Mac vs PC Comparison
Posted : 19 Jan 2003
Mar 2003 Update : Look for an updated as both Apple and PC prices changed dramatically over the last few months. Also I have been doing some performance testing of my own between high end Macs and PCs - with some surprising results. Soon as I get the results together I will email them out.
---
Settle down for a long session for this email review between the latest Mac's and PC's.
I think that a lot of you will find this comparison of Mac's vs PC's interesting. Basically, I have tried to configure PC's to match comparable Mac's as closely as possible (except in case 4). I'm not a Tom's Hardware and simply don't have the resources to do the extensive resource testing required for detailed performance analysis. I assume that most people are somewhat interested in how Mac's compare with PC's, performance wise. If so, have a look at these links for some interesting performance comparisons and discussions from people with more time and specialist knowledge than I have.
http://www.macintouch.com/g4performance.html
http://www.macintouch.com/g4performance02.html
Indications are though, that PC's seem to be well in the lead at the moment and can be up to double the speed of the "comparable" Mac in most benchmarks (except Apple's). Apple can thank Motorola for being in the doldrums and IBM for being, well IBM... Roll on the G6 (G5 may never get released) late this year.
To give you some idea of the complexities involved, I can run Warcraft 3 on both my Mac (G4/867 with 512MB RAM and Geforce 2 MX) and my PC (Pentium 3/800 with 512MB RAM and Geforce 4 Ti4400). Hands down the PC slaughters the Mac. Absolutely no comparison. Running 1024x768 with all sound and graphics options on the PC, Warcraft runs beautifully. Running 800x600 on the Mac with all options turned off the Mac is barely acceptable. How would it run on a G3 - quite poorly I reckon ! I tried to install the GeForce 4 card from the PC in the Mac but it wouldn't work unfortunately And at $940 to get a GeForce 4 Ti4600 from Apple it will never happen either. Of course the GeForce Ti card makes an enormous difference. How much, I cant put a figure on it but at least 100-200%? On the other hand, SETI data analysis is much faster on the Mac than the PC. Comparing my PC to one of my clients PC's (bought elsewhere), both are Pentium 3 800MHz machines - again no comparison. My PC runs rings around their PC in every respect and I would estimate a 300-400% performance difference. Again my PC is very well equipped and it shows the importance in using good components as they can make that much of a difference.
I have used name brand PC parts in the comparisons. In some cases the PC parts are identical to components that Apple uses. I used genuine Intel motherboards and Pentium processors. Comparing my prices/specs to Dell, I find they are very comparable for the specification so I feel justified in comparing my clone systems to name brand Apple systems. If you used "no-name" PC components then you could expect to reduce the PC price by hundreds of dollars. If you allowed for a better PC case then the price could jump up several hundred dollars. I only allowed for a deluxe case for the PC in case 4 as in my experience very few people ever buy one. You can argue about fine points about differences in specifications but that misses the point. This is simply an off the cuff comparison, although reasonably detailed.
I wont go into
a blow by blow analysis of the relative advantages/disadvantages
of Windows XP vs OS X. Again, beyond the scope of this email
(which is going to be quite long enough anyway). But having
owned and
used every
version
of Mac OS ever released (and some not) and most PC versions
of DOS and Windows over the last 20 years, I feel somewhat
qualified
to
comment the current
state
of play. OS X is still not as refined as OS 9 but it is becoming
increasingly compelling as Apple continues to add to OS X.
Still not quite there
yet
though, although very usable. I still prefer OS 9 for every
day use. Windows XP is
(IMHO) at a very refined state. Wizards for everything. Hardly
ever crashes. Support for almost every technology and protocol.
Readily
available software
and hardware. It is easier to use than ever before. Which
do I prefer? OS 9 first, then XP and finally OS X. Let the arguments
rage on ...
