's restrict you in terms of usable software. Oh, and you need to buy an entire new computer to upgrade them. Compatibility is also limited on Mac computers. Also, anyone who's knowledgeable with Windows would find Mac OS much more clunky to work with when it comes to being a "power user".

I was going to say that Mac's are for people who are less knowledgeable with computers, but the reality is that neither is really more difficult to use for basic functionality. It's all a mind game - people associate the better looking interface with the computer somehow being more inviting and easier to use, when the actual actions you take are really little different from using a PC.

There is no reason to have a Mac. None.

It took me 15 minutes to learn how to write a code using script editor that would change all the song titles and bands in my iTunes to capitals at the beginning of each word. I have no proficiency in any other coding language.

Blind hatred of macs is unreasonable.

 

[Appleshampoo]

I had a Mac Mini for a while, and it was great. I like Macs, I like what they do.

However, for me, I game and like to upgrade. Both of which a PC offers me, for a far less price than a Mac, and I have far more freedom in my choice of software for the PC.

 

[Dogstile]

Ah, dangerous thread indeed.

Ok, your first and less dangerous question, I like my PC better because I still have some semblance of control. I can change out parts and mess around with it if I wish which is brilliant, because I brought the damn thing.

Aside from that, my computer can currently run every game ever on max settings and its only cost me £400. If I want this kind of power from a mac, i'm looking at the very least a £200 markup.

Your second question? I don't think mac sucks, I think most of its users do. I have a teacher who will laugh at all the windows users in his class all the time while talking about his mac and how he got snow leopard or something like that (can't really remember the name). When asked what was so different about it, he just told me that it just is. It was really childish.

This same guy went on to tell me to grow up for thinking I could go to uni. Prick.

 

[JochemDude]

I love my Mac, why because it's Mac. No other reason, any Mac user will (probably) agree with me that a Mac... It just feels right. I still use windows for gaming, but other than that I do everything with my Overpowered 12 Core rendering beast of a Mac.

That makes about as much sense as a religious fanatic.
You can set up rocketdock to make your PC look like a Mac. Macs are more expensive and less powerful and compatible than a PC.
Unless you use terminal, there is no need for a Mac. Can you go into further detail about why it "feels right"? What does that exactly mean? The build quality? The lack of functions?

Why do we like anything? Personal preferences, what I like you might not like and what you like I might not like. To me a Mac feels right and to you a PC feels right, wether that's because of Quality or whatever doesn't even really matter.

I asked you why that is your personal preference. Why is that hard to answer?
I never said a PC feels right. I have no need for terminal and prefer compatibility, power and value for money over fashion, therefore I prefer PC's over Macs.
Your turn to explain yourself.

We can argue all day about how PC is more bang for the buck and better in a lot of ways (which I can easily admit). Just like I love my dog, if I would be asked to turn it in for a more healthy dog with a family tree of epicness. I wouldn't do it I have grown attached to it and love it for what it is.

1)He isn't trying to argue with you about why one is better then the other

2)He asked a reasonable question, why do you prefer your Mac over PC?

3)The fact you can say that loving your dog unconditionally is the same as loving a computer is really really creepy dude.

I knew I should have taken a car as example.

 

[DeXusLM]

I have been a Mac user since early 90's and they were way ahead of the times back then, but since 2003 they have been going down hill.
I have built and used just about every type of machine from servers to laptops from mac and pc and I will always use and prefer PCs.

I can vouch for Macs stability however I do think it is because they have such a limited selection and rather strict policy for programs.

I have to say I have tried bootcamp on 2011 model Imac top of the line and 2010 Mac pro top of the line and I honestly found it slowed the computer so much that a Pc I built for $600 outran it in general computer use, BTW the Mac pro was worth about $20K at the time and the Imac was around $4K, This was no error I tried it on many Imac.

The time of Macs greatness was back in the PowerPC chip days.
I could never recommend a Mac to anyone and I have plenty of experience with them, as for that $20K Mac pro it was being repaired every couple of weeks and the every part has been replaced numerous times.
So as for Mac quality I can say I have never really seen it do any better than PC parts.

Now as for the price I have built Pcs to the same as Mac specs and they have costed 30% of what the Mac was worth, and honestly I love assembling them its easy and fun as hell.
However I couldn't recommend a main brand Pc either, I could only recommend doing it yourself unless you wanna waste money.

The only thing that macs have that some Pc users really want is final cut which is basically adobes premiere pro so not much of a loss.

I find the dedication of some Mac users rather creepy and really struggle to understand how people can justify purchasing a Mac.
The best servers I have built were always AMDs and same for the desktops, I have found AMD cpus the most stable and reliable.

As for upgrading a Mac there are a few options but still insanely restricted.

In conclusion PCs are better and I have no idea how people can compare them to Macs.

