Apple Vs PC

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I was just having a discussion with my colleague at work about why do graphics designs team use Mac's

I wanted to do a like for like hardware comparison to find out the actual benchmarked difference of say the latest Mac Pro to something of a similar specification to compare them, but I cannot find any decent reviews.


Do anyone know of any or does anyone have two similar spec'd machines that could be compared?

Just want to see benchmarks really and non of the fanboy carp Ok!

Also sorry if there is a similar thread, but I couldnt see one!
 
Well, you can now run XP on the Mac Hardware (since they moved to intel) therefore you could get quite a meaningful comparrison from a dual boot system. No idea where such a comparrison would be though - sorry.
 
A lot of it will be that Graphics design and DTP was what kept macs going at one stage. As such the people in the design team knew how to use macs, so they buy new macs to replace old ones, as that is what they know how to use. People joining the team then use the macs and so they then know how to drive the macs, and the cycle continues.

Sure you can get a cheaper dell for the same spec but it doesn't run the OS and much more importantly possibly the applications that they are used to working with. If you have to retrain the people on what they are using then they aren't doing there job.

If you spec up a Mac Pro with 8 Cores, 8Gb of FB-DIMMS RAM and an 8800GT 512Mb and then take a Dell with 8 Core Xeon, 8Gb of FB-DIMMS and an 8800GT 512Mb the performance will come out near enough the same on the benchmark.

I would be very suprised if they actually still used Macs because of performance.
 
In real world terms, performance will be basically the same. But, if we are talking about buying an overclocked system, obviously it would get eaten by the PC. The main argument for using a Mac is that it is easier to use and that it has better colour management. Personally, I don't agree that it is easier to use, provided you have experience in both.

But, if you read around now, the tone tends to be the same, "they are equal".
 
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Erm it used to be graphics packages were programed for mac OSX and as such would run faster. They also did their degrees using it as it costs twice to use the windows version.
 
What about the motherboard too

Mac does use the 5100 motherboard, does that not have any architectural advantages?

What you have all said makes sense to me, but I just cannot find ANY like for like comparisons of Mac's vs equivalent spec'd PC's which I find REALLY weird!

Do Apple have some NDA that means you get sued for comparing Macs to PC's or something because I find it really odd that no reviewer has actually compared a Mac Pro to a PC!?

I mean as many will testify it is probably one of the oldest fanboyism arguments that is still around, so why are there not comparisons.

I mean in today's market you want the best bang for your buck, so what about price vs performance for a Mac over a PC
 
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Performance/£ goes to PC's , can overclock them easily

Ive got a very good spec PC and a macbook pro, mid-range spec.

I use my mac for any piece of work as I prefer the OS, shortcuts on the keyboard and few other small things

its mainly personal preference, Ive got both and I know which I prfer even if it is more expensive, I don't mind paying as I've never had a problem with my macbook, whereas my PC at the moment is awaiting an RMA
 
What about the motherboard too

Mac does use the 5100 motherboard, does that not have any architectural advantages?

What you have all said makes sense to me, but I just cannot find ANY like for like comparisons of Mac's vs equivalent spec'd PC's which I find REALLY weird!

Do Apple have some NDA that means you get sued for comparing Macs to PC's or something because I find it really odd that no reviewer has actually compared a Mac Pro to a PC!?

I mean as many will testify it is probably one of the oldest fanboyism arguments that is still around, so why are there not comparisons.

I mean in today's market you want the best bang for your buck, so what about price vs performance for a Mac over a PC

In terms of price to performance, the PC blows the Mac out of the water. It is true there aren't many performance tests with Mac's against PCs, mainly because they are using the same hardware, so they will most likely run at very similar speeds.

The Mac is essentially a Skulltrail system.

As LPL said, it depends on what you like. He likes his Mac because there are some small things that suit him better. I'm sure that you if you spent some time getting used to either platform, you wouldn't find much difference, and you would work just as fast on either IMO.
 
I went around in circles with these kind questions.
It drove me mad until I solved it by have both MAC and PC's in the studio.

Dilemma solved.
 
The pure value of pc's makes them much better for cad in my opinion. You can get multiple quad core pc's, link them together with free software and overclock them to 3.6ghz all for a few hundred pounds, Apple can't even begin to compete with that.
 
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im personally getting a mac pro soon. because i love the mac experience its far superior and easy of use is better. but i will have VM of Linux+Win and Bootcamp Vista for games.

even sold my qaudcore pc that was worth £900 in parts for £600!



here you go
http://www.primatelabs.ca/geekbench/

Mac pro
attachment.php
 
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When using a Mac It seems to be more productive doesnt neccsary mean you are.

i must admit OSX is lot more stable and more responsive than Vista,
also Designing programs are normally optimized better for Mac Users As thats there Market
 
A high spec Macbook pro is a very nice laptop - I so nearly bought one but got a dell 2.5GHz T9300 system instead for 1/2 the price ... I just could not justify the extra expense ... well I couldn't until I decided to get a 30" monitor with the money I had 'saved' :D

I just hope that my instincts are correct and that my experience will be at least similar to my other C2D desktop PC which runs at 1.86GHz and runs my VMs just fine!

Another thing - putting linux on my current laptop made a noticable difference to performance on my VMs and they were simply nicer to use - something that I imagine that OSX also brings to the table ...
 
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When using a Mac It seems to be more productive doesnt neccsary mean you are.

i must admit OSX is lot more stable and more responsive than Vista,
also Designing programs are normally optimized better for Mac Users As thats there Market

My Macbook is definately less stable than 2 other laptops I have with Vista ;)
 
I don't understand this either, as I have preferred using CS3 on PC than Mac. I guess it's "cool" to use a mac.
Have to agree here TBH. Also the comment about OSX being a lot more stable and more responsive than Vista is all down to personal experience.

I've personally found OSX a nightmare with random lockups and a good deal of stalling while loading programs. In contrast most PC's i've use with vista have very few issues - indeed my PC in sig cuts through vista (and any program i use) like a warm knife through butter.

I'd only get a mac for very specific 'apple only' programs. Everything else and it'd be a PC by a country mile.

gt
 
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