MAC vs PC for university

I need a laptop for university and I'm torn in the mac vs pc debate. I will be using the laptop for general purposes such as assignments, music downloads, web surfing, etc. No gaming or anything like that. I need something that's fast and I can save tons of music and pictures on.

The basic things I've learned is that macs are better overtime (less problems with software, don't slow down after a while, etc), they're less prone to viruses, they can basically do what a PC can do. On the con side, they're crazy expensive. PCs, on the other hand, I'm familiar with the software, no adjusting needed, much less expensive. Cons are that they're known to have lots of problems, viruses, etc.

If you can add anything to that and shed some knowledge it would be great. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you!

EDIT: I'll pay more for a mac if I have to. Obviously the less I have to spend, the better. However, if a mac is significantly superior I wouldn't mind digging out the extra cash for it. (max $2000)

what is your budget?

If you purchases a laptop now, you get a free upgrade to windows 7 :P

PC here is why: Most supported software, (games), cheap hardware, customizable, easy to support, does everything a Mac can do. Viruses? Just put avast free, macs aren't more secure if someone gets them in their hands, they are actually more vulnerable.They are just wannabe UNIX systems...

If you purchases a laptop now, you get a free upgrade to windows 7 :P

Ravirr

I'm a pc person..no doubt. But, when it comes to college...been there--done that..and a MacBook Pro either 13" or 15" is the way to go. Cheers

I'm a pc person..no doubt. But, when it comes to college...been there--done that..and a MacBook Pro either 13" or 15" is the way to go. Cheers

--Anna--

The new 13" Macbook Pro is not all that expensive all things considered, and comes with absolutely incredible battery life. I'd get the cheapest 2.26GHz model and upgrade the RAM to 4GB yourself (or you could just stick with 2GB I guess, considering what you're doing), and upgrade the hard drive from Apple itself ($50 isn't too bad for another 100GB considering you won't have to muck about with OS installation yourself).RayvinAzn

You get faster hardware for a much cheaper price out of a PC, but with Mac you get really good battery life, sturdy construction of the casing and don't have to deal with the bloatware they put onto Windows. If I were you I would just look for something that uses Core 2 (Centrino 2) 1.8GHz+ or AMD Turion 2.00GHz+, 4GB of RAM and the biggest HDD you can find to store your music/pictures/videos/downloads. Like I said, Macs are going to be much more expensive. Windows will be just as functional if not more though (just make sure you take off the bloat). EDIT: No Mac is not vastly superior at all, it's just a little better in certain areas. Marfoo

I just don't understand this ongoing MAC vs PC debate. I'm a researcherandhave the privaledge to work on all four combinations of MAC/PC desktop/notebook. Simply put, the MACS are much more expensive and don't run all of the software that you can on a PC.

If you want MAC softwareits easy to dual boot a PC. Oh and the MACS I have used were,if anything, more prone to crashing than the Vista machines we have at work that so far have NEVER crashed.The only reason I can see to have a MAC is if you are in desperate need to have some kind of identity/ have bought intoall the markettingBS.

Plus MACs relatively poor at games.

PC.

More support. Plus, MAC now uses parts in PCs in there MACS. Same parts, but more expensive? Macs were better at video editing/drawing only 5 or 6 years ago. Dont listen to anyone who tells you different. The only reason they were better was because of the LCD screens being better quality, so you could see your images in more detail. Load Photoshop on a Mac, then load it on a PC. They run the same.

My friend bought a 1100 dollar Mac laptop (2 months ago) and cant play COD 5 in bootcamp (without heavy lag). He also has to turn down all his game settings. I have a laptop that is 1100 dollars and play Crysis on medium to high settings. He has to play on the lowest settings and STILL lags like hell.

He also uses bootcamp more than OS X (or whatever it's called)

What is your major? If you are going into something like engineering you will want a PC, whereas if you go into something like art you would probably want a Mac.

PC for everything. Macs are just on overpriced fashion statement.

PC.

More support. Plus, MAC now uses parts in PCs in there MACS. Same parts, but more expensive? Macs were better at video editing/drawing only 5 or 6 years ago. Dont listen to anyone who tells you different. The only reason they were better was because of the LCD screens being better quality, so you could see your images in more detail. Load Photoshop on a Mac, then load it on a PC. They run the same.

