any big difference between a pc and a mac?

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

jbdb1345

[QUOTE="jbdb1345"]

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

linkthewindow

All it is, is an OS emulating another OS 

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

jbdb1345

PCs play games. Most Viruses are made for Windows (which is the prominent OS for PCs). 

MAc cost more and everything is designed for PC's.

Unless you only using the mac for graphic stuff go PC since it does everything else.

you cannot game on a mac... it has small volume of games and the ones that it has runs like crap

Biased, are we?Bukkykatt24

I always say this to people who wanna talk about macs:  I tell them they are awesome to browse the internet and type (with a occasional incompat issues).  But they are not built for gaming 

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

jbdb1345

WRONG Macs can run windows.. Intel based Macs have been running Vista

hey penis

 macs are good for kicking

 

just like you

Cutface

lol did you just call him a penis?

Thats the funniest thing ever, and the fact that I you are problably like 8 makes it even funnier.  What else is he, a big doodoo head?

:lol:

But on topic, in general mac are very poor gaming computers.  Compared to PCs, a mac would cost thousands and thousands of dollars for still-inferior hardware and relatively poor performance.

Macs do have their uses, specifically with video editing and work stuff.  But not gaming.

Also, Boot Camp (a program that allows you to run windows on macs) is said to be very quirky and not pleasant at all.

Biased, are we?Bukkykatt24

....I wonder why...It is the PC forum after all (not to be confused with the MAC forum). If you think about it...MACs are starting to become PCs. You don't see a MAC tab for games do you? Most games that come out for the PC don't come out for the MAC.

This whole conversation is wrought with irony:...

1) this is a gaming forum

2) you made an account here

3) you posted a topic (the person who started this whole topic)

4) we usually talk about games here 

5) MACs don't really have games on them

6) you asked what makes MACs different than PCs...(I can't help but laughing out loud here)

Sorry don't get angry I'm just observing the irony of this situation. 

If we were made out of iron...now that would be ironic... 

[QUOTE="linkthewindow"][QUOTE="jbdb1345"]

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

onemic

All it is, is an OS emulating another OS

Don't expect to play the latest and greatest games on a MAC while using that emulation. The whole emulation process is very inefficient (you would only be able to play games that were like 5 years old). 

umm so this is the pc forum yeah? and wait so MAC and pc? whats the difference, there is none because the both personal computers, (PC) MAC and Windows is what your trying to differentiate. so gam3r3OOO he can post her because mac's are pc's and they do play games, at least one or two lol

 but in all honesty don't even touch a mac their not for gaming and never will be. people mainly like them because their not as suceptable to viruses but they still have their fair share of problems. They mainly considered good for video editing back when they were 64bit and alot of windows machines wern't but now that they are running intel, windows pc's own them because they have downright more powerful hardware,

umm yeah for games don't get a mac period

The Mac is a great line of computers and can now keep pace with virtualy any PC in the games department.kodai

Yeah, I'm gonna have to call bull s%*$ on this one.

Name one game for MAC that was made recently and is actually a big-budget game.

I agree with you on everything else, but this one line was complete and utter trash.

Cant we all just...get along?

Everyone always brings up the Audio/Video editing argument as to why Macs are so great. I use video and audio editing software as well as music production software on my pc, which I don't even know if its considered mid-range anymore, with no problems. It runs it just the same as a Mac. I can do more on my PC as well, like play games. I've used Macs before, and I wasn't pleased, they are overrated. If you've used a PC all your life, then be smart and stay with the PC. Don't bother with the Mac. hellraiser6669

People bring it up because there are a lot of media centric software programs that are exlcusive to macs and not available on PC's.

And to kodai, if what you're saying is true, then PC's should also have no problem running OS-X. Am I right?

Here's the biggest difference. Find the right click button on a mac, and I'll give you my 8800GTS.felixzelphyn

Now, where do I send you my address or the shipping?

[QUOTE="kodai"] The Mac is a great line of computers and can now keep pace with virtualy any PC in the games department.DragonfireXZ95

Yeah, I'm gonna have to call bull s%*$ on this one.

Name one game for MAC that was made recently and is actually a big-budget game.

I agree with you on everything else, but this one line was complete and utter trash.

