Apple vs PC

BFJ

Am considering buying a new PC as old one is dying.

Don't have great demands as most use is from internet use and word processing, with some sorting of digital photos etc.

Have come across the Mini Mac which seems pretty cheap and does not take up much space. Have never owned a Mac, and wondered what pros and cons where versus PCs?

Any advice?

Thanks
BFJ

patflanel

Have quick look here
http://www.demonatthus.net/workshop/w-a030417a.html
Owners of different machines will argue the case for each. Many users I know who have made the switch to mac have never regretted it.

firedog_2

Mac Pros:

1 Lack of viruses, spyware or malware.

2 Integrated 'digital life' products let you concentrate on creativity far more than you can on the PC.

3 Some really amazing programs coming out that are Mac only (check out Delicious Library, VoodooPad, anything by Omni and Audio Hijack)

4 Very high build quality and the way that thanks to Apple's vertical model, peripherals etc work as you'd expect.


PC Pros:

1 Games

2 Better personal finance software.

3 It's possible to buy cheaper PCs.

RoCas

Definitely go Mac - I've worked on PCs for years, switched to an iMac about a year ago and have never regretted it. Why? Everything the two previous posts have already mentioned!

I luv my Mac.

RoCas

intel

PC,

Unless you want to wait about 3weeks on average for a repair or parts
and to pay over the odds,

I have nowt against Mac's, its just the truth.

Get a PC, and have some problems but can be fixed relatively easy
and quicker than a Mac

thirdparty

get a mac if you want it to work for you
get a pc if you want to work for it

LULUBELLE_2

If you decide to go for a Mac, try their own refurbed store HERE

newfoundglory

I love my mac mini. I got one of the silent upgrades with 1.5 GHz G4 more video memory (64mb) and faster hard drive (5400rpm). I just stick it in my bag, and carry it to uni everyday. Small and convenient.

Had it built to order with a gig of ram. COnsider this, because it really is a performace increase from the standard

Forget games... but i installed the entire adobe creative suite 2, macromedia studio and a few other toys on mine and they run great. :cool:

That said, you might be better to hold out for Intel minis!

wolfman

Mac's are nice, very much an out of the box experience which is good for a novice user, or someone that just wants a computer that works with the minimum amount of fuss.

Personally I'm still a PC enthusiast. If you could get OSX on a pc (which will most likely be possible with the switch in architecture) then I think you'd get the best of both worlds.

If I had £500 to spend though, and could get a top mac mini or a custom built pc, I'd probably go with a pc. Maybe even put Ubuntu or FreeBSD on it for any of those Windows bashers.

Macs are basically machines that work very well and without much time/effort. PC's are more diverse, and require time/learning but give you full control over your system.

jaz_2

> If I had £500 to spend though, and could get a top mac mini or a custom built pc, I'd probably go with a pc. Maybe even put Ubuntu or FreeBSD on it for any of those Windows bashers.

That's surely the true Money Saving way to go? You could recycle your monitor, keyboard and other peripherals and buy a PC base unit without operating system, as I did. Then pop along to https://www.ubuntu.com and request an install CD (free), or if you have a fast broadband connection you can download it. The current version comprises 2 CDs: an install CD and a 'live' CD. The live CD allows you to run the OS directly from CD without altering any existing version of Windows etc already on your hard disk. This allows you to check that your PC is going to function properly under Ubuntu, and also allows you to see if you like it!

Included in the package is a wealth of software, all free - no need to re-buy Office etc, there is a full-featured office package (Open Office 2.0) bundled, which can read/write files in Office formats if you need compatibility, web browser (Firefox), email client, media players etc etc. It can certainly take care of everything the OP wants to do. The install process is painless, and I've been running it on my desktop machine for months now with no problems.

I personally can't think of one good reason to buy a Macintosh computer. That's not to diss them - each to their own. It's just that I'd rather stick with the cheaper hardware platform, with lots of cheap upgrades available, that has always worked just fine for me.

wolfman

jaz wrote:

I personally can't think of one good reason to buy a Macintosh computer. That's not to diss them - each to their own. It's just that I'd rather stick with the cheaper hardware platform, with lots of cheap upgrades available, that has always worked just fine for me.

I think it depends on two things:

Hardware. Mac's are made very well and do look nice. PC's can be just as good (and more unique) should you buy the right stuff, but there's also a wide range of cheapy stuff out there.

Operating System. OSX is a good mix of Windows and Linux. It works, safely and well and has very good support. Windows (IMHO) is still very good although does require a little more maintainence and is open to viruses etc... Linux is also great, but requires time and learning and doesn't have the driver support of either of the above two.

Ubuntu is quite a solid distro though. Basically it'll work straight off the install without you needing to install/configure a lot more.