My friend bought a 1100 dollar Mac laptop (2 months ago) and cant play COD 5 in bootcamp (without heavy lag). He also has to turn down all his game settings. I have a laptop that is 1100 dollars and play Crysis on medium to high settings. He has to play on the lowest settings and STILL lags like hell.

He also uses bootcamp more than OS X (or whatever it's called)

SgtMoreless

What is your major? If you are going into something like engineering you will want a PC, whereas if you go into something like art you would probably want a Mac.

Lyron-Baktos

I'm going into business admin. I'm going to have classes like english, psych, math, economics, philosophy, etc.

Basically just a lot of typing.

Thanks a lot for the help so far but please keep in mind I'm not using the laptop for gaming at all.

So far it seems as though there is a significant price difference from a PC to a MAC but not a significant difference in quality.

[QUOTE="SgtMoreless"]

PC.

More support. Plus, MAC now uses parts in PCs in there MACS. Same parts, but more expensive? Macs were better at video editing/drawing only 5 or 6 years ago. Dont listen to anyone who tells you different. The only reason they were better was because of the LCD screens being better quality, so you could see your images in more detail. Load Photoshop on a Mac, then load it on a PC. They run the same.

My friend bought a 1100 dollar Mac laptop (2 months ago) and cant play COD 5 in bootcamp (without heavy lag). He also has to turn down all his game settings. I have a laptop that is 1100 dollars and play Crysis on medium to high settings. He has to play on the lowest settings and STILL lags like hell.

He also uses bootcamp more than OS X (or whatever it's called)

RayvinAzn

I'm having the same problem too (And I don't know alot about Computers)

I'm going to be doing a Geology based coarse at Aberdeen University (I've no idea what OS the campus computers are going to be running on though it will be one of my first enquiries saying as im probably going to need the library computers for printing etc.) does Word work on a Mac? or is there anything similar available for macs? And would it be easy to convert a file from this into a file type functional with Microsoft word?

I do however want a LaptopAble to play Empire: Total war (Which I think needs a 256mb shader? it's the only game im going to be running on it so it's not a massive part of decision making) I was Jw does anyone know if it only runs on windows or will it work on a mac too?

Edit: Also what would be considered a good battery life? If I didn't get a Mac I was going to get the Sony VGN-NS 30ES

Is there still a problem with the Bettery's used in the Sony laptops?

The thing is, why? If you want a UNIX system, run Linux, it's free(open source), more secure, and better. Sure it's not as user friendly as Windows or Mac on mostly ever distrobution, but Macs are just so incredibly useless. My question is whyyyyyyyyyyyyy, why do you want to be separated from the pc? Why do you not want to be able to share the same programs? Why do you want to deal with your own seperate problems that PC tech's can't help? LInux is not like that, because there is a reason you're using it, you're probably not using it as a desktop in the first place, probably for hosting something. Or even if you do use it for a desktop which I do on my laptop, it has a better GUI if you use a KDE of GNU one with compiz, and you can also dual boot it with Windows. (Also better support for "emulating" Windows, note I use "emulating" because Wine/compiz are not emulators, but there is better support for it. I never understood the point of bootcamp, all the thing bloody does is partition your hard drive. Now this isn't a debate between Linux and Macs, but it's proving how useless a Mac is. It's either you run Windows or a distro of Linux. (Maybe freebsd or UNIX(not free))

Now if you are going to say it's to get away from the PC BSODs and viruses, you are a dolt. Why? Windows hardly ever BSODs, the reason Win95/98/ME bsod'd all the time is because of the way the drivers talked to the OS, and the drivers were almost always poorly written, Windows NT 4.0 changed that, and that's why Windows 2000, xp, Vista, and 7 are all based on the great NT 4.0. About viruses, get avast, you are safe. Macs are less secure than Windows to being hacked, there was that hacking competition a few years ago, Mac went first, then Windows, and Linux never got rooted. There are just less viruses on Macs, which will change; so buy a pc.

I'm having the same problem too (And I don't know alot about Computers)

I'm going to be doing a Geology based coarse at Aberdeen University (I've no idea what OS the campus computers are going to be running on though it will be one of my first enquiries saying as im probably going to need the library computers for printing etc.) does Word work on a Mac? or is there anything similar available for macs? And would it be easy to convert a file from this into a file type functional with Microsoft word?