I have not followed PC games recently since I game on the 360 since a few months, but I know Starcraft 2 will play on macs

Here's the differential, and this is without looking at a pricetag. Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily. Beyond that, buy a PC. If you're a big movie editor, maybe getting a college degree in photography or videography, a Mac is your choice. When it comes to gaming, functionality, pricetags, pretty much everything beyond Mac's aforementioned uses, you're going to want a Windows-based computer. Oh, but as a quick note, PC's do have better editing software if you're willing to purchase it, but it's really excessive, somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars. Anyways, yes, that's the pretty much unbiased review of somebody's that's used a Mac and been reduced to swearing violently at the computer.pyrobrand

correction, MAC are not really better for video editing etc. They have much better pre-installed video editing etc software when compared to Windows PCs where in PCs you'll have to purchase similar softwares.

[QUOTE="pyrobrand"]Here's the differential, and this is without looking at a pricetag. Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily. Beyond that, buy a PC. If you're a big movie editor, maybe getting a college degree in photography or videography, a Mac is your choice. When it comes to gaming, functionality, pricetags, pretty much everything beyond Mac's aforementioned uses, you're going to want a Windows-based computer. Oh, but as a quick note, PC's do have better editing software if you're willing to purchase it, but it's really excessive, somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars. Anyways, yes, that's the pretty much unbiased review of somebody's that's used a Mac and been reduced to swearing violently at the computer.nohnaimer

correction, MAC are not really better for video editing etc. They have much better pre-installed video editing etc software when compared to Windows PCs where in PCs you'll have to purchase similar softwares.

Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily.

Does the bit I bolded there help you out some? The implication is that when you take it out of the box, you don't have any editing software that was bought seperately on there. Thanks for reading; NAAAAAT!

[QUOTE="pyrobrand"]Here's the differential, and this is without looking at a pricetag. Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily. Beyond that, buy a PC. If you're a big movie editor, maybe getting a college degree in photography or videography, a Mac is your choice. When it comes to gaming, functionality, pricetags, pretty much everything beyond Mac's aforementioned uses, you're going to want a Windows-based computer. Oh, but as a quick note, PC's do have better editing software if you're willing to purchase it, but it's really excessive, somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars. Anyways, yes, that's the pretty much unbiased review of somebody's that's used a Mac and been reduced to swearing violently at the computer.nohnaimer

correction, MAC are not really better for video editing etc. They have much better pre-installed video editing etc software when compared to Windows PCs where in PCs you'll have to purchase similar softwares.

Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily.

Does the bit I bolded there help you out some? The implication is that when you take it out of the box, you don't have any editing software that was bought seperately on there. Thanks for reading; NAAAAAT!

[QUOTE="pyrobrand"]Here's the differential, and this is without looking at a pricetag. Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily. Beyond that, buy a PC. If you're a big movie editor, maybe getting a college degree in photography or videography, a Mac is your choice. When it comes to gaming, functionality, pricetags, pretty much everything beyond Mac's aforementioned uses, you're going to want a Windows-based computer. Oh, but as a quick note, PC's do have better editing software if you're willing to purchase it, but it's really excessive, somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars. Anyways, yes, that's the pretty much unbiased review of somebody's that's used a Mac and been reduced to swearing violently at the computer.nohnaimer

correction, MAC are not really better for video editing etc. They have much better pre-installed video editing etc software when compared to Windows PCs where in PCs you'll have to purchase similar softwares.

Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily.

Does the bit I bolded there help you out some? The implication is that when you take it out of the box, you don't have any editing software that was bought seperately on there. Thanks for reading; NAAAAAT!

[QUOTE="nohnaimer"]

[QUOTE="pyrobrand"]Here's the differential, and this is without looking at a pricetag. Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily. Beyond that, buy a PC. If you're a big movie editor, maybe getting a college degree in photography or videography, a Mac is your choice. When it comes to gaming, functionality, pricetags, pretty much everything beyond Mac's aforementioned uses, you're going to want a Windows-based computer. Oh, but as a quick note, PC's do have better editing software if you're willing to purchase it, but it's really excessive, somewhere in the range of a few hundred dollars. Anyways, yes, that's the pretty much unbiased review of somebody's that's used a Mac and been reduced to swearing violently at the computer.pyrobrand

correction, MAC are not really better for video editing etc. They have much better pre-installed video editing etc software when compared to Windows PCs where in PCs you'll have to purchase similar softwares.