 

[JochemDude]

I love my Mac, why because it's Mac. No other reason, any Mac user will (probably) agree with me that a Mac... It just feels right. I still use windows for gaming, but other than that I do everything with my Overpowered 12 Core rendering beast of a Mac.

That makes about as much sense as a religious fanatic.
You can set up rocketdock to make your PC look like a Mac. Macs are more expensive and less powerful and compatible than a PC.
Unless you use terminal, there is no need for a Mac. Can you go into further detail about why it "feels right"? What does that exactly mean? The build quality? The lack of functions?

Why do we like anything? Personal preferences, what I like you might not like and what you like I might not like. To me a Mac feels right and to you a PC feels right, wether that's because of Quality or whatever doesn't even really matter.

I asked you why that is your personal preference. Why is that hard to answer?
I never said a PC feels right. I have no need for terminal and prefer compatibility, power and value for money over fashion, therefore I prefer PC's over Macs.
Your turn to explain yourself.

We can argue all day about how PC is more bang for the buck and better in a lot of ways (which I can easily admit). Just like I love my dog, if I would be asked to turn it in for a more healthy dog with a family tree of epicness. I wouldn't do it I have grown attached to it and love it for what it is.

So you are just going to refuse to state why you prefer Macs over PCs?
You tend to love a pet. If you love your Mac, that shows a disturbing attachment to an item that is actually worthy of seeing a shrink over.

I already stated why and the dog was an example you could replace that with anything you like. I will state it one more time, I like a Mac because IT FEELS RIGHT. I can admit that a PC is 'better' just not to me.

You love an animal.
You do not love inanimate objects.
Your example is useless as a Mac is an inanimate object. I guess you do not know why it feels right? Does that not concern you that you do not know why you feel a certain way about a product? It feels right because it will be doing X, Y and Z differently to anything else you have handled. Are you not going to say what X, Y and Z are?

Oke, I'll bite. Ergonomics, Design, Interface, Smoothness to name a few. They don't have the power for the buck as your average Windows, but still... Would you understand it better if I said a car instead of a dog?

 

[Sonic Doctor]

With multitouch gestures, I meant. Not clicking on other tabs or other stuff. Two finger swipes left and right switch between tabs, three fingers up and down raises and lowers volume, etc. Mainly this is bred from laziness, as I now can do most of my internet browsing with only minimal mouse movements.

Ah, I see, though it actually sounds like more work than with a mouse, more movement with muscles that is. I only slightly move my wrist when moving my mouse and I only have to slightly use my pointer finger to click and middle finger scroll or use the right click. What you are doing sounds like you are moving your whole hand and your arm at times, since you are the mouse yourself and you aren't using an object(a mouse) to take away half or more of the movements that would be needed if the object wasn't there for use.

I'm actually laying on my bed and the only time my arm moves is if I am typing, other than that it lays completely still when I am using my mouse.

Though such an interface wouldn't work for me since I'm using a 32-inch HDTV as my computer monitor, and I don't think I could ever go back to using small screen when using a computer.

 

[Baby Tea]

....If Macs are so well built why do their performance suck for gaming? They can't program drivers for shit.

Because they don't care about gaming. Apple isn't super keen on making Macs a 'gaming' machine as you see it. The OS, as is, runs better than windows in every other way. It boots faster, handles memory better, and doesn't suck energy like an old car sucks gas.

Windows 7 is compatible. Macs are not. Macs generally are merely Linux for housewives and children as it does not promote terminal.

Windows 7 is compatible? Macs are not? What does that even mean?
My best friend is a Mac fanatic, and uses his Mac for everything he needs it for. He doesn't dual-boot for any reason. Everything he needs, his Mac does. And he works as an editor for a TV station. That that isn't just his 'home' stuff, but also his work. His wife also play games and uses the computer with great success for everything she needs it to.

There is no compatibility issue.

So what does that mean? Do you use, say, AutoCAD? Or is this just games related?

 

[tunderball]

Both have their major plus points but I've always been and always will be a Windows PC man.

I love the Mac OS and the general designs for everything to do with them, it could sit in any house and look cool. I'm also in love with the apple products they are some of the best in the world; Iphone, Ipad and so on...
However the PC just has so much flexibility with what you can use on it, somebody mentioned games and yes that is a major thing but I've got a weirder example. I use a lot of animation and 3D modelling software for my work (maya, 3DSmax, Mudbox, etc) and these will barely run on a Mac, Which I find really weird since Steve Jobs was essential in getting a little company called 'Pixar' off the ground.

So yeah they are both great and I wouldn't knock anybody for owning either but I personally prefer the PC.

 

[Thaliur]

OK, although I usually am quite a vicious enemy of Apple products, the Mac PCs are actualy pretty good.
The hardware, that is. They are comparable to relatively powerful notebooks, abeit at about twice the cost.