---
Case 1
eMac vs the Pentium 4/1.7 Ghz with 17" CRT
Just the entry level systems here. 256MB PC133 SD RAM, 40GB 7200 RPM hard disk, CD-RW & DVD-ROM combo drive with a 17" flat screen CRT. eMac works out to be $320 more expensive than the PC. The eMac is just about the heaviest cpu ever released and once it is sitting on your desk (which will undoubtedly creak under the weight) you wont be moving it often ! Some PC motherboards are offering 5.1 surround sound built-in but the sound on the Intel D845PESV motherboard is the ordinary stereo similar to that provided by the eMac. The eMac comes with built-in speakers and these pump out reasonable quality sound. The basic Altec Lansing speakers I have included with the PC are at least as good if not better and being independent of the cpu can be positioned somewhat more flexibly. I have always liked the all in 1 iMac/eMac concept although being unable to change the display is a disadvantage. With the larger 17" eMac flat screen CRT this is less necessary than ever. Good crisp picture on both the eMac and the Mitsubishi displays.
I'm
a bit annoyed with Apple for not preloading their OS anymore. Now you have
to do the old CD shuffle to
install
the OS prior
to using
your Mac.
Most PC
suppliers will pre load the OS for you, although
neither computer will be anywhere near setup for use. By the
time you have loaded
your ISP
settings, email address
book, web bookmarks, setup your printer, installed
all your software and applied all the latest updates,
you might
have
wasted a day
or 2 (or more).
The eMac
comes with Appleworks, Quicktime (naturally), Acrobat
Reader, Stuffit, flash
player, DVD software, iPhoto, iTunes, Explorer, Mail
and a whole swag of OS 9 and X programs. Both are
easy to configure
but the
Mac is easier.
OS X is
particularly impressive in it's ease of setup. The
PC comes with a raft of software too, but the eMac
bundle is better.
About
the only
Apple
software
I don't like is Disk Burn. Toast is far superior.
MS are particularly
stingey unless they made the software, whereas Apple
has licensed a whole pile
of
useful software from other manufacturers. The essential
Acrobat & Flash
player are but 2 examples. Both OS's include a free
Internet software updating service.
Anti-virus software is essential on any PC, much less
so for Mac's but not to be neglected. Firewall software
is
pretty much essential these days
too,
again more so for PC than Mac. The latest Macs come
with a complete OS 9 and X disk image install process.
Separate
OS X 10.2 CD's come with the
CD bundle
and Apple have dropped OS 9 install CD's completely.
To reinstall a blown up OS 9 requires you to do a complete
OS 9 and X install using 3 to 4 CD's.
Windows
XP comes as a single CD, but it take a while to install.
Allow for 30-60 minutes for an XP install or reinstall.
The Microsoft registration process
is a pain.
If your hardware changes beyond certain allowable limits
within a certain time span, MS actually require you
to
reregister Windows again.
Almost all PC's come with serial, parallel, PCI,
USB 2, PS/2 and sound ports/slots these days. It
is rarer to get firewire,
which
is standard
on all Macs now.
Some of the latest PC's also come with built-in RAID
and serial ATA. Macs miss out on USB 2 (as fast as
firewire)
but this
can be added
with a $90
PCI card,
which is about what it costs to add a PCI firewire
card to a PC.
I have never worked out why PC's seem to print faster than Mac's. It seems almost as soon as you have pressed the print button on a PC than the paper pops out of the printer. Mac's seem to take a bit longer to start but otherwise they seem to print at the same speed.
PC seems to feel a bit
more responsive than the eMac and this was the case with all the Macs. If
I ever
get the time
I would
like
to do a
series of
real world bench marks just to see what the speed
difference really is. For day
to day tasks, both are more than speedy enough
to get done whatever you require.
Why Apple put the eMac go button on the back
right hand side of the eMac amazes me. Sometimes
they
are so stupid it makes
me angry
.The
old G3
iMacs have it
on the front - where it should be. And why did
they remove the go/shutdown button from the keyboard?
Unbelievable !
The MS optical
mouse with
2 buttons and a scroll wheel is far superior
to Apple's
single button specimen.
Everyone
who ends up trying a 2 button with scroll wheel
mouse, never looks back. Thankfully the iMac
and eMac now
come with 3
USB ports, almost
as good
as the 5-6 available
on most PC's .... I'm glad they added the extra
USB port on the cpu as the keyboard always takes
up one
of the slots.
The
unpowered
USB
port
on the
keyboard wont run all devices often requiring
an AC powered external USB hub to be added.
