PC or Mac, what would you get?

[DialMforMummy]

Hi,
current laptop in on the blink, so we are thinking about getting a new one. We have a budget of about a grand but could stretch to a bit more if we are to get a Mac.
I tend to lean towards a Mac as people have said that they are quick to start and don't tend to slow down after a few years as PC do.
DH leans towards a good PC as he finds Mac expensive (you get a 17' screen size for the price of a 11' Mac) and we have to buy software on the top of the computer (we can get office and other stuff for free from work).
We use the computer mainly for browsing and Office.
Are Macs worth the extra money? Are they more durable than PCs? Or are they just fashionable and grossly overpriced?
Any advice and thoughts gratefully received.

As someone who cut his teeth in the IT industry from the humble IBM PC 20 years ago, have used PC's almost exclusively and someone who shook his head when his best mate bought an iMac I have to say "Get a mac".

As Badgers says, if you are comparing a PC to a Mac you have to be careful to make sure you are comparing apples to apples. (sorry I couldn't resist....)

I don't have an Airbook but I do have an iMac. The screen is sublime, the sound quality is awesome for built in speakers, it never fails to wakeup/sleep meaning I rarely shut it down now. I just click sleep and when i return, the computer is ready in seconds rather than 2 minutes.

I've got so many programs on it now but unlike my PC which I spent hours last week cleaning it hasn't noticably slowed down.

I dont run antivirus/anti spyware anymore. There's no real reason to.

In short, it just works.

It's like comparing a BMW X5 with a Ford Fiesta and saying "Wow, BMW's are just so much more expensive". Well yes of course but look at the quality of the engineering and the desirability factor. The Fiesta will still get you from A->B. The real question is can you afford the BMW?

LOL @ comparing apples to apples :)

But yes, Mac definitely. I'm another one who works on a PC and has a pretty good knowledge of them, but I've been a home Mac user for 20 years and would never by a PC for home.

I'm going to go against the majority and suggest a PC. Now I am a Mac user at work and at home, and I wouldn't get a PC for my own use (I am more familiar with the Mac OS now than Windows).

But I am typing this on my quite expensive MacBook which I only ever really use for internet and a couple of games - I could have bought a lower end Windows laptop and spent the rest on wool/chocolate/boots! You say in your post that you are only really going to use it for the internet and Office - so you don't need a high end product like a MacBook for that.

PC all the way with a Linux OS.

I am another that often wonder about the allure of a Mac,I will not dispute that they are a thing of beauty compared to a Windows pc but am yet to be convinced that they are better .My windows laptop can do anything a Mac can do and probably more for me(I am a gamer) and I often think that a lot of problems that people have with a windows pc are of their own making,poor maintenance of the operating system and doing things with a machine that they havent got a clue what they are doing,the information is there but people dont look for it.

A couple of things that have stood out on this thread are;
it never fails to wakeup/sleep meaning I rarely shut it down now. I just click sleep and when i return, the computer is ready in seconds rather than 2 minutes.,my widows laptop wakes from sleep in seconds as well.

It's like comparing a BMW X5 with a Ford Fiesta and saying "Wow, BMW's are just so much more expensive". Well yes of course but look at the quality of the engineering and the desirability factor. The Fiesta will still get you from A->B. The real question is can you afford the BMW?Some of the top windows laptops are of equal quality and desirability of a Mac,it all depends on the user.

So tell me,what can your Mac do that my windows pc cant?

Another vote for 'once you go Mac, you never go back'.

Photo stream :)

and note that all the people saying 'I'm not sure whether they are worth the extra cost' follow that up with 'I don't actually own a mac'
Macs are ACE

Another vote for Mac. I love our iMac.

NotJustClassic - the MacBookPro laptop has an internal DVD drive - its only the Air that doesn't.

Also on the upgrading issue - upgrading my MacBook from Snow Leopard to Lion cost about £20 and just worked - I just clicked and left it to run. No driver problems, unlike upgrading a Windows OS.

@Bubbles. Essentially your windows box can do everything my mac does.

But my mac looks nicer, doesn't make a fuss and just gets on with it.

Trust me, I've been using Windows since version 3.0. It's the simplicity of the mac which wins me over and for most users whom just want to surf the web, email, facebook and look at photos, the mac is a winning combination.

A friend of mine bought a laptop yesterday and the first thing she's done is give it to me so I can uninstall all the crapware, apply all the latest security patches, optimise it so it's running fast as it can and install some free antivirus.

If she'd bought a mac, I'd tell her to do it herself. You plug it in, type in your name, tell it which country you live in, type in your wireless password and that's pretty much it!

And as Rusty said, when I upgraded my OS from Snow Leopard to Lion, it was a lesson in simplicity which Microsoft should learn from.

We have both - a Mac desktop (for my work and general home use), and a PC laptop. DD is being taught on a PC at school, so seems wise to have similar equipment at home.

You can buy your Mac Interest free too if you get it direct from apple
I got mine last year and have been paying £112 a month for it
I could have bought it outright but figured if it was interest free I may as well do it that way
I do have to keep away from the Apple site though, they make it too easy to buy more stuff

But I am typing this on my quite expensive MacBook which I only ever really use for internet and a couple of games - I could have bought a lower end Windows laptop and spent the rest on wool/chocolate/boots! You say in your post that you are only really going to use it for the internet and Office - so you don't need a high end product like a MacBook for that.,so what do you need a high end Macbook for then,nothing has been mentioned that my high end windows pc cant do,I cant play such an extensive range of games on a Mac than on my windows pc ,so as far as I can see its just down to looks.

Sorry pressed post before finishing,it seems that a Mac is simpler to use but it must be my geeky side coming out as I quite enjoy tinkering with a a windows pc.

Oooh I wish you hadn't have told me that Dolly! I've been lusting after a 27" bad boy iMac!

Earlybird, I know what you mean but the way I look at it is that my daughter is now familiar with both mac & PC's. I work for one of the biggest IT companies in the world and we're starting to roll out more and more mac's. So it's now making inroads into the corporate world now. Me thinks it will be more popular in couple of years time than Linux will have ever been. And people have been proclaiming Linux is the future for over a decade now.

Another Mac lover here

Mac.

I'm a gamer too. Use Boot Camp to have a Windows installation on here too for gaming. When I switch over, I refer to it as "the Dark Side" . Best of both worlds.

Saying that, more and more games (particularly with EA) are coming out compatible with PC and Mac, so it's becoming far less of an issue.

No reason not to have that object of desire Niceguy

I've wanted a Mac for years and treated myself. It will last years longer than my sons Dell, whose 2 yr battery is already asking to be replaced.

I am driving to the UPS depot tomorrow morning to pick up my shiny new MacBook Air...

Macbook all the way - DP has a pc and a laptop and it is so clunky in comparison (both aesthetically and the software) If money is a concern, the Apple Store sell refurbished macbooks....

I studied graphic design and used a Mac but I don't work in design anymore and have been happily switched back to pc. I just never felt as comfortable with a Mac as I did with pc. And my first computer when I was 13 was a Linux computer and that was what I was used to before dad bought a pc when I was 16. I used a Mac when I was 18 in design course and then some after I came out to work in a media company. My brother even got a Mac in his room, oh but it crashed a few times. I think I know how to look after my pcs very well. They never gave me as much trouble. But maybe I just don't get along with macs.