Questions about iMac

[mikehokie]

Ok so I have a few questions. These may be a bit newbie to some of you, but I have never really used a Mac before and I am sick and tired of Dell so I may be looking to buy one in the future.

1. I hear from people that despite the hardware advantages you may get from a regular PC as opposed to a Mac, a Mac runs faster because the OS utilizes that hardware better is this true?

2. Why does Apple not have 2 GB of RAM as a standard for its desktops? Can they run apps like Photoshop, After Effects, ect. with 1 GB? I am not a pro by any means I'm just asking as far as running the app.

3. What changes do you anticipate are coming to the Mac besides the Penryn update?

4. I use my current computer for E-Mail, the internet, video editing, photo editing, ect. and I am not a gamer although I like to play games occasionally would an iMac suit that?

5. Which is better, Boot Camp or Parallels? Haven't heard much about these things so please bear with me if I am making some mistake by saying that.

6. For my needs should I just buy a PC and put Mac OSX on it and dual boot XP?

7. If I can do #6 stable why should I buy an iMac? Just playing the other side of the fence here not trying to be pompous or anything.

8. In your opinion what should I do? iMac, MacBook, PC?


Thanks for the help

Mike

 

[Michael CM1]

Let me go through these by number!

1) I honestly don't know if OS X utilizes stuff better, but you don't have to run Anti-Virus or Firewall software on a Mac. Therefore, you have some extra resources from that out of the box.

2) I don't think it's standard because some people don't need 2GB. You can run stuff like Photoshop with just 1GB (I did on my MacBook Pro). Just don't go trying to run everything from Creative Suite at the same time. I did a test where I opened about 6 apps at the same time with my 2GB machine. I think I got to using 1.5GB with them merely opened at the same time. So if you do use a lot of stuff like that, upgrade!

3) There's some new processor line coming out later this year. Montevina? I honestly wouldn't know the difference if I didn't read stuff on here. Those stinkin' code names are confusing because none of them are as simple as "Tiger" and "Leopard." All of the Macs should be using LED-backlit screens pretty soon. Also, Blu-ray will at least be an option probably by the summer. Look for a "Super Blu-Drive" to set you back about $300 more than a Superdrive. I would also not be surprised to see the Solid State Drives become an option on iMacs. Might be next year before that.

4) My MacBook Pro played World of Warcraft pretty well. There are a good number of games for Mac OS, but not nearly as many as for Windows. But you can run Windows on a Mac for as little as $200 (for a copy of Windows XP.) Personally, I'd spend my money on a game machine (Wii, PS3, Xbox) instead of using a computer. Of course I like sports stuff, so that may be different if you like other junk.

5) I haven't used either, but I liked seeing Parallels in the Apple Store. No rebooting and it only costs $80. There's another similar application (VMware?) as well. I just don't feel the need to run Windows on such a nice machine.

6) I don't think you can run Mac OS X on any PC, although I could be wrong. The ability to do that is from Boot Camp in Mac OS X or from Parallels or VMware. There is no such software (that I know of) for PCs.

7) I think I explained that.

8) If you do video editing, you *probably* won't want just a MacBook or Mac Mini (they use shared video memory). If you want cheaper and don't care about portability, get an iMac. If you need portability, get a MacBook Pro. Check out MacMall.com for some really good prices. If you're a student, you can save about 10% at www.apple.com/store.

After using PCs forever until about 2 years ago, I will scream at you to use a Mac. After about 2 weeks of adjustment, you'll wonder what the heck you were waiting for. As more stuff moves to Web-based applications (Google Docs is kinda like Office online), Apple will gain even more of a foothold. Macs aren't without flaws, but I don't think I have ever cursed one out like I have some Windows-based PCs.

 

[mreg376]

My 2 cents:

1. Don't know why the Mac OS runs better, but it does. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the hardware is tailored to the OS and vice versa.

2. Don't care. Upgrading to 4GB costs $100 these days. No brainer.

3. Pass.

4. Child's play for the Imac.

5. I use VMware's VMFusion. I can tell you that Fusion runs Windows XP faster and better in the 512MB I've allotted to it than on my former XP PC with 2GB. I'm very happy with Fusion, which is currently $40 at Amazon after rebate.

6. Can't do it. Mac OS's have to run on Mac hardware.

7. See 6.

8. Impossible to tell you. If you want a desktop, get an Imac. If you want a laptop for the purposes you mentioned above, get a Macbook. Not too many people here will recommend that you get a PC. I certainly wouldn't, and I used PC's for 20 years.