By the time you add a printer, scanner, zip drive,
external USB floppy drive, digital camera, etc.,
the built-in USB
ports on
a Mac don't
go far. Most
PC cases are now going for front access USB ports
which is better than the side
ports on the eMac/iMac. The PC cases look pretty
clunky although many are now making more of an
effort to jazz up their designs.
A definite
craze
for transparent
PC cases is happening with blinking and flashing
lights, LED's and cables making some PC's look
like robotic Christmas
Trees.
This will
pass in
time.
Having a lot of things built-in on an eMac avoids a lot of the cable jungle that is inevitable with many computers. But it does somewhat depend on how many external accessories you have. With the PC you might as well give up straight away and accept the tangled mess of cables that occurs within 5 seconds of turning everything on. Lack of a floppy on the Mac isn't really an issue, and if you need one simply get an external USB unit.
The PC is quieter than the eMac but PC's have definitely faired worse with inferior power supplies and fans over the years. Apple fans and power supplies very rarely fail.
Upgrading an eMac beyond
putting more RAM can be difficult. Upgrading the internal
hard disk
requires
a difficult
and tedious disassembly.
Although
you can easily
add an external firewire drive. And as
for why standard PC video cards wont work in
Mac's. Apple
makes you
pay around
double for "their" card.
If you have a CD-RW eMac and want to upgrade
to a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive then they
charge you $1,300. Yep $1,300
! And that is the changeover price
too ! Panasonic and Pioneer combo drives
are available for around $175. There is no
way this virtual robbery
can be justified. You can always add
an external
firewire drive but this sort of upgrade is
very straight forward with a PC (and cheap).
The motto of this story
is to buy the right model eMac
at the
beginning. And if it cant plug into a firewire
or USB port then you are probably in trouble.
No PCI slots
in eMacs.
---
Case 2
iMac vs the Pentium 4/1.7 Ghz with 15" TFT
Very similar to case 1 except the systems come with a CD-RW and 15" TFT's. Here the iMac is $329 more expensive. The main difference is with the 15" TFT screens and the absence of a fan in the iMac, making it much quieter than both the eMac & PC. Pulling the iMac apart for drive upgrades is even harder than the eMac and definitely not for the faint hearted. Performance is similar (ie, the PC is faster). Both the Apple TFT and the Mitsubishi TFT 15" displays are great to look at. TFT's are better than CRT's because they : use less power, generate almost no heat, don't expose you to any EMF, don't go out of focus. Unfortunately they are also double the price and are expensive to repair if the backlight goes or a few pixels go dead. They can now be calibrated like CRT's and apparently the profiles are very stable (unlike CRT's which need constant adjustment).
The iMac go button
is also in a stupid position. The
flexible support stalk
for the iMac screen
is excellent as it very
easily allows
the screen to
be positioned anywhere you wish and
also to be moved easily. Better than
the
conventional deskbound TFT's. In
fact the whole deskspace taken up by the
iMac is
very small.
Much smaller than the PC. Apple's
excellent design department at work again.
---
Case 3
G4/867DP vs Pentium 4/2.0 Ghz
Here the price difference
starts to really get noticeable at $1,009.
No
displays here,
just
comparing cpu's.
The G4's give
substantially
more performance
than the iMac's and eMac's. Dual
processors, better G4 processors
with more
cache,
faster graphics cards, better
motherboards, faster RAM, all add up to a much
faster package. Shame
that the PC's still
seem to
be faster,
although
the
gap narrows a little.
The first time the dual fans
in the G4 spin up to full speed
you
almost
think
that your
G4 has
turned
into a hovercraft
and is about
to float
off the desk.
I'm amazed that quieter fans
cant be designed. If submarines
propellers
can be made virtually
undetectable,
surely they
can make quieter
computer cooling
fans. The PC is much quieter.
The noise
is annoying particularly when
playing music and even more
so when listening to DVD's.
The
PC and Mac are both very expandable. The G4 is easier
to do it with
it's industry best
case.