Out of the box, a Mac is better for video and graphics editing, easily.

Does the bit I bolded there help you out some? The implication is that when you take it out of the box, you don't have any editing software that was bought seperately on there. Thanks for reading; NAAAAAT!

Triple posting FTW

Anyway you got one thing wrong there. Macs aren't better than PC's for graphic editing. You're talking about 2D art and editing in the likes of photoshop etc. Anything that actually involves graphics editing of any kind(Meaning 3D) a PC kills a mac within that category.

Macs are made to use Apple's MacOS, whereas a "pc", as most have come to define it, is a computer made to run a version of Windows.

In terms of resale, a genuine Mac usually sees a much stronger resale value than any Windows machine. Last I saw, a fairly upgraded G4 Cube went for about the price of what a (new at the time) entry-level PowerMac G5 sold at.

With PowerPC-based Macs, there is a difference of computer architecture, as PPC chips are RISC-based where the intel and AMD CPU's we see in Windows PC's are CISC-based.

Nowadays with the switch to intel, one of the differences there is that intel Macs use EFI-based firmware, which ditches the years of legacy crap that still has to be encoded for BIOS-type firmware that Windows users have to endure with. The irony is that even a modern OS such as Vista still doesn't provide a way to interface (natively) with EFI at the hardware level; IIRC, Windows XP x64 did, though.

Well othe rthan not being able to play many games, the interface, although really slick looking is actually rather clunky. It's really good for video, audio, and 2D design apps though. onemic

Rewind a few years back to when the PowerMac G5 was still a new thing, and Apple first started releasing their 30" display. At the Apple store, some associates had loaded up a bunch of game demos on the machines. One of them was a mid-range G5 with a 6800GT installed connected to the 30"er. This machine was able to run UT04 with maxed in-game eye candy and 1920x1200 resolution faster than any ridiculously-overclocked P4/A64 with SLi setup that could have been had at the Windows time, and for a lot cheaper than what it would have cost to even assemble an overclocked A64 config you'd need to match (or top) that.

The ability to play games was and is always there - no more or less than an equal-spec'd Windows PC. Blame the devs for being even more lazy than Porsche designers. :lol:

MAc cost more and everything is designed for PC's.

Unless you only using the mac for graphic stuff go PC since it does everything else.Sleepyz

you cannot game on a mac... it has small volume of games and the ones that it has runs like crapKeypo

Anyone who's anyone that kept track of this could easily tell you that id's port of Doom 3 to the Mac was the single lousiest port ever done. Period. It was so poorly done, it's actually being used as an example of how NOT to bring gaming to the Mac.

Recently, software like TransGaming's Cider is making the job of porting games for (intel) Macs a lot easier and faster for devs that want to take the plunge.

Why would you buy a mac to run windows when you can build your own much cheaper windows running computer.wtf_hax

All it is, is an OS emulating another OS onemic

intel Macs' EFI firmware does not provide the CSL compatibility layer that allows for BIOS-type calls to be handled directly out-of-the-box. Boot Camp is a process which adds that layer module to the firmware so that it can support BIOS calls to allow Windows to install and run.

At the very hardware level, Windows still communicates in the legacy BIOS mode. EFI is a new type of firmware that is meant to replace the 30-plus-year-old BIOS architecture, and allow a much more modular firmware that can more efficiently access hardware. intel themselves is one of the biggest proponents that helped design and shape EFI.

Knowing they wouldn't get anywhere with EFI unless it had OS's to support it, intel added support in the spec for a 'compatiability layer module' that could then translate BIOS-type hardware calls from an OS into something that EFI could understand, and vice-versa back to the OS.

Apple simply chooses to use EFI, but with Boot Camp, provided an opt-in solution for those that want or have to run Windows to be able to do so. It is not there out-of-the-box, but it is freely available if you need it.

