Imac or Laptop

FuNsTeR · Oct 10, 2007, 03:10 PM

thinking of buying a imac or a dell laptop XPS M1330 after christmas is out the way ... my pc uses up to much room and to much power in comparison to a imac or laptop

in my position what would you go for keep in mind my gaming system is my PS3

BlueMak · Oct 10, 2007, 04:11 PM

What software do you use?

OmegaRED · Oct 10, 2007, 04:32 PM

I'd go with the Dell XPS but only if it's within the same price or cheaper than the iMac.

Mousey · Oct 10, 2007, 04:45 PM

In my opinion the iMac is the worst possible choice since i'm a dirty apple hater.
I'd go with the lappy, more versatile and better for upgrading.
Plus you won't have people turning up on your doorstep asking to smash up your iMac

Da_Jewish_Fonzy · Oct 10, 2007, 05:03 PM

Tough choice really, especially if you don't plan on gaming at all with it(OMG). On one hand with the new imacs you can dual boot windows and osx on the other a laptop generally offers far more performance for the money. I think I would go laptop as I have little interest in osx although I wouldn't buy a Dell xps because that would sorta negate the whole bang for buck thing.

BlueMak · Oct 10, 2007, 05:09 PM

Why don't you buy an Apple laptop?

Mousey · Oct 11, 2007, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

Why don't you buy an Apple laptop?

I do quite like the Macbooks but i don't like the unfair price tag that comes with them

**dj_stick** · Oct 11, 2007, 07:01 AM

you can always install OSX on the dell laptop (not exactly legit though)

Mousey · Oct 11, 2007, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_stick

you can always install OSX on the dell laptop (not exactly legit though)

and it's a bitch to find drivers for anything under OS X

FuNsTeR · Oct 11, 2007, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

What software do you use?

nero
anydvd
dvdshrink
bit torrent (Bit Tornado)
avg 7 pro
divX player
ACDSEE 3.1 and Picaview (does not work on vista)
winamp

BlueMak · Oct 11, 2007, 11:57 AM

Since (guessing) there are either the same versions or similar programs available for Macs, and you don't use your computer for anything else and small footprint is what you are looking for, I would go for a Apple laptop with a couple of external hard drives (for the torrents).

But, if for some of the programs above you can't find a version that runs under OS X or a similar program that would do the job for you, then go for the Windows laptop.

The above is just a suggestion, do whatever you want. :-p

Lowfat · Oct 11, 2007, 04:32 PM

The iMacs are truly sexy machines

My vote goes for the iMac. For the kinf of software you use it should be no problem at all.

Handbrake is a great DVD to Mpeg4 convertor.
VLC for Mac is amazing, much better than the Windows counterpart.
Transmission is a pretty decent torrent program, as good as most torrent programs if not better than all with the exception of uTorrent of course. Which unfortunately there is no uTorrent yet for OS X.
For burning you do not need any other software really. Finder and Disk Utility (both part of the OS X) can burn almost anything and even burn disc images fine. Although Toast is a good as well.
As for music, really iTunes is probably the best. It is quite a bit better for OS X than the Windows counterpart as well.
For photo organization, iPhoto which is included with all Macs is really great for organizing/grouping of photos.. It can do simple editing, but not much though.

I haven't had a Windows PC or even Windows on my mac for almost three months now. I have yet found any software that I required on my PC that I couldn't find an equal or better replacement for Mac.

As long as you don't game and can afford the extra few $$, go with the Mac. I highly doubt you'll regret the purchase.

Any other questions you need answered either shoot me a PM or post here, I should be able to help.

FuNsTeR · Oct 12, 2007, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowfat

The iMacs are truly sexy machines

My vote goes for the iMac. For the kinf of software you use it should be no problem at all.

Handbrake is a great DVD to Mpeg4 convertor.
VLC for Mac is amazing, much better than the Windows counterpart.
Transmission is a pretty decent torrent program, as good as most torrent programs if not better than all with the exception of uTorrent of course. Which unfortunately there is no uTorrent yet for OS X.
For burning you do not need any other software really. Finder and Disk Utility (both part of the OS X) can burn almost anything and even burn disc images fine. Although Toast is a good as well.
As for music, really iTunes is probably the best. It is quite a bit better for OS X than the Windows counterpart as well.
For photo organization, iPhoto which is included with all Macs is really great for organizing/grouping of photos.. It can do simple editing, but not much though.

I haven't had a Windows PC or even Windows on my mac for almost three months now. I have yet found any software that I required on my PC that I couldn't find an equal or better replacement for Mac.

As long as you don't game and can afford the extra few $$, go with the Mac. I highly doubt you'll regret the purchase.

Any other questions you need answered either shoot me a PM or post here, I should be able to help.

cheers for the info Lowfat it does look nice

thunderclap · Oct 12, 2007, 10:23 AM

Lowfat made several good recommendations regarding Mac software equivalent to your Windows software. For virus scanning (and if you decide to install virus software) don't spend the money on McAfee or Symantic software. There is a good piece of freeware calling ClamXAV (ClamXav). I use it twice a year just to be safe (no viruses yet though).