The
PC comes with
5.1 surround
sound,
which
makes 3D
gaming and DVD playing a superior
experience on the PC. Of course
you have to go
out and spend $250 or so to
get a good set
of speakers to actually take
advantage of 5.1
audio. With
the $1,000 you save by
buying a PC you
could buy these
speakers, more RAM, a 2nd hard
disk, a better graphics card,
larger display and even
a faster processor. What is
there about owning a Mac that makes
people returning
again and
again to
buy one? The operating
system, the security
and reliability,
the design. All factors for
sure. With Apple market share at
3 to 4% and shrinking they
are certainly
a niche market. But a very
vocal
and
dedicated
one. Unix
market share though with Apple
as the single biggest Unix
platform is increasing,
although
probably
Linux is the main
beneficiary.
Graphics cards are of similar
performance. Running in OS
9, unless programs
specifically support
it, the dual processors
do not
come into action.
The situation is much better
in OS X where the OS itself
directly supports multiple
processors.
---
Case 4
G4/1250DP vs Pentium 4/3.0Ghz
And the price discrepancy gets even larger - $1,336 now. These systems are the best you can buy. Again no displays. In some ways the PC has far better specifications, as unlike with the first 3 cases I really went to town and loaded it up with almost everything that you could put in. The PC comes with 5.1 surround sound. and the presence of both a DVD-RW and a DVD-ROM allows both CD to CD and DVD to DVD copying. The PC graphics card is the excellent GeForce 4 Ti 4600 - which is markedly superior to the Radeon 9000 Pro inside the G4. To add this to the Mac would cost an extra $500 (only available through the Apple web store or as a special build to order option), which I find interesting as the PC GF4 card itself costs just $585 - and this is buying the card outright and not upgrading it from a Radeon 9000 Pro. It would be possible to put in a PC dual processor motherboard and 2x 3GHz processors and this would likely make the PC around the same price as the Mac. Both units use Pioneer DVD-RW drives but Apple appears to have not upgraded to the A05 4x writer yet and is still using the A04 2x superdrive. So for the moment the PC can write twice as fast until Apple decides bundles the A05 drive into Macs with a Superdrive.
The PC
case is good, the G4
case is quite simply
the industry's
best. I
have yet
to see better
engineering and design
in a computer case
- if only
you
could get them for PC's
! 1 latch
to lift and everything
is exposed for
easy access.
The G4 allows for excellent
expansion with room for
4 hard disks and
2x 5.25" CD
sized mechanisms. From
benchmarks I have seen
on the Internet the PC
with it's
3Ghz processor and fast
GeForce display
card outruns the Mac in
the performance
stakes. But both are very
fast systems.
---
Summary
Well the PC's are cheaper, no secret there. Consistent right through cases 1 to 4 above. The more expensive the Mac the greater the price difference.
Performance. PC's appear to win there also, although some may dispute this one. It all depends on the benchmarks being used.
Features. Given
that PC's can be configured
any way
you like,
with
whatever components
you like
I feel
that PC's have a
distinct advantage
here.
The problem is in
understanding the technology and
jargon well enough
to be
able to work
out what bits you
need. Simply doing the research
to find
out whether
it is worth
paying for
a GeForce 4 Ti 4200
64Mb over
an ATI 128
Rage Pro 32MB
AGP
3D display card can
take weeks of research.
Ask
10 different
people about PC's
and you will get
10 different
answers.
And then once
you have decided
on the
specification you
still have to work
out what brand of
component you should get.
There is
an enormous
difference between
brands. The trap
with PC's
is that you can end
up with a fast heap
of unreliable,
crashing
junk
unless you
get
the right bits.
The PC sales guys
are rarely of great
help. Apple
make
it all simple. Increase
the
RAM, choose whether
you want a CD-RW
or a superdrive,
all in
one, notebook or
G4 desktop. That's about
it.
Piece
of cake.
Usability. Macs have
to win here. Even
with OS
X. Although
for
existing OS
9 users changing
over not
is not as simple.
Windows
XP has never
been better
though. MS keeps
on refining and improving
all
their products.