I do however want a LaptopAble to play Empire: Total war (Which I think needs a 256mb shader? it's the only game im going to be running on it so it's not a massive part of decision making) I was Jw does anyone know if it only runs on windows or will it work on a mac too?

muff07

[QUOTE="muff07"]

I'm having the same problem too (And I don't know alot about Computers)

I'm going to be doing a Geology based coarse at Aberdeen University (I've no idea what OS the campus computers are going to be running on though it will be one of my first enquiries saying as im probably going to need the library computers for printing etc.) does Word work on a Mac? or is there anything similar available for macs? And would it be easy to convert a file from this into a file type functional with Microsoft word?

I do however want a LaptopAble to play Empire: Total war (Which I think needs a 256mb shader? it's the only game im going to be running on it so it's not a massive part of decision making) I was Jw does anyone know if it only runs on windows or will it work on a mac too?

RayvinAzn

I've around1000 Pounds. But I was hoping to get a Mp3 player or Ipod (Because Ineed something to do on the bus trip and I'l be to skint to buy one when I get there)with that aswell so say 850 pounds.

I'd rather have a Laptop I can actually use on a day to day basis and for my course than something I'm only going to play one game on. It's just I noticed that on all the covers for Empire total war (Or at least the PAL box-art)It says Games for Windows which gives me the impression it wornt work on a mac at all. Is that right?

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="muff07"]

I'm having the same problem too (And I don't know alot about Computers)

I'm going to be doing a Geology based coarse at Aberdeen University (I've no idea what OS the campus computers are going to be running on though it will be one of my first enquiries saying as im probably going to need the library computers for printing etc.) does Word work on a Mac? or is there anything similar available for macs? And would it be easy to convert a file from this into a file type functional with Microsoft word?

I do however want a LaptopAble to play Empire: Total war (Which I think needs a 256mb shader? it's the only game im going to be running on it so it's not a massive part of decision making) I was Jw does anyone know if it only runs on windows or will it work on a mac too?

muff07

I've around1000 Pounds. But I was hoping to get a Mp3 player or Ipod (Because Ineed something to do on the bus trip and I'l be to skint to buy one when I get there)with that aswell so say 850 pounds.

I'd rather have a Laptop I can actually use on a day to day basis and for my course than something I'm only going to play one game on. It's just I noticed that on all the covers for Empire total war (Or at least the PAL box-art)It says Games for Windows which gives me the impression it wornt work on a mac at all. Is that right?

You say you need good word processing? pc, no question

Given your questions and the fact that Empire: Total War is fairly resource-intensive, I'd say you'd be better off with a Windows-based machine. If you can afford around $1700, the ASUS G51Vx -A1 comes with a quad-core CPU (handy for strategy games), GTX 260M graphics (just about the best you can get), 4GB of RAM, and a healthy 640GB worth of storage. Battery life probably won't be all that great though, so I'd definitely pick up a spare battery for a full day of classes. It is a bit bulky though, and between that and the battery life you might want to consider something else. Any laptop with a 9600M based graphics chip should suffice for your needs.RayvinAzn

I've around1000 Pounds. But I was hoping to get a Mp3 player or Ipod (Because Ineed something to do on the bus trip and I'l be to skint to buy one when I get there)with that aswell so say 850 pounds.

I'd rather have a Laptop I can actually use on a day to day basis and for my course than something I'm only going to play one game on. It's just I noticed that on all the covers for Empire total war (Or at least the PAL box-art)It says Games for Windows which gives me the impression it wornt work on a mac at all. Is that right?

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"] You can also run Mac on a PC... I'm not sure on the legality of the issue.RayvinAzn

If you go the hackintosh route you can also use an amd cpu, im not sure about gpus.

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"] You can also run Mac on a PC... I'm not sure on the legality of the issue.Sporknife

If you go the hackintosh route you can also use an amd cpu, im not sure about gpus.

[QUOTE="muff07"]

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"] Given your questions and the fact that Empire: Total War is fairly resource-intensive, I'd say you'd be better off with a Windows-based machine. If you can afford around $1700, the ASUS G51Vx -A1 comes with a quad-core CPU (handy for strategy games), GTX 260M graphics (just about the best you can get), 4GB of RAM, and a healthy 640GB worth of storage. Battery life probably won't be all that great though, so I'd definitely pick up a spare battery for a full day of classes. It is a bit bulky though, and between that and the battery life you might want to consider something else. Any laptop with a 9600M based graphics chip should suffice for your needs.JigglyWiggly_

I've around1000 Pounds. But I was hoping to get a Mp3 player or Ipod (Because Ineed something to do on the bus trip and I'l be to skint to buy one when I get there)with that aswell so say 850 pounds.

