Alienware for the win! If nothing else, you get style points for owning one.
notebook = HP
Desktop = build it yourself
Dell = piece of shit
[quote]fighting_fires wrote:
Big_Boss wrote:
Macbook Pro’s are the only Apple computers worth a damn…and they are expensive. Plus,Macs are not “practical” for everybody. It just depends on the person and their intentions with the computer…which the OP needs to make clear.
I hear this often and completely disagree with them not being practical. I think that people who dont use macs tend to say they are not practical because they know nothing about them. I know many a people who have graduated from college, business, pre med, pre law, and gone on to careers all while using their macbooks. If you really want to use pc apps you can easily get them on the mac. I think people are very ill informed on how a mac can be used. [/quote]
I wholeheartedly agree with this (fighting_fires). I’m just your average dude that needs a computer and I bought a macbook pro. I bought mine years ago and it still runs phenomenally.
The only reason you need a top of the line mac is to do graphics related things. In which case yes, you can easily spend 6 grand on a desktop, which my friend did when he went to Full Sail.
[quote]fighting_fires wrote:
Big_Boss wrote:
Macbook Pro’s are the only Apple computers worth a damn…and they are expensive. Plus,Macs are not “practical” for everybody. It just depends on the person and their intentions with the computer…which the OP needs to make clear.
I hear this often and completely disagree with them not being practical. I think that people who dont use macs tend to say they are not practical because they know nothing about them. I know many a people who have graduated from college, business, pre med, pre law, and gone on to careers all while using their macbooks. If you really want to use pc apps you can easily get them on the mac. I think people are very ill informed on how a mac can be used. [/quote]
Well…I said not “practical” for EVERYBODY. The quotations implying the person who shells out $2500 or so for a MacBook Pro and a)expects a gaming/multimedia beast…or b)doesn’t have a serious educational and/or professional need. Yes they are stable…but the price tags can be overkill or “under-kill” depending on your perspective. That’s all I was getting at.
Definitely wasn’t knocking the laptop…my wife owns a 13-inch Pro and I use it from time to time. It’s a good machine. I wouldn’t mind owning a 17-inch Pro,but the price doesn’t really justify the components used,IMO. I feel like you’re just over-paying for the Apple name and the OS…BUT the OS is worth it if anything.
[quote]twilson13 wrote:
Big_Boss, how are they not practical? You can get the base model macbook for a grand, and the smallest aluminum macbook pro starts at 1200. I have never had a virus or ran spyware software. Plus, the new unibody ones are very solid. You get what you pay for as far as build quality goes. To the OP, are you just wondering what other people think, or you going to actually use the info to make a purchase? If so, what are you looking at using it for?[/quote]
Because macs are for people that don’t know how to use computers… they are good for basic tasks or anything with adobe… but macs are not compatible with anything. Anyone that does anything computer heavy can not do it on a mac… Its just that simple(unless you roll with photoshop all day long)
Edit:
Damn dude… did he build his own? I can’t even imagine filling a computer with 6 grand worth of components unless I included software costs… or unless there are some really specific components needed for his job.
Mac is good for it’s OS, and they use quality components.
THAT’S IT.
It’s overpriced by a long shot.
You can relatively easily get OS X onto a PC now, and for a $2000 desktop, I will build something that will destroy a Mac that costs the same amount.
As for it being better for graphics? I disagree. I frequently use Adobe, Illustrator, Premiere & Maya 3D (does that even work on a Mac?). The software is the same, so how can it be better for graphics?
[quote]Amiright wrote:
twilson13 wrote:
Big_Boss, how are they not practical? You can get the base model macbook for a grand, and the smallest aluminum macbook pro starts at 1200. I have never had a virus or ran spyware software. Plus, the new unibody ones are very solid. You get what you pay for as far as build quality goes. To the OP, are you just wondering what other people think, or you going to actually use the info to make a purchase? If so, what are you looking at using it for?
Because macs are for people that don’t know how to use computers… they are good for basic tasks or anything with adobe… but macs are not compatible with anything. Anyone that does anything computer heavy can not do it on a mac… Its just that simple(unless you roll with photoshop all day long)
Edit:
Thatguy1083 wrote:The only reason you need a top of the line mac is to do graphics related things. In which case yes, you can easily spend 6 grand on a desktop, which my friend did when he went to Full Sail.
Damn dude… did he build his own? I can’t even imagine filling a computer with 6 grand worth of components unless I included software costs… or unless there are some really specific components needed for his job.[/quote]
Amiright, youarewrong. Have you used a new mac lately? Do you know what expose and spaces are? I have used windows 3.1, 95, 98, 98ME, XP, and Vista. All of those and then switched to OS X. The thing is, you can do more things with windows, but the AVERAGE user, which is the MAJORITY of the consumer base, just uses computers for relatively basic operations. I use a windows based machine for work, and I don’t get stuff done as quickly as I do on a mac, because of the little things that help you work faster(expose and spaces). Those are just two features that really set it above windows.
