PC vs Mac: What makes one better than the other for Second Life?

[Madelaine McMasters]

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Siofra Highmist wrote:

Really the only thing that is pushing me away from Mac is the pricing. Poking around on their website the other day, it looks like they do not offer a computer under USD$2300 that contains an actual grapics card over integrated graphics chips. 

I'm currently on intel's newest incarnation of integrated graphics and I can tell you that it really can't run anything efficiently. It takes sometimes 15+ minutes to load my own house let alone anything else in SL. 

Obviously I could have missed something as I did not go in store to ask, just poked around online. But if that is in fact what's going on I can happily say we'll be going PC again in this house..

Edit: And no, it's not another problem causing my inefficient running of SL... that's really  the only substandard part of the computer I own. 

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It's true that you have to step up to the $2200 15" MacBook Pro-Retina to get a laptop with nVIDIA graphics, but you can get a destop iMac with GT 640M and 20" screen for $1300.

The horrific price comparison for a Mac Pro, given by another in this thread, it not typical of Apple pricing. While even the most rabid Apple fan will often admit that increases in memory/disk capacity are pricey, the basic machines are not terribly more expensive than similarly configured computers from the competition. And the Mac Pro has always been expensive, as it's targetted at professional users.

I just looked at Dell all-in-one computers and find that their 27" machines are about $200 less ($1599) than Apple's ($1799) for roughly comparable configurations, with the exception that the Dell computers have touch sensitive displays. It's often difficult to make direct comparisons because Apple's machines are atypical, omitting things like optical drives and including things like SSD.

[Orca Flotta]

Pricing of Macs is relative. If you swap out your machine every 2 years you can sell your old MAC with much less loss than a PC. A Apple store guy told me he pays around 200 € every time he gets a new Mac. Of course you have to shell out a bit more for the initial investment.

Still, I wouldn't buy an Apple. I have a big fugly PC tower and just swap out internals whenever I need some technical upgade. As for the OS: I use neither Apple nor Win. Linux is perfect and fast and stable and needs much less maintenance than the big commercial softwares.

[Morgaine Christensen]

I use both Mac and PC in my professional and personal life.  Both have advantages and disadvantages. 

One of the biggest disadvantages is, not all programs are written for the Mac.  So if you want to play that highly antcipated shoot em up, it may not be available to you. However, this can be overcome as someone else said by loading a copy of Windows and using "Bootcamp" or VMware Fusion

Unlike PCs, it is a lot more difficult to replace broken parts yourself requiring you to use an authorized dealer.  If you are in a small city like I am with only one Mac authorized repair service, and you don't like the people that own the place, you are pretty much SOL.

The positive aspect is easy to uninstall programs, not as bad/frequent virus attacks as PC, is much more intuitive to use than PC with the exception of iTunes...I hate it with a passion and find it difficult to use..but that is me.  Rarely has an issue installing new software like I do on PC.

Personally, I started out with a Mac when the screen was only 6 inches big and loved it...then I had to change and learn PC for the rest of the working world.  I only came back to Mac about 3 computers ago (I swap out every 2-3 years).  Unless Apples does something totally stupid, I will continue to buy their products...otherwise, will by PC. Seems to be less of difference between the two OS from a user standpoint than was in the beginning.

 

[Locke Nider]

None are better than SL; that depends on your hardware or viewer.  But overall?  I like both my Linux setup and my Mac OS setup, so I like both I guess.

I can't really stand WIndows though.  Besides video games (which doesn't matter to me since I'm not a PC gamer), you can pretty much find any software you need on Linux or Mac.

But my opinion is bias since I'm a software developer and graphic artist.  If you're casual, just get a cheap PC with windows 7.  But if you want to be a dumb hipster like me, then get a Mac.  

[Emma Krokus]

Getting local support is a good point you make here - thank you!

Emma:)

[Feldspar Millgrove]

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Madelaine McMasters wrote:

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Emma Krokus wrote:

75 fps? Wow - I'd be in heaven... (and a better internet connection....)

And it's interesting to read of yours and Madeline's experiences of running other os's on a mac without too much hassle...

Oooh that's thrown a spanner in the works! Hmmmm...

Emma

 

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But if you've no need or desire to run Mac OS, you can do the same on a Windows PC, which can run the same virtualization software. People run Linux in a window on Windows all the time.

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Yes, I've run Linux on VMWARE on PCs plenty.  But since she's asking about Mac versus PC, I assume the attraction is the Mac software (which can only run on a Mac).  Hardware-wise, the Apple computers are competitively priced high-end machines.  But you could save some money by getting a slightly lower-end PC.  Maybe you could save a lot.  But that would be a different discussion entitled, "What's a nice PC for SL and how much does it cost?"

 

Btw, the Mac I use for SL with the great performance is the highest-end Mac laptop, fully maxed out (16 GB, SSD, 2.7 i7, GT 650M 1024, etc.)  It is a Retina.  Hardwired ethernet to high speed FIOS.  As I write this, I have three instances of FS running, each getting > 70 FPS.  CPU usage is 18% and the fans have not come on.  YMMV.

 

[Feldspar Millgrove]

An option that has been mentioned in passing by several people is Linux.  I don't know how well the various Viewers work on Linux, whether Voice works, if they are difficult to set up or trivial like on Windows and Mac.  And I don't know about what hardware you would want, and how much hassle (if any) getting the right drivers installed and all.

But it is very possible that you could get a high-performing Linux machine for SL for relatively cheap.

You could run Windows programs in a virtual machine under Linux, so you can have Microsoft Office and all.  If that's something you want.  (The idea with Linux is that you don't need MS programs, because there are free replacement programs on Linux.  Whether it all meets your needs depends; for many people it is okay or better than MS.)

The real and pertinent questions about Linux are about the SL software performance and the hardware costs for suitable hardware.  Although I have a lot of experience with Linux, none of it regards SL.

[Emma Krokus]

Thanks Feldspar - and that's a pretty impressive performance, especially as it's a laptop. (Even though I will definitely go for a desktop myself.)

My question at this time is on which OS SL would perform best. Though I may well be asking "What's a nice PC for SL and how much does it cost?" next. 

Having had no experience ever of Linux I think that's not something I want to consider right now. Maybe next time... .

Emma

 

[Maryanne Solo]

There >WAS< a time... a long long time ago.....  over the hills & far away...

when Macs could outperform PC's ^^

They both run the same hardware now and have done for ages.

So why would you pay more... and for what exactly?

A custom PC becomes you, a Mac can only ever be someone else's idea.

(self confessed & well known Crapple MacInSplosh h8tr)

 

 

[Parhelion Palou]

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Emma Krokus wrote:

<snip>

My question at this time is on which OS SL would perform best. Though I may well be asking 

"What's a nice PC for SL and how much does it cost?" next. 

<snip>

Emma

 

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If only the OS is considered, SL would run best on Windows since that's what LL develops it for first.

My only comment on Apple is the Apple II was a nice machine, the Apple 3 less so, and everything after that was a closed system - I prefer to build my own machines.