Mac or windows?

[chris888222]

Okay, so here's the situation...

My dad's previous laptop (running vista home premium) was totally chomped by a virus. Not worth the repairs. Hence he has decided to get a new one.

He considers a windows OS laptop, as that's what he's been using. But he's fearful with all the potential threats/worms/viruses etc. (his previous 3 computers shared the same fate). He has tried every single antivirus he knows. Trend Micro, Norton, McAfee, Avira, Avast, Kaspersky etc. but to no avail.

He also wants a speedy laptop. I don't know exactly why, but he just hates lags. This laptop which just broke down, with a 120GB HDD, is really slow for him.

I told him to consider a MacBook Pro as well. Yup, he has tried it before. And it's fast enough for him. The only thing is that it's a little costly, hence he'll likely get a refurbished set.

My dad is around his mid-50s, and constantly uses the web for forums/hi-fi equipment search. NO he doesn't watch porn, but he does watch certain ordinary Korean dramas on sites like Youku etc. He also needs his laptop for some income tax stuff and business wise, so Microsoft Office (or something similar) is essential for him.

Based on the situation, which do you think he should get? A MacBook Pro refurbish or an ordinary windows laptop (likely acer)? Please help me out...

Thanks

 

[DarkLG]

Pc you can upgrade it yourself and it doesn't cost as much as a Mac. Mac is just a fancy OS which can be done on windows easily.

 

[chris888222]

My budget is around S$1,000 - S$1,200. Most laptops I see now around this price have 4GB drives (dunno how you call them, I'm a noobie).

Likely acer if for windows, cuz that's what I'm currently using.

And he doesn't need upgrades, he's just a casual user.

Just a laptop which is easy to use, fast enough and can last for quite awhile.

 

[sentinel5000]

Ok, first of all, he needs to stop dling that pronz fast, cuz its incredible for me that he has had so many computers and all have been infected that bad. Tipically u just need Avast home(free) and malwarebytes (also free).

To tell you the truth, windows 7 is great and he can go with that, just be careful what he downloads and installs. But id recommend Ubuntu

, yes linux 10.10. Anyways linux is not for everyone but its so awesome and FREE that id like anyone to use it...

 

[Hakoda]

Get the best of both worlds. Build a hackintosh.

Also are you saying you have 1,000-1,200 USD to spend on this?

 

[chris888222]

Ok, first of all, he needs to stop dling that pronz fast, cuz its incredible for me that he has had so many computers and all have been infected that bad. Tipically u just need Avast home(free) and malwarebytes (also free).

To tell you the truth, windows 7 is great and he can go with that, just be careful what he downloads and installs. But id recommend Ubuntu

, yes linux 10.10. Anyways linux is not for everyone but its so awesome and FREE that id like anyone to use it...
LOL. He doesn't watch them! But those sites which he goes into (local hi-fi forums in particular) has a crapton of smokey worms or horses, perhaps even e-coli.

Yes, windows 7 is very good. I'm using it now. He won't upgrade to Linux or whatever though, he will just stick with whatever there is to offer.

I must say though, Mac accessories are really darn expensive. Office Mac for S$188?

QUOTE(Hakoda @ Jun 20 2011, 12:32 PM) Get the best of both worlds. Build a hackintosh.

Also are you saying you have 1,000-1,200 USD to spend on this?

LOL hackintosh

And no, not US dollars. Singapore dollars. I'm not THAT rich.

 

[DarkLG]

Just stick to a windows pc it's easy to use you don't even need antivirus anymore really.I've been using the one microsoft offers haven't got a virus since.

 

[Hakoda]

I'm not joking, a hackintosh could work if you spend enough time researching which specs works. Sounds like you're looking for an Acer, which is fine, but any other specs? I suggest the processor to be one in Intel's i-line as their integrated graphics can achieve full acceleration in OS X Lion.

