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Mac Vs Pc

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#14

Macs cost too much. I can pop down to my local computer store and pick up a decent component (which will run fine for years) for almost nothing compared to what Apple are charging, and pop it into my PC. If something dies (and things do with computers from time to time) I’m not at the mercy of a Mac repair man to get it fixed. I can hunt around for the best bargain and do the job myself without too much grief. With a PC, you can get all of your components at prices that make Mac costings look abusive, and mix and match both old and new components fairly easily. Want to pass on your graphics card and motherboard to a family member’s old PC when you upgrade? No worries with a PC.

If you don’t want to have that kind of control over your computer, or you just can’t be bothered learning, buy a Mac. Mac’s a great for people who like to use a computer without knowing much about what’s inside the box, or who have a lot of disposable income :wink: If you want control and the ability to build a computer to be exactly what you want, buy a PC. There are pros and cons to both Windows/Linux and the different Apple OS, so… I think when it comes to being either a Mac or PC user, each is best depending on how much control you want out of it.

Side note: Alienware are like Apple for PCs.

#15

Reactor… You’re about 5 years behind with those statements. Check out an Apple store and play with one. You don;t have to buy one but just have a look at OSX and the hardware prices on the web at stores like macmall.com. All you noted was valid before OSX came out. Times have changed rather drastically in the Apple Camp.
Cheers
Lemo

#16

Prices have improved, but I can knock a ton off what they’re charging. I know what I’m talking about… I did the maths when people on Cgtalk started harping on about the pricing when the Mac Pros arrived.

#17

Sure you can. Memory is a big cost in mac’s. But the reason for that is speed and error correction. On a hardware level it is difficult to compare a regular PC with a typical chipset and the common memory and the Apple which usually pulls out all stops. My Dual Core Opteron 280 is about 40% slower than the MacPro running XP and rendering the same scene with the same environment. That’s a lot based on simple architecture differences. But 2GB of memory cost about 5-600$. And that’s already a third party source and not the holy Apple Shop… Sighhhh.
Lemo

#18

Mac’s are still expensive just have a look and compare the laptop prices for example. Also you don’t have any choice… you can have a white one and a black one… but the black one is 200 dollar more lol :lol:

#19

lemonnado, I’m no hardware expert, but you can’t just talk about ‘memory’. What type of memory are you talking about? Also, the motherboard you choose will also make a huge difference, so it’s not all just about ram.

#20

I’ve used both Macs and PCs on the job, where cost wasn’t the issue. What works was. Macs simply work better. The OS is better, period. Windows has always been behind the curve as an OS since 3.1. It’s never been as good as any Mac OS. To be blunt, it’s a cheap bloated knockoff of the Mac OS and always has been. Recent reviews of Vista state that this is still the case.

When you buy cheap, usually you end up, paying more. Replacing cheap parts over and over.

The most valuable commodity you have is your time. Digging around in the guts of a computer, searching for parts, driving to get stuff ends up costing more than it’s worth.

Say you place a $100/hr value on your time (time, to me is priceless), just going to the local mall three times in a two year cycle to fix or replace hardware ends up really not being worth the value you think you’re getting. Add to that, the time spent taking the box apart, finding you need to get something else, etc and putting it together; you could be out several hundred dollars, if not thousands.

Yeah, but you know your way around computers. But the day or so you just blew on getting your PC back up and running can’t ever be retrieved. And if time is not a premium for you, then have at it. BTW nobody has plenty of time.

I can’t AFFORD the hassle of fixing a cheap PC, it’s just too expensive. My time is more valuable to me.

While you were futsing around with computer innards, wasting precious time, your competition was creating another masterpiece with ZBrush on a Mac, that doesn’t crash.

Having a machine that rarely ever breaks and is easy to use is why Apple still sells Macs and is gaining market share.

#21

No offence willbrown1, but if a home made PC on the cheap is breaking down on you, you need to either take better care of it or put it together properly in the first place. My PC hasn’t had an issue in years, and I have quite a few cheap ‘no label’ parts in it. On the flipside of the coin, I’ve read about Macs breaking down left, right and center… not more so than your average PC- about the same, depending on who’s using it.

Add to that, the time spent taking the box apart, finding you need to get something else, etc and putting it together; you could be out several hundred dollars, if not thousands.

Seriously, this does not happen, unless you’re a total idiot.

The OS is better, period.

If you say so. I know many people who’d disagree. I agree that Windows is far from perfect, but it’s flexible and doesn’t give me too much trouble. All of my 3D apps work time and time again without an issue, unless there’s fault with the app itself, and that’s something common to both PCs and Macs.

#22

It’s 667MHz fully buffered and error corrected memory inluding special heat sinc so you do not need high fan speeds. Zero noise is the result. The front side bus speed is also faster than in any PC board I have seen. So throughput is higher even with the same clock rate. Really, can’t compare PC’s with Apple’s running XP. But for a small render farm, there is nothing better than a pile of cheap PC’s.
This year will be interesting with the dual quad core PC’s coming. But then one has to buy and run MS Server software as XP Pro ‘only’ supports 4 procs.
But 8 fast CPU’s… render preview here we come!.
Lemo

PS:Of course the PC mainboard is a factor. But with the highend OPteron Boards… there is only Tyan. So no real choice either.

#23

Reactor,

Look, I’ve never owned a PC. I’ve used them at work and they’ve been mostly crap.

My point is that I’m not interested in wasting time fixing cheap junk. The Macs I’ve owned over the years have performed extremely well with very little time spent on fixing them. Just software installs and upgrades. Oh yeah, I put a audio capture/midi card in one and replaced a hard drive. Took me five minutes.

I’d be an idiot if I owned a PC. No offense meant.

