Talk me into, or out of, a Mac
 

I've got an old IBM Thinkpad that I bought used from IBM a few years ago. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's clearly dated and just struggles. I've got an iPhone / iPad and thought they were terrific products, and thought it would be kinda cool to get something more native to them.

I've been thinking about getting a Mac product for a while but have been slow to purchase for a few reasons. (1) While my computer is slow, there is nothing wrong with it for being 5 years old. (2) They are mighty pricey when comparing to a simialr spec'd Windows based product. (3) With all the "cool" stuff it could do, I'd have to actually make time/effort to use it.

Anyway, I'm looking for food for thought, experiences, etc from people. I would not consider myself a heavy computer user, but that could be more because my current computer just doesn't cut it.

Also, I like the idea of getting an iMac or Mac-mini and having it feed to a few Apple TV units around the house. I'm know you can do this with Windows, but I like how idiot proof the Apple products are.

Apple products are fisher price for adults.

Just toss Linux on that old ThinkPad and spend the cash you save on your car :)

Macs are the longest lasting computers I have ever owned. Period. I've pretty much had them all down the line. I current use a Mac Pro and the last gen Macbook Airs and I'll be getting new one here soon.

Don't get me wrong, my gaming rig is still a hand built PC though

Not sure how else to say it but just compare a PC to a Mac on specs (like you said)

Now figure out the price difference

If the apple logo and the "improved" aesthetics of the Mac are worth that number to you, buy it. I mean they use intel chips and their own OS.

Other than the OS what is the difference? Price. So that is where you have to make your decision.

I used to be an Apple fan[boi] but once I built a nice PC for $1,000 I switched sides.

Never have crashing issues with my iMac or macbookpro (which was sold cuz I barely used it since I got an iPad). Works and syncs great with iPhone and iPad. Simple to use. Since I switched from PC to Mac over 4 or 5 years ago I can never see going back. iMac has one cord coming from it, the power cord. You don't have a tower in the way. Like I said its simple, easy to use and you will rarely have any issues if any.

They make 1 cord PCs with touch screens and wireless mouse keyboard...

i daily use a macpro, macbook pro and self built gaming PC that doubles as my surf the web pc.

I'd stick with my mac for daily usage, nothing at all wrong my PC, spec wise its better than my macbook pro. But the "mac experience" is just simple and intuitive (after getting use to it) and is just much more responsive than my PC. Which for daily usage, makes it much more comfortable to browse and use my mac. not wating as long for apps to open, not constantly trying to figure out if i have too many apps open and if its slowing my computer down, etc.

Not that my PC is slow or poorly built, i just the OS is more efficient. And agreed with one of the earlier posters, macs have always last longer, and my old dated silver keys macbook pro, still runs amazingly fine.

My pc requires me to more frequent think about clearing space, and reinstalling windows just to bring it back "like new" state.

But fuck, PCs can be built cheap. and if im on a serious budget and need value, and tech savy enough to troubleshoot pc problems and dont mind it. Id go PC.
otherwise macs (for me) makes my life less of a headache.

FYI, you can do this now in Windows without formatting and reinstalling. There's a destructive version as well as a non-destructive version, but I haven't had the need for it yet. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...fresh-reset-pc
When I was on XP I used to format once every year and a half or two years. I haven't formatted my machine since Win7 came out, and that includes a Win8 upgrade.

OP, the Apple is going to cost more, but if you want the Apple OS and whatever software that comes pre-installed on it, by all means don't let someone else tell you it's a bad idea. I prefer my Windows desktop PCs because I like to game and tweak hardware, but it's just personal preference. And I absolutely loooooooooooooooove my Surface Pro.

I grew up with Macs back in the day (Color Classic, IIci, Power Computing 240) and back then they were BEASTS. So much more powerful, easier to use, and reliable. Also a crapload of money.

I had to get a PC laptop when I went to college and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was pretty disappointed with all of my friend's and family's macbooks during that time. Plenty of problems with failing hard drives and I felt like the interface took a step back.

