Want to dump Windows. But have worries about Macs. Help choosing needed.

[Deacon Blues]

I'm sick of windows (it's all those little things that add up) and not impressed with Vista, yuck!, but is a Mac really an alternative?

I would love to get a Mac, the GETAMAC ads are brilliant and tempting (if the Mac is all it says it is), but I've got a couple of worries to remove first.

OS X may be a great OS, but is the hardware looks poor for the price. I'm worried about how much I will have to put into the system after the initial investment when something breaks.


1) First of all, why do ALL iMacs come with only 1Gig of RAM (even the top of the line (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10081556&catid=))? Is that the equivalent of 2Gigs on the PC? And why such poor graphic cards. Is it also because PCs need more power to simple burn? Cause thats how Futureshop sells them here in Canada. (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=23017)

My current system is an AMD Athlon x64 Dual Core 2.21 GHz, 2 Gigs Ram, NVidia 7600GT, Windows XP Pro (I paid $1,000 for it). The most I want to spend on a computer is ~$2,700 (that's including tax). But the best configured Mac on Apple.com doesn't look that big of an upgrade. I want to see a big difference when I spend over $2,000.

So are iMacs really fast, or only if you have a ****load of money to spend?

2) The Mac Pro may be an option, but I don't like the fact that a monitor is not included, and is an F'ing $700! Can one use a normal PC monitor in it's place just as well?

3) A salesperson @ Futureshop told me that a Mac uses laptop Intel processors, therefore isn't as fast as the C2D PC equivalents. Sounds scary, and I couldn't find internet sources to back it. True or false?

4) I want a stable, reliable computer for serious video/image/audio editing. My current PC is just not fast enough. Will a Mac be my solution, or a faster PC machine? I'm into software, hardware doesn't make much sense to me.


I would appreciate any advice you have, I'm too confused to know what to choose.

Thanks,
DB

[renegade600]

see this article (http://www.guidenet.net/resources/win_vs_mac.html) on windows vs macs

(http://www.guidenet.net/resources/win_vs_mac.html)

[Buzz]

1) During checkout you can always add more RAM. But it's generally cheaper to go someplace like www.dealram.com and buy RAM. Apple RAM is expensive. It's best to buy the base amount from Apple then upgrade RAM yourself.

2) Mac Pros have a DVI connection. Any DVI monitor will work. You aren't required to use Apple monitors at all.

3) False. Completely false. Sounds like the salesman just is trying to sway you away from Macs.

4) Macs have been 80-90% of the graphics industry for over 2 decades. It's the one place they far outsell PCs. Apple/s Final Cut Pro is arguable the best video editing application available for any system, and it only runs on a Mac. Apple gives away iMovie, iDVD, Garageband, iPhoto, and iTunes with every system they sell -- all perfect for basic home editing.

One huge benefit Macs have anymore is the ability to run ANY operating system you want. You can run both Win XP and Mac OS on a Mac Pro ir intel-iMac. Can't do that with a PC.

Dan's article link above has some decent points. PCs are still better for 3D rendering, statistical analysis, and gaming so if that's your bag you may want to do some experimenting and research. Basically PCs are better number crunchers. Mac are better visual tools. They gap is quickly closing though.

Honestly, if you want a real workhorse, I'd never suggest an iMac. It's designed for the home user and restricts your ability to upgrade a great deal. It's limited in RAM, hard drive bays, and video cards. But with a Mac Pro you can add several internal hard drives, truckloads of RAM and you can always upgrade video cards later if you want.

[Deacon Blues]

Thanks for the info, that's cleared up a bit.

So I've looked around and a MacPro seems too expensive, particularly because one of the main reasons is to dump windows and that's a steep price to pay for an OS when I can get a more powerful PC with that money.

And based on the link renegade600 provided, looks like Windows scores higher... power over beauty is more important for me. My work consists of serious editing using mainly Adobe programs.

One huge benefit Macs have anymore is the ability to run ANY operating system you want. You can run both Win XP and Mac OS on a Mac Pro ir intel-iMac. Can't do that with a PC.

That was actually the first incentive to consider a Mac for me since it would make switching smoother, hopefully easing out windows as time goes by.


So I guess it all rests on whether I would be able to afford a MacPro.

