PC vs MAC - For people who have used both which is better?

[Madmick]

Windows 10 sucks ass but I don't think Mac is worth half of what it costs, so what do I do?

You're screwed. Hackintosh is a thing of the past.

I like PCs more. I have a ultrabook with 16 GB DDR4 RAM, a 1 TB NVME HD, 8th gen i7, backlit keyboard, and touchscreen with Wacom digitizer and it costs about $850. I don't even know what that would cost for a Mac.

Cheapest place to buy Macs, and to purchase special version of MacBooks, is MacMall:
http://www.macmall.com/
Terrible customer service and support. Only those who really want to shave $50-$150 off the Amazon Apple-supplied price (depending on the unit) should use them, or those looking to save even bigger on brand new units of the older models. This is your clearance warehouse.

This was the only outlet that sold the special, zenith model of the MacBook Pro back in 2009 (with a 1920x1080 resolution display). That ran me something like $3.3K at the time, IIRC. Those were still in the golden years of OS X: before torrents truly penetrated the mass market, and smartphones had become the predominant form of computing in the world. I blame these realities for what the OS has become.

I mention this because half a decade ago Macs had come down in price. People whinged about the premium, but it had largely disappeared. MacBooks were only a few hundred dollars more than PC laptops of similar build quality-- sometimes cheaper than PCs with "brand" recognition (ex. Alienware). Today? It's gone back to what it was before. Ridiculous, sheeple markups. Unless for some reason you need 4xThunderbolt ports they are just a garbage hardware value.

You can get better hardware than this in a PC laptop for roughly half the price ($1199 vs. $2299):
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MLW82LL-15-4-inch-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B01LTHXAOA
Even if you step up to business class build quality you can find PC laptops ranging from $1.5k-$2k with the same guts.

 

[Rygu]

Macs are good for people who know absolutely nothing about computers, or just like to be trendy.

PCs are for those who care about performance and know what a processor is.

 

[Madmick]

It seems Adobe is locking their newer software behind W10 and that is pissing me off.

Everything is moving to cloud-based subscription services.

Piracy did this. Software developers are just adapting. Can't blame them.

 

[rj144]

You're screwed. Hackintosh is a thing of the past.

Cheapest place to buy Macs, and to purchase special version of MacBooks, is MacMall:
http://www.macmall.com/
Terrible customer service and support. Only those who really want to shave $50-$150 off the Amazon Apple-supplied price (depending on the unit) should use them, or those looking to save even bigger on brand new units of the older models. This is your clearance warehouse.

This was the only outlet that sold the special, zenith model of the MacBook Pro back in 2009 (with a 1920x1080 resolution display). That ran me something like $3.3K at the time, IIRC. Those were still in the golden years of OS X: before torrents truly penetrated the mass market, and smartphones had become the predominant form of computing in the world. I blame these realities for what the OS has become.

I mention this because half a decade ago Macs had come down in price. People whinged about the premium, but it had largely disappeared. MacBooks were only a few hundred dollars more than PC laptops of similar build quality-- sometimes cheaper than PCs with "brand" recognition (ex. Alienware). Today? It's gone back to what it was before. Ridiculous, sheeple markups. Unless for some reason you need 4xThunderbolt ports they are just a garbage hardware value.

You can get better hardware than this in a PC laptop for roughly half the price ($1199 vs. $2299):
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MLW82LL-15-4-inch-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B01LTHXAOA
Even if you step up to business class build quality you can find PC laptops ranging from $1.5k-$2k with the same guts.

For the Amazon linked model, does it say it has 2 GB of RAM???

Screen Size 15 inches
Screen Resolution 2880 x 1800
Max Screen Resolution 2880x1800 pixels
Processor 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
RAM 2 GB LPDDR3
Memory Speed 2133 MHz
Hard Drive 512 GB Solid State Drive

Also, what type of SSD is it? Just SSD or NVME SSD? That makes a huge difference.

 

[fdswer]

Everything is moving to cloud-based subscription services.

Piracy did this. Software developers are just adapting. Can't blame them.

I dont understand why they cant use the same cloud based lightroom on 8.1 though, I am paying the same price for lesser older software.

 

[TeTe]

Macs are for people that don't know crap about computers and are willing to get ripped off.

