Thinking of my next PC upgrade being not so PC.

[Wingnutt]

A few months ago I pulled the trigger on a Mac Book Pro, and aside from some gaming, I never touch my PC any more.  It had been quite a while since I had messed with an apple computing products and to say the lease, ALOT had changed.  I really like OSX and the ability to ALSO run windows and all windows program pretty much eliminates any compatibility worries.  Though so far I have not yet had to actually do that, every need Ive had has been fulfilled by a mac compatible program.

Well, now my desktop is finally starting to show its age a bit, Its a Athlon 64X2 6400 with 8gb of ram and a geforce 8800GTO.   I can no longer run Aces high absolutly maxed out with all settings to full.. which as in the past has always been my "time to upgrade" indicator.

Im really, seriously, considering selling my PC for whatever I can get, and putting that amount towards a Mac Pro.  The new Mac Pro will be coming out soon, As with all Macs there is the horrifying sticker shock, $2500 with no monitor to be exact. (I don't need a monitor though)  Which normally I would be like most anyone else "thats insane, you can get a comparably capable PC for WAY less than that!'  which I do think is true.. on paper..  But the data sheet really doesent, in this case, fully tell the entire story.  As I got to actually look at, up close one of these monsters at a store the other day, and its just absolutely different.  I love OSX, and already use it just about exclusively EXCEPT for games.  ANd I really cannot stomach the idea of buying another windows product. 

The new Pros are not listed on the site yet at the apple store.   But they will be coming with the I9 Gulftown 6 core CPU as the base option (50% faster than the current quad core Xeon option), or Dual CPUs (12 cores) as an option, and support for up to 128GB of ram.
 
The rest of the specs I don't know (obviously) but No doubt it will be a monster.
But assuming the price doesnt jut up too much (rumors are it may actually be lower) I may very well have a target for my tax return bullet

thoughts? comments? insults?

[Spikes]

I was going to try to install OSX on my PC as a partition, but didn't have a DVD big enough to fit the 7 gig file.

Personally I'm going to ride with W7 as long as possible, it's a real great OS and what Vista shoulda been. I don't run any other XP systems in the household anymore (except my dad's XP laptop, but work won't let him upgrade).

[MrRiplEy[H]]

A few months ago I pulled the trigger on a Mac Book Pro, and aside from some gaming, I never touch my PC any more.  It had been quite a while since I had messed with an apple computing products and to say the lease, ALOT had changed.  I really like OSX and the ability to ALSO run windows and all windows program pretty much eliminates any compatibility worries.  Though so far I have not yet had to actually do that, every need Ive had has been fulfilled by a mac compatible program.

Well, now my desktop is finally starting to show its age a bit, Its a Athlon 64X2 6400 with 8gb of ram and a geforce 8800GTO.   I can no longer run Aces high absolutly maxed out with all settings to full.. which as in the past has always been my "time to upgrade" indicator.

Im really, seriously, considering selling my PC for whatever I can get, and putting that amount towards a Mac Pro.  The new Mac Pro will be coming out soon, As with all Macs there is the horrifying sticker shock, $2500 with no monitor to be exact. (I don't need a monitor though)  Which normally I would be like most anyone else "thats insane, you can get a comparably capable PC for WAY less than that!'  which I do think is true.. on paper..  But the data sheet really doesent, in this case, fully tell the entire story.  As I got to actually look at, up close one of these monsters at a store the other day, and its just absolutely different.  I love OSX, and already use it just about exclusively EXCEPT for games.  ANd I really cannot stomach the idea of buying another windows product. 

The new Pros are not listed on the site yet at the apple store.   But they will be coming with the I9 Gulftown 6 core CPU as the base option (50% faster than the current quad core Xeon option), or Dual CPUs (12 cores) as an option, and support for up to 128GB of ram.
 
The rest of the specs I don't know (obviously) but No doubt it will be a monster.
But assuming the price doesnt jut up too much (rumors are it may actually be lower) I may very well have a target for my tax return bullet

thoughts? comments? insults?

I would take a serious look at the new 27" iMac. It's not so pricey but granted also not so powerful. But it should play AH just fine and give all the mac benefits for a lot less.

If you plan to do some serious PC gaming a mac will be just shooting yourself to the leg financially. I can cover all my mac needs with this macbook pro - gaming I do on a watercooled + overclocked regular pc.

