And if ya want to pay $400 on a console that last up to a year then dies.

 

The only thing I've ever had fail on my was a couple of harddrives. Probably my fault cause I didnt keep them cool and never defrag'd them.

 

On a side note, you can run Mac and Windows Vista or XP at the same time using a program called Fusion. It runs Windows in real time (in some cases FASTER than a PC) at the same time as you use Mac OS X. There's really no need to purchase a PC when a Mac is also a PC (and they have the same underpinnings too). The big difference is that Apple designs the software AROUND the hardware it puts inside of it's machines. That's why they are so extremely reliable.....no third party drivers to crash the machine (or the horribly programmed drivers the come with Vista)

Now, as for the whole gaming PC debate.........

This is why I don't game on a computer............

Yay! I want to play this cool new game that just came out that is TOTALLY SWEET! But I need to spend $450 on a new video card, $300 on a RAM upgrade, $1000 on a processor upgrade to handle the video card upgrade, $150 for a new case to handle the 12 fans to cool my new expensive upgrades, $120 on 12 blue-LED fans............THEN come to find out that my power supply no longer has enough power to handle all my upgrades, so I have to dump another $100 for better power supply, THEN come to find out that Windows Vista is GARBAGE and doesn't recognize half my upgrades, and end up putting Windows XP back on it, ONLY to find out my hot, new game I wanted to play is ONLY for Vista. javascript:void(AddText('[:@]'))

THAT, my friends, is why I don't game on a PC.

 

actualy u can get a gaming pc for reallly cheap right now.

AMD 5200+ $124.99
Corsair XMS2 2GB ram $64.00
GeForce 8800GTS $279.99
COOLER MASTER 650W PS $59.00
GIGABYTE NVIDIA nForce 430 MB $79.99
use a your old case. mouse, keyboard, screen

$608 for a gaiming pc is good. someone with that pc will be able to play like all the games out there.

the bigiest problem with pc is they have too many dumb people trying to use it and they mess it up. you need to know how to use and use it properly for your pc to effective. i hate tyring to teach people how to do something on a computer. it takes for ever... i would rathere people switch to MAC.


if u dont know buy now pc or mac. then I think you should switch to mac. one less person less to help.

 

Macs tend to be more user friendly. But I personally will never switch. I program on the PC and have no interest or need to switch to the Mac. Plus I put together my own computer which you can't do with Macs since everything is proprietary. PCs tend to be better gaming platforms (in addition to have more games available for it), but most mainstream games are available on both platforms.

I am PC gamer and really don't like playing games on consoles. Truthfully, I don't have many problems with my computer.

 

Now racing, GTA type games, driver, etc etc. Games like that I like to play on a console with a controller. But first person shooters, its keyboard & mouse. I cant stand fps on a controller. Its hard to snipe cuase you barely touch the thing and the crosshair moves 1/4 thru the screen. Most games dont let you adjust it and most console fps's make it easy to aim.


Another thing about pc games is add-ons. I know they're money makers but they usually fix what was wrong or put something in that should have been in there in the beginning.

Gears of War on the PC is gonna be were the 360 left off. I cant wait.

 

Beomagi posting by way of Dawoonj
Come on guys, topic gets hit up on hundreds on boards everywhere.

macs ARE pcs... but

You're locked into particular hardware, the oem supports no other os but osx, and the hardware upgrade list is short, simply because most your upgrades are not compatible.

You CAN run windows on a mac - and thus direct-x and all the games. But any problems, noone will support you.

A mac also locks you in with EFI - extentible firmware interface. It's the evolution of the bios. While it's suppossedly, "better" It really takes away from the ability to overclock.

You guys like speed right? Overclocking is nothing more than tuning your processor to run as fast as it can stably. A chip today that sells for under $90 - the core 2 duo entry level chip, will routinely overclock to more than 2.7GHz. that's a good chunk of money saved. And if you invest in a proper fan, it's safe! Mac heads have been trying to get around the EFI since their switch to core duo, with out luck.

Stability of osx is slightly better than xp - i wont count vista, because you probably want stuff to work well without toothing pains. Even so, both crash, but you can minimize through careful use of programs. organize properly, install only what's necessary, and don't run a bunch of silly programs as each extra titbit you run, will increase the probability of bringing up a crash. It's generally not the fault of the os, but of a bad program run by the user. e.g. toolbars, weatherbug etc.

I like osx. It's cleaner and more stable than the linux versions - xgl/beryl. But as windows has the majority of easily available/well known software, getting stuff done may just be simpler there. Especially if what you want to do deals with usage of pci cards - e.g. special sound cards, videocards, or other types (say a tv tuner). Mac, increases stability, through controlling what works with it e.g. The bios of video cards is specialized to the system it's used in. An x1900xt upgrade for a pc wont work in a mac, unless some serious modding is done to the card, or you buy the less popular - and because of it - vastly more expensive mac version. And try finding drivers for that cheap usb webcam.

You know that commercial that brags about mac drivers for any camera? That's because most cameras use a protocol called UMS - universal mass storage. It works on anything - macs, pc's, linux, bsd, printers etc. essentially, it's a protocol that makes the camera's media card look like a removable drive was pluugged in. When it's NOT a modern digicam, it's uysing it's own protocol that needs a driver. how many manufacturers have the personnel to update drivers for an os of the minority?


So in general, you're not locked into software with a mac, but you are stuck with overpriced hardware - a nuciance if you wanna d-i-y. and there's less you can do with said hardware. you do get osx, but unless your needs are soo specialized that the programs on osx cannot be found in function on another program on windows/linux, do yourself a favor and save some money


-Beo

 

By the way if you couldn't tell, that was a co-worker of mine.
And yes, we're IT!!!!
I would never buy a MAC unless I had some special graphics needs. Windows is 90% of the market.
Why buy a Hyundia motorcycle, when we all ride Hondas!!!

 

I'm still pissed Call of Duty 3 isnt for the PC. I've been betrayed. For that I'm not buying CoD4.

Cant wait till I get the rest of my hardware in. Yippeeee!!!!

 

for someone claiming "come on .. topic gets hit up on hundreds..." you sure did go into a tirade on the mac [8D]

as previously mentioned, I don't have anything against either (also have an IT degree as well as working in the graphics buiz) but for the purpose of full disclosure to the OP, and since there was so much mentioned about why not to .. you should also mention at least a couple of reasons why you "should", such as;

- the very reason you said everyone else has a pc so why should you be in the minority .. that is exactly the lovely thing about macs .. NO REAL REASON for the hackers to make a bunch of viruses for MACS.

- not everyone wants to tear it apart or be an IT guy piecing things together. some just want to use a computer as a computer ... weird but true! macs are much easier to use as you said yourself so the same reason you wouldn't want one may be the exact reason another 'does' want one.

again, all i'm saying is don't count either out .. just pick one based on your particular needs not because of what the majority has or says you should have.

could go on forever but i have no vested interest either way