(Poll) Fast PC vs. Fast Mac

[Bodie CI5]

Right at this moment in history, I chose the Mac Pro option.

But, I have been known to flip and to flop.

But, I have always looked longingly at a good Mac Pro.

 

[ian87w]

Mac Pro, obviously. Even if I don't use mac, I can sell it for a lot of money, while on the PC side, maybe all I can sell is the video card to some crypto miner.

 

[Roykor]

For me, it is not about the fastest mac, but the whole ecosystem that makes working with Apple so good. I had this ecosystem and lost it when i went over to PC 5+ years ago. Simply because Apple dindt had any interesting system for sale at that moment. Now, with M1 and M2 i am very courious to get back in the eco system. The fastest mac would be a help

 

[iHorseHead]

Fastest PC. It's obviously better and faster than any Macs.

 

[MajorFubar]

Mac. Fastest PC in the world may as well be a doorstop for me because it won't run the apps I want to use.

 

[iHorseHead]

Mac. Fastest PC in the world may as well be a doorstop for me because it won't run the apps I want to use.

Virtual Machine.

 

[MajorFubar]

Virtual Machine.

It's simpler to just buy a Mac.
I've also just given myself anxiety shakes and PTSD flashbacks at the thought of using a Windows machine again as my home computer.

 

[iHorseHead]

It's simpler to just buy a Mac.
I've also just given myself anxiety shakes and PTSD flashbacks at the thought of using a Windows machine again as my home computer.

Windows machines are better than Macs in many ways. It's better to pick the fastest PC and use virtual machines for a Mac.
Also you can use Linux.

 

[PowerPCFan]

I love macOS. Tried Windows in a VM once and didn't even know how to navigate the OS! Windows is a big complicated mess, whereas macOS is a clean-looking easy to use masterpiece.

Windows machines are better than Macs in many ways. It's better to pick the fastest PC and use virtual machines for a Mac.
Also you can use Linux.

I strongly disagree. Windows is a disorganised hard to use complete mess that slows down your computer. I have gotten a blue screen just within the few months I tried windows and I just got my first kernel panic after 10 years of using Mac. Plus, when windows crashes or freezes you have to use task manager and ctrl alt delete which doesn't hardly work. Apple's Cmd Opt Esc s way better and you also have Activity Monitor too.

Oh and by the way I'd rather use MS-DOS 1.1 than Win11. I am using a Windows 11 theme on my Raspberry pi though...

Go ahead and get the computer you want, it's just my opinion. Just letting everybody know how I feel about Windows.

 

[Webcat86]

The question literally started "If you could have any computer in the world".

"If you could have any food in the world for dinner, would you choose spam or boiled cabbage?"

But the two sentences go together perfectly. "If you had nothing to stop you, which of these two options would you choose?" It's a fair and valid question, with the question setting the parameter.

It's no different to "If money was no object, would you buy a Ferrari or a mansion?" - it's not "If money was no object, how would you spend it?"

 

[theluggage]

That must have been a mistake. I did say any computer in the world but I then listed only two options to choose from, so even if I say any computer, you still have to pick from the options I listed.

But then it is a self-contradictory question, and I think it's reasonable to call it out on that.
I think what you meant to ask was "If you had a choice between the fastest Mac Pro and the fastest PC, which would you choose?"

This is how a lot of misleading/biassed reports end up in the news and advertising: "When offered the choice of any computer in the world, 61.4% said 'Mac Pro'"... So yes, sorry, how questions like this are constructed is very important.
...but apart from that, part of my point was that the result is meaningless without gathering any information about what people want it for - or even what you mean by "fastest". A Mac Pro with an afterburner is likely to be faster at dealing with ProRes video than the "fastest PC" but as much use as an inflatable dartboard if you need CUDA. The Mac Pro isn't great for gaming but then the "fastest PCs" may be optimised for server loads, extreme multi-threading, CUDA etc. and might not be wonderful for gaming, either. The higher up the performance range you go the more important the question "faster at what?" becomes. (See: is the Studio Ultra faster than the Mac Pro...!)

Anyway, I see there's a third option now and I'd like to change my vote to the Apple II (retro-computing can be hugely fun and an Apple II in good condition isn't to be sneezed at).

 

[MajorFubar]

Windows machines are better than Macs in many ways. It's better to pick the fastest PC and use virtual machines for a Mac.
Also you can use Linux.

IMO it's best to choose the machine that does what you want it to do out of the box, rather than lead your life running a simulation of it from within a different OS and hope everything works. That just seems so ridiculously counter-intuitive except for people who are primarily Windows users by default and only pop in and out of MacOS by exception. I'd be the polar opposite.