PCs are for people that like customizing, having options and getting the best buck for their money.

Pretty much this. I don't think the increase in price is worth it from a hardware standpoint since there are some great Android, PCs, tablets out there for much less. From a UI standpoint, I thing they're both just as easy to use, but yeah, customizability is nice.

But the reason I've never owned an Apple product is because of how none of their shit plays nice with anything non-apple. It's like once you start owning Apple's products, you have to play in their little sandbox or you can gtfo.

 

[Madmick]

For the Amazon linked model, does it say it has 2 GB of RAM???

Screen Size 15 inches
Screen Resolution 2880 x 1800
Max Screen Resolution 2880x1800 pixels
Processor 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
RAM 2 GB LPDDR3
Memory Speed 2133 MHz
Hard Drive 512 GB Solid State Drive

Also, what type of SSD is it? Just SSD or NVME SSD? That makes a huge difference.

2GB in the graphics card because it has the older Radeon 455 GPU. If you go directly to their website it's $2399 for the same model with the newest Radeon 555X 4GB GPU:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch
It's either an NVMe or PCIe SSD. It's going to be as fast as they come. It's not one of the new, SATA-speed m.2 SSDs you're seeing on the custom desktop market.


*Edit* Oh, jesus, nvm, it is saying 2GB RAM in the spec sheet. What a dirty trick. In any case, as you can see, with the $2399 Apple Store model, it's 16GB RAM for the baseline.
*Edit #2* Pretty sure that's a typo. On that same page it is showing 8GB 2133MHz RAM in the graphic "from the manufacturer".

Whatever. MacMall has that $2399 Apple store unit's baseline configuration with 16GB RAM starting at $2249:
http://www.macmall.com/n/productConfigurator-macbook-pro-retina#41417994,41417994

 

[strongstylekarate]

Macs are cooler but PC is more functional, and cheaper too.

 

[rj144]

2GB in the graphics card because it has the older Radeon 455 GPU. If you go directly to their website it's $2399 for the same model with the newest Radeon 555X 4GB GPU:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/15-inch
It's either an NVMe or PCIe SSD. It's going to be as fast as they come. It's not one of the new, SATA-speed m.2 SSDs you're seeing on the custom desktop market.


*Edit* Oh, jesus, nvm, it is saying 2GB RAM in the spec sheet. What a dirty trick. In any case, as you can see, with the $2399 Apple Store model, it's 16GB RAM for the baseline.
*Edit #2* Pretty sure that's a typo. On that same page it is showing 8GB 2133MHz RAM in the graphic "from the manufacturer".

Whatever. MacMall has that $2399 Apple store unit's baseline configuration with 16GB RAM starting at $2249:
http://www.macmall.com/n/productConfigurator-macbook-pro-retina#41417994,41417994

Like I said, on my ultrabook, I have a 1 TB NVME m2 Samsung EVO 970 and 16 GB DDR4 for $850. It's not apples to apples because I don't have a video card and my processor is a mobile 8th gen i7, but it's still a hell of a lot cheaper.

 

[Plutoburn]

You get ripped off multiple times when you buy apple.

First, on the actual hardware. Second, their proprietary accessories that only works on their products and changes all the time. Third, non-existent 3rd party repair support, so you end up going to them and they are notorious for super expensive repair or just telling you to get a new hardware.

 

[Madmick]

Like I said, on my ultrabook, I have a 1 TB NVME m2 Samsung EVO 970 and 16 GB DDR4 for $850. It's not apples to apples because I don't have a video card and my processor is a mobile 8th gen i7, but it's still a hell of a lot cheaper.

Agreed, but it also sounds like you hit a sale. These are more common in the PC laptop world which is definitely worth considering, too, but when I compare prices, I try to keep everything as apples-to-apples as possible. The CPU + GPU is the heart of the internal components. Post #81 intended to outline how much cheaper PC laptops are. That $1199 Acer Helios 300 Predator (2018) gaming laptop I hyperlinked demonstrates this:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predato...5135&sr=1-1&keywords=acer+helios+300+predator

Acer Predator Helios 300 (2018) vs. MacBook Pro 2018

• $1199 vs. $2399
  
• 15.6" 1920x1080 144Hz IPS << 15.4" 2800x1800 60Hz IPS
  
• i7-8750H (identical)
  
• GTX 1060 6GB Mobile >>>> Radeon Pro 555X 4GB
  
• 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM (identical)
  
• 256GB NVMe SSD vs. 256GB PCIe SSD (same size/class)
  
• 2x2 802.11ac WiFi/Bluetooth network card (same class)

The MacBook wins the port war, if that matters, and its Touchpad is unmatched in the PC laptop world, but it's a tall order to argue this is worth the $1K+ upcharge, here.

