Decade Old question: I need a computer, is Mac worth it? lol?

Question

So this is the story, I own a Dell Insperon (not sure of the model) and it recently broke down to such a level that it wont turn on, has a blue screen of death (BSOD), wont allow me to reload Windows Vista, or repair the computer, and has smoke coming out of it. So Being the dipshit that I am, I went and called Dell customer service, and as everyone knows is a pain. The guy was okay, helped me out somewhat but in the end my computer went six feet under.
Now I feel like a fish out of water (again) just like I was a few years ago. So Simply, put I need a new computer. I was looking at the Mac Book Pro 17' Screen and I was pretty pleased with what I saw, its looks cool, has what I want, and I am an owner of an Iphone. Mac owners that I know are pretty pleased, but others I talk to are very negative about it.
My friends recommend I get another Dell, (not happening) toshiba (Maybe) or a Alienware. I looked these up and Alienware is a gaming computer, Ofcourse it does have some of the most advanced drivers and graphic cards.

All I need my computer to do is handle my music and College. I need a computer for Itunes with alot of memory and processor power for the burning, loading etc. that is fast and efficient, long life span, not alot of hassles and has the standard things like Microsoft word, Excel, Power Points, etc.

I customized the Alienware and it came put to about $4000 and some change. The Mac costs around $2400.

PLEASE HELP ME@@@! lol. I need to figure this out before the holidays.

Alienware-

Software & Services
SYSTEM COLOR Alienware M15x, Cosmic Black edit
PROCESSOR Intel Core i7 920XM 2.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 3 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis - Important Information edit
In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis: for issues covered by Limited Hardware Warranty, technician and/or part will be dispatched, if necessary, usually in 1 or 2 business days following Remote Diagnosis. During Remote Diagnosis, you may be asked to access the inside of your system (where safe to do so) or to participate in troubleshooting until a cause can be isolated.
VIDEO CARD 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M edit
LCD PANEL 15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED edit
MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz – 2 x 4096MB edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB SATAII 7,200RPM edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Burner (BR-R, DVD+-RW, CD-RW) edit
BATTERY OPTIONS Primary - 9-cell (85Watt) Lithium-Ion Battery edit
WIRELESS OPTIONS 1TB Home Media Network Hard Drive edit
Personalize
PERSONALIZED PLATE Personalized Nameplate (Belan) edit
ALIENFX COLOR AlienFX Terra Green edit
AVATAR Alien Cyborg edit
WALLPAPER Alien Schematic edit
PRE-INSTALLED GAMES AND CLIENTS Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed edit
AUTOMATIC UPDATES Automatic Updates: On edit
My Accessories
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 - English edit
ADOBE & ENTERTAINMENT Adobe Photoshop Elements + Adobe Premiere Elements edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
BLUETOOTH Internal Bluetooth 2.1 Mini-Card - 2.1 Enhanced Data Rate
WIRELESS CARDS Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11AGN Half Mini Card
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat Reader


Mac-

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html



THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

You need to decide yourself which one you prefer.



You already laid out pros and cons of decision.

Answer 2

Keep this in mind, a mac is pricey, a mac doesnt run 95 percent of the software on the market, a mac isnt anywhere near as upgradeable as a pc, even if you do opt to boot windows on it, it still wont run most 3rd party software and what it does run it will run poorly. Macs are strictly for kids who want a status symbol and know nothing of computers. Stick with the alienware.

EDIT: PC hardware blew macs supposed graphics out of the water 10 years ago!

Answer 3

Alienware is good

Answer 4

I would switch to the Mac. I made the change about a year ago and have not been happier. It did take a little getting used to since I have used PC since I was a little kid. It wasn't more than an hour and I was completely up to speed. The jestures and where everything is located was the tricky part. The Mac worked right out of the box, I was up in running in just a few minutes. It was also not bogged down with so much junk like PCs. Pretty much everything you need is pre-installed. I'd say 80-90% regular users would be perfectly content with the stock software that comes on a Mac, with the execption of Microsoft Office. I would say that would be the only thing extra that you would need. Unless you do heavy video editing or software writing, you will be fine. My Mac Pro is super fast, still a year later it is just as fast as when I bought it. I also surf the web a lot and download a lot of music and it hasn't slowed down a bit. My old laptop which lasted about 4 years required me to wipe it clean 3 seperate times because it slowed down so much and was bogged with spyware and other junk. Not with the Mac. it is not as prone to picking up viruses. My old laptop would take 2-5 minutes to boot up and open iTunes. My Mac can do it in less than a minute. There is also the arguement that more people use PC for a reason. That is very true but if look at the data it is extremely skewed. There are hundreds of companys that manufacture laptops and desktops. Only one makes Macs. Everything from top to bottom is designed for a Mac, software and hardware. Not PC. There are thousands with their hand in the pot. It makes things very inconsistent. I like that Apple has sole control over everything. It is like my car. I drive a Pathfinder. I would much rather have OEM parts that come directly from Nissan. Who know the car better than Nissan? I wouldn't nor could I throw in Ford or Honda parts. That is kind of what you get with PC. if you look at PC software it is designed to work for everything, HP, Dell, Compaq, Toshiba, IBM. There is going to some troubles because every company doesn't design their products the same. Apple is all Apple.

Answer 5

Get the macbook pro since it costs half than the alienware machine . A mac runs 95% of the software and it takes full advantage of the multicore processor. http://www.apple.com/getamac/

Answer 6

if you're not a gamer you don't need a $4000 Alienware. For your tasks Mac will be ok, probably even better than a PC considering you are not going to install any weird hardware and you don't need any PC-Only software. Besides if you got too much money that just burn a hole your pocket and you're good in creative writing - why not?



I'd fix your Dell or got a $400 PC but it's just me.

Answer 7

I prefer a PC running linux, I am PC through and through.



But, it all depends on you and what you want to do.



If you are a gamer, an office worker, a programmer then its PC.

If you do media then its Mac every time.



I have worked in TV production facilities for 25 years and Macs run rings round PCs for any graphics, sound, film editing.