I've always wondered, what's better iMac or PC? I use windows just because its the most popular system..but the other day i worked on a friends iMac and i was like...wow...they're really fast and the interface is beautiful...but i've heard that windows is more compatible with software than Apple...so..any comment or opinion would be appreciated
I would suggest that you would run iMac as your main computer and grab yourself a copy of Vmware so you can have windows running whenever you need. Having Vmware is a really a sweet program to try out when you're experimenting with different operating systems. If you're familiar with BitTorrent, Vmware isn't hard to find. But I guess, if you're using a computer for everyday use, iMac is pretty simple to get a grasp on.
Two-step process to figure out whether an iMac or a PC is better for you:
1. Go to an Apple store. Test-drive an iMac. 2. Go to any other computer store. Test-drive a PC.
Whichever computer you makes you feel good is the better one. If they both make you feel good, pick the one that makes you feel "more good." That's it.
Anyone who says one is better than the other at office work (emailing, word processing, etc.) is wrong. They're both equal there; it's just office work. As for multimedia, unless you're doing some seriously heavy lifting (and I mean serious), both machines will do just fine.
If you're an avid gamer, I'd suggest going with a PC, or grabbing a copy of Windows XP and using Boot Camp to run it on the iMac. Keep in mind that there're a decent number of games available for the OS X platform; see http://www.apple.com/games/articles/ for details.
Besides this, 97% of what you'll hear from people will just be trolling, zealotry, and/or fanboyism (or fangirlism, for that matter).
First of all lets get this out of the way, I'm no apple fanboy, nor am I a zealot, as I develop for windows primarily.
Denier-of-Soup: "BootCamp doesn't emulate Windows, it runs it just like a normal PC would. The only trouble is that iMacs don't have much room for hardware upgrades."
You're absolutely right, it doesn't emulate windows, but nor does it run windows the way its run on a pc. A pc has a bios, a mac on the other hand doesn't so bootcamp has to emulate the bios. As for hardware can you put a new videocard in a notebook pc? Mac Pro's are just as upgradeable as a pc for the most part
advent: "Anyone who says one is better than the other at office work (emailing, word processing, etc.) is wrong. They're both equal there; it's just office work."
I'm calling your bs here and now. office on windows is better than office on osx and even iWork plain and simple. Its like comparing a pinto and a ferrari.
As for multimedia being the same on osx and windows I can't really say if thats true or not, but I would lean on the side of osx as its making full use of core animation and data, which are crazy fast.
If you're an avid gamer, then don't even consider a mac w/ bootcamp as you will more than likely have driver issues.
imho if you need to be convinced that you should get a mac then you don't need a mac, you either want one or you don't its that simple.
office on windows is better than office on osx and even iWork plain and simple. Its like comparing a pinto and a ferrari.
I s'pose I should've clarified that as "simple office work." If you're just typing papers for school, making the occasional slideshow, or shooting emails off to your buddies, they're both basically the same- it's just word processing.
As for multimedia being the same on osx and windows I can't really say if thats true or not, but I would lean on the side of osx as its making full use of core animation and data, which are crazy fast.
I've seen tests that say OS X is better, and others that say Windows XP is better. What it boils down to is this: if you're just touching up pictures and playing with a couple of pixels every now and again, it doesn't matter. For serious work, pick a machine with lots of RAM and a good processor.
(For what it's worth, Adobe's Creative Suite 3 doesn't make use of Core Image, and Core Animation is part of Leopard, which hasn't been released yet.)
If you're an avid gamer, then don't even consider a mac w/ bootcamp as you will more than likely have driver issues.
Boot Camp comes with drivers for the majority of Macintosh hardware (according to Wikipedia, it currently only lacks support for the Sudden Motion Sensor and the Ambient Light Sensor, and there are no Apple-supplied drivers for any x64 version of Windows).
I've seen positive reports about gaming performance, but the iMac is an "average" gaming machine, so expecting spectacular frame rates from it isn't exactly a good idea.
Finally, in regard to:
I'm calling your bs here and now.
I'm not trying to spread FUD or lies here; please don't pretend I am. I do make mistakes, though I'd appreciate if they weren't inflated into something they aren't.