[Buzz]

90% of Adobe software is written for the Macintosh, then ported to a PC version. Most of the titles that are available for both the Mac and PC are done this way.


I use Adobe products daily and intensively for print design, web design, and illustration and have no issues on a G5. A Mac Pro would simply be a tad faster but I can not imagine a PC being better.

[Merkwurdigliebe]

Well, I new here and all, and I have a Mac, but don't forget to add that Photoshop and the other creative suite programs are still running in Rosetta...

But for the new MacPro? That thing is a beast! It's more than powerful enough. You can bring your copy of windows over to the Mac if you delete it from the original computer. It's only licensed for one machine, but if you do that you won't need to buy it again.

Windows is faster in some areas, but if you consider your time in other ways you'll realize that a Mac will save you time. You won't have to worry about that anyway with Intel Macs, because you could actually just run windows only.

Adobe is pretty slow with the native version of their creative suite. Some people think sometime in the middle of this year.

[Buzz]

Adobe will announce the new Creative Suite upgrade on the 27th of March, this year. All new apps will be Universal Binaries and run natively on Intel Mac... and MUCH faster.

[renegade600]

Adobe will announce the new Creative Suite upgrade on the 27th of March, this year. All new apps will be Universal Binaries and run natively on Intel Mac... and MUCH faster.

but look at that price (http://news.com.com/Amazon+leaks+details+on+Adobes+Creative+Suite+3/2100-1046_3-6170390.html)...not for the average user. :dizzy:

[Buzz]

The "mater colloection" is more of a high end package, I imagine containing the top of the line of all adobe products. Photoshop itself will probably be around $169US.

[Strauner]

I'm new here, so forgive me for any protocol lapses.

Been using Macs since the original; been using PCs since 1992. Mac's OS X and Windows XP are very close cousins, although Mac is still one click easier to use. But the software runs the same on both systems.

Personally, I think it's a toss-up as far as usage. It's really a matter of preference, and dollars. The Mac Pro will cost you the equivalent of a monster PC. The iMac has limited upgrade possibilities. Macs are easier on RAM, however, that's why they don't throw in a lot to start.

And being who Mac is, if you have a problem, you're not going to get a lot of help from Apple, and there aren't a lot of guys out here fixing Macs.

I use my iMac at work for word processing and Photoshopping photos. It's great for that. It's also super-easy to network and access other computers.

I use my PC at home for everything, including 90-minute video productions. The software for a Mac that will do what I do is about $1,000, while a similar animal for the PC runs between $100 and $300. Networking set-up and access is a bit tougher to start.

One other little problem for the Mac is that there are some Web sites not set-up for Mac access.

Just some thoughts from the man who uses both.

[Kilerz]

4) Macs have been 80-90% of the graphics industry for over 2 decades. It's the one place they far outsell PCs. Apple/s Final Cut Pro is arguable the best video editing application available for any system, and it only runs on a Mac. Apple gives away iMovie, iDVD, Garageband, iPhoto, and iTunes with every system they sell -- all perfect for basic home editing.

[/QUOTE]

Final cut pro has nothing to do with the graphics card, its the program and also i wouldn't say its much better than the adobe video software. Also i personally like pc's because they do everything better or just as well as mac, besides video editing, and thats only because final cut isn't made for windows, or macs would be useless. Also a mac book with 1gb ram, 2ghz (intel) 128 graphicsc card cost over 2,000, my laptop has all of that and only cost me 700.

[Buzz]

Like I posted, everyone will have their preference.

In any event... color management is much better on the Mac. And a Mac will run any OS you choose... so you can run WinXP on a new Mac if you still prefer that. Or run both WinXP and the Mac OS.

[chicohonda02]

I would choose an APPLE just because u can get both windows and OS X on parallels. Thats the wow factor for me. But I've been told that it doesn't always run that smooth. Which is undertandable.

[Buzz]

Actually Parallels runs very smooth here. I can have OSX running then run two Parallels windows one with WinXPPro and IE6 and one with WinXPPro and IE7 -- all works fabulously.

[megadude7777]

macs are amazing. They almost never crash. And with the new mac's you can run windows programs, and do anything a windows computer can do thanks to the new leopard operating system. Its worth the purchase. Go for it. there awesome. And if you havent tried a mac before, go to the nearest apple store and try out what you've been missing. Apple is the future