Mac vs PC.. Need some insight

[Tinibigz_1992]

As a student I am looking for a laptop that is very mobile and can support all my needs without buying any extra software..

I don't know if getting a Macbook would be my best choice or should getting a PC laptop be my best bet.

Price range I am looking at is about 1500, I just want to make sure I get something that will last a few years..

If someone could point me in the right direction as far as websites or a store that would have the best deal for me that be great..

Thank you for all your help

 

[Goodeggray]

If you can go to an Apple store and Microsoft store any use the laptops and get advice. Macbook and Ultrabooks have very nice feathers. You'll have to add some software to meet all your needs. You budget will allow a lot of choices. Narrow down your choices then shop for price.

 

[ELMO_2006]

A respectable person once told me...

If you want to learn about computers get a PC, if you want to do work get a MAC.

Check out the following:

www.macworld.com
www.macreview.net
www.maclife.com
www.macsales.com
www.owcomputing.com

www.newegg.ca
www.newegg.com
www.hardocp.com
www.notebookreview.com
www.laptopmag.com
www.notebookcheck.com

The listing goes on and on!

 

[Goodeggray]

Less true on laptops. Especially now The Macbook and Ulirabooks parts have almost the same parts. The new line should be "If you want look cool get an Apple product."
I have to admit New Ulitbooks with Window 8 and touchscreen are cool.




















i

 

[jaguarskx]

A respectable person once told me...

If you want to learn about computers get a PC, if you want to do work get a MAC.

So why is it that PC dominates the business office environment?

 

[rocknrollz]

So why is it that PC dominates the business office environment?

Macs have been around for a long time, but they have only recently come to the point where using them is actually work efficient. IMO, Snow leopard is where macs really become usable in a work environment. Before macs were able to compete with PC's, all the companies stated with them. And now, switching from all their PC's to macs would not only take a lot of money but it would take time too. Most new company's, and some old company's looking for change are transferring to the mac.

Form experience, Macs have a better working environment compared to the PC. For school, I would go for the mac.

 

[jaguarskx]

As a student I am looking for a laptop that is very mobile and can support all my needs without buying any extra software..

I'm pretty sure at some point you are going to be to buy some type of software since not all that you may need will be free. OpenOffice is a good piece of free software. It's basically like a freeware version of MS Office; you get a spreadsheet and word processor amongst other office software.

Basically it boils down to which operating system you want to use and if you like having a wide variety of laptops to choose from... although sometime having too many choices means it very difficult to make a choice. I'm guessing you have friends and family members who have a Windows PC or laptop you can tryout. The same may or may not be the case for a Mac. If you know no one that has a Mac then simply go to an electronics store (Apple, Bestbuy, etc) and play around with one.

- If you want to save money... windows laptop, some will cost just as much or more than a Mac.
- If you want to play games... windows laptop, you have more choice in terms of hardware (i.e. graphics). Also most games are written for the PC, not the Mac... then again you can also install Windows on a Mac in dual boot setup.
- If you want to lower the risk of getting viruses... Mac... because people who write viruses, trojan, and worms prefer to infect up to 91% of the computer / laptop market rather than just 9% (which is Apple's share).
- If you want the best of worlds meaning being able to run Mac OS and Windows OS, then get a Mac. While Windows can be installed on any laptop, Apple has designed their Mac OS to only work with specific hardware so finding a non-Apple laptop capable of running Mac OS will be extremely difficult.

 

[Goodeggray]

Do the research and narrow down your chocies and come back with more specific questions. What anyone else likes or wants may not fit you.

 

[jaguarskx]

Macs have been around for a long time, but they have only recently come to the point where using them is actually work efficient. IMO, Snow leopard is where macs really become usable in a work environment. Before macs were able to compete with PC's, all the companies stated with them. And now, switching from all their PC's to macs would not only take a lot of money but it would take time too. Most new company's, and some old company's looking for change are transferring to the mac.

Form experience, Macs have a better working environment compared to the PC. For school, I would go for the mac.

Yeah, I recall briefly using a Mac once many years ago for spreadsheet work. Let's just say I'm glad it was only for a very short period of time.

Large companies will likely stick with PC just because PCs are entrenched and also the fact that Macs are more expensive than PCs and businesses would need to have people that can troubleshoot both Mac and PCs. That means more expenses at the very least for training if not additional personnel. Additionally that means more Q&A testing as well since internal systems must work equally well on both PCs and Macs. And add in the cost of additional maintenance.

For companies that already use both PCs and Macs (like publishing and advertising) and have IT support for both platforms I guess it just comes down to the cost of buying more expensive Macs than PCs. If Macs can offer lower maintenance time, then I suppose the initial extra cost of purchasing Macs can be offset by the amount of time (expense) it takes to troubleshoot issues whether it is the Mac itself and/or communication with the internal network.

Small businesses and especially start ups can go either way since there is likely less hardware to replace, but in generally they also have less money to work with.

 

[freshbakd]

well imo so far thats all the thread is. performance per dollar more likely sides with windows...however as you see either or will fit the need so what are you familiar with? i would assume its windows but whatever it is go with that

 

[asalikus]

Yeah, some PC's ARE expensive as much as MACs BUT they are like 3 times faster than the MAC for the same price.

I'm pretty sure at some point you are going to be to buy some type of software since not all that you may need will be free. OpenOffice is a good piece of free software. It's basically like a freeware version of MS Office; you get a spreadsheet and word processor amongst other office software.

Basically it boils down to which operating system you want to use and if you like having a wide variety of laptops to choose from... although sometime having too many choices means it very difficult to make a choice. I'm guessing you have friends and family members who have a Windows PC or laptop you can tryout. The same may or may not be the case for a Mac. If you know no one that has a Mac then simply go to an electronics store (Apple, Bestbuy, etc) and play around with one.