Boot Camp IS NOT emulation like VirtualPC or VMWare. It is allowing the Windows to run natively on the same hardware. there is no emulation going on at that point.

There are emulation software like VMWare and Parallels, so that you can run Windows within OS X, but Boot Camp in the end is to set up so that you can dual-boot and run Windows at native-hardware speeds.

Speaking of emulation, Both the existing betas for VMWare fusion and Parallels 3 are employing something new in the form of being able to take advantage of the built-in VT support that intel Macs enjoy and now able to get 3D Acceleration going on where it never was possible before as a result. So for example...

before: user runs Parallels on shiny new MacBook Pro with 8600M GT. OS X sees an 8600M GT; Windows (within parallels) sees intel GMA chip.

after: user runs Parallels on MBP with 8600M GT. OS X and Windows both see an 8600M GT.

At the moment though, the current betas are only supporting up to DirectX 8.1 level hardware acceleration, but the release builds of both are slated to have at minimum DirectX 9 hardware support. That will mean you can run 99.9% of any game available now, without having to dual-boot. Seems to be win-win where I'm sitting.

Here's the biggest difference. Find the right click button on a mac, and I'll give you my 8800GTS.felixzelphyn

I'll be taking that 8800GTS now, thank you. ;)

The reason that Apple only provides a one-button mouse by default is part of a campaign that Jobs started because many professional apps a decade or two back used these 14-button trackballs and really complex special keyboards to get things done, and thus he'd decided that it needed to be greatly simplified. It's not that the OS and apps can't support multi-button mice... it's he didn't want developers to REQUIRE multi-button mice for someone to be able to be productive and use software on the Macs.

If you want your multi-button mice, just plug it in. If it has more than two buttons + scroll wheel, just download a driver from whoever makes it (Microsoft has a surprisingly great driver for their Intellimice, and Logitech isn't far behind anymore), or use a free tool known as USB Overdrive to map as many buttons as you want.

Everyone always brings up the Audio/Video editing argument as to why Macs are so great. I use video and audio editing software as well as music production software on my pc, which I don't even know if its considered mid-range anymore, with no problems. It runs it just the same as a Mac. I can do more on my PC as well, like play games. I've used Macs before, and I wasn't pleased, they are overrated. If you've used a PC all your life, then be smart and stay with the PC. Don't bother with the Mac. hellraiser6669

My god, the ignorance this thread has demonstrated is astounding. :| I thought we'd be better than this by now.

They gave me a macbook at work, it has no right mouse button, I does not like.

For general use it's no different from windows/linux/osx really. I must admit I'm not a huge fan of the mouse-heavy interface.

Dare I ask?! How many macs do you own, codezer0. I'm rolling with a eMac 1.25GHz. ;)kodex1717

And if I wasn't saving for a car, I'd be getting that new MacBook Pro. That 8600M GT is perfect on the mid-priced 15" model - plenty of staying power for 1440x900 :)

I may not own one of my own yet, but I use them enough to know better than apparently 80% of the people in this thread do.

PC > Mac. Nuff said.DragonfireXZ95

Agreed.

Except that Macs ARE PC's. They're Personal computers just like your Wintendo boxes are. :roll: My god, quit being so damned ignorant and actually learn about what you claim to hate so much. Or are you to 't3h l33t' to learn anything?codezer0

The thing about mac is that they're too damn expensive for the amount of performance you get out of it. Not only that but compared to PC's they aren't as easy to upgrade in comparison to PC's.(Of course it depends on which type of mac you get) Not only tha, but their support at this time is still horrible with software(gaming) AND hardware makers. The fact that Nvidia is only supporting up to an 8600GT with a mac(which by the way is a pretty horrible card in relation to its price as a 7600GT is just as good) and you then see why so many people just don't like macs.

For me it's pretty much all those things and my opinion of the OS-X, which I stated before, felt extremely clunky to me.

BTW thanks for correcting me on the whole emulation thing, although you went a little too technical there. :P

[QUOTE="jbdb1345"]

i know that mac can't use windows but is there any other big difference?

(i've used a pc all my life)

Alkpaz

WRONG Macs can run windows.. Intel based Macs have been running Vista

You realize that PC's are called PC's because of IBM?

Macs are not considered PC's. They are considered Macs, so be quiet.

