Help a girl out

wiegeabo said:
Laptop, I say go MacBook Pro. It will probably be the best fit for you. I love mine. And I installed Windows as a dual boot, but get MacBook processing power. So you've got a Mac for graphics (for which, as you know, Mac is the superior product) and the ability to run Windows games, all in the same machine.

As for a desktops, I'm leaning to saying get a Mac. But if you only need the power that cheaper desktops provide (say, under $1200-1500), then Dell is probably the way to go. It's usually not worth building your own desktop any more (in the old days, it was a great way to save a ton of money).

But, if you need to do graphics work on the desktop, you'll want a Mac. And then install Windows to play games just like you would on the laptop.


The only problem with going the Mac route and installing Windows is you're going to have to have a full (not upgrade) version of XP with Service Pack 2 for each Mac you're going to install it on. You can expect to pay $250-$300 for each copy.

Or you can pay $30-$50 for Parallels and run OSX and Windows at the same time, but you'll take a performance hit on Windows.
Click to expand...
$300?
I bought mine for 150, which was a huge mistake since Ive only used it a dozen times.
 
Make sure you get graphics card with Shader Model 3.0 most new games will be coming out with that now so you will need it. Goddam splinter cell double agent wont play on mine cause i have 2.0. Gonna splash out on a new pc in a year or 2 anyway so i can wait :)
 
jaguarr said:
With the ability to dual boot into Windows or run it in virtualization software like Parallels, there's really no good reason to not go with a Mac. They play games well enough and most of the popular games are ported to Mac. For those that aren't, dual boot into your Windows install and play them there. Besides, serious gamers go the console route, anyway. Have you looked to see if GW and CoH are available as native Mac applications, Twy? (I don't know what those abbreviations stand for, so I couldn't tell you.). At any rate, if you're working towards a graphic art degree, it's almost a foregone conclusion that your school and the companies in the field you want to work are going to be using Mac's, so you better learn how to use them at an expert level.

jag
Click to expand...

Okay, the mac thing is fairly new with me, but my college has an amazing Art instructor who lives and breathes Macs, *he goes to MacWorld for goodness sake...the Apple stores in the state know him by his first name*

And I use a Mac for my Digital art classes, even though my degree isn't set yet.

So I'm very confident I can know my way somewhat around a Mac.

My biggest questions are:

Will my games run very well on them?

And is it worth having a Mac even if I change degrees? Most of my job deals with Publisher and Word, so I need the abilities of Windows Professional.

I'm totally lost about using two OS's, is it fairly easy?
 
twylight said:
Okay, the mac thing is fairly new with me, but my college has an amazing Art instructor who lives and breathes Macs, *he goes to MacWorld for goodness sake...the Apple stores in the state know him by his first name*

And I use a Mac for my Digital art classes, even though my degree isn't set yet.

So I'm very confident I can know my way somewhat around a Mac.

My biggest questions are:

Will my games run very well on them?

And is it worth having a Mac even if I change degrees? Most of my job deals with Publisher and Word, so I need the abilities of Windows Professional.

I'm totally lost about using two OS's, is it fairly easy?
Click to expand...

I'll jump ahead a bit and say that, once you have windows installed on the Mac, it's smooth as silk. When you boot up, the only thing you have to do is hold the alt key down. This brings up the choice to boot Mac or Windows. Make your choice, and each operating system boots like normal. (If you don't hold alt down, it just boots straight to Mac).

Once in Windows, it's just like being on a PC. And, for me at least, it runs better than it does on a PC (because Apple hardware is so optimized to work with the other components.
 
I have a PC and am going to be shopping around for a new computer in the next few months. You guys have just convinced me to buy a Mac and have both OSX and Windows on it. I know I didn't make this thread but, Thanks for the help!
 
Glad to help.

If you're getting a desktop, and don't need a power machine, I suggest a MacMini. They're cheap, very very small, and you plug your existing montior, keyboard, mouse into it.
 
wiegeabo said:
I'll jump ahead a bit and say that, once you have windows installed on the Mac, it's smooth as silk. When you boot up, the only thing you have to do is hold the alt key down. This brings up the choice to boot Mac or Windows. Make your choice, and each operating system boots like normal. (If you don't hold alt down, it just boots straight to Mac).

Once in Windows, it's just like being on a PC. And, for me at least, it runs better than it does on a PC (because Apple hardware is so optimized to work with the other components.
Click to expand...

To add to this post, twy, you can read up about Apple's Bootcamp as well as Parallels to see more about the different ways you can run Windows on your Mac. As far as whether your games will run VERY well on a Mac, that's sort of subjective, but as long as your games don't have some very specific and unique hardware requirements, your games should run just fine and probably really, really well.

jag
 
I tested Parallels for a while. Works good, and it was the older version. But BootCamp seems to be a lot faster for me. And that makes sense when you think about what the two programs are doing.

For those who don't understand how the dual booting works, I'll try to explain.


Parallels is an emulator. Basically, an emulator is a middleman that tricks two incompatible things to work together. In this case, getting Windows to run on Mac. With Parallels, you install the program onto the Mac like any other program. Then you install Windows onto Parallels. Parallels tells Windows that it's running on a PC, just like it was designed to run on. And it tells the Mac that it's just a macintosh program, like it was designed to run.

