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In the Market for a computer?

MathNerd05

By MathNerd05
in The Coffee House

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Neo City

Neo

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I wanted to show some benchmarks done with CAD comparing Apple to Intel and earlier pre G5 procs. This will throw out the notion that Apple is an inferior product.

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I'm mostly a PC guy, and I love a PC more than a Mac, I'll admit without shame, but there are some things Apple does better, graphics is one of them. No one else can compete with Apple hardware, not for the price anyway.

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sunshine City

sunshine

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First of all, if you go check it out at an Apple Store, the sales there will try to whatever they can to convince u that it is a good and easy to use machine.

If u are a PC user, u need some time to adopt to Apple, i.e. the 2 mouse button and all the different between PC system and MAc system.

Besides, there is not much program are supported by Apple Computer. I am not sure about this, I dont think an apple can run Autocad or PROE.

PC is not difficult to use to make DVD or CD or graphic stuff...I found that all those Imovie, IDVD or ICD....are rather annoying. It limited the kind of programs u want to use to burn your CD or DVD.

And if you one of those person that dont use pirated software or copied software, be ready to spend 500 bucks to buy Microsoft Office for MAC to read the resume or documents that other people send u from a PC.

I do not know what is your major purpose of buying this new computer, ie, for college, basic computer needs, graphic design, gaming, business....

Apple computer would be great with Ipod.

If you are only using it for daily basic to go on internet, chatting, email, digital camera, just buy a normal laptop with basic Celeron to save some money.

If you are using it for gaming, get at least a P4 or Centrino.

If you are using it for heavy graphic design or professional program for college or work, go with a P4 with at least 512 mb memories.

Dont buy anything from AMD, my dad works there, and I myself do not recommend it... (dont tell my dad)

Apple looks cool and nice but it is really not worth it. It doesnt have much software.

Your best bet would be to go with Dell, it is cheaper and you get more for your price.

I would recommend SONY, they have come a long way with their laptop and it is light and stylish. It will be a bit more expensive than Dell, but you get what you pay for. Besides, the interior of a SONY desktop is great, they makes everything to be very easy to replace and change or added on. Never open a SONY laptop b4, but I suppose they are the same.

Just my recommendations...I will stop now.

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sunshine City

sunshine

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I agree with NEO. But, the software parts really makes Apple inferior to PC. Most software are created to cater Windows. My roommate bought a Mac and he is just a normal user. He has hard time dealing with it and I need to figure everything out to teach him. He bought it because he also heard people said that it handle graphic better. After I used both of them, I just dont think it is worth the hassle to switch to Apple. If you are not a heavy graphic user, you wont notice it anyway.

Anyway, I got a Dell Inspiron 5160 with P4 HT 2.8 GHZ and 512 mb memory for under 1000 USD. My bf works at Universal so he managed to get me about 300 bucks off the normal price. Of course, that thing is heavy.

Is there a SONY Style store close to where you live? You might want to check it out.

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MathNerd05 Hamlet

MathNerd05

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First of all, if you go check it out at an Apple Store, the sales there will try to whatever they can to convince u that it is a good and easy to use machine.

If u are a PC user, u need some time to adopt to Apple, i.e. the 2 mouse button and all the different between PC system and MAc system.

Besides, there is not much program are supported by Apple Computer. I am not sure about this, I dont think an apple can run Autocad or PROE.

PC is not difficult to use to make DVD or CD or graphic stuff...I found that all those Imovie, IDVD or ICD....are rather annoying. It limited the kind of programs u want to use to burn your CD or DVD.

And if you one of those person that dont use pirated software or copied software, be ready to spend 500 bucks to buy Microsoft Office for MAC to read the resume or documents that other people send u from a PC.

I do not know what is your major purpose of buying this new computer, ie, for college, basic computer needs, graphic design, gaming, business....

Apple computer would be great with Ipod.

If you are only using it for daily basic to go on internet, chatting, email, digital camera, just buy a normal laptop with basic Celeron to save some money.

If you are using it for gaming, get at least a P4 or Centrino.

If you are using it for heavy graphic design or professional program for college or work, go with a P4 with at least 512 mb memories.

Dont buy anything from AMD, my dad works there, and I myself do not recommend it... (dont tell my dad)

Apple looks cool and nice but it is really not worth it. It doesnt have much software.

Your best bet would be to go with Dell, it is cheaper and you get more for your price.

