Mac or PC

[RoadKill]

Exactly what the title says. I just can't decide. I'm leaning more to the mac side since they have a program now that can run windows xp so I can play the games. But I need some more opinion on this. I hear the graphics for the Mac isn't as good as the PC, and since I'm a hardcore gamer that really matters to me. So please input your opinion.

[Xiahou]

I'm a hardcore gamer

PC.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

If you're not into photo or music editing, PC is the way to go. For text processing and surfing, a PC is much cheaper, and for gaming, PC has better hardware. PC is the only way to go for gaming.

[Mikeus Caesar]

I have to agree with the above points - as a hardcore gamer, PC all the way. It can be constantly upgraded, and is pretty much guaranteed to work with all games.

[Lemur]

I'll fourth or fifth the opinions here. For a hardcore gamer, the only computer to think about is a PC with Windows XP. (Vista gives a 10% slowdown across the board in games, unfortunately. Using DX10 slows things down even more seriously.)

[Ramses II CP]

If you're a gamer who likes Macs, you must run Bootcamp and install XP side by side. Games don't make it to the Mac, it's a fact. I've done a recent Bootcamp XP install (I don't own a Mac, helped out a friend) and it's extremely easy.

Even with that in mind, a Mac isn't going to upgrade a quarter as well, is going to cost more for comparable hardware, and in the end all you gain is a slightly more tolerable OS and a kitsch factor.

[Bijo]

Yes, I would say if you're a hardcore gamer then go for a Windows PC and probably Vista in the future. A Mac is also a PC by the way, it is after all a personal computer. The correct designations would be Windows PC and Mac PC (or something along those lines).

And professional photo and music editing/activities can be done just as well on a Windows machine. They say the Mac is more professional or better for these purposes.... well, that's just a myth. It sounds more like some kind of "fashion" or "coolness" factor or ignorance factor to use a Mac instead of a Windows machine.

For music and/or production what you need are good professional software, good audio interfaces, etc., and good monitors/speakers and maybe good headphones. For a studio you'd obviously go a lot further. We don't give a damn whether it's Mac or Windows, only if we subjectively prefer one over the other or if one platform has some kind of thing supposedly superior that REALLY makes an important difference.

Ultimately, it's about the people using the stuff.

[Husar]

Bijo is right about Macs being PCs.

Also if you're a real hardcore gamer you'll get Vista and just buy a PC that's 10% faster than what you really want.

[Xiahou]

Bijo is right about Macs being PCs.

Well, since Apple's own advertising calls it Mac or PC, I think we can stick with that for simplicity.

PC iirc, comes from the original IBM PC, which all the first PCs were clones of- thus the term was 'IBM compatible PC', which was unsurprisingly shortened just to PC. Macs have a different lineage, which is why they still aren't generally referred to as PCs. In case anyone cared....

'Windows PC' fails anyway, since PCs can run a variety of operating systems- Windows is just the prevalent one.

[RoadKill]

Here is the deal though. The thing that attracted me to the Mac PC was the program they had called Garageband. I am really into editing music and stuff, you could even say it is a hobby of mine. And the PC just lacks those types of hardcore programs. But unless someone can provide me with a good music editing program for the Windows Xp, then I guess my new computer is going to be a PC.

[naut]

And the PC just lacks those types of hardcore programs.

They don't lack them, they just aren't supplied with the core package.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

The Freeware and Open Source movements have released some great music editing programs combatible with Windows.

[AntiochusIII]

PC.

Right Click.

I know Apple surrendered a few years ago already, but I can't just pass this up, okay?

[Bijo]

Here is the deal though. The thing that attracted me to the Mac PC was the program they had called Garageband. I am really into editing music and stuff, you could even say it is a hobby of mine. And the PC just lacks those types of hardcore programs. But unless someone can provide me with a good music editing program for the Windows Xp, then I guess my new computer is going to be a PC.

I am not so familiar with Garagaband, but from what I have heard it is not really that good nor deep. If it is about editing and you are not someone "professional" (which could have many meanings by the way) then I would suggest a program like Audition from Adobe. Used to be Cool Edit Pro from Syntrillium before the corporate schmucks bought them out. Very intuitive, little hassle, good program to get things done quickly. Supports VST, DX, VSTi too recently (I think, in 3.0). Its editing mode (which is destructive) is very easy and intuitive to work with, unlike many other programs. I'd say, if you want to **** around with stuff, use Audition, 'cause it's very good for what it is. If you want to get serious, you can still use Audition or get something "bigger" like Cubase or Sonar (7).

[Lemur]

All of this Mac vs. PC talk is making me feel like it's the nineties again ...

[Banquo's Ghost]

As one of the token Mac users here, even I would agree that if you are hardcore gamer, the PC is the way to go. There are some good games that run natively on Macs (Civ IV being my favourite) but not many compared to the Windows environment. Most Macs are not as upgradeable as generic PCs (the Mac Pro certainly is, however).

Parallels, which is the virtualisation software you may have read about, does not really do 3D games well at present. Boot Camp requires you to have a separate partition, and both need a full copy of Windows to run Win games (which is pretty expensive on top). Sadly, Apple's implementation of X11 is rubbish, so despite Mac OSX being Unix based, WINE doesn't run at all well, so you can't use Linux as a free guest OS under Parallels to run games.

Garageband however, is a very sophisticated piece of kit and well worth having if you are into music production. But then Macs have always excelled for creatives.

I love Mac OSX and hate having to work with Windows, but I do miss the range of games. However, the ancient games I like to play often have a Mac port (BG series for example) or will run under Parallels (MTW). I've had M2TW run nicely on my Macbook Pro under Boot Camp, but I chucked that because it was so poor, challenge-wise. So, no loss for me, as I haven't seen a decent strategy game produced for years aside from CIV, and that's on my Mac!

As ever, it's the tool that works best for you, and if you game, there's no contest, as the others have said. Anyway, as a hardcore gamer you won't be going out much, so you won't need the cool looks of a Mac