Mac or windows pc?

funkyphantom · 23 Mar 2008 at 21:27

Im in the market for a laptop at the moment guys, somewhere around the £500 mark. I would use it mainly for photo editing and some internet use. Ive always been a pc guy in the past, but theres something really tempting about a 2nd hand macbook. What are your experiances between mac and windows based PC and which do you think is the best for photoediting/general use?
Thanks

Mr Jones · 23 Mar 2008 at 22:05

For an "All In One" package, photo editing included (iPhoto is part of the package or pay for Professional ones like Photoshop / Aperture) - the MacBook / iMac is a good one to look into.

I'm sure Windows is just as capable of doing it as well but IMO, OS X gives a good platform for intuitive use for doing such stuff. That's my opinion and I'm sure most Mac users may agree.

One thing you should do is to find a mate or visit the Apple store, give it a good run and try before committing on it.

One note tho, the MacBook 1280x800 resolution may be too restrictive for your use if you edit really HR photos. I sold my MB Core Duo (2 revision old, September 2006) on eBay for 510GBP collected, so that's a rough guide to how much it'll cost - and how much value it still holds after 18months.

My advise is, if you're happy to commit on a Mac, go with an iMac if you do not need the portability.

funkyphantom · 23 Mar 2008 at 22:16

Theres one thing thats stopping me going to a mac, and thats counterstrike. Although i havent played much recently, i do like to go back to it on the odd occasion. Im doubting if i would be able to play this on the mac, would i be right?...

Mr Jones · 23 Mar 2008 at 23:19

You can dual boot Max OS X and Windows, just a restart away.
With the iMac, a semi decent GPU, even the ATi 1600 version can run CS:S decently

TheVoice · 24 Mar 2008 at 12:55

Have a look on the UK Dell Outlet website, should be able to find a good XPS M1330 or M1530. The M1530 will be better suited to games, but the M1330 is smaller (same size as the MacBook, basically). If you get one with a GeForce graphics chipset though, you'd get better performance in CS:S etc.

OspreyO · 28 Mar 2008 at 02:08

funkyphantom said:
Theres one thing thats stopping me going to a mac, and thats counterstrike. Although i havent played much recently, i do like to go back to it on the odd occasion. Im doubting if i would be able to play this on the mac, would i be right?...

Depends on the Mac. Some can some can't.

steve258 · 28 Mar 2008 at 02:15

The newest macbook (non-pro) all have integrated X3100 graphics IIRC so not good for games at all.

Ideally you want a 8600GT to play CSS smoothly but that's something only offered on macbook pro and dell m1550 and some vostros.

neil_g · 28 Mar 2008 at 08:28

here we go again.

it depends what youre comfortable with. if your comfortable with windows then opt for that. if youre willing to take a chance and retool for OSX then go mac.

at the end of the day if you go intel based mac the only difference is the operating system layout. both operating systems do the same job they just look different.

personal preference..