Apple Selling Overpriced Goods; Switch To PC?

[BeefyFigure]

I would appreciate it if an admin. would make this topic sticky for a couple of days, because I need advice.

[Mr. Lothario]

     Meh. The old saw is true; you get what you pay for. Excepting home-built examples, PCs are not that much cheaper than Macs. Cheaper, yes. Dramatically cheaper, no. Once you tally up the amount of crap you get inside a Mac's case (especially in the newer models), and the overall quality of the hardware and engineering, the price differential evens out significantly.

     But all that aside, I'm willing to pay the Apple fee because I really and truly love using a computer that just works, all of the time, every time. Inefficiency grates on me. I don't want to fight with my computer, I want to use it. In my experience, a Mac is the best choice for fulfilling that criteria. So I use one.

[0 Kilz:M:]

Beefy, just got to the local library and play around a pc. It's free and will you give you a good example of how incredibly shitty those gray boxes are, after about 5 minutes you'll stand up and walk away. I almost guarntee it. Apple is quality, and it is true you get what you pay for.

[Toxic::Joka]

Depends on your economic situation...

We all know macs are best, but PC's are so goddamn cheap
A 2Ghz PC for 500? !!!!

Im still in the middle havent made my mind up either.

Ps. If you want a cheap mac (dont know if it really will end up as cheaper, but it seems so). I planned on buying a G4 power mac 400Mhz, now that comp is so old that you can get pretty cheap. Then buy a CPU upgrade and make it a 1.4Ghz Power mac, buy some ram and your done....  

Acording to my calculations this would be the cheapest way, im pretty sure    (the total price would be close to 1000-1500? for a 1.4Ghz powermac) (not dual)  

Just a thought...

You might wanna check this out: http://www.gigadesigns.com/

[BeefyFigure]

I'm pretty sure none of you have ever used a PC, for that matter.? I, in contrast, have.? And they aren't, I quote, ?shitty?.

Apple is quality, I agree.? And most of the time, you do get what you pay for.? But Apple perceives quality differently.? Apple provides good-quality hardware, and software, but it also charges high prices for both.? They have every right to, but some might not be able to afford it financially.? I strive to keep up, but it is becoming more difficult every year.

Further thoughts?

[tasty]

I don't care about Peecee hardware, although it is quite ugly. But every Microsoft OS is undeniably a piece of shit. They crash like none other, they are ugly, and they lack the speed, efficiency, and ease of use that OS X has. Maybe when OS X comes to PC (ha!) I would consider it.

[*DAMN Mauti]

My whole life I only owned and used Macs - I started with a Classic II, which still works great and is really enough as "writing machine" (Word 5.1 is one of the best and most simple text apps)! Still boots as fast as every Mac nowadays (must be the tiny OS).

My really first "computer" was a iMac 400 DV Se, I bought back in 1999, and I'm still using. The reason why I bought it was because it was the cheapest Computer(PC and Mac) you could get for videoediting. The builtin FireWire and iMovie made it the best choice. No PC, except the extremly expensive Vaio  Notebooks, allowed videoediting out of the box. I calculated that an upgraded PC for videoediting would cost 1000US Dollar more than my iMac. The speed difference was also only 100Mhz so I didn't care much about that.

Today in the same situation I would probably pic a PC for 1000 Dollar less that is much faster than any Mac out there(until G5s arrive) and also allows videoediting out of the box!

Honestly there is not much that would keep me using a Mac: Yes the OS is great but you also get used to Windows pretty fast. Gamewise the PC is unbeatable: games run great and how much would I love to keep modding for RS and GR as I did for Rainbow Six.

So why I would and will still buy a G5!? - Macs have great software for video and picture editing(Final Cut Pro is simply the best), you don't have to fear any bad viri(plural of virus). The first Mac virus is ranked 78th in the list of dangerous viri. I already own much software for it,  Macs aren't that fast out of date(may this will change with the new aggressive roadmap of the G5s) and Macs run forever(see my Classic II still works great after 12years and has a market value of 800(!!!) US Dollar).

To sum up if you buy a computer to work with it buy a Mac because it will save you a lot of time and troubles but if you are only interested to play games, write some textes, and surf the web get a cheap and fast PC!

Bye,

Mauti
ps.: back to your question: yes Apple is selling overpriced goods - so never buy RAM, Harddisks from Apple, get such things from a PC store. iPods are also very expensive but it is simply the coolest Mp3 player When will I get mine???-> Gimme MONEY!

[*NADS Capt. Anarchy]

Not to play devil's advocate, but I've been spending half my time on a Dell running XP up here at the ranch where I work, and it crashes just about as often as my Mac does. Heck, it hasn't crashed all week that I've been up here. And yes, I use it for all the same things. Games, graphic design, webpages, everything.

