I don't believe I've ever used a Mac, with the possible exception of when I was in middle school, but I'm sure a lot has changed since then. I use a PC at home and at work so that's all I really know about.
Can someone tell me what the differences are between a PC and a Mac. Are they really that different and why do some people think that Macs are so much better than PCs, and vice versa?
GAMESHARQ
Hardware wise, a Mac is no different than any other Intel based PC out there. The biggest difference is the operating system itself. Windows gets bad rep for being poorly configured by some manufacturers. All you need to run Windows smoothly is Windows, and an antivirus, that is it. Manufacturers like to put some kind of cheap software with their name branded on it to replace almost every function of Windows.For example, if you buy a computer from Dell. It probably has a utility for connecting to wireless networks, it's own utility for playing movies, it's own utility for searches, it's own utility that updates Windows and your drivers. Windows comes with all the functionality on it's own. Now in addition to getting Windows booted up, all these apps are booting up as well, and they are often cumbersome and redundant.
On top of that, manufacturers have been known to push hardware to its limit. Putting the bare minimum amount of hardware in an overloaded computer. So in addition to all the above apps, the thing is slowed to a crawl. Because only Apple makes computers for Mac OSX they dictate what goes on all of their machines, and make sure it all runs smoothly. Microsoft sells Windows as is, and after manufacturers get their fingers in it is when it goes bad.
There is no difference other than operating system. Windows is generally the more supported platform for software and hardware. Hardware for PC is also standardized (ATX form factor), so upgrading and replacing parts is a simple matter. Changing anything on a Mac is usually very proprietary and therefore more expensive.
Also, I never figured out how Mac has separated itself out of the "PC" category. It is after all a "Personal Computer".
The difference used to be profound in the past, when a Macintosh ran on 680x0 or PowerPC while the typical IBM PC-compatible was based on x86. Incompatible at the hardware level (thus no Mac OS on a PC or DOS/Windows on a Mac), though some Macs had "DOS cards" or some such that were basically IBM PCs on expansion cards. Then there was more emphasis on ADB and external SCSI and such for interfaces, which certainly didn't help intercompatibility. This will probably be in line with your middle school experiences if you're roughly as old as I am (19, maybe a bit older since such Macs were mostly elementary school for me).Nowadays, though, they use the same x86 CPUs and architecture and all, with the main differences being the proprietary parts and use of EFI rather than the old BIOS that's still being used in most PC motherboards-and, of course, Mac OS X as the operating system of choice.
All in all, I'd really say that the deciding factor is how much you want Mac OS X or not (legitimately and hassle-free, of course). If the apps you need aren't OS X-specific, or even not available on it, you're better off with typical PC hardware running Windows, Linux, or who knows what else. If you're not particularly app-dependent and want something more hassle-free, then a modern Mac just might be compelling.
This isn't a good place to ask such a question, however. This is a gaming forum full of custom-building PC enthusiasts, and most of them look upon Macs with disdain since they can build something more powerful for the same price or less (form factor differences notwithstanding), and they don't really care for Mac OS X when they need Windows for the games anyway.NamelessPlayer
Good coverage of the CPU history. Just a note, EFI is becoming more popular with PCs as well. Dell has been using EFI on it's laptops. Hence why people illegally put Mac OSX on Dell Laptops (Hackintosh so to speak).
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