[humble]

To me the real issues here are not "OS" related. They are vendor related...

what MAC has is a company controlled vertically integrated supply chain. What this achieves is an almost seamless product within the scope of the inherent limitations that the business model fosters. The real issue with any windows based (or open source) OS is compatibility. Less then 10% of the PC's on the planet are even minimally optimized and have significant integration issues. If you take any non "bloatware" PC right out of the box it's equally seamless to a MAC. However the moment you add software or reconfigure any hardware you have issues at the registry level. Even experienced builders build almost 100% of their systems with inherent incompatibility brought on by the openness of the methodology. Motherboards, Memory, CPU and peripherals are not truly seamlessly compatible. Once you add software things get worse. The flip side to this is that PC's have more hardware and software options then MAC's do. Further the top end software for a PC is almost invariably significantly better then anything a MAC can offer (beyond stability and ease of use). In then end with a MAC you pay significantly more for significantly less BUT you have the assurance that everything is in fact truly compatible. If you are in fact in the 1% of the population that actually has a properly configured PC (hardware & software) then the MAC has no real advantage...

[Wingnutt]

Well the thing that kinda sells it for me, is that you almost get a 2 for 1.  You can actually install windows on a mac, and it will run absolutely just like a PC would run it, no limitations, no problems..  so if somehow you run into a situation where you just HAVE TO HAVE a PC.. You do..  but if not you have OSX, which is in every way shape and for far superior in every way to any version of winblows, smaller footpriont, faster, easier to use, more control, no need for antivirus.. the list goes on and on.

I havent looked at the other macs, only the macbook pro (which I already have) and the desktop pro, and you literally cannot go wrong performance wise with them, the "base model" pro desktop is still a monster. 

Add to that the build quality and design of the systems, which just ooze class and beauty, and suddenly the outrageous price tag, does seem so outrageous.

Of course budget and even more so "how you like to do things" really count..   If your like me, and want to just buy one badass system every couple of years, and just use and enjoy it and not have to worry any cooling, or reliability issues... just have a powerful machine that works every time all the time with no hitches  then the MAC has obvious appeal.

But if you (like many people) really like constantly tweaking and fiddling with your gear, over clocking, water cooling, constantly meddling and toying with things, which I understand totally is a great source of enjoyment for some people, the the mac is a poor choice.

I used to LOVE to over clock and push the limits and all that, but at the ripe old age of 29, I just want a turn key beast that will run everything I need it to and never give me any crap about it..  And I know for sure the MAC will do that for me,  So for me it is worth the price.

[Spikes]

As long as you know what you're doing with it! Friend of mine is a Phone support rep for Apple and says he always gets people calling, he tells them "Alright, now shut the computer down" In response, he hears "OK, I'm hitting 'log off' now".

[humble]

Just as much need for AV with a MAC as any other system...
http://www.switched.com/2009/09/01/apple-quietly-admits-macs-get-viruses/   

[TequilaChaser]

Well, now my desktop is finally starting to show its age a bit, Its a Athlon 64X2 6400 with 8gb of ram and a geforce 8800GTO.   I can no longer run Aces high absolutly maxed out with all settings to full.. which as in the past has always been my "time to upgrade" indicator.

thoughts? comments? insults?

I think something is a miss if you can not max out settings in Aces High with the hires pack and 1024 textures......... with your listed system above.....
although I am not too familiar with your listed videocard......

my system is almost same as yours except a tad lower on ram  etc...

I have an AMD AthlonX2 6400 dualcore ( 3.2ghz ) and only 4 gigs of DDR2 ram and my videocard is EAH3870 TOP 512meg DDR4

I can easily max out with everything on highest settings and keep a solid 70 fps(70/69/70 tettering )  although my DELL Ultrasharp monitor is set for 1280x1024 screen ....... I even have my shadows set to 4096 in the Graphics advanced settings......

using windows XP pro 32 bit OS I get the 69/70 FR  using same PC components and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit I get 75 FR ( for some reason the driver for my monitor maxes out at 70 hz in WinXP, but the Win7 driver maxes at 75hz  ... )

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Just as much need for AV with a MAC as any other system...
http://www.switched.com/2009/09/01/apple-quietly-admits-macs-get-viruses/   

Not so, there aren't even 0.05% of the amount of known windows viruses in the wild. So chances of getting one are pretty remote and afaik still require you to manually install it before you get it on the computer. This means you can get it if you download and install something illegal or freeware from untrustworthy source basically.

