Popular Mechanics compares PC and Mac!

[RedRock]

www.popularmechanics.com/technology/reviews/4258725.html

even in the price area!


published in the May 2008 issue

The Verdict: Apple

Mac: In both the laptop and desktop showdowns, Apple’s computers were the winners. Oddly, the big difference didn’t come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine. Our respondents liked the look and feel of both operating systems but had a slight preference toward OS X. In our speed trials, however, Leopard OS trounced Vista in all-important tasks such as boot-up, shutdown and program-launch times. We even tested Vista on the Macs using Apple’s platform-switching Boot Camp software—and found that both Apple computers ran Vista faster than our PCs did.

PC: Simply put, Vista proved to be a more sluggish operating system than Leopard. Our PCs installed some software faster, but in general they were slower in our time trials. Plus, both PCs showed weaker performance on third-party benchmarks than the Macs. Our biggest surprise, however, was that PCs were not the relative bargains we expected them to be. The Asus M51sr costs the same as a MacBook, while the Gateway One actually costs $300 more than an iMac. That means for the price of the Gateway you could buy an iMac, boost its hard drive to match the Gateway’s, purchase a copy of Vista to boot—and still save $100.

[Urumii-Previously ThePresident]

I've always known macs were faster... the only thing holding me back was the compatibility (which is now fixed with booting vista on macs) and the price.

I guess I should have looked at the macs again when I got my laptop. I always just assumed they were out of my price range.

Wonder how ds is gonna take that blow LOL.

[vinsanity]

But the Mac still cannot be modified by the end user, and many applications are slow to come out for the Mac (if they ever come out at all.) And the price in nearly ALL categories of machines still makes it price prohibitive IMHO. But as to design and performance (efficiency), the Mac has ALWAYS been superior to PC in that arena.

[Death's Shadow]

Im taking it ok Prez.

If the moron was testing the Mac against a Gateway(pukeway) then of course the mac won. Gateways suck and have for years. Put the mac up against a comparable PC and I bet the race would be a bit closer. And the ability to upgrade your PC ads a value that you can not get with iMacs.

So it is all smoke and mirrors in that report.

[Urumii-Previously ThePresident]

I guess I was more thinking in laptop terms. Most of the time you dont really swap out parts in laptops, because many of them are soldered to the Mobo. Maybe a memory swap and hard drive swap. So in that category the mac might be better, because u can still upgrade those parts easily.

As for desktops I would agree, I actually enjoy fiddling around inside there. Makes me feel like a mechanic, which I am far from. I just personally like being able to do that, even though a mac may be more advanced, and all the other arguments you (Red) have against that.

More of a personal preference with desktops for me.

[RedRock]

New top 40 hit, "Upgrade, Upgrade" by that darling boy band, "The Broken Tunes."

Except very few people actually play the song, they just like to sing it in the shower and feel warm and fuzzy all over.

[vinsanity]

Not true... If it were so the hundreds of companies selling PC parts would not be in business. Tiger Diirect, NewEgg, etc.

[RedRock]

Drop in the bucket compared to the installed base of machines and the average user, who never ever upgrades, just gets a new machine. For this reason, PM chose off the shelf, out of the box setups that the average user will buy and use, and not the tower or build your own configurations.

[Death's Shadow]

If there were not many thousands of us "upgraders" these companies would not exist. They would not have a customer base. Even those that choose not to do the upgrade themselves pay people like us to do it for them. I would venture to say we gamers that use the PC are in the top percentage of upgraders.

I am now maxed out on upgrades on my PC, and it is good enough to play current games. I am already researching my next mother board and components. My current PC is 3 years old and still has about 3 or 4 years of life in it. But I will build a new one before then and pass my current one down the line to one of the kids.

So yes I get all warm and fuzzy when I know I can configure my computer to exactly what I want, instead of "live with what you get out of the box". ;D

[RedRock]

Tch tch tch. Never happy, always wanting. The grass is greener, or grows at more MHz or greater bandwidth, on the other side of the motherboard?

But you are ignoring the point. Thousands of customers, OK, sure, I'll accept that, and lots of dollars there, yes. Yet, when I say the Mac has a huge customer base of 2.5 million new customers just last year alone, you guys say, oh that's nothing, Mac is less than 10% of the installed base of pc's. So, you can't have it both ways! Thousands of customers among >35 million installed pcs (assume Mac = 7 % of market) is, let's see, what were those words, A DROP IN THE BUCKET. Even if those thousands of customers EACH service thousands of other customers (unlikely), that's still low millions AT BEST, which is still a low percentage overall. So, I stand by my assertion.