Expandability. RAM is easy on the Mac's. Other components are harder. XP is pretty much plug and play, not plug and pray as WIN OS's used to be. Most Windows users are scared to touch their PC's once they get it all setup and working. Come to think of it so are most Mac users ! The sealed nature of eMac's and iMac's make it very difficult indeed to upgrade to even a larger hard disk. Want to change your sound card or video card - forget it. G4's are a dream, as long as you use bits that come with Apple drivers. PC's? Well, apart from the cable tangle and sharp edges inside the generic PC case, it is relatively straight forward to upgrade parts. PC's have to win here, although the G4 case is an amazing piece of engineering that is yet to be surpassed. Little things like poor quality cables, fans and power supplies in PC's can let you down sometimes. Mac's with firewire and USB can generally use external devices to expand their capabilities.
Standards. PC's win again. Apple persists in making non standard items and standard PC bits wont work in Mac's. Why a stock standard PC GeForce display card wont work with a Mac is a disgrace, as is the Apple price for "their" version of the card which does work. Apple needs to support 5.1 surround sound. Makes DVD watching/listening the experience it should be.
Warranty. Standard Apple warranty is 12 months. Most PC warranties are 2 years. You can get extended warranty. In the case of eMac's this costs $226 for another 2 years warranty.
The
Future. The competition
between
Intel and
AMD is pushing
the advances
on the
PC side
faster than
for Mac's,
who to some
extent
have only
themselves
to compete
against.
If the
AIM (Apple
IBM Motorola)
consortium
could
ever pull
their finger
out then
Mac's and
PC's would likely
have very
similar performance.
There
have been
continuing
rumours
that
Apple has
extensively
tested AMD
processors
for
potential
use in
future Mac's.
If Motorola
and IBM
pulled out
of making
processors this
would leave
Apple with
either manufacturing
themselves
-
probably
not a
viable option
due to
the expenses
involved,
or changing to
Intel or
AMD processors.
Remember
that Next
ran on PC
hardware
so the change
could
be less unlikely
than many
people think.
After
all is
the important
thing the
OS or the processor?
For the time
being
IBM
seems
to offer
the light
at the end
of the tunnel
with their
next generation
of processors
and
Apple looks
to
be trying
to abandon
Motorola
as they haven't
been able
or seemingly
willing to
produce
the
results that
Apple
would like
and expect.
But
the next
generation is
many months
away and
for the time
being
the PC performance
lead looks
like
being extended
even further.
Almost makes
you wonder
why you
would buy
a Mac doesn't
it? Well
there
are some
good
reasons.
Apple's bundled
software
is really
something
special and
the marvellous
iTunes
is just fantastic.
Now with
the integrated
bundle
Apple has
released
called iLife
- the packages
are now even
better. Mac's
are easier
to setup
although
PC's with
XP
are
not much
harder. .
Colour calibration
is harder
with
PC's (which
is important
with the
graphics
professionals).
Fonts are
more
difficult
with
PC's, although
OS X is having
a good
go
at stuffing
the
mature font
handling
that we had
with
OS 9. Unix
is
a better
and more
secure
OS than anything
Windows.
Apple have
a
well deserved
reputation
for
security
and reliability.
OS X is
more reliable
and powerful
than XP,
but XP is
no slouch
here. Both
are
major improvements
over
their predecessors
for
reliability.
If anything
XP is less
secure
than
previous
PC
OS's. Finding
a
good PC supplier
can also
be a somewhat
challenging
experience.
Sometimes I think Mac owners are a breed unto themselves. Looking at Mac's and PC's dispassionately on a cost basis only, you would have to go for a PC almost every time. But many Mac owners would almost chop off an arm rather than buy a PC. And as I have listed above there are many other reasons other than cost. But particularly with the cost and performance discrepancies as they are at present it is harder than ever to not go for a PC.
Which would
I buy
personally? Easy
for me,
I need
1 of
each.
If
I had
to be limited
to
1 computer
only,
well a Mac
of course.
Did you
really
expect
anything
else
!
