temple_treefrog Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I'm in the market for a new PC. I've been using Windows since Windows 3.1, and I believe the time has come to switch over to a Mac. I'm interested in hearing opinions from other users' who switched from Windows XP to Mac OS X :) I'm on a budget up to $2,000AU, and I'm still not sure if I should buy an iMac or a MacBook (or even a Mac Mini). I’ve decided I can wait until Mac OS X Leopard is released – around late September or late November. My current specifications are: AMD Sempron 2500+ (1.75GHz) 2GB of RAM ATI Graphics (Radeon 9550) with 256MB Windows XP Professional w/ SP2 My main questions are: How would my current specifications compare to a MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini? Would I notice a difference in performance? How long would a new Mac last? (What’s the average life span?) Which type of Mac would you recommend? Is it a hassle that most software is ‘Windows only’? Ex-Windows users: How did you find the transition? Any regrets? Any responses to some or all of my questions would be greatly appreciated, as I don’t really trust a sales persons’ advice. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD_SG Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I'm in the market for a new PC. I've been using Windows since Windows 3.1, and I believe the time has come to switch over to a Mac. I'm interested in hearing opinions from other users' who switched from Windows XP to Mac OS X :) I'm on a budget up to $2,000AU, and I'm still not sure if I should buy an iMac or a MacBook (or even a Mac Mini). I?ve decided I can wait until Mac OS X Leopard is released ? around late September or late November. My current specifications are: AMD Sempron 2500+ (1.75GHz) 2GB of RAM ATI Graphics (Radeon 9550) with 256MB Windows XP Professional w/ SMy main questions are: How would my current specifications compare to a MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini? Would I notice a difference in performance? Is it a hassle that most software is ?Windows only?? Ex-Windows users: How did you find the transition? Any regrets? Hey, I just recently switched over to Mac...I've moved countries and since my Windows PC is locked in a warehouse somewhere, I thought I may as well buy a laptop and I chose a Mac. I currently have a Macbook Pro (15.4", 2GB RAM, 2GHz, 256MB ATi) -- As for performance, the speed on my Macbook Pro seems to be more or less the same on my Windows PC (1GB RAM, P4 @ 3.215GHz)...I didn't really notice a huge speed jump. Software, no. As I've never used OS X ever before in my life, the moment I hooked my Macbook Pro up to the internet, I came to Neowin and started asking a bunch of questions as well as browsing the threads in the Mac sections, 'Top 10 Mac Programs' as well as 'Essential OS X Apps' -- I was surprised that there were so many programs for Mac, because as a Windows user, I didn't have any knowledge of what was being made on Mac. The transition...it's pretty hard, I went onto a friend's desktop PC, and I started using Mac OS X shortcut keys...so IE was bookmarking and doing a lot of things which people would normally do on a Mac, but I mean, as soon as I get my Windows PC, I'm sure it won't be hard to get used to both. The switch to Mac is quite easy, OS X, I find, is more user-friendly than Windows. I didn't need any major guidance - adding music to iTunes, changing the desktop image, customizing battery life on my MacBook Pro, playing around with the dock, and user preferences...they were all pretty straightforward. Hope that helps, somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oootle Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I would definatly recommend switching to a mac, as you get a product that really all works as the OS has been designed and tested fully to work on mac hardware. There are no driver issues etc. As for applications, most popular apps are also made for the mac and if you ever needed windows you can now run windows on a mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgeleven Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 You should decide whether you want a laptop or desktop first. Then narrow your choices down from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecowgoesmoo207 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 It's definitely worth getting a Mac. I bought an iMac in January and it's the best computer I've ever had. You'll notice it takes about a day or so to fully realize you're not on a PC anymore, but you'll be very happy about it once you're used to OSX. I would say that you should go for a laptop mainly because Apple's new laptops carry a lot of the same punch that's available in their desktops. I'd go with either the Macbook Pro or wait until the Macbook has a dedicated GPU and go that route. Leopard is supposed to be released in Spring, but I think there's a chance it could be released in January. Hope that helps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alladaskill17 Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I personally bought a mac mini and returned it the following day, and then bought a severly nice windows