<p>Hi, I am planning on majoring in biological sciences, and I was wondering whether I should get a macbook or a dell pc. Which one has a better overall value?</p>
<p>have often wondered this as well but from what I am told, it doesn’t matter. I think the general consensus is usually that business/engineering majors get PCs and art majors get Macs. Us science majors are in the middle. I have used both, but have more experience with PCs. My opinion is this:</p>
<p>Macbooks run OSX which is extremely easy to use. I find that a windows user has to know a little bit more about computers to perform certain functions that are otherwise easy to do on OSX.</p>
<p>Macbooks look cooler. If designs even matters to you. Personally, it doesn’t for me because a computer’s main purpose is not to look cool.</p>
<p>THE BIGGIE: In my experience, a PC runs well for the first 2, maybe 3 years and then it starts getting slow. My current PC has no malware or anything on it that might cause it to be slow, it just gets slow with age. I am not sure what causes this, but I have been told the RAM (stuff that helps you run multiple programs with ease) starts to “wear out” and the Windows OS stores a lot of unnecessary stuff that the user is not aware of. The only way to combat this is purge the system, install a fresh copy of Windows, and replace the RAM. All of which cost time and money.</p>
<p>Macs are overpriced; as well as all the software and accessories.</p>
<p>PCs are cheaper, have more software available to them (the gap is getting tighter though) and the accessories and software are cheaper as well.</p>
<p>To give a completely un-biased opinion, I say both turn out to be equal but the Macbook has the slight edge. If you are tight on cash or don’t like throwing away money, buy a PC. If you have some extra money that you don’t mind spending and want to treat yourself, go with a Macbook.</p>
<p>What are the disadvantages to Macs, other than price?</p>
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<p>With Boot Camp, that’s kind of a nonissue. If you can’t find a certain program for Mac, boot up Windows, and there you go. (Though in the time I’ve had my Mac, I’ve never run into a single compatibility issue)</p>
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<p>If you refer to buying a Mac as “throwing away money”, I wouldn’t quite say your opinion is unbiased.</p>
<p>sean256’s post was about the biggest load of nonsense I’ve read in a long time, especially the part about RAM wearing out.</p>
<p>A MacBook would be a wonderful laptop for you to use in bio sci, since I expect that most of the course requirements are to write papers and such and Microsoft Office is available for Mac. It’s true that Macs can cost a bit more than “PC” laptops, since there is no MacBook under $1k, but the return you’ll get on not having many of the computer troubles and headaches that Windows users have is quite worth it. Paying a little more for quality is definitely worth it, but it’s something people usually realize in hindsight.</p>
<p>The primary disadvantage of the MacBooks is really the lack of variety. It’s more of a one-size-fits-most line of products, so avid gamers, engineers, comp sci majors, and people with very specific requirements that fall outside of the MacBook line would probably look elsewhere.</p>
<p>In short, the MacBook I’m typing on is probably the best laptop I’ve ever used because it’s virtually hassle-free, contains tons of features, and can run most popular software (Office, Firefox, Skype, etc.).</p>
<p>Of course, if you’re very experienced with how Windows works, but in many ways, Windows is too difficult for the average user (as a corollary, I wouldn’t recommend linux to you either). PCs are really hit or miss, depending on the manufacturer, model, luck, etc.</p>
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<p>Regarding price, if you compare feature-for-feature, you’ll find that Macs really aren’t that overpriced. My Lenovo ThinkPad R61 was only $60 less expensive than the entry-level MacBook with the same Core 2 Duo, same amount of DDR2 RAM, same sized hard drive, same optical drive functionality, and same wireless capability. Considering that OS X retails for $129, the MacBook was not overpriced.</p>
<p>Now, as for disadvantages, there are a few. Apple does not offer any “gradual” Macs. There’s a huge gap in price and performance from the Mac Mini to the iMac and from the iMac to the Mac Pro. You can’t buy a (new) Mac that has more features than the Mini but less than the iMac and is priced in between. Likewise, you can’t buy a (new) Mac that lets you upgrade more than just the memory for more than $1200 but under $2500.</p>
<p>To get a bit more personal, I think Apple has a terrible case of “not invented here” when it comes to the mouse. For over twenty years, Apple staunchly advocated the one-button mouse. They finally relented in 2006 and released the Mighty Mouse. Yet, despite having the features of a multi-button mouse, the Mighty Mouse is still basically a one-button mouse! How? Try doing a right-click with fingers on the left and right hand sides of the mouse. You won’t be able to. Apple designed the mouse as having one physical button with “touch zones.” However, the zones can’t detect a right click if a finger is on the left zone. That is really, really lousy design in my opinion.</p>
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[QUOTE=sean256]
I have been told the RAM (stuff that helps you run multiple programs with ease) starts to “wear out” and the Windows OS stores a lot of unnecessary stuff that the user is not aware of. The only way to combat this is purge the system, install a fresh copy of Windows, and replace the RAM. All of which cost time and money.
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Those comments about the RAM “wearing out” are complete bullshıt. I have no idea where you got that from, but it’s completely wrong. Computers sold by Apple use exactly the same RAM used by other OEMs, except Apple ridiculously overcharges on it. Please don’t make comments on topics you don’t know anything about.</p>
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Yes, that guy just showed us how much he knows about computers.</p>
<p>Well, personally I think there is no excuse for computing with worn-out RAM. All you have to do is look at the RAM chips, and you can easily see when the edges start wearing thin. I throw out my RAM and buy new cards whenever I start to see the edges of the chip circuitry exposed.</p>
<p>Wow, is that really true about the RAM? Would that explain why my Macbook gets slower and slower everyday even when I’m not adding to the HD?..</p>
<p>First of all, no, RAM does NOT wear out. If your memory even began to “wear out” your computer wouldn’t even boot up. The reason why people replace their RAM is to increase its size, which can help with performance and multitasking.</p>
<p>Second of all, you should learn to see through the stereotypes that plague the computer market. PCs are not virus-laden pieces of garbage so long as you know how to take care of yours (and its not that difficult). Macs are not just for idiots that don’t know how to use a computer. I was a PC person for years before I went mac. I’ve ironed out my fair share of driver conflicts and malware problems, but after a while I got tired of having to wrestle with my computer every other day.</p>
<p>Since Apple controls everything about Macs, from the hardware down to the software, the entire experience is seamless and smooth. The initial investment is much higher, but the TCO is almost always lower. Three years ago I bought a refurbished macbook for $1099. Every once in a blue moon, some hardware would fail, but I was up and running after a quick trip to the apple store. A week or two ago, I sold that same macbook with a couple of added accessories for $900. You just try doing that with a three year old PC laptop, they can’t hold their value for anything.</p>