You should go customize a computer really quick, because when you start putting high end parts in a computer, and maxing out all of the components(16 GB ram, 2 TB in hard drive space, faster processor, dual vid cards) you will see that hitting 6 grand is not that hard. Heck, if you put in a couple SSDs the price goes up a ton.
For those that think macs are way overpriced, go to dell.com and customize a dell xps, or whatever their highest model is now, and put the EXACT same parts in it as a macbook pro(choose any model) and see how the price compares. I think you will find that when you put the same equipment in the dell as the mac, that the price gets pretty darn comparable.
[quote]Amiright wrote:
twilson13 wrote:
Big_Boss, how are they not practical? You can get the base model macbook for a grand, and the smallest aluminum macbook pro starts at 1200. I have never had a virus or ran spyware software. Plus, the new unibody ones are very solid. You get what you pay for as far as build quality goes. To the OP, are you just wondering what other people think, or you going to actually use the info to make a purchase? If so, what are you looking at using it for?
Because macs are for people that don’t know how to use computers… they are good for basic tasks or anything with adobe… but macs are not compatible with anything. Anyone that does anything computer heavy can not do it on a mac… Its just that simple(unless you roll with photoshop all day long)
Edit:
Thatguy1083 wrote:The only reason you need a top of the line mac is to do graphics related things. In which case yes, you can easily spend 6 grand on a desktop, which my friend did when he went to Full Sail.
Damn dude… did he build his own? I can’t even imagine filling a computer with 6 grand worth of components unless I included software costs… or unless there are some really specific components needed for his job.[/quote]
Yeah, he was packin’ some serious software and hardware, and the things he could do with it… Probably explains why he landed a job at EA they made specifically for him. Not to mention he had a pretty high resolution big monitor too.
[quote]twilson13 wrote:
For those that think macs are way overpriced, go to dell.com and customize a dell xps, or whatever their highest model is now, and put the EXACT same parts in it as a macbook pro(choose any model) and see how the price compares. I think you will find that when you put the same equipment in the dell as the mac, that the price gets pretty darn comparable.
[/quote]
Dell blows, we’ve already extablished that. Besides, you can’t put the exact some components in both machines, however, I’ll do a test for you.
Here is a Mac Pro:
1 Quad-Core Xeon 2.66ghz “Nehalem”
12gb Ram
2 x 1TB HDDs
Geforce GT 250 GFX card 512mb
One Supderdrive
24" LED Display
Wireless Keyb + Mouse
Wireless N Card
Total: £4000
Here is a PC, custom Built:
Gigabyte x58 Mobo - 1366FSB
12GB OCZ Triple Channel DDR3 1600mhz Ram
Intel i7 920 Quad Core “Nehalem”
1 x WD Velociraptor 320gb HDD
2 x 1TB WD Black HDDs
24" LED LG Monitor
Geforce GTX 295 1792MB
Corsair 850w Modular PSU
Samsung DVD Writer
Antec P183 Case
Wireless N PCI Card
Total: £2000
I think it’s funny that some of you are comparing Windows to Mac’s OS. Shit, Windows was invented to LOOK AND ACT like Macs. Even Bill Gates bought Macs for intra office stuff.
And Macs do not cost twice as much. By the time you add all the extras to get your PC to act like a Mac, you’re already almost matching the price.
Plus, in all my years with my Mac, (or anyone else I know who uses Macs), I and they have never had a crash brought on by a virus. The last time I had a crash (about 11 years ago), all I did was restart, and zap the PRAM. Good to go, back to work! Compare that to my 2 friends who work on PCs - they’re constantly complaining about viruses and crashes. Both of them are now on their 2nd PC while I’m still on the same workhorse Mac.And they still have the gall goof on me for being a Mac guy?
lol
Side story: For the past 3 years I’ve been doing illustration work for Redmond Magazine… a PC journal! Imagine that… a Mac artist hired by a PC magazine! lol
One more, just for a closer comparison: 27" iMac vs custom built PC.
The PC here is using triple channel ram, so an 8gb config is not possible - hence the 12gb upgrade. The monitor may be inferior, but at over £600 less in total, how can you argue?
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
I think it’s funny that some of you are comparing Windows to Mac’s OS. Shit, Windows was invented to LOOK AND ACT like Macs. Even Bill Gates bought Macs for intra office stuff.
And Macs do not cost twice as much. By the time you add all the extras to get your PC to act like a Mac, you’re already almost matching the price.
Plus, in all my years with my Mac, (or anyone else I know who uses Macs), I and they have never had a crash brought on by a virus. The last time I had a crash (about 11 years ago), all I did was restart, and zap the PRAM. Good to go, back to work! Compare that to my 2 friends who work on PCs - they’re constantly complaining about viruses and crashes. Both of them are now on their 2nd PC while I’m still on the same workhorse Mac.And they still have the gall goof on me for being a Mac guy?
lol
Side story: For the past 3 years I’ve been doing illustration work for Redmond Magazine… a PC journal! Imagine that… a Mac artist hired by a PC magazine! lol[/quote]
Try running ANY major CAD package on a Mac, not gonna happen. They are great for graphic artist though.