laptop from hp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonecas Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I personally bought a mac mini and returned it the following day, and then bought a severly nice windows laptop from hp. By your sig, I can tell you're a gamer, mac already has some games, but they still have a long way to go until they're fit for gamers. I have a windows laptop, a iMac, and linux laptop, and I can say that I pretty much use the mac for every thing and the other two for storage, oh and the linux is my test server. Just because i get things done faster on the mac, its more user friendly and direct. you're going to be lost when you first start to use it, but check in here at neowin ask questions, and you'll be allright. With that specks you'll be happy with a macbook, or imac :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temple_treefrog Posted August 11, 2006 Author Share Posted August 11, 2006 You should decide whether you want a laptop or desktop first. Then narrow your choices down from there. I've never had a notebook before, although I've sold quite a few [Windows notebooks] in some previous sales occupations. Mobility would be a nice feature however I could easily live with a desktop. Performance and a larger display are more desirable than mobility. I?d prefer to have an iMac witdedicatedi> graphics than a Macbook with shared (integrated) graphics:):) It's definitely worth getting a Mac. I bought an iMac in January and it's the best computer I've ever had. You'll notice it takes about a day or so to fully realize you're not on a PC anymore, but you'll be very happy about it once you're used to OSX. I would say that you should go for a laptop mainly because Apple's new laptops carry a lot of the same punch that's available in their desktops. I'd go with either the Macbook Pro or wait until the Macbook has a dedicated GPU and go that route. Leopard is supposed to be released in Spring, but I think there's a chance it could be released in January. Hope that helps:):) Thanks for your advice. I was planning to buy a Mac as soon as Leopard is released. So the Mac desktops and notebooks havsimilari> performance:iiam:m: The reason I ask is because I've never been fond of Windows notebooks with integrated graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgeleven Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 The Macbook Pro and the iMac should be very similar graphics/speed wise. Not sure if they have the same exact video card, but it should be close. The Macbook's integrated graphics are pretty decent considering they are integrated graphics. I wouldn't play at full resolution with everything turned up, but it is playable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stadsport Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 As far as integrated graphics goes, the Intel GMA 950 (used in MacBooks and Mac Minis) is a very powerful graphics accelerator. It outperforms the RADEON 9200 that was previously found in Mac Minis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawownsu Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 Mac's Are good for designing and Doing other Computer Things.. But not as good for games.. if your a gamer get a windows! if your a Designer get a Mac well windows will do the same so :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamNeeds Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I’ve decided I can wait until Mac OS X Leopard is released – around late September or late November. Leopard doesn't come out until Spring 2007... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temple_treefrog Posted August 14, 2006 Author Share Posted August 14, 2006 Leopard doesn't come out until Spring 2007... I'm from Australia, so I'm guessing that?s around April next year? I've decided that I'm going to buy it within the next month. I've had a look at the iMac 20" and the display looks fantastic.:whistle:e: Can you use Bit Torrent on a Mac? Will I be able to play back Xvid files? As for the UI - it looks nice, buconfusingi> coming from a heavy Windows background. I'm almost finished doing my research on the iMac - I'm browsing rumour sites to find out if the iMac will be updated anytime soon (the salesperson at the store told me the iMac 20" Intel has only been out for around two months). Does anyone think the iMac will be updated anytime soon? Thanks for all your help so far, as I've got no idea when it comes to Ma:happy:y: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgeleven Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Since Intel just released the Core Duo 2 processors, it wouldn't surprise me if the iMac is updated in the next month or so. Yes BitTorrent can be used on Macs. There are several BitTorrent apps out there. Not sure about Xvid. The UI may look confusing, but it actually is much easier to use the Windows. After a few minutes, you will be amazed how simple OS X is...yet how powerful it can be if you need it. The beauty of OS X is that it lets you just use your computer, instead of constantly fighting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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