Oh, and win a lottery in bad luck.

[humble]

Not so, there aren't even 0.05% of the amount of known windows viruses in the wild. So chances of getting one are pretty remote and afaik still require you to manually install it before you get it on the computer. This means you can get it if you download and install something illegal or freeware from untrustworthy source basically.

Oh, and win a lottery in bad luck.

I'm sorry but this is a BS answer. Almost all viruses are executables of some type. The only reason MAC's have fewer of them is no one bothered to create them. This is changing and MAC owners are every bit as vulnerable as anyone else...

[Wingnutt]

Its not untrue that a MAC can indeed POSSABLY get a virus..  its not out of the relm of possability.

but to make the statement that its just as likley as with a PC is in the highest order of absurdity.

You cannot get a virus on a MAC just by visiting a website, a PC you can.  and Its nothing to do with macs purposfully being more secure, its just an intrinsic part of its architecture. windows is such a hack job of patched and hotfixes and trying to be compatible with everything, it just naturally lends itself to being attacked..  its like a house with a door on every wall.

Currently no normal person will get online with a PC that has no AV, the idea seems absurd you are just totally asking for it. , and currently no normal person with a MAC even worries about viruses or has AV.

is it possable to get a virus on a MAC? yes..   is it possible to browse with a PC with no AV and not get one.. sure..

but both scenarios are at the far end of the normality spectrum.


But I will tell you this, if it ever does indeed become necessary to have AV on a MAC.. mark my words, Apple will develop it, and it will be part of the OS, and it will work far far better than these catastrophic turd boxes like Mcaffe, or Norton, which seem to ironically be the cause of more problems than they prevent most the time.

[gyrene81]

6.10.2009 News
Apple has finally acknowledged that spyware and viruses are a threat for Mac OS X, as well as the latest operating system in the works, Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard will be adding new technology to help prevent against attacks such as sandboxing and anti-phishing features in Safari. This, however, is not a 100% solution to protect against malware.

6.9.2009 News
UPDATED
Security Alert: Safari prior to version 4 (released June 8th, 2009) may permit malicious web pages to steal files from the local system simply by accessing a web page without further interaction. This vulnerability is present in both Mac OS X and Windows Safari. The attack is accomplished by mounting an XXE attack against the parsing of the XSL XML.

Not saying...just saying...it could happen, maybe not as easily or as often.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I'm sorry but this is a BS answer. Almost all viruses are executables of some type. The only reason MAC's have fewer of them is no one bothered to create them. This is changing and MAC owners are every bit as vulnerable as anyone else...

I'm sorry but it seems you have no clue about the most common way of windows viruses spreading i.e. RPC, activex, java etc voulnerabilities which require zero action from the end-user. In mac a user has to install the software and grant administrative privileges too. Typical Mac software does _not_ require raising of privileges so I for example never install a software that requests them unless it's a paid reliable vendor.

[humble]

Again this is a statement that is simply ignorant of the facts. The driving force behind viruses is the desire to broach a system and the potential effect. Given the historically low market penetration and Apples careful positioning in never provoking any attacks the simple reality is that security flaws are not being aggressively uncovered or exploited. That does not mean that they do not exist. If/when MAC reaches enough critical mass (specific to installed user base) then this will change. I've got no issues with MAC at all and as you've noted the philosophy has inherent advantages. An assumed immunity to potential viruses is not correct however and in fact is a reflection of Apples relatively pitiful market share. As that changes so will it's security concerns...

[humble]

I'm sorry but it seems you have no clue about the most common way of windows viruses spreading i.e. RPC, activex, java etc voulnerabilities which require zero action from the end-user. In mac a user has to install the software and grant administrative privileges too. Typical Mac software does _not_ require raising of privileges so I for example never install a software that requests them unless it's a paid reliable vendor.

Ever bother to read skuzzy's (or anyone elses comments) on safeguarding your computer. Any PC can be configured (very easily) to be just as "safe" as a MAC. The issue here is the motivation for the generator of the virus, not the MAC OS. It is very possible to write a web enabled virus for the mac OS and Safari browser...in fact its been done repeatedly.