In a studio, Windows machines still suck. It's 2022 and you still need to download third-party drivers to get latency down to decent levels, and there's no built-in equivalent of the Audio app for making Aggregate and Multi Output audio devices. There are bolt-ons you can download which approximate both functionalities, but that's exactly what they are: bolt-ons, so not fully integrated with the OS in a transparent way, so DAWs and other audio apps may or may not work well with them at the toss of a coin. And those are just two circumstances that I've had first hand experience of as recently as last month, which led to me giving my elder brother my 9 year old 13" MBP for his home-studio build. Up to that point he wouldn't be seen dead with a Mac, but I think he's starting to see why studios the world over generally use Mac systems by default.

I get my uses as an audio creator are niche compared to what most people use computers for, but that's why I choose to use the best tool for my purposes. The two and a half grand I spent on my Studio Max could have bought a PC which technically would blow it out the water from a specification point of view, especially if I built it myself. But I'd rather lever my own toenails off with a rusty nail.

 

[Webcat86]

This is how a lot of misleading/biassed reports end up in the news and advertising: "When offered the choice of any computer in the world, 61.4% said 'Mac Pro'"... So yes, sorry, how questions like this are constructed is very important.

This is an old marketing trick. And do you know why? Because it's a very valid way of asking a question.

...but apart from that, part of my point was that the result is meaningless without gathering any information about what people want it for - or even what you mean by "fastest". A Mac Pro with an afterburner is likely to be faster at dealing with ProRes video than the "fastest PC" but as much use as an inflatable dartboard if you need CUDA. The Mac Pro isn't great for gaming but then the "fastest PCs" may be optimised for server loads, extreme multi-threading, CUDA etc. and might not be wonderful for gaming, either. The higher up the performance range you go the more important the question "faster at what?" becomes. (See: is the Studio Ultra faster than the Mac Pro...!)

And this is why the question is what you would rather have, and not "Which is better?" or "I want to buy one, which should I get?"

 

[theluggage]

But the two sentences go together perfectly. "If you had nothing to stop you, which of these two options would you choose?"

...but that wasn't the question. The precise question was: "If you could have any computer in the world would you get the fastest PC or the highest end Mac Pro?"

...to which my answer is "no".

 

[Webcat86]

...but that wasn't the question. The precise question was: "If you could have any computer in the world would you get the fastest PC or the highest end Mac Pro?"

...to which my answer is "no".

I'm afraid it was the question, you just don't like the way it's worded.

The English language is notorious for permitting different ways of phrasing something, even if one option sounds more confusing.

Quite clearly, this survey is asking between the two presented options. Therefore, as your answer would be "no", it's not a survey for you to partake in.

On the other hand, I would choose one of the presented options, and so shared my answer.

 

[theluggage]

This is an old marketing trick. And do you know why? Because it's a very valid way of asking a question.

No, it's an old marketing trick because it is a trick. Misrepresenting the data is not "valid".

NB: I'm not suggesting that @PowerPCFan was intending to misrepresent data - just that they posed a badly framed question that would not produce a useful answer.

And this is why the question is what you would rather have, and not "Which is better?" or "I want to buy one, which should I get?"

Then there should have been a "neither" or "other" option. Otherwise it is a loaded question.

 

[theluggage]

Quite clearly, this survey is asking between the two presented options. Therefore, as your answer would be "no", it's not a survey for you to partake in.

I'm just going to drop this here and give up:

 

[Webcat86]

No, it's an old marketing trick because it is a trick. Misrepresenting the data is not "valid".

Misrepresentation comes from how it's reported, not how it's collected. A journalist could say "When given the choice between two options" - which is exactly what you were given. That's totally representative. If they said "When asked what computer they would have from everything" well that's different.

NB: I'm not suggesting that @PowerPCFan was intending to misrepresent data - just that they posed a badly framed question that would not produce a useful answer.

Well it wouldn't be a useful answer for what you wanted, sure. But it gave useful answers for the question the OP wanted to ask.

Then there should have been a "neither" or "other" option. Otherwise it is a loaded question.

The absence of "Neither" or "Other" would act as a filter against people who would choose those options. This is a self-selecting survey, which means all respondents did so voluntarily, and so the third option isn't required. Quite simply, it is a two-option question where respondents should be people who would want one of the options.

We can go round all day on this and I haven't really got the desire or patience for it. The OP asked a valid survey and you wish it had been done differently. You can't go from "this isn't how I would want it" to "you did it all wrong" and, frankly, it feels like you're being difficult for the sake of it.

 

[Webcat86]

I'm just going to drop this here and give up:

I spent years working in PR. My boss showed me this video early in my position, and I still use it today when talking to people about creating surveys.

