Thread: iMac 20" Vs. Clone.

You can't buy Mac clones. That was something marketed in the late 90's. Didn't catch on then and not a good deal now.

Alan

IBM clones, sorry, never heard of a commercially available Mac clone!

At 17 I was playing a lot of computer games... A mac even with the newest software which says it can do things a windows machine can can't play games a lot of the time. It is the only reason I won't buy another mac as in every other way they were a far nicer machine.

So if he is a gamer-don't go mac. If he has no interest in games they are a far better machine but the truth is $1900 doesn't get you far with them.

In that case, whether you choose to buy a Mac or PC based on how well either platform handles multimedia content is today somewhat irrelevant. Both platforms have a wide range of tools available, both free and non-free. It is much the same for *nix derivatives like Linux too.

In the end the choice is probably better made according to how familiar the user is with any particular platform.

All multimedia applications require some level of skill and will probably also demand some extra expense with additional hardware (video cards, sound cards, video capture, I/O cards and external boxes,...). $1900 won't buy much unless it is 2nd hand, PC or Mac. And then it may be somewhat dated/obsolete.

Admittedly the Mac comes with most of what the average home user would require already built in, but then so do multimedia PCs you can buy at Noel Leemings. There isn't a whole lot of difference in price these days.

Alan

Not a 'gamer' at all.

So, you would be happy with a IBM clone?

Price range seems that clones are more powerful?

But, Mac has the 'graphics' reputation.

Originally Posted by discomuzz

He will do a lot of image and video processing and has a gazzilion songs, videos and stills (HD Video camera, Nikon D60 and 80Gb iPod)!

For that its definitely Mac by a mile. Factor in the software that comes on the Mac and you will find it cheaper. Don't get the base model, get at lest the one up from that as it has a larger drive and more RAM standard and is actually better priced. Inc can also help you here as he sells them. If your son is at school/uni/TAFE you can also get the education discount on the price.

Originally Posted by disco2hse

In the end the choice is probably better made according to how familiar the user is with any particular platform.

Strangely enough that's the sales dude's advice.

The graphics capabilities seem to have narrowed between the two?

Originally Posted by Xavie

At 17 I was playing a lot of computer games... A mac even with the newest software which says it can do things a windows machine can can't play games a lot of the time. It is the only reason I won't buy another mac as in every other way they were a far nicer machine.

So if he is a gamer-don't go mac. If he has no interest in games they are a far better machine but the truth is $1900 doesn't get you far with them.

Umm, that may be more to do with the user than the machine. It have also had something to do with the set up of the machine or the chipset it used. Depending on the games too, from what I have seen quite a few require specific video cards and drivers which probably wouldn't fit into, say, an iMac, but would in a tower.

Basically there is very little that you can't do on an Intel Mac that could otherwise be achieved on a PC. At work most Macs are dual boot (roughly 300 of them), with a Windows XP partition and Mac OS X. The Windows suite of applications on them include everything from Oracle developer apps and CAD/3D modelling apps to Office 2007.

I would hesitate to condemn the whole range of Apple hardware and software because you were unable to make one work to your satisfaction.

Alan