Does windows run faster on a mac?!

mrochester · 19 Jan 2012 at 14:28

flippant said:
I spend my life in design studios with people asking me why I don't use a mac.

Same answer for the last 21 years, too slow, too expensive.

My SR2 build came in a tad over 3K with a 256gb SSD 2TB storage drive and a 3GB 580 (No VAT) For just a thousand pounds more, I could have two stock speed CPU a last gen graphics card and 6gb of ram.

I may have more money than sense, but I'm not stupid.

OSX is nice if you like that sort of thing, but it wont run 3D studio MAX, you have to install windows.

Also my Lian Li PC-V2120 is much prettier than the current Mac Pro box.

It's nearly always cheaper to build a PC yourself than buy it off the shelf.

flippant · 19 Jan 2012 at 16:10

mrochester said:
It's nearly always cheaper to build a PC yourself than buy it off the shelf.

I bought it pre built and pre overclocked, didn't have time to do it myself, and it wasn't much more expensive.

QwaF · 19 Jan 2012 at 16:32

flippant said:
I bought it pre built and pre overclocked, didn't have time to do it myself, and it wasn't much more expensive.

Was that from some place like overclockers? If so, it's still a custom built PC.

What people usually mean when they say pre-built, are the ones the large manufacturers like Dell, HP, Acer, etc build. On the low end, pre-built are probably cheaper, they can drop their margins super-thin by loading it with bloat ware and stickers (advertising!).

But the mid-high end of the market, custom built PCs are usually cheaper.

flippant · 19 Jan 2012 at 17:24

QwaF said:
Was that from some place like overclockers? If so, it's still a custom built PC.

What people usually mean when they say pre-built, are the ones the large manufacturers like Dell, HP, Acer, etc build. On the low end, pre-built are probably cheaper, they can drop their margins super-thin by loading it with bloat ware and stickers (advertising!).

But the mid-high end of the market, custom built PCs are usually cheaper.

I tend to think of as 'pre-built' as a machine I buy plug in and use, custom built, I build myself from individual components I buy.

Places like overclockers I think of 'pre-built' as well, when the system is built, configured and of course under warranty.

Dell, HP and Apple all offer pre-configuration so they are all custom built, specialist retailers like OcUK simply offer much better customisation.

The low-end pre built products are more like a retail offering, you buy what's in the box with no options at all. Dell, HP and Apple keep their margins down by using custom components (motherboards cases PSUs etc) but some of them don't pass those savings on. Apple currently charge £1,174.00 for a 512gb SSD and people buy them.

But in answer to the OP's question, no Apple hardware doesn't run windows faster, in fact because they sacrifice speed to 'design' the same hardware is slower, wouldn't want one of those noisy fans in there would you?

Skyboat · 19 Jan 2012 at 17:41

flippant said:
Also my Lian Li PC-V2120 is much prettier than the current Mac Pro box.

This point is purely subjective. I had to Google for that case as I'm not too clued up on Lian-Li's current models and I have to say the PowerMac G5/Mac Pro cases are still prettier.

Slogan · 19 Jan 2012 at 17:42

There was an article in 2007 saying that the fastest Windows notebook they tested was actually a Macbook Pro but barring that, I think your friend has gone away with the fairies in similar lines of thinking.

flippant · 19 Jan 2012 at 17:49

Skyboat said:
This point is purely subjective. I had to Google for that case as I'm not too clued up on Lian-Li's current models and I have to say the PowerMac G5/Mac Pro cases are still prettier.

It is subjective, but I think the Mac Pro has aged really badly, bit like the first imac.

Macbook air is a thing of beauty though.

Cleeecooo · 19 Jan 2012 at 17:57

I have to say, apple simply can't be beaten on sleek looks (laptops)

The macbook air is beautiful!

I shall e having strong words with my friend about this.

I wouldn't be surprised if he asks for proof from the guys with the degrees :rolleyes:

slinxy · 19 Jan 2012 at 18:23

lol, imho I hate the looks of the mac book air, its the screen that gets me, and I do prefer the flushed look like on the mbp and its the only reason why I've not got one (yet).

But at the end of the day when it comes to macs vs windows, osx vs windows or linux vs windows... its horses for courses.. if your lucky you have the option to choose the best tool for your job at hand and only a fool would choose the wrong one just because its mac or windows or linux.

I do my daliy job role on a mac as I'm the only mac tech in the company, but I have to do windows based tasks such as AD, GPs and development of windows, and I remote into a windows base unit sat on the desk. I wouldn't dream of running any of the adobe CS on my windows machine as I have it on my mac, even thou it I know it will work fine because I don't have to.

FreeStream · 19 Jan 2012 at 18:52

flippant said:
It is subjective, but I think the Mac Pro has aged really badly, bit like the first imac.

Macbook air is a thing of beauty though.

The PC-V2120 is hardly the prettiest case on the block, and certainly not as well made if any of the other Lian-Li's i've seen are anything to go by.

The reason Apple hasn't updated it is because there is nothing they can update it to.

The holes front and back are for cooling, the width is limited by 3.5" and 5.25" bays. So what on earth do you expect a 'new' Mac Pro to look like? :confused:

As I'm in the market for a 2012 MP I really hope they don't mess with it. It's a tool, not a fashion statement... :confused:

lewis2701 · 19 Jan 2012 at 20:14

andrewdodd13 said:
Unfortunately, when dealing with Mac fanbois (as opposed to sensible Mac users, and in fact fanbois of anything really) common sense rarely dictates their answer.

