PCs Versus Macs
When someone buys a new computer, they usually have two options: whether to buy a PC or a Mac.
This question has been around for ages, ever since the first PC and the first Mac were put in stores. And ever since then, there have been many answers, but in my opinion, it all boils down to what you want to do with your computer. In this post, I will give the pros and cons of each platform, starting with PCs.
PC Pros and Cons
Windows PCs have long been renowned for the variety of applications that you can use them for. There are many more PC applications than Mac apps, but they aren't necessarily better. Some (especially made by Microsoft) run horribly or just aren't that good.
With a PC, you can install other operating systems, like Linux, or even in some cases, macOS. If you use an Intel mac, then you can also do the same thing, but M1 macs do no longer support Bootcamp, an application that lets users install Windows on their Macs.
If you want to use the computer you buy for gaming, 3d work, or other gpu-heavy work, a PC is undoubtedly better. With the money that you have to plunk for a Mac that is good for those things, you can definitely get a beefy PC.
A con for PCs are that when updating to a new version of the operating system, drivers might not be compatible with the new version. This is a big issue, but can be solved by turning off autoupdate and only updating when you are sure that the drivers will work.
Another con is that they are susceptible to viruses. Most viruses and malware are made to infect PCs, and Windows is infamously bad with security.
Mac Pros and Cons
A "Mac" is a PC built by Apple using the macOS operating system. This is undoubtedly one of the best brands of computers that you can buy, but they are also massively overpriced. A maxed out Mac Pro costs $52,848.00 and a maxed out Puget Systems Intel Xeon workstation costs $33,594.37. Both computers have the same CPU model, but the Puget Systems one has up to 32 cores and the Apple one has up to 28.
However, the most famous computers that Apple make are the MacBook Pro lineup. I actually have one, and it has done pretty decently over the two years I've worked on it.
The main pros for the MacBook Pro are the security, portability, reliability, and relative speed of the new M1 processors.
Apple is big on security. Every month or so, they release a new security patch, and you can safely update without having to worry about driver issues, since all the components inside the computer are made by Apple.
The MacBook Pro is very portable. It weighs around 3 pounds (depending on the model), much less than most other laptop PCs.
The new M1 processors are very fast, faster than most other processors around the same price. Unfortunately, they are hampered by their architecture. Most modern processors use the x86-64 architecture, but the M1 uses the ARM architecture, used in many mobile phones. The ARM architecture is very fast, but not many developers are making ARM-native apps. To run x86 apps, Apple made an emulator for that purpose. However, this emulator not so fast, and a (comparable) native x86 processor would run the same app faster.
A con for the Apple MacBooks are that they are not very good for GPU-heavy work, as the Macs with dedicated GPUs are extremely expensive.
For instance, I tried to open a large Blender file on my MacBook, and it beachballed. A lot.
I can run Fortnite at lowest graphics settings and only about 20-30 fps.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, PCs are better than macs at GPU-heavy work and the applications that you can use them for, while macs are better than PCs for portability (in some cases), security, and reliability. I hope this article helps you decide what computer you should choose next.