IBM coined the term PC along with Bill Gates.

You realize that PC's are called PC's because of IBM?

Macs are not considered PC's. They are considered Macs, so be quiet.

IBM coined the term PC along with Bill Gates.DragonfireXZ95

What part of a Mac isn't a personal computer? Other than the XServe, all the Macs that Apple makes arepersonal computers, or can be.

IBM coined the term using one of the ugliest and slowest machines released in history since the TRS-80. Is that what you mean by "PC"? because if that's your logic, then the PC would be those $200 dells that have integrated everything.

And if not for a MAC, you wouldn't be on here spouting your ignorant and just plain wrong information. The Macintosh is the line of personal computers created by Apple. A MAC is what allows you to gain an IP address in the first place. There's a pretty big difference in the technical terms there, chief.

The thing about mac is that they're too damn expensive for the amount of performance you get out of it. Not only that but compared to PC's they aren't as easy to upgrade in comparison to PC's.(Of course it depends on which type of mac you get) Not only tha, but their support at this time is still horrible with software(gaming) AND hardware makers. The fact that Nvidia is only supporting up to an 8600GT with a mac(which by the way is a pretty horrible card in relation to its price as a 7600GT is just as good) and you then see why so many people just don't like macs.

For me it's pretty much all those things and my opinion of the OS-X, which I stated before, felt extremely clunky to me.

BTW thanks for correcting me on the whole emulation thing, although you went a little too technical there. :Ponemic

If you're talking about the Mac Pro, that machine was designed by Apple to compete with workstations, as in the kind where people are working with hardcore computations and simulation of hardware/software/data. If you did a direct piece-by-piece, chipset-to-chipset comparo between a Mac Pro and an equally-configured Alienware MJ-12 or Dell Precision workstation, you will find that the Mac Pro is significantly cheaper. For a similar system to their default configurfation from Dell, you'd be paying at least $1000 USD more. For the closest thing that Alienware has to the Mac Pro (default config), almost $2000 more.

And of all said machines out there, the Mac Pro is still the cheapest way to get an 8-core machine now. You can't get anything similar from Dell, Alienware, etc. without paying a boatload more.

The Mac Pro (default) starts with a 7300GT, but can be upgraded from Apple to have an X1900XT or a Quadro FX4500 (with RivaTuner's driver-mod, this would equate to a 7900GTX). And if all you intend is to run Windows on it, then you can physically slap an 8800GTX or HD 2900 in there right now and it'd work. A "PC" PCI-E graphics card will work in the Mac Pro,b ut ONLY if you boot straight to Windows. If you want to boot to OS X or go into the EFI menu for whatever reason, you'd still need to keep a "Mac Edition" PCI-E graphics card in there. And the Mac Pro has four (physical) PCI-E x16 slots for you there too.

The very base iMac may only have a GMA 950, but that's still well enough to run OS X with all the GUI goodies (including Aqua and Quartz Extreme), and it does so faster than when it tries to run Vista's Aero. The top-end 24" may only start with a 7300GT now, but it's a cheap ugprade to get it with a 7600GT.

The new MacBook Pro's have an 8600M GT in them because that's the fastest nVidia mobile GPU that was available when Apple was spec'ing it out. And the h.264 hardware video acceleration the 8600's provide would be of more value to a notebook user than it would on a desktop to begin with. The 15" MBP's use a default resolution of 1440x900, which an 8600 should certainly have no trouble in playing games at that res. Or if you want the higher resolution, a 17" can now be had with an upgraded display to give you 1920x1200 resolution.

Personally, I would go for the mid-priced 15" because it'd give me a 256MB 8600M GT and a larger hard drive, which would provide plenty of staying power for Windows and OS X games. :)

Given now that DAAMiT is 't3h 3n3my z0MG!!11!1' to intel, and seeing a few leaked photos of some intel workstation/server boards having the license to support SLi, I would not be all that surprised to see the next major revision of the Mac Pro also supporting SLi acceleration. But all that depends on how willing Jobs is in taking gaming on the Mac seriously... which at this point they'd have to, since that's the one avenue that they had been lagging behind (admittedly) for drawing attention to the Mac platform.