For all others trying to help 1000-1200 SGD = 810-972 USD

 

[JustChillin1414]

If you want to avoid viruses, I'd go with ubuntu. You can use Open Office which is pretty much the same as Microsoft Office. Then again, I love my macs, but if you're going for a low price either build a hackintosh or use linux. Or if you're careful use Windows 7, all he needs to do is get a decent anti virus and don't install untrustworthy things :S

 

[sentinel5000]

If you want to avoid viruses, I'd go with ubuntu. You can use Open Office which is pretty much the same as Microsoft Office. Then again, I love my macs, but if you're going for a low price either build a hackintosh or use linux. Or if you're careful use Windows 7, all he needs to do is get a decent anti virus and don't install untrustworthy things :S

This guy knows the deal, ubuntu can do pretty much anything windows can

and again its FREE!

 

[chris888222]

Wait. there IS such thing as a hackintosh?

Sorry I'm really darn noob.

My dad personally likes Acer. He has used Dell for the past couple of years and he's quite done with it. He hates HP for a reason. He's fine with other affordable brands. No need for high end ones like alienware. He is also fine with macs, but it's just the price. AppleCare + office + MacBook = can jump off the building.

And ubuntu... I haven't heard of that.

Virtually unknown here.

 

[marcus134]

My dad's previous laptop (running vista home premium) was totally chomped by a virus. Not worth the repairs.
Virus don't break laptops, laptops simply break cause they're cheap and made to break so you have to buy another one after a few year ( 3-4 on average), this issue also happen with apple laptops.

If a computer become unusable because of a virus, all you have to do is format the hdd and reinstall windows, it doesn't cost a penny and require minimal attention over the process until you get to the driver installation part.

a 120GB HDD, is really slow for him.
HDD is the storage space.
HDD don't give speed for processing stuff, the cpu does. HDD speed (calculated in rpm) does affect loading times, but the slowdown caused by the hdd is minimal (in terms of relative usage time of a computer) unless you're running out of ram.

QUOTE(chris888222 @ Jun 20 2011, 12:25 AM)

Most laptops I see now around this price have 4GB drives

That's the ram (Random allocation memory), it's the space available to software and the operating system to load stuff needed for their execution.
For most situation, 4 gb is recommended with vista/win7 config. Laptops ram can be upgraded easily, most laptop comes with 2 slot.

Getting to the computer brands, Acer and HP are probably the worse brand you can buy, their reliability over 3 years is the lowest compared to other brands.
If you ask me, I would recommend Asus, Toshiba, Samsung, maybe Fujitsu.
http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardwar...spx?image=75982

Also if you want a chance of having a laptop a little bit more longer, you can try to get a business class laptop, they are usually more sturdy and durable.

BTW, if your father only use his laptop on a desk, a desktop would be better solution.

 

[chris888222]

My dad's previous laptop (running vista home premium) was totally chomped by a virus. Not worth the repairs.
Virus don't break laptops, laptops simply break cause they're cheap and made to break so you have to buy another one after a few year ( 3-4 on average), this issue also happen with apple laptops.

If a computer become unusable because of a virus, all you have to do is format the hdd and reinstall windows, it doesn't cost a penny and require minimal attention over the process until you get to the driver installation part.

a 120GB HDD, is really slow for him.
HDD is the storage space.
HDD don't give speed for processing stuff, the cpu does. HDD speed (calculated in rpm) does affect loading times, but the slowdown caused by the hdd is minimal (in terms of relative usage time of a computer) unless you're running out of ram.

QUOTE(chris888222 @ Jun 20 2011, 12:25 AM)

Most laptops I see now around this price have 4GB drives

That's the ram (Random allocation memory), it's the space available to software and the operating system to load stuff needed for their execution.
For most situation, 4 gb is recommended with vista/win7 config. Laptops ram can be upgraded easily, most laptop comes with 2 slot.