RSGZ, which computer manufacturer did you customize those from? Have you looked at the build quality of the mac pro desktop? I mean actually taken it apart and seen it? Now compare it to that customized desk top that probably has a jumble of wires going everywhere. I don’t doubt that you can build a windows based desktop for cheaper, however you are paying for a very nice built machine with OS X.
Also, as for the comparison to the iMac with that desktop is crazy. They are completely different and you are paying more to have your entire computer in a monitor. It just isn’t an apples to apples comparison. If you want to spend the lowest amount possible for a computer, then you can get much less expensive than mac, but the bottom line is that you get what you pay for.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
And Macs do not cost twice as much. By the time you add all the extras to get your PC to act like a Mac, you’re already almost matching the price.
[/quote]
See above, they literally do.
Apple has created an incredibly good operating system, that is largely what sets Macs apart. That’s what makes the iPhone so good.
[quote]twilson13 wrote:
RSGZ, which computer manufacturer did you customize those from? Have you looked at the build quality of the mac pro desktop? I mean actually taken it apart and seen it? Now compare it to that customized desk top that probably has a jumble of wires going everywhere. I don’t doubt that you can build a windows based desktop for cheaper, however you are paying for a very nice built machine with OS X. Also, as for the comparison to the iMac with that desktop is crazy. They are completely different and you are paying more to have your entire computer in a monitor. It just isn’t an apples to apples comparison. If you want to spend the lowest amount possible for a computer, then you can get much less expensive than mac, but the bottom line is that you get what you pay for.[/quote]
They are an online retailer of various brands (novatech.co.uk) - not a particular manufacturer. I use various brands that I trust and have used for many years without fail. I know newegg.com will have even better prices, but they are US based.
I did the iMac comparison as a second example, I know it is not the same. However, first time round I compare a Mac Pro with a monitor - the same type of desktop computer.
I can build a neat desktop too - spend a few extra hours with some cable ties and it will be just the same. Have you seen the Antec cases in real life? It doesn’t matter.
Yes, Mac’s look nice, but I can shell out some money for a custom case that ‘looks nice’ too.
At the core of it, the components are overpriced and the main advantage is a better operatin system - which can also now be run on PC’s.
I still stand by the Mac. I’m willing to bet you’ll go through 2 or more PCs in the time I’m on the same Mac.
You do get what you pay for, as someone has already mentioned.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
I still stand by the Mac. I’m willing to bet you’ll go through 2 or more PCs in the time I’m on the same Mac.
You do get what you pay for, as someone has already mentioned.[/quote]
Not if you build a good PC you won’t. The fact is that good internal components are what is important, and if you have a cheap pc built with crappy components, then yes, it won’t last as long.
The only time you might need a new Mac is when it randomly fails - which does happen with any hardware (albeit rarely with Mac’s from what I’ve seen) or when the software becomes too new for it to handle. Same as a PC.
I can see where you are coming from ID, but if you’re looking for bang-for-buck solutions - even on high-end machines - then I’ll back PCs. The operating system has always been it’s weakest link.
[quote]RSGZ wrote:
I can see where you are coming from ID, but if you’re looking for bang-for-buck solutions - even on high-end machines - then I’ll back PCs. The operating system has always been it’s weakest link.[/quote]
I just wanted to point out in all this that PC stands for personal computer - if you have a Mac, you have a PC. Hardware is the same; Apple no longer does R&D on processors like they used to, and they get their components from the same OEMs that anyone else can.
Like RSGZ has been pointing out, the software is the only actual distinction between a Mac and a Windows box. Macs come bundled with a lot more software; this tends to make up the difference in price. They also do use better (mostly; they came under fire recently for lying about the quality of their LCD’s) components than the lower end computers, but you can get a higher end Windows box from a manufacturer as well that meets, exceeds, or is just different than a Mac since they have limited configurations available.
Personally I go Windows because I play some games and use serious engineering software that’s XP only. Use the best tool for the job.
Side note, Windows 7 provides a better typical end user experience than OS X in my opinion. It runs faster and is a little better organized as long as you remove the shovelware that many manufacturers put in it. I’m a fan so far.
-Dan
[quote]Testy1 wrote:
Try running ANY major CAD package on a Mac, not gonna happen. They are great for graphic artist though.[/quote]
That reminded me of another reason I shy away from Macbook Pro: I’ve heard about issues running AutoCAD even in Windows mode on a Mac (side note: “AutoCAD sucks” is a constant thing I hear…but I need it for school purposes). Doesn’t do me any good to have a $1800-$2500 machine that can’t run CAD programs efficiently. What other CAD programs have issues on a Mac?