Why Mac?

Paul C

Paul C

Registered
My friend is looking to purchase a new COMPUTER soon and I recommended gettin a mac, he works in IT with myself but doesn't require a COMPUTER for anything imparticular apart from Internet and playin mpegs, mp3, and other normal stuff.

He quite likes the idea of a Mac but doesn't want to regret it after spending his money, I want the explain the 'The MegaHertz Myth' in more detail but I don't quite understand why Macs out perform Intel chips, could you explain and also give me some reasons to pursuade him as a home computer user.

Thanks guys!
 
There are a few reasons the Mac's PowerPC based chip outperforms an intel-based chip in spite of lower processor speeds.

One is that the PPC chip has a smaller pipeline, meaning it takes fewer cycles to fill, clear and process data from the pipeline.
Another is that the PPC chip is RISC based - Reduced Instruction Set Code - meaning it can handle instructions in smaller chunks, and bundle instructions together for more efficient processing.
The PPC uses a multi-level cache design (3 levels on the G4 chip) with current G4s running up to 256k at the processor speed, along with 2mb of level 3 cache on board each processor.

And its not only the chip, its the operating system. Mac OS X is far less bloated than Windows. It's core is open-source and does not have to support legacy hardware and old standards. This makes for a more efficient and stable operating system.

The Mac is a fantastic system for handling multimedia, especially mp3. As an internet system, it goes above the call by giving the user not only a wide range of browsers and tools, but also services like FTP and web server.

You might want to have a look at the "Switch" site at http://www.apple.com/switch/
 
Here is the truth: Mac chips have altivec, dual processors offer more for the computer, code may be more optimized on the Mac, the G4 is a better designed chip despite it's clock speed,etc. etc. etc.. These are all reasons that the G4 is NOT as slow as you might think based on its clockspeed in comparison to Intel. G4's are comprable.

That said-- they are not as fast as Intel chips. It's the truth, and you just have to accept it!

That's not the determining factor though-- G4's give you great performance still-- and give you VERY good performance on even some pro level tasks (Photoshop is optimized up to butt for the G4-- video editing, etc. is fast). You must also consider a few other things: RAM makes all the difference in the world on a Mac (and on Intel too), and for graphics-intensive things (games, video, graphics, etc.) a good video card will really speed things up.

So, use these arguments for "why the G4 is great" but you are lying if you try to convince your friend that overall, across the board, in general etc. that the G4 ouperforms a Pentium or the latest AMD.
 
Really I was talkin about the whole Mac and PC thing rather than G4 vs Intel but thanks for the view Hector.

I said to him that he'd like the Mac cos it's somethin new to use when you go home rather than having to use Windows all day everyday which gets boring (yawn), I'm not knockin PC's but I think it's better when you admin a Win 2k network in work and then go home to somethin different, just my opinion. :rolleyes:
 
Hello Paul C.

If your friend doesn't require a COMPUTER for anything imparticular apart from Internet and playin mpegs, mp3, and other normal stuff., then he's the perfect target of Apple products.

Apple products are, in the very first place, conceived for people like your mate: simple users, with no will to tweak the machine or do complex things. All these users want is multimedia: Web, audio, video.

On an Apple machine you will be able, since first boot, to listen MP3s smoothly with iTunes, to check the Web and mail with Explorer and Mail, to watch videos and other media with Quicktime.

If you need to go a bit further (I mean: text editing and the lot), Office is available for the Macintosh, as well as most first-end products such as the greatest games and productivity tools.

He quite likes the idea of a Mac but doesn't want to regret it after spending his money, I want the explain the 'The MegaHertz Myth' in more detail but I don't quite understand why Macs out perform Intel chips, could you explain and also give me some reasons to pursuade him as a home computer user.
Click to expand...

Again, as your friend corresponds exactly to the average Apple user, spending on a Mac can only bring him satisfaction IMHO.
The things he wants (multimedia, Web, simplicity) obviously exist on the Mac in their most performant form.
The things he does NOT want (tweaking, complex hardware/software considerations, blue screens of death) are ABSENT from the Mac :).

Look on this page for your friend: he perfectly fits the iBud profile !

As for the MHz myth, I don't understand it myself. All I know is that my G3/500 at home is slower than the Pentium II/600 at work, but I finally don't care a lot.
 
If there is an apple store nearby take him there and show him iLife. Nothing out there could touch iMovie or iDVD before the latest upgrade. Now that they are all integrated, nothing out there is in the same league!
 
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