#24

After reading all the posts I think the real question is is whether it’s gonna be worth it to make the jump to Vista x64 or make the jump to Leopard.

This currently my quandry.

I’m going to buy a new machine here in the next few weeks and am either going to buy a fully loaded MacPro or a Boxx 8300.

Currently the Boxx 8300 is the ONLY company selling Intel Dual Quad machines which is what I want.

However, my problem is that I’m frankly sick and tired of Windows crashing all time the way it does and am not too impressed with some of the complaints about Vista.

All in all I want a 64 bit machine to run Zbrush 2.5 and Maya 64 bit together.

I know the beta testers can’t talk about 2.5, but any clue as to how well Vista x64 handles Zbrush and Maya together would be greatly appreciated.

This is a large chunk of change to fork out and need some advice.

So you know I’m looking to get the following rig:

Intel Dual Quad 2.33 Ghz
8 Gigs Ram
Nvidia 4500 512 Mb

Thanks in advance.

F.

#25

I’d be an idiot if I owned a PC. No offense meant.

LOL… yep, no worries :slight_smile: I don’t like Macs myself, but everyone should use what they like best.

PS:Of course the PC mainboard is a factor. But with the highend OPteron Boards… there is only Tyan. So no real choice either.

Hmmm, yes, very true. I still think that for the cost of that fancy Apple ram you could get a dual dual-core PC and leave the Mac eating dust, but it’s good to know if you’re paying a fair amount for a Mac at the very least aren’t feeding you bad components.

But 8 fast CPU’s… render preview here we come!.

:slight_smile:

#26

FreddyFish, my advice is: wait for a while longer. Make sure that when you make the decision, it’s based on solid research (such as people saying, “Yes this works well on that system.”) and then go for the one you enjoy using the most, knowing your apps will work solidly. There are pros and cons to both PC and Macs, so take the time to look into things carefully.

EDIT: One other thing…

This is a large chunk of change to fork out…

When I’m putting together a new system, I try and aim for cutting edge (if I can afford it) and not bleeding edge. The reason why is because, although 8 gigs of ram and quad quad-cores would be nice, computers devalue like crazy. Aiming for more established technology (that’s been around and tested for a little while) is often the wiser choice, and doesn’t make you feel quite as bad when you realise your $5000 computer just got beat by grandma’s laptop from the local computer store :wink: Yes, it’s a lot of money, and that’s why I feel cutting edge is best.

#27

Reactor… That’s why I’m posting this.

I know this is all bleeding edge info, I’m looking for the word as it comes in to be able to make my call.

I just don’t want to buy the Boxx machine and then regret it 6 weeks later.

(If and when that’s when the Dual Quad MacPros come out.) :smiley:

#28

Heh… well, in some way or another you’ll always feel as though you’ve made the wrong decision. So, just buy what you think is best, and then hide from the world for the next six months so you don’t see what’s new :slight_smile:

#29

Heh… well, in some way or another you’ll always feel as though you’ve made the wrong decision

WORD!!!

No matter what you do. Buy a new machine, three months later ther next gen comes out and drops the price by half.

Sucks, but what are you gonna do?

Like right now, Quad core machines 4 months ago were 8 grand.

Today they’re 4. 8 core machines are $8000. Tomorrow they’ll be 4.

#30

Anyway…

If anybody has info on Vista x64 running Zbrush and Maya 64 any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thnx.

F.

#31

I’m torn on Vista.

It’s a thousand times more secure than XP, and everyone should upgrade on that basis alone. But…

The steps they’ve taken to protect content creators will degrade system performance, increase hardware costs (across every platform, not just Windows), and irreparably damage the open-source community.

…but, content creators should be protected. And nothing shy of these draconian measures has ever made a dent. This won’t either, mind you. Like all DRM, it will only punish the honest user and make piracy more attractive. But even rationally knowing this, it feels good to see they’re still trying.

I think the final straw for me is still OpenGL, though. There are still a few 3D apps that don’t use DirectX, so we can’t afford a drop in OpenGL performance.

So I think the way I reconcile all this is to suggest that you get XP64 instead of Vista (be it on Mac or PC hardware), and that while XP is loaded, you should sever all connections to the internet.

(That’s crazy talk, I know. But nothing keeps your system running smoothly quite like pulling out the network card and stomping on it repeatedly…)

#32

It’s not out yet FreddyFish. And with pretty much all the bloggers compromised and Edelman, the MS PR Firm, running around and stuffing anyone with popularity with freebies and incentives, there is no objective opinion to be found on the web right now. I’d wait 3-6 Month till the facts are common knowledge.
Or get one of each ;).
Lemo

PS: XP will live a long time:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/jan07/01-24ExtendedSupportWindowsMA.mspx?source=rss&WT.dl=0

#33

I’m with Lemo on this. Way to early to consider. I’m looking the other direction in that with it shipping shortly I can get an awesome machine for home at a soon to be greatly reduced price. Watch the prices drop next month which is probably the worst sales month for all high ticket items. I bought my last system with that in mind and saved over 40%. Be ready to pounce on the “last one in stock”. I bought a car last week for way under book. There must have been 5 salespersons sitting around and no customers but me. Puts you in a good bargaining position.

The Mac vs PC thing is confusing. When I started doing desktop publishing everyone had a Mac but their customers did not. Now 80+% of those in graphics are on PC’s and I’ve only had maybe two ads come in on disk in the last year that were created on a Mac. Of course Acrobat makes it a non issue but something to ponder. I may go Mac myself but I’m hesitant because the software developers are not going that way that I can see. In my business I’m married to a PC due to my business and invoicing software.

I’m sure I’ve added to the confusion. No need to thank me just doing my part:rolleyes: