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Mid-range MAC or high-end PC?

Respect
Respect Posts: 164 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
Hi.

I'm looking for a fast computer. I have two options, both cost the same. Which one would you get?

1. Windows PC with:
- i5 3.4GH processor
- 512GB SSD
- 16GB RAM
- watercooling fan

2. Mac Mini with:
- Core i7" 2.3 quad core processor
- 1 TB hard drive
- 8GB RAM

So which one?

Comments

  • isotonic_uk
    isotonic_uk Posts: 351 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    what do you want to do with it?
  • Respect
    Respect Posts: 164 Forumite
    isotonic_uk wrote: »
    what do you want to do with it?

    I need it to use multiple applications, like photoshop, word etc. use everyday and want it to boot up pretty much instantly.
  • cookie365
    cookie365 Posts: 1,809 Forumite
    The PC, but don't waste money on watercooling.

    And you only need 16Gb if you're doing serious Photoshopping.
  • securityguy
    securityguy Posts: 2,464 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    "want it to boot up pretty much instantly"

    Then you want a Fusion drive or an SSD in your Mac.

    My 2007 iMac with a Fusion Drive bodged into it boots in about 22s.

    My 2014 Mac Mini with a hard drive only boots in geological timescales.
  • Quiet_Spark
    Quiet_Spark Posts: 1,093 Forumite
    securityguy wrote: »
    My 2007 iMac with a Fusion Drive bodged into it boots in about 22s.
    Toshiba R630-155 with Crucial C300 RealSSD (256GB) boots fully loaded in 17 s flat from pressing the power button using Win 7 Ultimate (both purchased April 2011).
    Understeer is when you hit a wall with the front of your car
    Oversteer is when you hit a wall with the back of your car
    Horsepower is how fast your car hits the wall
    Torque is how far your car sends the wall across the field once you've hit it
  • securityguy
    securityguy Posts: 2,464 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Quiet_Spark wrote: »
    Toshiba R630-155 with Crucial C300 RealSSD (256GB) boots fully loaded in 17 s flat from pressing the power button using Win 7 Ultimate (both purchased April 2011).

    Quite. It's the SSD that's the magic. I should have made that clearer.
  • Quiet_Spark
    Quiet_Spark Posts: 1,093 Forumite
    securityguy wrote: »
    Quite. It's the SSD that's the magic. I should have made that clearer.
    More a FYI for whoever really as it's obvious from your posts you know your stuff.
    The Tosh replaced my Desktop back in 2011 and I have only ever had portable equipment around me since, but I will always make sure whatever I own uses electrical memory as the performance is (obviously) lightning.

    I'm certainly not an IT guy, but I'll make a bold statement that SSD even gives those old Intel N series Win 7 Starter (1GB RAM) netbooks a massive boost in the performance stakes when they replace the stock HDD they normally come with for an SSD.
    Understeer is when you hit a wall with the front of your car
    Oversteer is when you hit a wall with the back of your car
    Horsepower is how fast your car hits the wall
    Torque is how far your car sends the wall across the field once you've hit it
  • securityguy
    securityguy Posts: 2,464 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    "I'll make a bold statement that SSD even gives those old Intel N series Win 7 Starter (1GB RAM) netbooks a massive boost"

    Indeed. SSDs are absolutely transformational. Hard drive performance has barely improved in the last thirty years (roughly 30ms access time down to about 5ms, perhaps 30 ops/sec to 180 ops/sec) while capacities have increased by about a factor of ten thousand and computer performance by about the same. SSDs are a complete game-changer.
  • Quiet_Spark
    Quiet_Spark Posts: 1,093 Forumite
    securityguy wrote: »
    "I'll make a bold statement that SSD even gives those old Intel N series Win 7 Starter (1GB RAM) netbooks a massive boost"

    Indeed. SSDs are absolutely transformational. Hard drive performance has barely improved in the last thirty years (roughly 30ms access time down to about 5ms, perhaps 30 ops/sec to 180 ops/sec) while capacities have increased by about a factor of ten thousand and computer performance by about the same. SSDs are a complete game-changer.
    Add the extra battery life your device gives because you don't need to spin a motor and it's "win-win" all round IMHO
    Understeer is when you hit a wall with the front of your car
    Oversteer is when you hit a wall with the back of your car
    Horsepower is how fast your car hits the wall
    Torque is how far your car sends the wall across the field once you've hit it
  • Cisco001
    Cisco001 Posts: 4,182 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Neither.

    What is your budget?
    I would get windows, but skip watercooling; and replace i5 with i7
This discussion has been closed.
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