I don't remember the price exactly, but it was less than $1000 for a P4 1.8Ghz, 256 RAM, 20 gig HD, 15" LCD monitor, speakers (surprisingly good), keyboard, and a two button scroll wheel mouse, something Apple STILL hasn't figured out. And this was nearly a year ago, so I'm sure the price has dropped another fair bit by now.

And y'know what? XP ain't all that bad. Once you get it off the fugly blue and green theme and back to the efficient grey boxes, it runs beautifully. Turn off all its fades and shtick if you, like me, just want stuff to pop up quick so you can select what you want from the menu and move on. Hell, I even made my own start menu in my Mac's apple menu. Makes launching stuff loads faster. It's not worse.... just... different.

[BeefyFigure]

It's not worse... just... different.

Exactly my point.

My very first Mac was a Performa 5300.  To think about it, it is very similar to the iMac, excepting speed and ease of use, of course. It's about seven years old, but seven of those years ago, it was state-of-the-art.

Agreed: Macintosh computers rank as the best when it comes to video editing.  But I have to say that I'm not into editing.  Maybe a little, seeing as I use my school's computer for a project I'm currently working on.  Argh, did I mention it was a PC?

   
 

[*DAMN Mauti]

The crash myth is a relict from the old days - nevertheless MS products often crash without a reason and even without activated: at university I often experience this at some courses: Outlook Express caused an error XY(wasn't started at all), and also often Windows ME on my VPC gives me errors without a reason. Nevertheless this happens but all in all Windows doesn't crash very often nowadays and isn't an arguement to stick with Macs.

If you start from the ground, meaning your expensive bought software for Macs isn't suddenly useless, there is no reason not to buy a PC. If you already own much software it doesn't make any sense to buy a PC because then the prize advantage isn't anymore.

Another reason to buy macs is security but I think that doesn't play a big role for most of us.

From the technical site you can do everything on a PC you can do on a Mac(only software may be different).

So what keeps us away from all buying a cheap PC? - Is it the totaly vanless iMac that works perfectly as small server or nonstop download machine!? - Is it the lower energy costs? - Is it the unique look and feel? - Is it the private feeling within the community? - Is it the tiny Apple logo?

Objective there isn't a reason not to trade your Mac with a PC but subjective may there are many!

Bye,

Mauti

[cookie]

well, despite the fact you seem to have alrady made up your mind beefy, i still hold that a macintosh is a more favorable machine. why?

the microsoft OS is archaic technology. sure, it runs games "well" (or could it be it just has more games and fancier graphics cards?) and they're cheaper, but thats about all it has going for it. Windows is actually an emulation off the motherboard, so it needs a faster processor to get the job done. It's inefficient, put bluntly. These "2 Ghz" numbers mean very little, because they're equivalent to the numbers of a macintosh with less mhz. So basically, you pay a little less for a machine of equal speed and crappier hardware/software.

also, considering all the progress apple is making, i don't think i'd want to jump ship just yet.

but whatever, if you want a PC it's no big deal. PCs are admittedly better for things like piracy, cheesy RPGs, and compatibility. It's also nice how interchangable the parts are. I build PCs for people almost every day, and while i hate them, they are fun to make. I always end up feeling like Dr Frankenstein after making one.

but as a final argument in favor of the mac, jesus christ PCs are so ugly  

[BeefyFigure]

In spite of what you think, cookie, I have not made up my mind yet.  Actually, far from it.

Okay, so PC's can be ugly.  Big deal.  What's inside of them is what really matters to me.  I'm not after the good looks.

For the sake of convenience, I think one should be able to handle both a Mac, and a PC.  I, can.  But I do not own a PC.  I was given ICT lessons at school.

Apple is making progress?  Yes, I believe you.  But it will never catch up to Microsoft.  Microsoft uses its domination of the market to restrict competition.  

Please, keep it coming!

[KoS Ultimo]

I'm working a full time job during the day at stony brook university and then a full time job at night at a italian ice store. I will be making around 3,000 dollars this summer and what am I going to buy with it ?

A dell

Why?

I love Games

period

[Jeb]

Looking at my desk i have a G4 with osX and a Dell XPS p3 800 with redhat...
and i must say that i don't mind pcs, but windows doesn't do it for me.

I'm an intern in the webdesign industry, and i use two computers, a G4 and a new 'fast' PC. I do most of the work on the PC simply because it is faster, and the G4 is running os9 so i can test things in really old netscape browsers and i hate os9. I don't really like using the PC simply because it doesn't handle things very well when the desktop/screen is cluttered. Another thing that i don't like about the PC i use at work is that windows networking sucks, if its not showing up, just wait till it does. XP hasn't crashed yet, but i managed to bring the G4 crashing down a few times daily just by viewing pages in the intranet in netscape...

Out of all the computers i use my old slow G4 is my favorite, osX is great. Its like linux, but without the suck of having to compile things from source, makefiles, and installing new drivers for something like a mouse.