My PC laptop was stolen 5 years ago and there was no way I could justify spending the money for a Macbook, so I stayed with PCs. My 5 year old Dell is still going strong...getting a little bit slow and the battery is nearly done for but I've been impressed. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times it's frozen or crashed. Very happy with it.

I'm planning on getting an ultrabook soon and I have to say the latest Macs have been closing the gap in price. It's crossed my mind to switch back, but I won't. I know a few people that are all in to the Apple ecosystem with iPhones, iPads, iMacs, and apple tvs and they're really happy with how everything works together so if that's something you could see doing go for it (it'll cost some cash though). I'm more of an android and windows guy now and I don't think I'm coming back.

As much crap as Windows gets, it's really easy to use now too.

- andy

I appreciate the input everyone!

I grew up with mac too, first 2 computers were Apple, which is why i was a fanboy. But once I had both side by side same cost vs same cost the decision was easy and I will never look back.

If you have a friend with a mac and a friend with a PC that are same priced (in your budget) use them both for the tasks you will do (gaming, spreadsheets, media editing, etc) and see what you think. Otherwise the only way to decide is to have owned both...

I have both. My desktop is a PC that I build purely for gaming. I do everything else on a 15inch retina MBPro, and I have a Mac Mini attached to my TV where I sync phones, tablets, and store media.

I feel like the Mac investment is worth it. My fiance has an iMac that she's been using forever. She even dropped it while moving and broke the front glass, but it's still working fine. Without the front glass it just looks all industrial now. Still works amazingly though. I think hers is from 2009-ish? It's also just nice to have it all in one place. My philosophy is invest a little more upfront to get more longevity out of the purchase. Buy cheap buy twice.

@Chimpo, it sounds like you've already made up your mind and are just seeking affirmation.

Going from an OS like Windows to a MacOSX, will leave you wanting to pull your hair out. I've owned a few laptops in my day and currently own a 13.3" MBPr. The FIRST mod I did on the MBPr, was remove OSX from it and turn it into the Windows 7 machine so that it's actually useful. I also need a secure OS (for clients). Apple is constantly near the top in security vulnerability. I think they even toppled Oracle for the top spot a couple years ago. And before the iFanatics start screaming about virus's on PC's.... If you're smart enough not to believe you're the next prince of Nigeria, and don't have an insane fetish for German midget dungeon porn, you should be ok. LOL

Now you may ask why I bought a MBPr. The answer is simple. I needed something with more than 4GB of ram, was portable (13"), and had a screen resolution that didn't want to make me punch the manufacturer in the face. I think whoever decided that 1366x768 would be the default resolution for 90% of laptops, should be shot. I'm a heavy user and need the screen real estate. I also managed to grab it for 500$ under retail. I will be selling it as soon as I get my hands on the new Asus Zenbook Infinity and I will probably make a profit on it, because (and I'm just being honest), people shopping for Apple computers are usually not the brightest bulbs.

Now as far as quality is concerned. I would say it's on par with other premium laptop manufacturers like Asus or Sony. I had a Zenbook Prime at my last job and absolutely loved it. It just really needed more RAM. The 1080p IPS screen was beautiful (as is the retina screen) and the speakers sounded better than my Mac. Stay far away from HP, Gateway, Lenovo, and Dell.

One other thing to consider, is cost of repair. When things break or the OS gets fudged (and yes, it does happen to OSX more than people want to admit), how are you going to get it fixed? Finding an Apple repair facility other than it's own, rather pathetic, "Genius Bar" is very difficult. Plus it costs more. If you can fix it yourself, great!

At the end of the day, if you're truly on the fence, I would go with the newer line of Haswell Ultrabooks. You'll get the same build quality as Apple, with equal or better performance, better battery life, better OS security, more compatibility with the rest of the world, and most importantly... a much heavier wallet. When people say it's a PC, they are being quite literal. The same components are used in both. The difference is the aesthetics and OS.

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

It slices, it dices, it play cat videos.

To behonest it all comes down to what you prefer/can afford. I'm at a stand still myself as to what I want since my laptop is starting to show it's age.