Mac/PC

[JcP]

ok this subject has been beaten to death numerous times and I know it often comes down to opinion, but!...

It was my birthday yesterday and I think I've finally saved up enough money to get a new desktop...I have about 3k to spend, although I'd obviously like to spend as little as possible without sacrificing performance...

anyway, I CANNOT build my own, but I am reading a book now on how to do it, so I think the next time I need to upgrade I will be able to (so no snide "build yer own!" comments from the peanut gallery please, lol)...

my questions are about macs vs. pc's....

I would say 80% of my computer usage is gaming/internet, 10% word processing, and 10% other...such as itunes, watching movies, etc.

I know gaming companies barely release games for macs, but does bootcamp (and other synth programs) run them well (re: nearly perfectly)? And, more importantly, what would be the lifespan of, say, an Imac in today's world? I know full well that PCs are much easily upgraded than Macs, so if I were to buy an Imac or even one of their tower systems, am I going to be left in the dust in 3 years?

Last thing to throw into the mix: if all things were equal I would choose a mac hands down...I love their simplicity, I love the design, their support, and lack of viruses and micromanagement of the OS.
That being said, if a mac is unable to compete with a high end gaming-spec PC (and by compete I mean come within 10-20% ability), I think I would forego my wishing to own a mac for the sake of my real passion.

Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

for a couple quick links...here are two systems I've been looking at (and yes, I know alienware is overpriced, but this last desktop was from them and I liked it alot...before it died on me)

PC build:

Intel® Core™ i7 950 (3.06GHz, 8MB Cache)
Dual 1.8GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260 192 Core - SLI® Enabled
9GB Triple Channel 1067Mhz DDR3
1TB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 32MB Cache
Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

(comes to about 2300$)

Mac build

2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
6GB (3x2GB) memory
640GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
One 18x SuperDrive

(comes to about 2800$)

[Waves]

pc all the way

macs are almost novelty unless your a professional who works with digital media of some sort. and even then there are equal options on windows.

all those "run windows on a mac" programs are great for day to day stuff and business apps but its such a system hog that to me its not worth it at all. my old boss had a mac desktop that was state of the art but he couldnt game at all on it. plus gaming on a mac is still a pretty silly idea in todays day and age unless your fine being like 3 years behind on all the titles

pc gets my vote, but wait till wellfleaton comes in to give you his side of the argument lol

Last thing to throw into the mix: if all things were equal I would choose a mac hands down...I love their simplicity, I love the design, their support, and lack of viruses and micromanagement of the OS.
That being said, if a mac is unable to compete with a high end gaming-spec PC (and by compete I mean come within 10-20% ability), I think I would forego my wishing to own a mac for the sake of my real passion.

Not only can macs not compete gaming-wise but you can find pcs for equal performance for much cheaper

its really not that difficult to build your own pc, even if you have you have no idea how to do it you can still get some help with parts and do one of those 'choose your own parts we build the computer' things and i bet you can end up with a much better rig than that alienware for way cheaper. if you want to send me a pm i could spend some time going through parts cuz i just recently upgraded my pc. been building my own rigs since i was a wee lad.

and yes, ive owned a mac, i didnt like it very much and it died on me within a few years. not a great experience but thats anecdotal and im sure you could find 10 guys that say just the opposite.

[higherthanamile]

Happy Birthday.

I think I agree with Waves based on what you say you want to do. PC.

And, I have a Macbook.

[ionlylooklazy]

PC, do people even still use macintoshes?

[ki11a]

for all you idiots who are saying that you cannot game on a mac; you can dual boot windows on a mac...or you can even parralel or use other methods to play windows games on a mac...all while still on mac OSX.

im not saying OSX is the best shit ever, but hey dont say shit that you dont know what your talking about.

i mean im playing all my steam games, and even all the new call of dutys ffs.

[francis]

both systems are nice, both will play all of today's games fine. one is $500 cheaper, which is a high res monitor or 10 games. dell is known for atrocious customer service, and if you get applecare you will have great customer service (especially with a mac pro). you get more bang for your buck with the dell obviously, but the mac has its advantages as well.

[verklingen]

its really not that difficult to build your own pc, even if you have you have no idea how to do it you can still get some help with parts and do one of those 'choose your own parts we build the computer' things and i bet you can end up with a much better rig than that alienware for way cheaper. if you want to send me a pm i could spend some time going through parts cuz i just recently upgraded my pc. been building my own rigs since i was a wee lad.

this man. if you can set up a tv, you can build a computer. the price of your pc will drop considerably

[Dozer McDozer]

try lookin at this iBUYPOWER Gaming PC - Gaming Computers and Gaming notebooks

they'll build it for you. so will some other site i forgot heheh

but i'm bettin you could build one yourself man.

[wellfleation]

PC, do people even still use macintoshes?

Ummm, Apple just had their best year ever selling Macs (not including iPhones/Touches, etc.). Macs are around 10% of the total instal base. Most PC sales are used for businesses as CHEAP glorified typewriters. So take the % as you will. You can get a Mac Pro for 3gs that is better than a PC for the money (both hardware wise and OS). And it will kick ass gaming as well.

[ionlylooklazy]

you can build a PC for under 1g that will run any current gen game at max res bro. any hardware platform that has only 10% install base is getting 0% 3rd party software dev

[wellfleation]

you can build a PC for under 1g that will run any current gen game at max res bro. any hardware platform that has only 10% install base is getting 0% 3rd party software dev

And you would have to be crazy to do so. $1,000 for a gaming rig? I would rather get a Play Station 3 and just network it wirelessly to my PC or Mac.

[herbinator45]

i don't get the whole "macs are way more intuitive" arguement. most if not all of us are taught how to use windows from an early age at school, so when ever i use a mac at future shop or wherever to check my shit, i have to ask the peeps in the store to help me out and open the internets for me and shit.

i couldn't even close shit on the mac. all the little things that you almost forget about, or take for granted.
like the mouse-pad on laptops. i was like, "howcome the mouse-pad doesn't work??"
response, "HAHA-- you're a peanut.. you need to use two fingers!! :P"

so i've gots to diddle these macs?

[Flamingnun]

And you would have to be crazy to do so. $1,000 for a gaming rig? I would rather get a Play Station 3 and just network it wirelessly to my PC or Mac.

there's a slight difference between PC and console gaming...

[wellfleation]

there's a slight difference between PC and console gaming...

It's not so "slight" unless you consider $700 as being "slight"!

[Flamingnun]

It's not so "slight" unless you consider $700 as being "slight"!

You can get a PS3 for $300?

[Joker420]

120 gb for $299

[ionlylooklazy]

You can get a PS3 for $300?

yes

[Flamingnun]

dang, they should throw that towards Europe.

[Snowmayne]

I didn't read the thread but saw you said you cant build your own but want a pretty good build and geared towards gaming.

I highly suggest cybepoweredpc.com

Thats where I got mine and I couldn't be happier. Prices are pretty good, you pick all the parts, they do the building.

I spent around 800 and that included a rush build charge and 3-5 day shipping charge.

[ionlylooklazy]

dang, they should throw that towards Europe.

its worldwide bro, google ps3slim