The way a mac looks has a whole lot to do with things, simply because apple puts so much time in presentation, and the end user. I like apple, because they really think about the details.

Btw, XP is using cutting edge NT technology from the 90s.

[Ace]

I'm pretty sure none of you have ever used a PC, for that matter.  I, in contrast, have.  And they aren't, I quote, ?shitty?.

I've probably used more different types of systems (Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD, Solaris, etc.) than most anyone here, and I can say that the Mac is unequivocally the most productive system around. The key word there is productive. Sure, you can buy faster PC hardware for cheaper (ignoring the G5 on the high end). You can also get a free OS and free software from the Linux and BSD camps. But in the end, nothing of these are more valuable than my time, and the Mac is what lets me use my time on the computer to the fullest. One of the biggest reasons is the vertical integration of hardware and software with the needs of the end user in mind.

In January, I bought my Cube on eBay for $670. I could have just as easily gone out and built a faster PC that would have gamed way better than the Cube. However, like most Mac owners, my computer is much more than just a gaming machine. The Cube is able to run OS X where I can do my programming, word processing, web browsing, and gaming all in the same place. It gives me essentially two different OS's, one Mac and one Unix. You can't beat this on any PC, no matter what the speed.

[Cow]

you know what ill give it to you beefy that apples are overpriced but you want to know how many PCs have had major problems while my dualG4 500mhz lives on? 2, exploded power supply which actually broke again cause the motherboard couldnt handle the faster RAM and the dell im typing this on.  Both CD drives are busted and the power supply makes a funny noise.  PCs cheaper yes, in both senses but considering how many times my G4 has had computer threatening problems 0,  Apple VS PCs.  apple wins 0-2.  

[PLOPje]

Maybe one thing to add pc is cheaper but doesnt a mac lives longer then your pc, if i read things here buying 1mac is abit the same as buying a 2 pc's
I got a new mac every 3 years at the end new games start to get abit slowly but their still playable and then when the games come i cant run anymore my "new"(a good one but abit old so its lowered in price) mac is there

[electronicjo]

Any PC that is NOT custom built sucks.  

I built my PC from components ordered from www.newegg.com (best site ever).
 Let?s see, I have:

- 2.4BGHz Pentium 4(system bus 533MHz).
- VIA P4PB 400 motherboard with on board: 6x USB 2.0, 2x IEEE 1394, 10/100 Ethernet controller (I don't need gigabit), 6 channel audio (didn't need this since I decided to go with SoundBlaster), AGP 8x (woot), 5 PCI slots.
- 120GB Maxtor HD
- Kingston DDR 333 520MB RAM (motherboard is capable of DDR 400 and up to 3GB).
- 19" flat CRT monitor that saved some bucks instead of going LCD).
- Radeon 9700 pro; best card there was when I ordered several months ago.
- Creative labs SoundBlaster live, Dolby digital 5.1 (very nice reverberation, especially in RS).
-16x DVD, 52x CD-RW.  I went for the cheapest price here.
-  Gray and black case with 350W power supply (http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/11-150-029-16.JPG), 6 external bays for CD/DVD    drives and floppy. 3 internal bays for HDs. I chose not to spend more for a fancy case, still not bad.
- Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. I prefer the old optical ownage mouse used with the iBook.

I got all that BS for about $1300, can you believe that?!  Of course, I still had to assemble everything myself which took almost half the day without much help from manuals.  

The only downside about building your own computer would be the warranty and the idea of "if you screw up, you're on your own."  Since the entire system isn't covered, instead manufacturers usually provide assistance for only THEIR product (lifetime warranty on Kingston memory muahahahaha).  This is where Apple wins with it's Apple Care plan, too bad I didn't extended the warranty before the iBook CD drive stopped reading CD-RWs and the shitty Toshiba HD decided to weak out.

Now as for Microsoft Windows XP, I easily adapted from OS X. But some issues with XP that pisses me off and makes me wish I had OS X, cocoa anyone?  First, the tons of ports opened like NetBIOS (good thing Intego has Netbarrier for windows) and the way MS forced XP service pack1 to act as if MSN messenger is a vital application.  Second, XP's NT core as to OSX's BSD.  This is where http://cygwin.com/ saves the day and provides most of the Linux API with UNIX utilities and console commands (mmm gcc).

Everything else is clockwork. Firebird instead of IE because of tabbed browsing and popup blocker. No switching back and fourth OSX to OS9 to play RS or GhR. Even though GhR sucks, but not as much as RvS and the way it owns my computer with weak FPS and slowdowns. I won't even start on the game play.

Anyways.... that's just my experience.

[kos.viper]

ELECTRONICJO IS TEH DEVIL!

[Mr. Lothario]

      I didn't even know ejo was still a member of this forum. ejo is now officially the "Lurker" Flame Warrior.