 

[rj144]

Agreed, but it also sounds like you hit a sale. These are more common in the PC laptop world which is definitely worth considering, too, but when I compare prices, I try to keep everything as apples-to-apples as possible. The CPU + GPU is the heart of the internal components. Post #81 intended to outline how much cheaper PC laptops are. That $1199 Acer Helios 300 Predator (2018) gaming laptop I hyperlinked demonstrates this:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predato...5135&sr=1-1&keywords=acer+helios+300+predator

Acer Predator Helios 300 (2018) vs. MacBook Pro 2018

• 15.6" 1920x1080 144Hz IPS << 15.4" 2800x1800 60Hz IPS
  
• i7-8750H (identical)
  
• GTX 1060 6GB Mobile >>>> Radeon Pro 555X 4GB
  
• 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM (identical)
  
• 256GB PCIe SSD (same size/class)
  
• 2x2 802.11ac WiFi/Bluetooth network card (same class)

The MacBook wins the port war, if that matters, and its Touchpad is unmatched in the PC laptop world, but it's a tall order to argue this is worth the $1K+ upcharge, here.

Agree... on a side note, my little ultrabook can be a beast when I use Throttlestop and undervolt. The benchmarks are pretty impressive for an ultrabook.

 

[FyrFytr998]

My wife and I have had the same experience. We pay more for the Mac, but both of us have only owned two in over a decade. It seems like a PC will slow down drastically in about two years.

Exactly. That’s why when the wife wanted a laptop we went MacBook. The thing is bulletproof. She’s trying to talk to me about a Microsoft Surface for my kid, but I don’t see it as doing anything better than her IPad Pro.

 

[SherdogJoe]

If you like Mac, but don't want to spend the loot, I'd recommend this:
https://elementary.io/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasone...t-linux-doorway-for-macos-users/#306c80a4289d

I've had a Mac, and could not stand it. That said I do not like Win 10 and will not own it either.

I've had mixed results with Linux in the past, mostly negative, but ever since I tried Elementary, I overall like it very much. You can even switch the windows buttons from left to right if you want to manipulate windows like windows in stead of Mac. It opens and manipulates windows files and media, comes with very little preinstalled. It loads up nice on newer hardware as well. Yeah, I fucking like it!

Thanks I’ll definitely consider it next time.

 

[TeTe]

I feel the problem is people pick up cheap PCs and compare them to Macs. Spend 3/4s the money you would on Mac and youll have a baller PC.

No kidding... a Surface Book or pretty much any Lenovo PC is every bit as good as any Mac.

 

[TeTe]

@Madmick needs one of these

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Bundle-Resolution-GeForce/dp/B077BXFGW6

 

[thetruth2709]

I have both...neither is better....it will always depend on what you want or look for

 

[marioh]

lol @ people who can't get their PC to last more than 2 years.
my current desktop that i built, is over 7 years old. it's not your computer that sucks, it's you.

ran into a nice apple issue today. kernel panic, can't start in safe mode, can't start in recovery or internet recovery, and can't even boot off a USB. apple's hardware diagnostic tool that you use by pressing D during bootup......thinks everything is just fine with the mac, lol. meanwhile, the drive is likely dying. and now i have to take apart a fucking imac. fuck apple.

 

[ralphc1]

i feel like my work computers are really bad with windows 10 compared to previous iterations, specifically because 10 gives zero fucks about pushing updates whenever the hell it wants. Super awesome when you're halfway through a three day reaction and your control desktop takes a shit.

I remember when Windows used to ask for permission to update or update when you shut down. Now, Windows 10 just updates whenever it feels like it.

 

[BullyKiller]

It’s apples and oranges. They are both great for different reasons. People always take one side. I’m a rare breed that has and likes both. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.