I would recommend SONY, they have come a long way with their laptop and it is light and stylish. It will be a bit more expensive than Dell, but you get what you pay for. Besides, the interior of a SONY desktop is great, they makes everything to be very easy to replace and change or added on. Never open a SONY laptop b4, but I suppose they are the same.

Just my recommendations...I will stop now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was actually quite impressed with the Apple tore near me. They were upfront about the pros and cons of Apple products as well as directed me to www.crucial.com for a cheaper way to upgrade RAM in a Mac. There are Mac versions of AutoCad and MathCat available through your local University department for free. I don't burn many DVD's and don't rip music. As a musician myself I prefer to buy the cd's and own my own copyright. OfficeMac is also available through your local University department for free. Or, if you are a student, you get a discount on OfficeMac of $350. If you are not a student, dredge up an old student I.D. and get the discount: they simply ask for a photocopy of the I.D., no verification required. I will be entering the Doctoral program at Notre Dame this coming Fall after finishing my Masters in Mathematics at Ole Miss this spring. I do not game except for Sim City. I need something powerful and reliable that can do high-end graphics generation, but more importantly it has to be portable.

Actually, for the same price (around $2200) you can get an Apple Powerbook G4 with more on it than you can a Dell Inspiron 8600 for the same price, even with a 20% discount. As far as program support, I think that most Windows programs will run in a Linux environment, although I am not positive about this. I'm sure Neo or Heckles knows the answer to that. As long as the Mac runs Sim City 4 I will be content. Oh, and can do some of those image generations. Those are important also. :)

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Neo City

Neo

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As far as program support, I think that most Windows programs will run in a Linux environment, although I am not positive about this. I'm sure Neo or Heckles knows the answer to that. As long as the Mac runs Sim City 4 I will be content. Oh, and can do some of those image generations. Those are important also. :)

That's not the case, however you can do what I did. Get Virtual PC for the Mac (latest version is 7, now made by Microsoft) and run Windows. It runs fairly decent. OSX is built on FreeBSD, it actually is a variant from the olden days called NeXT. It's EXTREMELY reliable, much moreso than Windows. I love Windows, but it has issues, haha! You can install the X option pack on OSX to run many Linux/Unix programs out there, something Windows can't touch. SimCity has a Macintosh version, so you won't lose out on that. The support for Apple is in the UNITED STATES, you'll never talk to an Indian about a problem, and they're very knowledgeable, unlike Dell service peeps (sorry Heckles, no personal offense intended). Apple takes care of their customers, feels much more like a Mom and Pop company instead of a corporate megolith. With a little research sunshine, you'd be suprised at how many applications there are for Macintosh. I was once an Apple hater, but with a bit of research you'll see their actually superior machines. They're just not as widely used.

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MathNerd05 Hamlet

MathNerd05

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Its actually in Oxford, not Columbus. Starkville is a pit, Columbus is bankrupt, and Oxford is expanding like crazy. I have some photos of Oxford that I really need to post.

I completely understand the rush to get out of Starkville. I've been there twice and can't believe anyone would voluntarily go to school there.

Apparently MSU has quite the engineering program, though.

edit: I intend to be a college professor one day, so I really should learn how Macintosh works. Apple has a HUGE market share in the education realm, so it is a necesity (I suppose) that I learn about them.

I have been very impressed with the Apple lineup. I looked at them as an afterthought but have been amazed at their ability and versatility. I'm almost sold on a powerbook 15" G4. Almost...

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Neo City

Neo

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I'm almost sold on a powerbook 15" G4. Almost...

The problem is, when a G5 Powerbook 15" comes out you'll wish you'd waited, haha! The G5 is a huge increase in performance over the G4, especially in math calculations. Not saying the G4 is bad, but the G5 is the fastest chip for personal use within reasonable price on the face of the Earth IMO. Put two of them together and you've got one hell of a machine.

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Neo City

Neo

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So when do these venerable "G5" powerbooks hit production?

Your guess would be as good as mine. But I'd say sometime in 2005 for sure. Maybe 2nd half? There's a HUGE demand for them, but they've got to get the heat down in the procs to put them in a laptop so I hear.

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Neo City

Neo

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You suppose they have a program like Gateway does where you can return your old powerbook for a new one at a serious discount?

