Mac or Pc ==> please read the details first?!?!?!?

Question

I'v been using windows since i had my first computer.
I'm a web developer and i use visual studio alot.
I heard that you can make a partition on mac and install windows on it?
Is it gonna make it run slower?
Do you think i should get a mac? is there any disadvantages in having a mac and installing windows os on it?
is it gonna be exactly the same with the same functionality?
and finally mac or windows?

Thank You

Answer 1

Unfortunately these types of questions always bring out answers that are based on perception and generalities that paint very inaccurate pictures of both Windows and OS X. Let me bring some objective facts to bear that may help as most of what I've seen in the answers so far is inaccurate at best.



Neither Macs nor PCs are specifically geared towards any kind of work. So the claim that Macs are good for design and video editing is false. It's the software that makes a system good for a particular purpose. Yes, Macs ship with better applications (iLife) that make video editing easy, but if you're serious about the topic then either platform will due since you'll have to buy better software anyhow.



If you're running Visual Studio then you need Windows to do that. That's a fact, but that doesn't mean you need a PC. Visual Studio isn't exactly a big resource hog, so you can either use Bootcamp to run Windows on your Mac (no speed issues and no driver issues - despite what others have said). Bootcamp includes all of the drivers for Windows that you need to run it on Mac hardware. That's part of its purpose.



You can also buy and install Parallels or VMWare Fusion to run Windows inside a virtual machine. Some performance slowdown here, but for Visual Studio it's not a big deal.



PC Magazine actually rated the MacBook Pro as the best laptop for running Windows Vista for a couple months straight. Obviously as new PCs come out, this award gets shifted around to other vendors, but rest assured Macs are great machines for running Windows.



The biggest misconception is that Macs are just more expensive. Well, you could say that, but the fact is that buying a Mac is like buying a car that's fully loaded. It comes with a lot of premium features that are pre-configured. And when you just compare "a PC" to "a Mac" it certainly seems as though Macs are more expensive, but the truth is that the PC is typically configured to be less expensive. That being said, there isn't really an option to buy a slimmed down Mac configuration so your price points will start higher, but that doesn't mean you're just paying more for no reason. You're getting more too. Whether what you get is valuable to you or not is a personal choice.



Now those are the objective points of fact. Here's my subjective opinion. Macs are my preference. To me they offer more versatility. I can and do run certain Windows only apps (Visual Studio included) and with my Mac I can do this as well as run my favorite production apps that are Mac only such as Final Cut Pro. I can't get that kind of versatility if I choose a PC.



Hope that helps. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

Answer 2

I am also a web developer (eCommerce) and I own a Mac with OSX and XP installed.



I installed Windows XP about 4 or 5 months after I bought the computer and could not tell a difference in speed. I gave Windows a bit less room during the partitioning - but both run quite fast.



I use heavyweight development environments (MyEclipse and IntilliJ) and have never had a problem with either. They run a heck of a lot better on my Mac then on my Windows machine at work.



I'd vote for the Mac for any developer. The UNIX command line is a blessing and everything 'just works'. I never have to reboot or do pesky unwanted updates. I connect to all of my peripherals just fine while OSX or XP is running.



The Mac is a bit more expensive, but you will make that back in time saved quickly. Get the apple.

Answer 3

I like macs a lot and yes you could do a partition using windows and mac side by side with parallels or you could start up your mac using windows via bootcamp.

Bootcamp is free with leopard 10.5 but you will still need your own genuine copy of XP SP2 or Vista.

I would recommend a macbook pro or imac. Macs are great for editing video or audio. Also macs come with great software already installed such as ilife 08.

Dont buy ram from apple, they are over priced..

My windows partition on my macbook pro runs faster than my PC, and using parallels I get to choose how much ram I could use with my partition which is very cool.

But if you are going to buy a mac just so you could run windows all the time its no use...

Answer 4

If you are a web developer (design) you should really look into Mac. Now here is the exception you mentioned Visual Studio, if all you do is the back end work (databases and HTML and the like) you are best to stay with windows.



You can not install windows on a Mac out of the box. Their are solutions that help with this and there is the option of using (expensive) software to run it in the Mac OS but there are issues with these solutions.

Answer 5

Same as you here when i get a pc game i have to care about problems that may appear in my pc overtime that have nothing to do with the game in particular so that is the reason i buy all multiplatform releases for my ps3 because i only put the cd into the system and the game starts without any installation or additional configuration in graphics my only concern would be the fact that games such as the elder scrolls and fallout (particularly Fallout new vegas) on the ps3 are glitchy at time of release so in order for most of the important glitches to fix they require a patch but on pc's you can simply fix glitches with console commands and there is a big part of additional customization. but since i've heard that skyrim has got few and not game ruining glitches i'm getting it on ps3 'cause your only concern it's the game and nothing else (i.e if you catch a virus on your pc it slows down your system and may make unresponsive you simply don't worry about that in ps3's except you download stuff from the ps3 internet browser which i do not recommend) so it's a ps3 for me and don't listen to fanboys they are the worst in misinformation and one more reason the fact that you own a mac makes gaming harder so it's hands down ps3

Answer 6

if you are going to work on visual studio, u do not need a mac. Yes you can install both on the same machine and it will not make either slower as they will be on separate partitions.

I would say neither mac nor windows, use linux. its free and its reliable and there are a thousand million of them, so you can keep experimenting with various features and functions

Answer 7

Hello dear friend.

that's true ... you can install windows on a partition on mac's hard disk. and it is not slower than PC. but you shall compare prices and decide . mac is naturally faster than PC but you are a web developer ... then you want test your web applications on your computer and I think you will have many scripts on pages and if you test it on mac .... you can't see the actual speed on PC but if you test it on PC you know on mac it will run faster .... the parts that are running on web side is not depended on your computer (after that you uploaded) and the speed and benchmark of your computer is useful only when you are designing your applications on your local computer . any way IF I WERE YOU ..... I WOULD CHOOSE PC.

Answer 8

I heard that you can make a partition on mac and install windows on it? yep (only intel/amd based Macs)



Is it gonna make it run slower? nop (same hardware)



Do you think i should get a mac? nop (waist of money)



is there any disadvantages in having a mac and installing windows os on it? yep ( hard time getting drivers)



is it gonna be exactly the same with the same functionality? yep (same hardware)



and finally mac or windows? windows