But you pay a performance penalty with emulation. Parallels has to translate all Windows commands and actions into Macintosh commands and actions that OSX can understand and use. And it must translate all Mac responses into responses Windows can understand. And Parallels must make sure that neither operating system interfere with each other, or the hardware.

All of the operating system translation can eat up a lot of performance.


BootCamp is different because there is no Mac operating system for the program to run on. Windows is almost running on the Mac natively (as if it was designed for the computer). Bootcamp still tricks Windows into thinking it's on a PC, but it doesn't have to communicate with the Mac OS. Instead, it ties Windows directly into the hardware. So the performance penalty is minimized.

Hope that makes sense.
 
Actually, Parallels is virtualization software rather than emulation software, if you want to get all technical-like about it. :D
jag
 
Hmm...so you 'have' to hold the alt button down? I'd hate to do that upon every start up. With Parallel/Bootcamp can you switch over from one to the toehr without restarting the system?

I'm very tempted to go this route since the games I play don't call for anything really except a Windows OP.

There are a few issue though. Money and none of the Powerbooks have NVIDIA.

PuMpKiN EsCoBaR We have 20" at school for students and the Teachers use 24"...

The 24" is a dream, especially if you're working on a large project ^_^

*melts*
 
Windows OP? Ocean Pacific is making computers now? :oldrazz:

Parallels doesn't require a restart at all to run Windows, twy. It just runs Windows in it's own little window (or full screen if you want it to). Bootcamp does require a reboot, however. As far as the MacBook series go, though, the ATI Mobility graphics chips are solid and should work fine with your games. :up:

jag
 
OS...OS...:(

Sorry, I just woke up, and this whole computer thing has been stressing me out the entire week.

Are ATI solid? I've only ever used NVIDIA *brand loyalty* ^_^

Sorry to be asking all these questions but getting a Mac is like going to collage in a family that doesn't support it. ;) With Windows as an OS, it supports Microsoft Office right?

Sorry it's just a little amazing that the computer can handle both OS's without a substantial dip in the HDD output.
^
Probably has not techno meaning but it makes sense to me. :(
 
Vista comes out Tuesday. Isn't that awesome, jag? :up:

twylight, yes, a Windows OS supports Office. I prefer ATI over NVIDIA, just personal preference.
 
Vista is a half-assed, poor copy of Mac OS X without all the user-friendliness and cool features. Most current hardware won't even run Vista, so you're going to have to get a new computer no matter what you do. The good news is that something like 68% of all the current Windows virii, spyware, malware and trojans are already Vista compatible. Isn't that awesome! :)

For mobility, the ATI graphics chips are good, Twy. I prefer Nvidia on the desktop, but the mobile ATI chips are very solid for laptops. And you can run MS Office on Windows with a Mac just fine. You can also get a copy of MS Office for Macintosh and it works great (I actually like it better than the Windows version thanks to some extra features the MS Mac Business Unit put into the Mac version).

Also, since you're a student, you should be able to get a decent student discount from Apple or their resellers on just about everything you want to buy, twy. :up:

jag
 
I know you're a Mac guy jag, I was just being a Rancid Butthole :oldrazz:

My laptop is Vista-ready, came like that in May of 06, when I got it for graduation.
 
Well I'm assuming that I'd be able to change over to Vista in the future, as opposed to XP.

But none of the games I play are playing well on Vista *I did some research*, so we shall see.

Jag, I did see the discounts, but it's not much. $300 at the most, and sadly the Pwerbooks are already $1,000 over my set limit and I'd still have to pick up Microsoft SB Office and Windows XP Professional. >.< Jag, with the other options for Office, are files from them transferable from a Mac to a PC?

Still..I need Excel, Publisher and Powerpoint since my entire job is off of the last two. >.<

So, it doesn't really help.

I feel like I've taken a set back and then forward again and now I have an apple (literally and metaphorically) hanging in front of me.

I'm stucks! :wow:

:csad:
 
You dont need Microsoft Office.
http://www.openoffice.org/
Its free and actually works better than Microsoft Office (my opinion).

Whats the big mystery?
Buy the mac, put XP on it if you really want to play games, dont give Microsoft any more of your money, install open office, go to school, get your degree, get married so you never use your degree, pump out 3 kids, go into old age, and die. It isnt that hard
 
aptget said:
You dont need Microsoft Office.
http://www.openoffice.org/
Its free and actually works better than Microsoft Office (my opinion).

Whats the big mystery?
Buy the mac, put XP on it if you really want to play games, dont give Microsoft any more of your money, install open office, go to school, get your degree, get married so you never use your degree, pump out 3 kids, go into old age, and die. It isnt that hard
Click to expand...

I'll try to forget the very sexist last few remarks...:o
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Kable24
Linux Distro help
Replies
6
Views
969
Malice
Malice
Buttman
Setting Up A Home Network (XP)
Replies
1
Views
872
black_dust
black_dust
O
Help me get a gaming laptop
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
THWIP*
THWIP*
Darthphere
So my sister wants to buy a new computer....
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
Darthphere
Darthphere
Benstamania
Laptop Selection help
Replies
0
Views
1K
Benstamania
Benstamania

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Members online

Total: 1,340 (members: 18, guests: 1,322)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
200,569
Messages
21,763,015
Members
45,597
Latest member
iamjonahlobe

Share this page

Back
Top
monitoring_string = "afb8e5d7348ab9e99f73cba908f10802"