---
Mac Specifications
:
Entry
Level
eMac
with
CRT
- $2,151
- eMac
G4/700
256/40G/CDRW-DVD
ROM/56K/17"
Entry
Level
iMac
with
TFT
- $2,424
- iMac
G4/700
256/40G/CDRW
(24/10/32)/GF2MX/15" LCD
G4/867
-
Entry level
G4
:
$3,615
-
G4/867DP
512/60G/CDRW-DVD-ROM/GeForce
4
MX
G4/1250DP
- High
end G4
: $6,632
-
G4/1250GDP 512/120G/DVD-R/ATI
9000
Pro
---
PC Specifications
:
Base
Specifications
for
all
PC's
are
:
Intel
D845PESV series
socket 478
motherboard with
on board
sound
-
5x PCI,
6x USB,
1x serial,
1x parallel,
2x PS/2
DDR
PC2700 or
PC3300 RAM
(as specified)
Midi
ATX tower
case with
300W power
supply
Samsung
104 PS/2
keyboard
Panasonic
1.44MB floppy
drive
Pentium
4 -
Entry level
: $1,890
(Matching
eMac
with
17" CRT
display)
1.7GHz
P4
400MHz
FSB
with
256MB
PC2100
RAM & 845 Intel Motherboard $1,050
ATI
128
Rage
Pro
32MB
AGP
3D
display
card
$0
Seagate
7200rpm
Ultra
ATA100
40Gb
IDE
HD
$35
Pioneer
DCR-111
CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Combo
Drive
$175
Nero
CD
Burning
software
$16
Mitsubishi
17" display 1786FD Diamondview Flat $295
MS
Intellimouse
Laser
Mouse
- USB & PS/2 $45
Dynalink
internal
PCI
56K
modem
$35
220
stereo
speakers
- 11W
RMS
$59
Windows
XP
Home
$190
Pentium
4 -
Entry level
: $2,095
(Matching
iMac
with
17" TFT
display)
1.7GHz
P4
400MHz
FSB
with
256MB
PC2100
RAM & 845 Intel Motherboard $1,050
ATI
128
Rage
Pro
32MB
AGP
3D
display
card
$0
Seagate
7200rpm
Ultra
ATA100
40Gb
IDE
HD
$35
Mitsubishi
40/12/48
CD-RW
$99
Nero
CD
Burning
software
$16
Mitsubishi
15" TFT 13DV153 - 1024x768 pixels $625
MS
Intellimouse
Laser
Mouse
- USB & PS/2 $45
Dynalink
internal
PCI
56K
modem
$35
Windows
XP
Home
$190
Pentium
4
- Mid
Level
(Matching
G4/867DP)
-
$2,606
2.0GHz
P4
400MHz
FSB
with
256MB
PC2100
RAM & 845 Intel Motherboard $1,145
Additional
256MB
PC2700
333MHz
DDR
RAM
$185
Seagate
7200rpm
Ultra
ATA100
60Gb
IDE
HD
$70
Pioneer
DCR-111
CD-RW/DVD-ROM
Combo
Drive
$175
Nero
CD
Burning
software
$16
Power
DVD
4.0
MPEG
Decoding
Software
$15
Creative
Live
SE
5.1
256
$70
Asus
GeForce
4
MX
420
64MB
RAM
$165
MS
Intellimouse
Laser
Mouse
-
USB & PS/2 $45
Dynalink
internal
PCI
56K
modem
$35
Gigabit
Ethernet
card
$320
Windows
XP
Pro
$285
Pioneer
16x
DVD-ROM
-
tray
load
$80
Pentium
4 -
High end
(Matching G4/1250DP)
- $5,296
3.06GHz
P4 533MHz
FSB with
256MB PC2700
RAM & 845 Intel Motherboard $2,245
Additional
256MB PC2700
333MHz DDR
RAM $185
Seagate
7200rpm Ultra
ATA100 120Gb
IDE HD
$265
Extra
deluxe case
$320
Pioneer
A05 DVD-RW/CD-RW
$625
Pioneer
16x DVD-ROM
- tray
load $80
Nero
CD Burning
software $16
Power
DVD 4.0
MPEG Decoding
Software $15
Creative
Audigy 2
$275
Asus
GeForce 4
Ti 4600
128MB RAM
$585
MS
Intellimouse Laser
Mouse -
USB & PS/2 $45
Dynalink
internal PCI
56K modem
$35
Gigabit
Ethernet card
$320
Windows
XP Pro
$285