You guys are the computer equivalent of home car mechanics in society. MOST people do not fix their own cars, don't even change their own oil, and they MOST certainly do not upgrade their own computers, if they upgrade at all.

But that has nothing to do with the fact that home garages do make money, and self-oil-changers also feel warm and fuzzy, although that might be the draining oil and the pine tree pollen!

[Death's Shadow]

Tch tch tch. Never happy, always wanting. The grass is greener, or grows at more MHz or greater bandwidth, on the other side of the motherboard?

Sour grapes because your stuck with what you have out of the box with Mac, and very few upgrade options?

You guys are the computer equivalent of home car mechanics in society.

Are you saying we should be ashamed for having the knowledge to be self sufficient?

I am quite proud that I have the knowledge to repair my own PC or car, instead of sitting there staring blankly at my dark monitor wondering what went wrong and how long it will be in the shop.

But that has nothing to do with the fact that home garages do make money, and self-oil-changers also feel warm and fuzzy, although that might be the draining oil and the pine tree pollen!

I fail to see what this statement has to do with the debate.
Are you saying that you have an allergy to oil and pine tree pollen?

[RedRock]

Apr 26, 2008 0:29:38 GMT -5 Death's Shadow said:

Are you saying we should be ashamed for having the knowledge to be self sufficient?

I am quite proud that I have the knowledge to repair my own PC or car, instead of sitting there staring blankly at my dark monitor wondering what went wrong and how long it will be in the shop.

Of course not. But your statement proves what I've been saying. Why be proud of something that EVERYONE or MOST PEOPLE can do or do do, if it weren't special or not the norm?

Compare: I am quite proud that I have the knowledge to .....brush my own teeth, wipe my own butt, clip my own nails, comb my own hair.....etc., instead of sitting there staring blankly...etc. Maybe a child or moron takes special notice about that (apologies to the severely injured or diseased people undergoing rehab who used to do these things but are only now recovering those abilities), but not the average person.

And be glad, too, for that allows you to make money, curry favor, or just get special recognition, for being able to fix your own stuff, save money, and help other (normal) people who can't do that.

But let's not pretend that little old RR hasn't hit the nail on the head! The home auto mechanics and the fix-it-yourself pc'er's are NOT the average computer buyer or user, and most computer users buy without a plan ever to upgrade, and most do not upgrade, aside from buying another new computer.

Des and I play COD:UO, an old game but one not as old as MOH, (COD released for PC October 29, 2003; MOH released for PlayStation 1999) with a group of about 40 people from all over the world, and of those, 3 are MacUsers, 4 build and regularly upgrade their own pc's, 3 or 4 have a new factory-ordered pc (about 4 or 5 can play cod4 or ET:Quake Wars), 7 or 8 have "powerful" enough old pc's (including the 3 macs) to run COD2, and the rest have old pc's that mostly will not run COD2, let alone anything even newer, and they have no plans to upgrade or buy anything newer! I think that's a pretty typical mix of on-line players.

OK, enough. I knew you do-it-yourselfer's would object to the Popular Mechanics findings, and rightly so. I just found it most interesting that the old price argument fell, and that the Macs ran Vista faster than the PC's do, for the kinds of machines that most users would be involved with. Thanks for the lively discussion.

[Death's Shadow]

Compare: I am quite proud that I have the knowledge to .....brush my own teeth, wipe my own butt, clip my own nails, comb my own hair.....etc., instead of sitting there staring blankly...etc. Maybe a child or moron takes special notice about that (apologies to the severely injured or diseased people undergoing rehab who used to do these things but are only now recovering those abilities), but not the average person.

ok I have written 4 replies to this, and del them. I will just leave it alone.

Des and I play COD:UO, an old game but one not as old as MOH, (COD released for PC October 29, 2003; MOH released for PlayStation 1999) with a group of about 40 people from all over the world, and of those, 3 are MacUsers, 4 build and regularly upgrade their own pc's, 3 or 4 have a new factory-ordered pc (about 4 or 5 can play cod4 or ET:Quake Wars), 7 or 8 have "powerful" enough old pc's (including the 3 macs) to run COD2, and the rest have old pc's that mostly will not run COD2, let alone anything even newer, and they have no plans to upgrade or buy anything newer! I think that's a pretty typical mix of on-line players.

I would like to see your source for stats on this though, as I do continue to RESPECTFULLY dissagre with the statement. Is your interaction with the COD;UO your only source?