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Best computer for long-term investment: Mac or PC?
Results so far:
| Mac | 50% | 121 votes | Total: 244 votes | |
| PC | 50% | 123 votes |
Mac
by Calista Capet
Created on: February 20, 2011
Before I get into the debate, let me first say that the debate, “Mac vs. PC”, should not be a debate at all. When most people say “Mac vs. PC”, what they usually mean is Apple computer against every other computer in the world. The correct debate should be the operating system, Mac OS X, against Windows. But even that is not a fair debate for a few reasons. First of all, Windows? What does that mean? That could mean Windows XP, an operating system more than a decade old, and or Windows 7, a much newer operating system. Also, Windows is made to run on almost any computer – a top notch desktop made by Sony, or a cheap Asus netbook. Mac OS X, on the other hand, is made for Apple computers only, and is therefore created for the exact parts of the computer specifically.
But let's just say that Mac OS X vs. Windows is a fair debate, and call that debate Mac vs. PC. Before I get into my thoughts about which computer is a better long-term investment, let me leave you with this thought: If all computers had the same operating system installed, there would be no Mac fanboys. Instead, there would be people who happened to like Apple computers for their exceptional hardware over other companies because Apple does have good hardware, and beautiful, might I add.
Now, as for a long-term investment, I'll tell you this now, and you'll hear it again and again – it really depends what you need for your own needs. If you are someone who just wants something that works, depending on what you need (there it is again) you could either do well with a two hundred dollar netbook or a one thousand dollar Macbook.
What it comes down to, is whether or not you like Mac OS X. If you hate Mac, get a non-Apple computer. I would recommend a Sony computer or a Thinkpad. If you like both, consider this: You can install Windows on a Mac, but you can't install Mac OS X on a non-Apple computer. Now, even as someone who likes Mac OS X despite all of it's numerous flaws, I think that for many things, Windows is a must-have because most people use it, so most software is compatible with Windows, not Mac.
For that reason and the fact that Apple's computers have good quality hardware, I think that for a long-term investment, Mac is better.
Some people say that Apple computers are much more expensive than other computers. While this is partially true – Apple overprices their products quite a bit – don't listen to the comparisons of two thousand dollar Macs compared to eight hundred dollar Windows computers. If it is something like that, the Dell, the HP, - whatever must have terrible hardware compared to the Mac. For instance, the Macbook Pro. You can find the same specifications in a six hundred dollar laptop somewhere else, but the Macbook Pro's parts – hard drive, RAM, etc. - are better quality, and it's hardware in general – the aluminum unibody, the multi-touch trackpad – is much better than the plastic of the other computer. When you buy a one thousand dollar Macbook or a Macbook Pro for a hundred dollars or so more, you aren't buying a six hundred dollar computer. At the same time, you aren't buying a one thousand dollar computer, but I think that a Macbook Pro, for instance, would be either priced the same or for a little less if it were not a Mac.
Apple computers have great hardware, and for people who like Mac OS X as well as Windows or even Linux, it is a great solution. A Mac is a guarantee for a good, durable computer for the most part, that will last you a long time.
Learn more about this author, Calista Capet.
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PC
by SiddFisher
Created on: July 18, 2009
A Mac rarely gets the better of PCs in any criteria imaginable. Even when talking of long-term investments, a PC is a much more value-for-money choice than a Mac. The performance to cost ratio for a PC is much greater than that for a Mac. Moreover there is much more flexibility in the configuration of a PC than a Mac. To better understand the advantage of buying a PC over a Mac, let me illustrate with a story.
Two friends, Sidd and Sam, decided to buy their first computer from their own hard earned money from working at Electronic Arts. Both of these guys were young, so naturally played games, did designing and other developer stuff on their office computer. They had only worked for a month and so did not have a lot of money to spend. Their monthly wage was something like 8000-9000$. So both of these guys decided not to spend more than 1500$ on the computer. So the budget was now fixed.
But there was one more problem. Both of these guys were in a dilemma regarding what to buy. A PC or a Mac.
Sam said," Hey Sidd! Why don't you buy a PC and I'll buy a Mac. It doesn't make a lot of difference does it, because if any of our computer isn't very good, we can upgrade it with next month's pay." Sidd agreed to this suggestion. Both of them went to a cyber cafe after that to place their orders. Sidd logged on to newegg, while Sam went to The Apple Store. After quite some time both came out with a satisfied smile in their face.
Sam sighed aloud and said," Whoa! That was exhausting. But I'm happy with my selection." Sidd asked him," What did you buy?" Sam grinned and said," I got a 24" iMac. What did you order?" Sidd sadly said," I only got a stupid 21" PC." Sam tried to console him by saying that he could buy a new bigger display next month. The noticeable factor here is that both of these guys aren't very hardware-savvy on the surface, but let me tell you, when Sidd got home, he smiled an utterly wicked smile. Why? because he had placed the order and had checked the Apple Store. Still don't understand why he's smiling as if he'd just got the better of Sam? OK I'll elaborate.
When Sidd checked out the Apple store for a Mac that lied within their budget, he could only find one. The configuration was:
CPU: 2.66 GHz Intel Core2Duo
RAM: 4GB DDR3 1066MHz
HDD: 640 GB
Video Card: GeForce 9400M 512 MB GDDR3
The configuration was just good enough for some gaming. And the price: 1499.00$
Now check out Sidd's choice:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition (2.8 GHz Triple-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS M4A79T Deluxe ( 4x PCIe x16, 16 GB support,790fx chipset)
RAM: Patirot 4GB DDR3 1333 MHz
HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda
Video Card: Sapphire HD 4890 Toxic 1GB GDDR5 overclocked to 960MHz Core Clock with Vapor-X cooling.(In other words, its super fast and super-cool)
Cabinet: NZXT Tempest
DVD Drive: Samsung 22x DVD writer
Keyboard+Mouse: Logitech
The total comes up to 1100$. Sidd saved 400$ more than Sam. The day their orders arrived, Sam came to Sidd's house with a down-turned face. Sidd asked him,"What's the matter Sam?" Sam said," I can't play Crysis Warhead at normal detail, neither can I do some avid Photoshopping." Sidd said," But Crysis runs great on mine at full detail. And I can run Photoshop and 3DS Max at the same time. Don't worry, we'll upgrade our computers next month and you'll be able to improve your Macs performance."
Next month, Sidd bought another HD 4890 video card and Crossfired it with his existing card thus doubling the video performance. He also bought the Phenom II X4 955 Black edition and with the help of his motherboard's overclocking abilities, he's running a 3.2GHz processor at 4.8 GHz. The whole transaction cost him 450$. Sam on the other hand could only upgrade his video card to a GTX 285 1GB GDDR3, which is half as good as Sidd's video setup, while his processing remains much slower at 2.66Ghz.
So, basically, in the end you can clearly see that Sidd had the upper hand by a long way. PCs are a lot more future-proofed than Macs and I have proved it.
Learn more about this author, SiddFisher.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
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