 

[mac-convert]

6. For my needs should I just buy a PC and put Mac OSX on it and dual boot XP?

7. If I can do #6 stable why should I buy an iMac? Just playing the other side of the fence here not trying to be pompous or anything.

6. Buy the iMac and use Bootcamp to dual boot XP.

7. For all the other wonderful things that it does so much better.

 

[flopticalcube]

1. Well, it boots quicker. Perhaps the rest is subjective but I find it a tad quicker.

2. They put in 1GB so you are tempted to spend a small fortune upgrading from Apple. Buy your RAM somewhere else.

3. Montevina platform later this year will bring a faster bus speed and memory as well as a possible quad core CPU.

4. More than adequate.

5. Parallels or VMware is very nice and integrated into OSX but can't do 3D games and runs slower than it would if Windows ran natively (bootcamp). Both Parallels and VMware can run off your bootcamp partition so you could use both.

6. While technically possible, it goes against Apple's license agreement.

7. Its not always stable. Updates from Apple frequently break things. See #6.

8. What's wrong with your MBP?

 

[Leon Kowalski]

1. I hear from people that despite the hardware advantages you may get from a regular PC as opposed to a Mac, a Mac runs faster because the OS utilizes that hardware better is this true?

OS-X runs faster on equivalent hardware, but at any given price-point, you
can get much more computing horsepower in a desktop PC than an iMac.

OS-X is faster for the same reason that linux runs circles around Windoze
on the same hardware -- they're well-designed, unix-based systems, rather
than layer upon layer of Microsoft spaghetti code -- rooted in MS-DOS.

IMO, the linux kernel is actually superior to Apple's; but unfortunately, linux
lacks a critical mass of high-quality apps and SW support (auto-update, etc.)

2. Why does Apple not have 2 GB of RAM as a standard for its desktops? Can they run apps like Photoshop, After Effects, ect. with 1 GB?

With the latest OS-X (Leopard) 1GB isn't really adequate for anything beyond
basic web-browsing, iTunes, etc. -- but don't pay Apple's outrageous prices
for memory upgrades. 4GB of top-quality aftermarket RAM is down to $60.

5. Which is better, Boot Camp or Parallels?

BootCamp yields maximum Windoze performance, but Parallels or VMware
Fusion ($40) are far more convenient for most purposes. I prefer VMware
to Parallels -- especially if you'd like to clone and run identical virtual
machine environments on OS-X and/or Windoze and/or linux.

LK

 

[VoodooDaddy]

1. I hear from people that despite the hardware advantages you may get from a regular PC as opposed to a Mac, a Mac runs faster because the OS utilizes that hardware better is this true? - The closed environment of OSX and Apple hardware is likely the reason. With Windows there are infinite possibilities from hundreds of hardware makers. Apple builds the hardware and writes the software specifically for it. Whether Windows would be better in a closed environment like that, I dont know, nor care to find out. Since switching to Mac 2yrs ago I wont be going back

2. Why does Apple not have 2 GB of RAM as a standard for its desktops? Can they run apps like Photoshop, After Effects, ect. with 1 GB? I am not a pro by any means I'm just asking as far as running the app. - 1gb would get you by, but ram is so cheap, no reason to at least get another 1gb stick in there to get to 2gb

3. What changes do you anticipate are coming to the Mac besides the Penryn update? - Who knows? Something is in the works, but likely just an internal upgrade of some sort, new chip, more ram maybe, bigger hdd. There wont be a full redesign for a while

4. I use my current computer for E-Mail, the internet, video editing, photo editing, ect. and I am not a gamer although I like to play games occasionally would an iMac suit that? - I have a cpl games, but nothing current. Dungeon Siege, Sims, The Movies. Gaming NEVER entered my mind buying my iMac. IMO thats what consoles are for

5. Which is better, Boot Camp or Parallels? Haven't heard much about these things so please bear with me if I am making some mistake by saying that. - For max performance, Bootcamp. I have Parallels and it runs Windows fine, but frankly I never use it. Most just boot into it to show my friends I can

6. For my needs should I just buy a PC and put Mac OSX on it and dual boot XP? - You cant. Yes there is hackintosh, if you are a 16yr old and have lots of spare time to mess. I dont and had no desire to try.

7. If I can do #6 stable why should I buy an iMac? Just playing the other side of the fence here not trying to be pompous or anything. - N/A

8. In your opinion what should I do? iMac, MacBook, PC? In my opinion? Get A Mac, which one depends of you. If you need portability obviously a Macbook would be the choice. If it sits on a desk, iMac. You may or may not be blown away at first by a Mac/OSX. I wasnt. But give it time. You will come to appreciate its (IMO) superior usability and stability