The main problem for me is the software. Almost every single program available on Mac has a Windows counterpart, while many programs I often need are only available on Windows.
Examples:
Almost every CAD software.
MS Office (OK, it's available on Mac, but has a horrible interface and actually doesn't include many features of Office I regularly use. And no, OpenOffice doesn't have them either. Also, OO runs as if I'm using an ARM processor on any system...)
Games, of course, although more and more games are available on Mac OS, too.

ANd finally, and almost most importantly: A proper Windows and files manager.
The Mac OS interface looks slightly better than Windows, but if you often have more than two windows open at the same time, exposé doesn't stand a chance against the taskbar. Also, Mac OS has no proper Start menu for launching applications. THey are trying to correct that mistake now with the App Launcher thing in their newest Service Pack (Lion, I think), but again, they put looks above funtionality.
Also, I can maximise my Windows on Windows PCs, while the according button on Mac OS just does something weird with the window.

Windows7's new Superbar is a better Mac Dock-like thing than the Mac Dock itself, since it also incorporates the age-old taskbar functionality.

And a minor problem I have with Mac OS: There is no proper (or easy-to-use) filesystem maintenance. It doesn't defragment large files, and has no counterpart to Scandisk. It has something similar, but that has to be run from a backup drive, and can't really fix any errors it finds.

I stand by my view that unless you need terminal, there is no need for a Mac.

Even then, you can just either use the Command line interface integrated in Windows, or the SuperShell, which is almost the same as a Linux terminal, and is also integrated in Windows.

And if you need Unix components, there's always a Linux Distribution available for free, and you can even install andLinux inside a running Windows system

 

[EvilMaggot]

Mac is for the College Student, PC for the gamer

 

[deadxero]

From a tech professional.... There have always been two real differences between Mac and PC, aside from Mac's generally being overpriced. The first is that Win PC has always had much better software support. The second is that Mac's were never a real malware target.

Today, Mac's are still overpriced, they do have better software support, but finally have a large enough market share to be a target for virus designers. Add to that they fact that Mac owners, and security software, is aren't prepared to deal with this new threat and it's a mess.

IMO there is no real reason to pick a Mac at this point ,unless you really like their hardware. That said, I know a number of people that run Linux/Window on Mac hardware, so that's always an option as well.

 

[OutofMind634]

Mac is for the College Student, PC for the gamer

Well damn. College is just around the corner.

 

[WanderingFool]

My main problem with Macs is the price. My mother once contemplated buying me a Macbook for college, the book in question being almost $2200. I baught a ASUS gaming Laptop for almost half the price. This may seem like a rather poor excuse to dislike the Macs, but I dont care to spend more money than I need to for a computer that will do the same thing as a computer for less money.

Also, I dont do much in the way of multimedia, and if I did, PC would be just fine for me.

 

[OutofMind634]

My main problem with Macs is the price. My mother once contemplated buying me a Macbook for college, the book in question being almost $2200. I baught a ASUS gaming Laptop for almost half the price. This may seem like a rather poor excuse to dislike the Macs, but I dont care to spend more money than I need to for a computer that will do the same thing as a computer for less money.

Also, I dont do much in the way of multimedia, and if I did, PC would be just fine for me.

How is the ASUS? I asked for a quality gaming laptop at Best Buy and was shown the ASUS. Do you like it?

 

[6037084]

Macs are like eating at an expensive chain restaurant where you always know what you get and it's expensive but you know you can trust it

PCs are everything else but for the PC gaming crowd it's mainly like home cooking, if you don't know what you're doing you can end up with a mess but if you're a good chef you can make something that's a lot better than what you can get at any restaurant for much much cheaper

it's basically like that

 

[GLo Jones]

I was brought up using Windows. I've tried so hard to get into the swing of the Mac's OS, and it just doesn't work for me.

Spoiler: A simple google search retrieves this image, it explains my perspective. Warning, content could be interpreted as a bit graphic.

 

[WanderingFool]

My main problem with Macs is the price. My mother once contemplated buying me a Macbook for college, the book in question being almost $2200. I baught a ASUS gaming Laptop for almost half the price. This may seem like a rather poor excuse to dislike the Macs, but I dont care to spend more money than I need to for a computer that will do the same thing as a computer for less money.

Also, I dont do much in the way of multimedia, and if I did, PC would be just fine for me.

How is the ASUS? I asked for a quality gaming laptop at Best Buy and was shown the ASUS. Do you like it?

Im not sure about anybody elses expeirence with ASUS, but I Love it. I can still play a good deal of the games released for PC. Just a bit of advice, buy a cooling pad, though, you should have a cooling pad with all laptops. I would have prefered a desktop, but I needed a college computer thats capable of travel, and didnt feel like lugging a desktop around from place to place.