Whittie
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Registered: 11th Aug 06
Location: North Wales Drives: BMW, Corsa & Fiat
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Really, really considering a decent 24" iMac now. Been thinking about it for a while, only thing that really puts me off is the fact that you can get so much more pc for the money.
My question to you is, is it worth it, spending the extra on a computer that isn't technically as good? Have you ever come across something where you wish you had a pc instead?
I've got a decent desktop as it is, but wanting a second desktop for other reasons.
[Edited on 01-09-2009 by Whittie]
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Like you say, technically Mac hardware is no more superior that what you can get in a PC, but where macs are good is that OSX is designed around (limited) hardware so they tend to be a lot more stable and i would personally say (from day to day use of using macs v pcs at work and home - video/music editing, production etc) that it is true (although you can still quite happily beach ball a mac/osx). Plus as an overall package, osx is pretty damn decent.
Performance wise, i think certain software under osx are a lot quicker, like the Adobe packages, Protools/Cubase (music packages) etc But for typical office/day-to-day stuff i think there is no difference, in fact i think software like Word, Excel are actually slightly slower.
However i have found a few little niggles with osx coming from windows - like it being an absolute bodge to get finder to view directory/folder listings out directory/folder first like you can in windows, spotlight not searching NTFS drives (i hear the new snow leopard fixes this, not 100% sure), displaying hidden partitions on the desktop (i've never managed to hide them under osx), oh and a decent replacement for iTunes (currently testing Songbird, looks a little like iTunes but doesn't want to control your music collection). Coming from windows, you tend to find things that you can't do or requires some ninja styled shortcut or a bodge, and this is why i've never fully made the change over to mac/osx.
Also the cost of the hardware is one reason why i built a 'HackinTosh' (also runs windows 7). Basically (a modified, to accept a wider range of hardware, version of) osx running on PC hardware and so far i've never had any problems, plus in benchmarks it seems to keep up with Mac Pro's yet costing about £600 quid (vs £2200+ etc). And i would recommend if you have a spare drive or partition to install osx and see how you get on as then if you don't like it you haven't wasted a grand or so buying the hardware.
[Edited on 01-09-2009 by Dom]
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AlunJ
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
Location: Newport
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I've been a convert for nearly a year, and it's the best thing I ever did if I'm honest. Yeah there is absolutely nothing superior about the hardware, but it feels quality. I've got the aluminium macbook and it feels much better put together than any windows pc offering.
Takes a bit of getting used to the software but I prefer it now.
Also itunes is actually stable on a mac lol!
I had a go at the hackintosh on my pc and trying to get drivers (or kexts as I believe they are called) for hardware is hard work. I did get it running but with no sound and shitty graphics drivers so I gave up in the end and bought the macbook! But if you bought hardware that there are drivers for, I imagine it's plain sailing.
Apples support is also pretty damn good.
I bought a refurbed macbook, it had problems they fixed it but the problem kept coming back so in the end they gave me a brand spanking new one with better spec.
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liamC
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Registered: 28th Feb 04
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I have a 24" iMac and there isn't one thing that I personally did on Windows that I cannot do on my Mac.
Obviously this depends on what your line of work is (IE: Autocad for example doesnt work on Mac) or what you do in your spare time (IE: Games don't work).
You could always run Bootcamp and have a Windows OS running as well, but would be prone to viruses etc still
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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I am considering building a 'Hackintosh' as I cannot justify spending silly money on a new Mac.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by liamC
........but would be prone to viruses etc still
that old chestnut eh? 
Sam - Just read around the OSX86 forums and check out the hardware compatibility sections, as you might find your current hardware is already supported (raid is the only issue i had, as there aren't drivers for motherboard raid, just a few highpoint raid cards that cost a fortune).
But installation was a piece of piss, just grabbed a copy of iAtkos dvd (v7, ie: osx 10.5.7, is the lastest) and within 20minutes i had a fully working OSX setup.
Booting takes a little longer than mac (another minute or so), but once OSX has loaded i've yet to see any performance differences between using my 'HackinTosh' and (some of) the mac pros at work. 
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
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How come it takes longer to boot?
I need a fairly high spec machine that's able to run Photoshop and Illustrator, I just think I could get such a great spec machine built for a fraction of the Mac price.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam
How come it takes longer to boot?
I need a fairly high spec machine that's able to run Photoshop and Illustrator, I just think I could get such a great spec machine built for a fraction of the Mac price.
A few minutes is probably over exaggerating, but it is slightly longer due to the PC still booting via the bios, then the bootloader and then into OSX, instead of a mac booting straight to OSX (they don't have a bios as such).
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
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Ah right, not bothered about that!
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
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Yeah, but if you put OSX on a normal PC then you want be using a sexy piece of machine with a half eaten piece of fruit on it.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam
Ah right, not bothered about that!
like i say, once in OSX it's just as quick.