That's all I've got; hope this helps you, MarinoVargas.
Matrix, we had a nice discussion going on without useless Mac vs. PC arguments and you had to come in here and dick the place up. :P What's the point?
It all comes down to choice, one isn't better than the other, it's just how they work for you that matters.
As for this: "If you're an avid gamer, then don't even consider a mac w/ bootcamp as you will more than likely have driver issues."
There's a mac drivers disc for a reason. I installed that and I've had absolutely zero problems.
He hasn't directly said it so I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he's asking which one he should use/get. That seems like a question that would take "convincing" on both sides.
Quote Hisoca="both are really equally and compatible in my opinion."
And what do you base your judgement on, have you considered the kernels that the OS use and how the mainframe works and also whether thre kernel will get all hardware and software interacting at once or is it modulated.
I agree with Island Dog. I recommend that you at least test 3 different computers (usually vastly different in power and price) for each. It goes without really saying, but you are the best person to determine your needs than any of us.
from what i've seen, i prefer mac! os x is the os that fit better my needs and mac can run linux windows and os x.so september i will buy a macbook:) its useless this kind of discussion,better to you test both and read some articles to get informations about what you missed in your tests
Aehm, yes... it's not allowed in US to install Mac OS X on a PC, that doesn't mean it isn't possible technically and where I come from the clause is not in effect.
Personally I don't like the idea of having to reboot just to play games. Thats just me. So for me if you want to play games PC hands down.
Mac seems simpler and more elegant in a lot of ways. Some people like simple, some people like to dig in and get their hands dirty.
However stability on either platform is going to depend on if you get a system that is in line with what you are trying to do with it. If you are buying something for gaming then you are probably going to want to get some heavy duty hardware either way.
With PCs you do get better software compatibility and more room for hardware customization. That said these 2 only matter if you plan on customizing/upgrading the hardware yourself at some point, and if the software you want to use is only available on one platform or the other.
Many people don't even look at the merits of each platform and make the decision based on how they feel politically about one company or the other. Hate Microsoft? Get a mac. Hate Apple? Get a PC. But since you are asking the question I will assume you are not one of these.
Short answer, figure out what you are looking for and what is important to you. Score each category and get the one that looks to be the best.
You won't know if you are going to like a Mac unless you make the plunge, come up with the dough, and just buy the thing. I'm buying one - grew up on Windows 98 and am wanting to experience an Apple. I've heard great things, and I'm willing to make the change. But you've got to take into account what you want and need out of a computer, not what a few of us are going to tell you. Do you need portability? Do you need a neat, clean external? A user-friendly interface? What do you use your computer for? (I'm not really asking, they're just hypothetical questions...)
Someone said it already, hate it echo it but I will - if you need to be convinced to buy a Mac, you probably don't want one.
i base my judgement on working with win95/98/2k//XP and os9/X for many years in a business environment (ad agency). And what counts there isnt any kernel, its compatibility, stability, filehandling, filesharing etc. And since OSX/WINXP was released it really became compatible in many ways... to the moment that it just didnt matter anymore if i work on my pro mac or pc with inDesign or any other programm. And i really like that freedom...
Thanks for telling me what you based your judgement on. Although, you put forward good comments about why, I am not sure I would agree with all of it.
Compatibility, stability, filesharing and filehandling are all aspects of an operating system which are in turn, controlled by the kernel. I therefore base most of my judgements on the kernel and how it functions. If necesary, I may look at other aspects as well.
Many people judge it that way, and it seems to work if you just want to get something that does the things you want. If your a obsessed computing addict like me then it gets all complicated.
It certainly can. A lower end Intel dual core processor does fine for me, because I like to overclock my cpu.
Overclocking will get you some speed where no one else bothers to look but the problem is you then have to make sure your well equipped with cooling hardware.
LOL! I agree Aphaits/Taz it can get you broke. I overclocked my CPU which was dead cheap to 4ghz, dual core and it cost me under £100. Water cooling is now required (+£100) but that still put the price under buying overpriced high end chips (£300+).
My point... Do some research if you are planning on building yourself. I like to tom's hardware guide (google it) for info on CPUs (lots of visual tables showing speed and power).