Getting to the computer brands, Acer and HP are probably the worse brand you can buy, their reliability over 3 years is the lowest compared to other brands.
If you ask me, I would recommend Asus, Toshiba, Samsung, maybe Fujitsu.
http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardwar...spx?image=75982

Also if you want a chance of having a laptop a little bit more longer, you can try to get a business class laptop, they are usually more sturdy and durable.

BTW, if your father only use his laptop on a desk, a desktop would be better solution.

Wow how in-depth! Thanks

I'm too noob I guess

Well, actually it is not only a virus problem, but also overheating. I have no idea why but the fan suddenly goes VOOM and the whole goddamn thing slows down like fuck. Consulted an expert already and he claims that it has no cure. A cooling pad may cool it abit but still useless.

I have been using acer for quite awhile (2nd year) and it hasn't given me problems so far. My friend's HP has a roasted motherboard in a month. Macs sound expensive (and they ARE).

Hmm... I'll check the samsung prices. Btw are refurbished sets more likely to get spoilt?

 

[marcus134]

Well, actually it is not only a virus problem, but also overheating. I have no idea why but the fan suddenly goes VOOM and the whole goddamn thing slows down like fuck. Consulted an expert already and he claims that it has no cure. A cooling pad may cool it abit but still useless.

That sounds like a throttling issue. The trick is usually to disassemble the laptops and clean the heat-sinks ( metal thingy installed for cooling purpose). Compressed air is the fastest and easiest solution but it can be achieved with other means such as Q-tips or cloths and stick. Also, the thermal paste that is installed between the heat-sink and the chips (cpu/chipset) may have dried, changing that is a bit more tricky but feasible.

 

[Rydian]

Spoiler

PCs and Macs are both computers. It's a bit of a confusing term since "PC" means "personal computer". A Mac is a PC as well. When people say PC, they mean a computer running Windows. You may use different programs to do the same things on either type of PC, but you will still be doing the same things.

Macs use the same hardware as windows computers nowadays. They stopped using those "special" processors years ago. The two are pretty much equal as far as ability for a home user.

Macs come with way better default software for playing around and doing home productions with (which may be your goal), but it's still not professional-level stuff. The million dollar pros that use macs don't use garageband. They use software that costs more than the machine itself. Macs have an image of being better for art, because they come with better default software (which appeals to amatuers), and because everybody says they're better for art (and everybody else hears it and repeats it). You can run photoshop on a mac or a PC with the exact same results. Please do not buy a mac and expect it to turn you into an artist.

An important thing to know is that macs don't come with Windows. They come with "OS X", version 10 of Apple's Macintosh operating system. It's an operating system, so you'll still be able to get online and draw and stuff, but it's not windows, so it runs different programs. Programs could possibly have a Mac and PC version (photoshop, world of warcraft, firefox, and others do), but lots don't. This includes most games! You can't run Ragnarok or Crysis on OS X. There are plenty of programs for OS X, however. You may find a few that you'll grow attached to quickly. For any program that doesn't have an OSX version, there's sure to be an OS X program that does the same thing. There is a lot more software for Windows, but nobody needs all 2 billion programs available for Windows. Or even all five thousands programs available for OS X. Most people use only 5-20 programs daily and most of those will work on both Windows and OS X or have similar alternatives available, so as long as you don't intend to game Windows-only games or use a specific brand-name program you'll be fine.

You can certainly install windows on it (easily through bootcamp) if you wanted, but you'd need to buy a copy of windows for that.

You may hear that macs are immune to viruses. That is false.
http://www.securemac.com/
Macs cannot be affected by windows viruses, but Windows programs running on your Mac (with bootcamp or WINE) can be infected by Windows viruses. There are viruses for OS X, but there's so few viruses for it (less than 10 percent of home users use macs) that you will likely never be affected by one. It is still recommended that you have an antivirus around, as windows infections will affect windows machines if they're given to a windows machine from a mac, hopefully the mac antivirus will be able to clean the file.
http://www.clamxav.com/ is a free one.