+1

flippant · 19 Jan 2012 at 20:45

Concorde Rules said:
As I'm in the market for a 2012 MP I really hope they don't mess with it. It's a tool, not a fashion statement...

I couldn't agree more on the tool vs. fashion statment, it just isn't a valid argument when Apple are involved. Apple are almost the definition of style over substance.

If it’s a tool, why pay two or three thousand pounds over the odds for a less useful one?

£1,174.00 for an SSD, £360.00 for 6gb of ram, a 1gb Radeon 5870? £178.00 for you sir.

I can't imagine how anybody with any technical knowledge would believe that those items are somehow 'better' simply because they cost more.

So it must clearly be a matter of fashion, and that’s fine, if people want to spend money on a Mac because they like the look, the feel, the ambience or even the smell, go ahead, but don’t pretend it’s an informed technical decision, when it’s just good marketing.

mrochester · 19 Jan 2012 at 22:11

So it must clearly be a matter of fashion, and that’s fine, if people want to spend money on a Mac because they like the look, the feel, the ambience or even the smell, go ahead, but don’t pretend it’s an informed technical decision, when it’s just good marketing.

You're only quoting the price of the upgrades. The actual initial purchase of the Mac might actually be an informed technical decision for all you know. My MBP purchase was certainly an informed technical decision, but then I didn't take any upgrades. I wouldn't pay £1174 for an SSD because I know I can add one myself for far less (which I did).

flippant · 19 Jan 2012 at 22:43

mrochester said:
You're only quoting the price of the upgrades. The actual initial purchase of the Mac might actually be an informed technical decision for all you know. My MBP purchase was certainly an informed technical decision, but then I didn't take any upgrades.

Those upgrades are expensive and so is the base machine about twice the price of a similar specification computer without the Apple badge. The MBP is a very nice laptop, and as fast a laptop as any other, but it's not a better 'tool', and it is much more expensive.

Spread sheets, word processing and internet browsing don't work in any way better that warrants the significant investment over a different brand of PC, I understand that people find it preferable, and that is a choice, but saying it's technically better is cognitive dissonance at best.

Some may feel the user experience is better, but that is subjective, not technical, if OSX wasn't locked down to apple, you could get the same experience elsewhere for a lot less money.

I still say it’s about fashion and perception, not about better hardware. I don’t think anybody is wrong to buy one, I just think it’s wrong to justify the purchase as something technically superior.

Amp34 · 19 Jan 2012 at 23:01

Slogan said:
There was an article in 2007 saying that the fastest Windows notebook they tested was actually a Macbook Pro but barring that, I think your friend has gone away with the fairies in similar lines of thinking.

I think the fastest ultra book out at the moment is a MBA (running windows)...

flippant said:
It is subjective, but I think the Mac Pro has aged really badly, bit like the first imac.

Macbook air is a thing of beauty though.

Your case is nicer than the MP case, but then I am bias I have a B25...

The MBA isn't brilliant really, better ultra book designs IMO, coming from a MBA owner.

Just goes to show, subjective!

Skyboat · 20 Jan 2012 at 00:52

flippant said:
Those upgrades are expensive and so is the base machine about twice the price of a similar specification computer without the Apple badge. The MBP is a very nice laptop, and as fast a laptop as any other, but it's not a better 'tool', and it is much more expensive.

Spread sheets, word processing and internet browsing don't work in any way better that warrants the significant investment over a different brand of PC, I understand that people find it preferable, and that is a choice, but saying it's technically better is cognitive dissonance at best.

Some may feel the user experience is better, but that is subjective, not technical, if OSX wasn't locked down to apple, you could get the same experience elsewhere for a lot less money.

I still say it’s about fashion and perception, not about better hardware. I don’t think anybody is wrong to buy one, I just think it’s wrong to justify the purchase as something technically superior.

You're forgetting the trackpads are infinitely better than anything available on other laptops, as well as arguably one of the best battery life of any similarly-specced machines. I'd also advise looking at what other laptops out there have just as much metal in them (be it alumnium, magnesium or otherwise) and not some cheap flimsy plastic low-end product which will inevitably break after less than half the time.

Sometimes it's not just a simple matter of comparing like-for-like internal components.

slinxy · 20 Jan 2012 at 02:31

The price of apple hardware is used to sub the cost of the software, so their software is much cheaper. Just compare the price of the operating systems alone.

I had to get work to get me a mac so I can support the machines that I do, without os x and apple remote desktop, it would be near impossible for me to do it and the only legal way for me to do that is to buy the apple hardware. In general I would like to think that the total running cost of a mac over it's life is cheaper than a windows based machine, if you include the cost of the other software and it's usable life span.

Tummy · 20 Jan 2012 at 03:23

Slogan said:
There was an article in 2007 saying that the fastest Windows notebook they tested was actually a Macbook Pro but barring that, I think your friend has gone away with the fairies in similar lines of thinking.

I remember reading this on a certain unbiased review website.

I'm not sure if it's still true.

Slogan · 20 Jan 2012 at 03:50

Tummy said:
I remember reading this on a certain unbiased review website.

I'm not sure if it's still true.

It's not, I think it was beaten in 2009 by another product.

Tummy · 20 Jan 2012 at 04:56

Ah fair enough. I'm sure that same website named the MacBook Pro as the best buy though over all, again I've not checked in a while if it holds true. (not too long ago)