What laptop's better for a student? Mac or PC?
I'm planning to buy a new laptop since our old one's pretty slow now. I'm going to use the new one basically to do papers, studying, and research. But I'm also active in art and also planning to buy a new tablet and probably photoshop. And I'll also use the laptop for browsing the web.
So which laptop is better for school studies, art, and some hobbies?
I did some research on the mac, and heard that its good. I've been using a PC for a long time. The only time I've actually used a mac is in libraries or such, but the mac seems promising for someone like me. So, mac or PC?
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Tagged with: hobbies • laptop • libraries • long time
Filed under: Used Mac Laptops
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Don’t buy into the furphy that Mac’s are better than Windows-based PC’s for artistic persuits – photoshop is available for both platforms and works just as well!
There’s no reason why a Mac wouldn’t do what you require though – the only shortfall they have is their lack of gaming ability. I would suggest getting a hold of someone’s Mac for a few hours and just trying it out a bit before buying one – that’s the only real way you can make an informed decision. It’s too big an investment to make a decision on a whim!
PC. why?
much MUCH more software is written for pc then mac. also pc’s can do anything a mac can, pc’s are upgradeable, most macs (except the mac pro or whatever its called) can NOT be upgraded.
With a pc, if you accidentaly delete a file from the recycle bin, you can still retreive it, with macs you cant, when its deleted its gone forever.
There are far more Hardware choices for pc then there are for macs, most drives (flash, cd/dvd/hard drives) are made with windows or linux in mind, not mac.
macs come with a crapload of bloatware preinstalled, stuff youll never use taking valuble hard drive space.
macs are far more expensive then pc’s
this list goes on and on forever
Either system will do the job, I use both Windows and Mac at work. I prefer Macs for photo, video editing and composing music.
Since you are going with a laptop upgrading will be difficult so get the best performance you can for the price.
Look at the Dell and Apple websites, they offer discounts to students. Probably 10-12 % of normal retail.
Check out the online forums so that you are aware of the software/hardware issues with either laptop you are considering.
For your uses for a laptop, the Mac is the better choice. I did desktop publishing and graphic design for night school last year (they use the Mac) and volentered at a design shop that used MS Windows and I can say without bias that Macs generally work better for this kind of stuff.
You can also install Windows on the machine using Apple’s BootCamp software if you want to use a Windows only program, or run Mac OS X and Windows side by side with a program like Parallels Desktop or VMWare. Just upgrade your memory to get the best performance out of Photoshop or running Windows (runs great on the new Intel Macs)
Go to Apple.com and see if the MacBook or MacBook Pro is right for you.
Good luck with you decision!
i would go with PC theirs more stuff out their for it and in my opinion its easier to use but that depends on what your used to using.
MAC for music and videos, and PC for regular stuff
Less than 10% of LTs sold are MACs, has to be reasons. Price, lack of compatibility with windows, etc.
Mac would be good for students because they just came out with new Ilife and and Iwork 08 and it really cool. They if send you software updates for your mac so you donot have to worry about not getting software updates on your computer
You should do more research for it or ask few friend about the mac or go to store and ask the people who work there…
Hi,
I’m just responding to a few things that people have said about macs below:
1) They don’t play games – Well, perhaps the software here is a little lacking, but ports of PC games to macs with the growing use of Cider software is growing fast, so it will not be long.
2) Upgradeablility – Now there are elements of truth here, but seriously, you will not want to change the CPU or whatever in a mac laptop. No way. The RAM can be increased. And the graphics cards in the Pros are top notch (that’s the only natch with the non-Pros – their graphics chipset is below average – full 3D games can be played on it though).
3) Can’t retrieve deleted items – This minor argument is soon to be rendered obsolete with the new Mac OS X coming out in October (OS X 10.5) – it contains something called Time Machine. With it, not only deleted files can be retrieved but also stuff like emails/addresses etc. – it can retrieve the state of the entire system at a particular point in the past.
4) More hardware choices – This is quite pathetic – perhaps true 5 years ago. Not now. Any hardware that is not compatible with Mac is either made by a PC manufacturer or just a plain rubbishy piece of design.
5) Loads of crappy software installed – Bloody hell. Now that, that’s just sheer ignorance. Macs come with a trial version of Office for mac I think. That’s all. Windows comes chock-a-block full of crap. Macs come pre-installed with that year’s iLife, but they are 6 great programs that are central to your "computer life". iTunes (for music), iPhoto (photo organiser and more), iDVD (DVD player), iWeb (for podcasting, web pages, etc.), iMovie (for creating and editing movies) and GarageBand (for simply and beautifully creating your own music).
6) Cost – Yes, this is the only downside. It is because Apple make all the macs and so as they do not license out how to build one, and how to make it work with OS X, no third parties build them. It helps Apple keep tight quality control making sure no crappy computers come out running OS X.
7) Less software – Check out Apple’s Bootcamp software and Parallels Desktop. Applications that let you run Windows *within* OS X without having to restart, so if they’re are any applications you simply cannot find, you can run them on Mac.
Have a look at http://www.apple.com/getamac/
I know all this because I love macs, and I’ve grown up with them since childhood.
Lewis