[PeteT]

Hmmm,
There is too much emotion by far in the Windows PC vs Mac debate, and people seem to lose sight of the fact that a computer is just a tool to do a job. However, after more years than I care to admit, I have recently (October 2007) moved from PC to Mac.

I have a 24 inch iMac with Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor, 4Gb RAM and 320GB hard disk, running OSX Leopard (10.5) which has a Bootcamp Partition with Windows XP installed. In addition I am running VMWare Fusion (I prefer it to Parallels) so that I can run XP in a Window on the Mac, for those few applications which I have to have windows for.

So, after 4+ months of living with the Mac - what's my verdict?

Well its OK.

Yes just OK - not great, fantastic, marvellous, or brilliant, and I definitely haven't been converted to being a Mac zealot.

So why did I choose to move over to a Mac from a PC? Well primarily for one reason - it is quiet - VERY quiet. Most of the PC's I have had make a noise like a hurricane - and despite spending large amounts of quiet fans, disk drives etc etc, without exception, the PCs have been much noisier than my Mac.

Other positives for Mac :

1. It is neat - a single box with everything in it, fewer cables etc etc
2. Nice screen - the 24" Mac screen makes the 19" Widescreen Samsung monitor I had for my PC look positively NASTY. BUT - the high gloss screen of the Mac can be a problem if you sit with your back to a window or other source of reflections.
3. The integration of the apple software is light years ahead of windows - however most of the Mac apps lack the functional depth of many of their windows counterparts. There are some exceptions (Final Cut Studio for instance), but as a general principle it seems to hold true.
4. IF you live near an Apple store, support is pretty good - you can get free training and your questions answered by the Apple Store staff, and unlike most retail staff these days, they seem to know their stuff !
5. You are unlikely to be tempted to install Vista on it :-)

Negatives for Mac

1. Applications sometimes lack functional depth - eye candy seems to be a priority for Mac developers
2. There are application areas where the Mac is weak - web page design for example. There is of course a Mac version of Dreamweaver, and there are a plethora of template based web design packages ala iWeb, but no value for money high power packages (such as Namo Web Editor for the PC). I ended up buying Dreamweaver (ouch!)
3. They are relatively expensive
4. They are not really user upgradeable - RAM can be upgraded, but pretty much everything else requires an expensive trip to Apple.
5. They are not gaming machines (doesn't bother me, but it might bother you). As they are not easily upgradeable, you are likely to find they cannot cope with the latest games once they are 18 months old.
6. They are not particularly fast. It might just be my perception, but OSX does not seem as quick as XP at application launch and the finder seems slow compared to the Windows Explorer.
7. You really need Applecare (extra cost) extended warranty. Normally I hate extended warranties (they are a rip off), but I honestly believe the likelyhood of 3 years trouble free operation of my Mac unlikely, and I don't fancy the Apple repair bills. I am handy with a screwdriver and would do my own repairs on a PC.

So would I buy another Mac? In my current circumstances I would, but were I on a limited budget, probably not.

When deciding whether to get a Mac or not, first decide if you are making a decision with your heart or your head. If with your heart then just go buy what you want to buy (PC or Mac).

If with your head, then evaluate the suitability of the machine (at the time of purchase and during its likely lifetime) to perform the tasks you require of it. Take account of the total cost of ownership (ie purchase / upgrade of software licenses, cost of maintenance as well as the original purchase price of the hardware).

To my mind the Mac vs PC argument has parallels in the PC Desktop vs PC Laptop debate. If you want to frequently upgrade, or play games frequently, then a desktop machine is probably the way to go, however if you just word process, surf the web and process your digital photos, a laptop will probably fit the bill and be more convenient.

As they say, you pays your money and makes your choice.

All the best
Pete

[Steve]

That has to be one of the most well balanced replies I have ever seen to a PC/Mac debate. Thanks for taking the time to go into so much detail

I do have two points that I would like to question though, the first is noise and the second is the screen. For the noise I would agree that most pre-built PC are very noisey, however I recently built a new PC and one of my main aims was to make it silent. By using large, quiet fans and not running them at full speed it is possible to acheive this goal.

The screen issue is that although at one time the Apple widescreen monitors used to be the best available, times do move on. For the same cost of the apple you can get dedicated monitors or the same or larger sizes that have been designed for colour accuracy. Not only that but depending on your main use for the computer, by selecting a suitable monitor you could have one that performs better in games too. Style and design preferences have always been personal and with so many different monitors available now there are bound to be several that are equally as stylish for much less money.

[PeteT]

Steve,
When using my Mac, the sound of my breathing drowns out the sound of the Mac - despite numerous attempts I never managed to get a PC to be anywhere near THAT quiet.

As for the screen - I am very happy with the Mac screen, and I use a monitor calibration tool (Spyder 2) to make sure I get accurate colours.

For me the Mac was a good all round choice, but it is far from perfect.

[silkstone]

This noise issue is very interesting. I'm typing this on a five year old Fujitsu-Siemens PC (upgraded to 1.5GB RAM and a HUGE 200GB HD ) and it is totally silent. It has a P4 2.4 GHz processor and a (quiet) power supply which also draws enough air through everywhere else, so there are no processor or case fans. I love it, and the silence is one reason I didn't get rid of it when I bought....

.... my Windows PC which has a D-series dual-core processor that gets hot enough to heat the whole house and needs a cooling fan that sounds like Concorde on take-off. Oh, and there's also a cooling fan for the fancy graphics card, and a case fan too.

Without wanting to start another rant against the people in Seattle, one of the downsides of needing huge processing power just to run an operating system is the heat generated and hence the cooling required.

The newer E-series processors are better in this respect, but hats off to Apple for using the (low energy and low heat) Centrino chips in the iMac, although I have read that iMacs can get a bit warm.

[Boofers]

Originally Posted by Steve

That has to be one of the most well balanced replies I have ever seen to a PC/Mac debate. Thanks for taking the time to go into so much detail

This is one reason I really like Pixalo, no matter what the debate or influence, it seems to be well balenced, even if Rob hates mac's . I have two barrel fans in my old G5 2.7 duel processor, when I do some real work they start to roll, reminds me of the old 70's muscle cars with extra horse power, plus it's liquid cooled , hot hot hot hot. Makes me feel like I am cruseing. I have used and herd a lot of quiet PC's. I know for music recording that quiet is a must for voice or you need extra sound room addishions,.

It's OK Rob, I feel your pain ,

Boofers