What it perfectly demonstrates is that how you ask a question is very important. What it doesn't say is that either of the questions posed are invalid. They are not invalid. It is why you should be wary of marketers, it is also an effective mechanism for only getting relevant results and not spending thousands of dollars on a survey that gives you responses you can't use. (And yes, I know this firsthand. We would create surveys and use the results for media coverage.)

 

[theluggage]

The absence of "Neither" or "Other" would act as a filter against people who would choose those options. This is a self-selecting survey, which means all respondents did so voluntarily, and so the third option isn't required.

I think you and I have irreconcilable differences over what constitutes a valid survey. In my book "self-selecting" = "not valid".

FWIW: I did vote and post an opinion on what I'd choose out of the two options, as well as criticising the question.

 

[Bodhitree]

I don’t want the most powerful computer — I am perfectly happy with an M1 iMac.

 

[Webcat86]

I think you and I have irreconcilable differences over what constitutes a valid survey. In my book "self-selecting" = "not valid".

There is no question here - they are valid. BUT they are also more limited and the results can't be generalised.

If that leads you to say they're a weaker survey and shouldn't be used, then fair enough. That's a rational point of view. What you can't say is that because they're limited they are completely invalid.

 

[wonderings]

specs are not all that important to me, computers are blazing fast as it is. For me it comes down to the OS. I prefer Mac OS over Windows. I use both, have 2 custom built PC's at home, work on a 5K iMac with Adobe CC. I also have a 14" MBP M1 Max. The M1 is blazing fast, but the i7 in my 2014 5K iMac still works amazingly well for almost everything I throw at it. For the things that bogs it down I move to the M1 Max to get the job finished. So I would choose the Mac Pro simply because of the OS. Loyalty to Apple is insanity in my opinion, get what works best for you is all one should do when buying any tech.

 

[theluggage]

What it perfectly demonstrates is that how you ask a question is very important.

...I think you missed the comment about only reporting the last question. By your reasoning, the only thing that counts was the final yes/no choice - which was exactly the same in both cases. The whole point is that the lead in is important - here you've got the thread title "Fast Mac vs Fast PC" (no mention of Mac Pro) followed by the question (any computer in the world) which are both at odds with the 'payload' of "Mac Pro or 'fastest' PC".

If that leads you to say they're a weaker survey and shouldn't be used, then fair enough. That's a rational point of view. What you can't say is that because they're limited they are completely invalid.

I've used "self-selecting" studies out of necessity - ethics committees take a dim view of rounding up people at gunpoint and forcing them them take your survey - but usually with considerable extra effort to collect other demographic data to check for and possibly correct the resulting biasses... and sometimes the result of that is to conclude "this survey is crud, but here's the report showing why it's crud so please pay us".

...here you've got some unavoidable self-selection - it's a Mac site so there's going to be a pre-disposition towards choosing the Mac - but then an additional, quite unnecessary layer of (what you described as) "self selection" in that you expect people who would prefer another choice to just not vote. You can't know how many people who (for instance) really wanted a Mac Studio Ultra chose not to vote vs. voting for a Mac Pro because it was the next best thing. You need at least the "neither" data (which would have been totally straightforward to collect) to make any judgement as to the significance of the result.

 

[Webcat86]

...I think you missed the comment about only reporting the last question. By your reasoning, the only thing that counts was the final yes/no choice - which was exactly the same in both cases. The whole point is that the lead in is important - here you've got the thread title "Fast Mac vs Fast PC" (no mention of Mac Pro) followed by the question (any computer in the world) which are both at odds with the 'payload' of "Mac Pro or 'fastest' PC".


I've used "self-selecting" studies out of necessity - ethics committees take a dim view of rounding up people at gunpoint and forcing them them take your survey - but usually with considerable extra effort to collect other demographic data to check for and possibly correct the resulting biasses... and sometimes the result of that is to conclude "this survey is crud, but here's the report showing why it's crud so please pay us".

...here you've got some unavoidable self-selection - it's a Mac site so there's going to be a pre-disposition towards choosing the Mac - but then an additional, quite unnecessary layer of (what you described as) "self selection" in that you expect people who would prefer another choice to just not vote. You can't know how many people who (for instance) really wanted a Mac Studio Ultra chose not to vote vs. voting for a Mac Pro because it was the next best thing. You need at least the "neither" data (which would have been totally straightforward to collect) to make any judgement as to the significance of the result.

You are waaaay overthinking this. Let me know if this is going out as a press release.

My understanding is it’s a fun survey on a tech forum for the OP’s own curiosity. It is therefore entirely to OP how he phrases it and how he interprets it. If it turns out OP is using this to get published in the media, I’ll join you in pointing out why the evidence is flawed.