I'd rather have a Laptop I can actually use on a day to day basis and for my course than something I'm only going to play one game on. It's just I noticed that on all the covers for Empire total war (Or at least the PAL box-art)It says Games for Windows which gives me the impression it wornt work on a mac at all. Is that right?

[QUOTE="SgtMoreless"]

PC.

More support. Plus, MAC now uses parts in PCs in there MACS. Same parts, but more expensive? Macs were better at video editing/drawing only 5 or 6 years ago. Dont listen to anyone who tells you different. The only reason they were better was because of the LCD screens being better quality, so you could see your images in more detail. Load Photoshop on a Mac, then load it on a PC. They run the same.

My friend bought a 1100 dollar Mac laptop (2 months ago) and cant play COD 5 in bootcamp (without heavy lag). He also has to turn down all his game settings. I have a laptop that is 1100 dollars and play Crysis on medium to high settings. He has to play on the lowest settings and STILL lags like hell.

He also uses bootcamp more than OS X (or whatever it's called)

RayvinAzn

My point was that I bought a pc laptop (barebones) for the same price as his MAC. However, my laptop is almost twice as fast, because I hand picked all the parts and built it myself.

About the hardware: MACs are now using generic hardware that Dell and HP use in their computers. Apple used to build all their parts specifically for apple computers. (from what I understood) So, MACs now can break down just as much as a regular PC. (still, apples broke down just as much as pcs when they used their parts)

Screen quality 5 or 6 years ago? Im pretty sure MACs had better quality back then. Now they are pretty even when comparing PC and MAC.

My friend bought it because he wanted to be different or cool. This alone pisses me off.

i'm a pc user but u can always put windows on your mac

My point was that I bought a pc laptop (barebones) for the same price as his MAC. However, my laptop is almost twice as fast, because I hand picked all the parts and built it myself.

About the hardware: MACs are now using generic hardware that Dell and HP use in their computers. Apple used to build all their parts specifically for apple computers. (from what I understood) So, MACs now can break down just as much as a regular PC. (still, apples broke down just as much as pcs when they used their parts)

Screen quality 5 or 6 years ago? Im pretty sure MACs had better quality back then. Now they are pretty even when comparing PC and MAC.

My friend bought it because he wanted to be different or cool. This alone pisses me off.

SgtMoreless

The thing is, why? If you want a UNIX system, run Linux, it's free(open source), more secure, and better. Sure it's not as user friendly as Windows or Mac on mostly ever distrobution, but Macs are just so incredibly useless. My question is whyyyyyyyyyyyyy, why do you want to be separated from the pc? Why do you not want to be able to share the same programs? Why do you want to deal with your own seperate problems that PC tech's can't help? LInux is not like that, because there is a reason you're using it, you're probably not using it as a desktop in the first place, probably for hosting something. Or even if you do use it for a desktop which I do on my laptop, it has a better GUI if you use a KDE of GNU one with compiz, and you can also dual boot it with Windows. (Also better support for "emulating" Windows, note I use "emulating" because Wine/compiz are not emulators, but there is better support for it. I never understood the point of bootcamp, all the thing bloody does is partition your hard drive. Now this isn't a debate between Linux and Macs, but it's proving how useless a Mac is. It's either you run Windows or a distro of Linux. (Maybe freebsd or UNIX(not free))

Now if you are going to say it's to get away from the PC BSODs and viruses, you are a dolt. Why? Windows hardly ever BSODs, the reason Win95/98/ME bsod'd all the time is because of the way the drivers talked to the OS, and the drivers were almost always poorly written, Windows NT 4.0 changed that, and that's why Windows 2000, xp, Vista, and 7 are all based on the great NT 4.0. About viruses, get avast, you are safe. Macs are less secure than Windows to being hacked, there was that hacking competition a few years ago, Mac went first, then Windows, and Linux never got rooted. There are just less viruses on Macs, which will change; so buy a pc.

JigglyWiggly_

I've been a PC guy all of my life and a huge "hater" of Macs for some time. However, after working at Best Buy in the computer section, I would definitely go with a Mac instead of a PC. The battery life, the overall build quality, the power, the ease of use of Macs trump anything PC's have to offer. You get what you pay for.