However, if you are going to get an Apple, you should not become totally oblivious as to what you are downloading. Especially if you are downloading anything from a third party or file-sharing site (legal or not). As stated before, most viruses are geared towards Windows, yet you might get a bad script running in Mac that will fuck everything up, and can be a bitch to find and repair/delete even if you have the appropriate application. So don't think that a Mac will solve all of your safety and security problems (I own a MBP, so I have decent idea about what's going down). Just be careful.

Go to an apple store (apple's site has a store locator) and try out a mac for a bit, see if you like it. They use the same hardware as any other PCs, but the case and accessories are made by apple, so they have their own look and feel, as well as quality level.

Sephiroth_the_FallenAngelSwitch because you want a Mac, not because you don't want a PC.

 

[shadowmanwkp]

This might sound like a sudden huge bashing, I would not consider buying an acer laptop.

Acer group, which covers both the acer brand laptops, as well as packard bell are known for their insanely bad build quality. Some people have no trouble at all, they work fine for a decent price. But, the people who do get problems (like me) have very severe ones. I bought a packerd bell and within one week the hard drive was busted. It was a good thing I kept backups, because data recovery is very expensive (and thus not covered by warranty). Later, I also discovered that my sd card slot corrupts all cards. That my dvd drive make a huge racket because the spinner is not level and I get random blue screens (probably due to a faulty wi-fi unit). Accounts of my computer sciences classmates that work in shops are of the same matter as well. They even got the reputation of "packerd hells" Acer laptops have the same problems described above. They are practically the same as packerd bells, only with different specs, if you look well enough at them, you can see similarities between some acers and packerd bells.

I do not want to bash you, some laptops work just fine and you'll never notice anything. But I do have to warn you that you have to know what you're getting into. The company is infamous for it's bad build quality and it shows.

I would recommend looking into asus brand laptops. They cost a bit more, but the build quality is splendid. My mother has one for a little month now and it works like a charm. I have also heard other good things from other people who use asus brand laptops.

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

Also, I don't really agree with people recommending Ubuntu. Good free software, Linux in general, maybe. But I wouldn't dare recommend anything running Unity or even GNOME-Shell to a middle-aged casual user whose biggest concern is speed and reliability, and is really only used to the Windows and OSX desktop systems.

 

[chris888222]

My dad has this weird flair for taiwan brands. He sorta discouraged me to buy HTC phones (but hey, they're awesome) and also diss a few Taiwan brands. He considered asus, but it's like the last in his list. Asus laptops can be very very cheap in IT fairs though, so maybe I may ask him to wait till then.

Also, I will bring him to the Apple Store to see if he is very keen on the Mac or not. He likes the speed, but like what rydian has said, Mac components are exactly the same as the ones used on window PCs. An asus might even be faster!

Thanks for all the help!

 

[TankedThomas]

Sounds like a Windows laptop would be the best, and I definitely recommend Windows 7. I haven't had much experience with Mac OS X, but I'm not biased towards one either. I've just always used Windows, but I do want to own a Mac too.

Macs are great for videos and music and stuff, and Windows systems have higher compatibility with all the stuff out there on the world wide web (but there is also Mac-exclusive stuff too - it's not all for Windows), and if he's just using it for work (office stuff), there's MS Office for Mac, which I believe is pretty darn good. You definitely wouldn't get the same amount of problems e.g. viruses with a Mac.

Personally, I would NOT buy a refurbished one. Maybe it's just me, but the way I see it, second-hand computers are a big no-no. Basically, my rule, is you can't afford it, save a bit more. You get what you pay for.

I think Rydian summed it up very well. Also, yes, Linux is not suitable for the average end-user. For more advanced users and people who like technical, confusing stuff, they're great fun, and the open-source environment is like a dream come true for some people, but the average person would just get confused and probably ending up doing something they shouldn't have.

 

[chris888222]

Refurbished sets = sounds like getting a second hand phone huh?

But Apple Store for refurbished products seem extremely convincing. Lol