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Best computer for gamers: Mac or PC?
Results so far:
| Mac | 21% | 69 votes | Total: 321 votes | |
| PC | 79% | 252 votes |
Mac
by David Pickett
Created on: April 06, 2009 Last Updated: April 08, 2009
Having never owned a Mac myself, I've never really had the chance to make an unbiased judgdement. Saying that, I am hopefully going to purchase a Mac of my own in the coming months. Why? For the user interface, the design, the programs and for the style. Notice gaming doesn't appear in that list. I have rather left the gaming scene apart from waiting for some releases soon.
In my opinion, gaming on a PC is a right pain. There are so many different things that can go wrong, it's unbelievable. Half the time you get no error message, no help and you have no idea what the problem is. Installing things on PCs can also be a pain, unlike Mac OS X, Windows doesn't update all links automatically, which causes mayhem.
I use Ubuntu Linux and gaming on Linux seems rather boringly easy compared to Windows a lot of time, despite what many people might say. Mac OS X is built on the most solid UNIX system,compared to Window's Windows system. UNIX being the system behind Linux as well, the two are quite similar. So gaming on a Mac.
Macs are simple and easy to use and one huge huge feature is the ability to end a program without causing the computer to crash. You can do that on a PC, you might say. Well not in the same way and certainly not as effectively. Gone are the days of the OS becoming unstable because of a buggy app Mac. OS X and Linux are stable no matter what in most cases. This makes gaming far more reliable on a Mac.
Another thing people use against Macs is that they are hard to customise and not upgradable. In terms of gaming support, this makes a huge difference as the person on the end of the phone or e-mail knows exactly what components you have, what part code and everything. You don't have to spend hours doing a DXDIAG as the information is already there as long as you haven't frankensteined your Mac. This gives a huge, often untalked about boost to the whole gaming on a Mac experience.
Finally, one issue is the amount of games available. Admittedly, the range for Macs isn't as vast as for a PC, but the top games are often represented such as Call of Duty and The Sims. Gaming need not be a chore and when you consider what else you get, a Mac is a seriously good option for choosing your next gaming setup although it does come with a few problems. Hopefully in the future Apple will be able to get lots of support from game studios and we can see a move away from traditional PC gaming into a new age.
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PC
by David Kreisel
Created on: March 02, 2010
Being an avid gamer I have personally played dozens of games on my computer ranging from free flash games, to paid games such as Crysis. Now in my previous article about building a PC you will realize that when building a PC you can create a powerful machine, for low cost that will play these video games. However this article is about Macs vs PC's and their abilities to play video games. Now when going to your local electronics store and visiting the 'games aisle' there are several different video games and platforms you can choose from. Some of these platforms include Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Computer. Nevertheless the computer section is small, however it's contents are limited generally to PC's only.
Video games are not only found in stores however. Games can be found online to download, and then you simply insert a serial number you have obtained. Most games when viewing the requirements will usually say something like Windows XP, Vista, 7 ect. Rarely are you able to find a Computer game that is compatible with a Mac nonetheless made specifically for a Mac. Now many people may find this extremely unfair, however you must first consider the situation. When someone designs and creates a video game they generally want to make as much money as possible off of the game they have created, now the majority of computer owners own a PC and not a Mac, so the targeted group would be PC users. Thus a designer will create a game compatible with a PC in order to receive the most profit from their creation. Now if the game is a great seller and they want to, they can then make the game available to Mac users in order to generate a little more income, which would be a fraction of what they received from the PC community. In essence the reason most computer games are made for PC's is money, to be put simply.
Most Mac users are also using a store bought Mac. This creates an even tougher scenario for games using Macs as they do not have the flexibility of a PC where they can simply change motherboards, and RAM and video cards simply and quickly. With Macs the interchangeable hardware components are much more limited and with limited parts comes limited power. When 'gaming' everyone is competing and every wants the biggest advantage possible whether it is a faster internet connection or the fastest possible PC to reduce 'lag' time. With a PC users are able to completely modify their computer to their likings software, and hardware wise allowing for the creation of an extremely powerful machine.
To sum this all up, a PC is much better for a gamer. Why? Because simply most video games are designed to work specifically for a PC, and if they end up working with a Mac as well it is in essence a 'plus'. PC's are also capable of much more power and flexibility than a Mac is.
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