No, HOWEVER, they do hold their value EXTREMELY well. Just take a quick look on eBay to see what I'm talking about. That Gateway loses value FAST but the Apple will hold it's value much longer. It's the difference between a BMW and a Pontiac.

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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First of all, if you go check it out at an Apple Store, the sales there will try to whatever they can to convince u that it is a good and easy to use machine.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course they will, they're sales people, would a PC sales person spend half his time telling you why not to buy a PC?

If u are a PC user, u need some time to adopt to Apple, i.e. the 2 mouse button and all the different between PC system and MAc system.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It doesn't really take all that long, a couple hours to feel comfortable. I thought the one button mouse would piss me off, but I don't miss, and have mostly stopped right-clicking when I'm on a PC.

PC is not difficult to use to make DVD or CD or graphic stuff...I found that all those Imovie, IDVD or ICD....are rather annoying. It limited the kind of programs u want to use to burn your CD or DVD.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's nothing stopping you from buying third party software for burning needs. But the Mac comes with all you need to do it, if you don't want to buy third party apps right away. I find CD burning with iTunes FAR superior than anything that Windows comes with or anything you can get for free, i.e. RealPlayer. I only use iTunes on my PC as well.

And if you one of those person that dont use pirated software or copied software, be ready to spend 500 bucks to buy Microsoft Office for MAC to read the resume or documents that other people send u from a PC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, no one should be using pirated software. If you are one that does not use pirated software, your software needs for the PC will be high too, though admittedly, some Mac apps are a bit pricey, but you're paying for quality.

Mac's can open most Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents without MacOffice, there may be loss of formatting, but you can lose formatting between PCs as well. For sending documents to PC people, a resume or something static, I make them into PDFs (OSX comes bundled with the ability to make most documents into PDFs). I will admit that AppleWorks is one of my peeves about the Mac, but it is usable, I just stubbornly refuse to get used to it when I've been using Office for soooo long.

You can also get OpenOffice for free, which is what comes with most flavours of Linux. I actually haven't taken the time to learn that either. Part of my problem with adapting to AppleWorks is that I just don't do much word processing at home, so there is no time for me to really practice and get to know it.

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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Sounds like it might be a while then.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The rumour mill seems to think it could be some time before we see the G5 Powerbook, even with the G5 iMac on the market, there is still a ways to go to shrink it to laptop size.

We may see a price drop in the G4s after MacWorld SF in January. Sounds like you can't wait that long either, of course PC prices will probably drop a bit after Christmas as well.

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Cotuit Megalopolis

Cotuit

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Product: PowerBook

Last Release: April 19, 2004

Days Since Update: 241 (Average = 171)

Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon

Special Notes: none.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think we'll see an update on the G4 soon, rumour has it that it will be announced at MacWorld. But G5 PowerBooks seem to be speculation at this point. Though Apple could surprise everyone and unveil a G5 PowerBook at MacWorld.

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MathNerd05 Hamlet

MathNerd05

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Key components ready for PowerBook G5

February 24, 2004 - 00:53 EST By Larry Angell -

All of the key components for Apple to produce a PowerBook G5 appear to be ready, and Mac users should expect to see the new laptop no later than this summer, Peter Glaskowsky, analyst with Instat/MDR and editor of the Microprocessor Report, told MacMinute. He noted that the IBM PowerPC 970FX-which is used in the Xserve G5-offers basic power-consumption features needed for a portable machine. Glaskowsky explained that the 970FX also has PowerTune, IBM's version of the voltage and frequency scaling technology used on x86 laptop processors. "With all this new technology, a PowerBook G5 should be much faster and last about as long as a PowerBook G4 in average usage," he said.

Glaskowsky said his PowerBook G4 (800MHz DVI) runs continuously from about 2 to 3.5 hours depending on settings and usage. "PowerTune should increase that ratio to more than 2:1, possibly enabling an honest five-hour battery life with very light use." However, he noted that the numbers depend heavily on Apple's choice of LCD in the new PowerBooks.

Glaskowsky said that since Apple's Xserve G5 uses the PowerPC 970FX, the chip is obviously ready for production. He said the core logic could be the "key remaining component." And unless Apple decides to add radical new features to the PowerBook G5, all other hardware pieces are readily available.

He speculates that the new laptops could be introduced basically at any time. "I would not have been surprised to see the new PowerBook announced last month, and I won't be surprised if it doesn't come out until summer," Glaskowasky concluded.

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