Cosmo - They are styled nicely but the styling alone isn't worth the extra £1500, especially when you can get cases like >this<. Plus my ego has remain intact, unlike the numerous mac users i know (maybe it's just people in the music industry in general?) and the bellends that work in Apple stores 
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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I have a Mac and Im not a bellend 
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willay
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Registered: 10th Nov 02
Location: Roydon, Essex
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Anyone who thinks OSX isnt currently a security nightmare should do some homework. The people who get paid to develop nasty shit to exploit bugs in software have been working on Mac OSX for ages.
I wouldnt touch a mac unless I needed it for something, a PC running Ubuntu does everything I need.
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Joe
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Registered: 20th Jun 04
Location: Hesketh Bank, Lancashire
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I have the entry level iMac, I'm not a geek so have no idea on specs etc. Had it a couple of years now and I love it, don't think I'd get a PC again really.
This is based purely on just use and looks though, as I said I have no idea on the technical side of things.
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jacko198
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Registered: 1st Mar 07
Location: Buckinghamshire
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I have had a macbook for 2 years now, and i would never go back to pc. To me its soo much quicker, much more intuitive to use.
Pc's to me are just too slow, and most laptops etc i have been on arround the same price are slower, you can fill it up with crap, and it will run just as fast as the day you bought it. Thats why i love mine so much.
I just open it up, less that 1 min later im on the internet or on protools etc. If i want to turn it off, 10 seconds and its off.
Also the battery life on them does exactly what it says, 4 hours, and it is actually 4 hours.
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Butler
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Registered: 2nd Jun 05
Location: London
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Macs are just so much better than PCs in my experience, would never go back.
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Sam
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Registered: 24th Dec 99
Location: West Midlands
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
like i say, once in OSX it's just as quick.
And everything works OK, i.e. no random crashes/freezes that wouldn't normally happen on a 'real' Mac?
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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quote:
Originally posted by willay
Anyone who thinks OSX isnt currently a security nightmare should do some homework. The people who get paid to develop nasty shit to exploit bugs in software have been working on Mac OSX for ages.
I wouldnt touch a mac unless I needed it for something, a PC running Ubuntu does everything I need.
Agree with the security stuff, they've also shipped the latest OS with an older version of flash that needs patched and they don't bother patching java exploits, lucky nobody uses them so they aren't targeted.
Also, to the people who have used a similarly priced laptop and found it slow, you should maybe step away from the computer.
Unless it's some designer name with no spec, a similarly priced laptop running even vista won't be slower than osx.
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mikott30
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Registered: 30th Aug 09
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im on my second mac now, had a macbook first now got 24" imac and love it. would never ever go back to windows.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
like i say, once in OSX it's just as quick.
And everything works OK, i.e. no random crashes/freezes that wouldn't normally happen on a 'real' Mac?
None so far, although make sure you read around (insanelymac forums are good) and get the drivers (kexts) you need and be prepared if you get a few kernel panics (usually due to dodgy drivers or the wrong ones etc). Happy so far
And macs do happily crash, one thing i like about Windows is that it can actually admit that it was at fault and throw an error, OSX just 'beach balls' until you sort it out - got a macbook here, been 'beach balling' for about an hour  
quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
I have a Mac and Im not a bellend
[Edited on 04-09-2009 by Dom]
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
And macs do happily crash, one thing i like about Windows is that it can actually admit that it was at fault and throw an error, OSX just 'beach balls' until you sort it out - got a macbook here, been 'beach balling' for about an hour
Ive had one of the older shaped flat iMacs (Powerpc ) for years now and I can honestly say in all my time using it, it has only crashed/stalled about 5 times max. And Im not just using it for simple things like word and shite.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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I get on well with Mac's, would definitely get one some time. Only problem is I use a lot of PC specific software so I could spend the mone..............blah..............
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Nismo
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Registered: 12th Sep 02
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how easy is it to make a mac dual bootable? run XP and OSX on it?
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Cosmo
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
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Fairly easy on the Intel ones (which they all are now iirc).
Are you just aiming to run a few programmes that you can get on a Mac or do you actually want Windows on it? As you can get various programmes that allow you to run Windows software without having to dual boot.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
And macs do happily crash, one thing i like about Windows is that it can actually admit that it was at fault and throw an error, OSX just 'beach balls' until you sort it out - got a macbook here, been 'beach balling' for about an hour
Ive had one of the older shaped flat iMacs (Powerpc ) for years now and I can honestly say in all my time using it, it has only crashed/stalled about 5 times max. And Im not just using it for simple things like word and shite.
the PowerPC's were solid Use to give it an old G4, running OS9!! , abuse in the studio and continuously thrash hell out of the drives (recording 20-40 audio tracks at 48k/24bit) and it never gave me problems. The recent intels are a different story, not that i always have problems with them but you can quite easily 'beach ball'.
And since the switch to intel, i don't think there is a lot in it. I haven't noticed much difference in between my PC running Windows 7 (think it's probably one of the best OS to date), and OSX, and the Mac Pros in the studio. Only differences have been with a handful of software like ProTools, Photoshop/Premiere/After Effects, where they seem a bit quicker under OSX.
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