- If you want to save money... windows laptop, some will cost just as much or more than a Mac.
- If you want to play games... windows laptop, you have more choice in terms of hardware (i.e. graphics). Also most games are written for the PC, not the Mac... then again you can also install Windows on a Mac in dual boot setup.
- If you want to lower the risk of getting viruses... Mac... because people who write viruses, trojan, and worms prefer to infect up to 91% of the computer / laptop market rather than just 9% (which is Apple's share).
- If you want the best of worlds meaning being able to run Mac OS and Windows OS, then get a Mac. While Windows can be installed on any laptop, Apple has designed their Mac OS to only work with specific hardware so finding a non-Apple laptop capable of running Mac OS will be extremely difficult.

 

[edogawa]

Look. Macs are overrated, over priced toys, and don't offer that much.

You can get Windows PC cheaper, it will be more powerful, it will be compatible with practically everything, and you are very unlikely to get a virus unless your doing something you shouldn't.

PC is safer than you think, if you're using commons sense.

Windows is a fantastic operating system, it runs well, and has very little issues if you know the very basics.

Apple is just a money grubbing company who sells you no value and over priced hardware. Unless you need something specifically for Apples operating system, really, there is no reason to buy a mac.

You could even go Linux too.

http/www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=category_browse&selected_cat=10

http/www.dell.com/us/p/laptops

http/usa.asus.com/Notebooks/

Performance per dollar? You can for sure get 2-3x more out of a PC.

 

[reprotected]

It really boils down to your preference. Neither are going to be a thousand times more productive over the other, especially in an office or student work situation. If it's for work, look around you and choose something your co-workers would use; you'll fit in better. For gaming, a good amount of laptops with decent mobile GPUs for $1200 are available for you, in Windows of course.

 

[jaguarskx]

PC is safer than you think, if you're using commons sense.

Yeah, as long as you have anti-virus software (I use Avast! Free, Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, and SpyBot) then you are basically fine. I think over the past 4 or 5 years with 2 PCs and 1 laptop, I only got infected twice. That's basically the equivalent of having a single PC for 12 - 15 years and getting infected twice. Not bad...

 

[Tinibigz_1992]

Thank you for all the advice.. Now what I don't understand is there a software difference between the two?

Do I get more, as far a software goes, or do I get the same amount from either PC or Mac.

I see that the hardware is a bit over priced for the Mac's but if i receive more software from the Mac it might out weigh the hardware..

It won't be a gaming PC so I don't see why I need the high end GPU..

I just don't want to send 1200-1500 and get something that I need to do more work on.. (Hardware or Software)

 

[edogawa]

Thank you for all the advice.. Now what I don't understand is there a software difference between the two?

Do I get more, as far a software goes, or do I get the same amount from either PC or Mac.

I see that the hardware is a bit over priced for the Mac's but if i receive more software from the Mac it might out weigh the hardware..

It won't be a gaming PC so I don't see why I need the high end GPU..

I just don't want to send 1200-1500 and get something that I need to do more work on.. (Hardware or Software)

They will different by design, but you will have a much, much wider array of software to choose from on Windows. Practically everything is Windows compatible these days.

You will have tons of free and paid software options.

When you get Windows, your basically given the the option to choose how you want to do things.

You will only be paying for software that is for a special type of task such as Photoshop.

There are tons of free things out there such as openoffice or VLC.
With Mac, they tell you what you can and cannot do.

You will end up buying software regardless of operating system though.

A Windows based PC will be much easier to upgrade or fix too, as well as cheaper. You will also have millions of people here to help you fix an issue if you need to with Windows.

 

[Goodeggray]

Software included with laptops is up to seller not the platform. Some manufactures will load a lot of software on the computer because they get money from software companies. This is only good for if it's software you need and use if not it just slows the computer down, and rarely do you get the best software. Why give it away when you can sell it. Apple rarely uses cheap parts inside their computers. A pc with similar quality parts will be close in price. With that budget you can get quality. Interfacing with you phone is getting to be more important. Do you own an iphone.

 

[edogawa]

Yeah, as long as you have anti-virus software (I use Avast! Free, Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, and SpyBot) then you are basically fine. I think over the past 4 or 5 years with 2 PCs and 1 laptop, I only got infected twice. That's basically the equivalent of having a single PC for 12 - 15 years and getting infected twice. Not bad...

I use Malwarebytes, Norton or Bitdefender, and have not had a virus infection since early Windows XP.

The best defense is truly the user who knows the basics and has common sense to not download obvious viral infections.

I actually find it kind of hard thing to do these days to get an infection with proper defense already setup.

 

[jaguarskx]

The underlying software difference between a Mac and a PC is the operating system.

You generally do not get any "extra" or "free" software unless there is some type of special bundled deal. I am not sure what kind of software you are referring to. Both OSes should give the same basic functions like a calculator, simply text editor, internet brower, etc.

Since I Windows laptop can potentially cost less than a Mac, you potentially have money left over to buy whatever software you are looking for if there is no freeware equivalent software available for download. Example: OpenOffice is free compared to MS Office and offers similar functionality.

 

[socusoft]

As a student I am looking for a laptop that is very mobile and can support all my needs without buying any extra software..

I don't know if getting a Macbook would be my best choice or should getting a PC laptop be my best bet.

Price range I am looking at is about 1500, I just want to make sure I get something that will last a few years..

If someone could point me in the right direction as far as websites or a store that would have the best deal for me that be great..

Thank you for all your help

Hi, I think PC is better, though many people like mac now. I am not used to Macbook. every time i use it, i feel angry. I do not know how to capture a screeshot, how to copy and paste