Anonymous wrote:a Mac for sure. I will never go back to PC. I run my business from my laptop and it is so easy to use. I get way more done and never worry about viruses or it running too slowly.

If you're an engineer or hard core gamer, you need Windows, but you can run Windows on a mac with a little tinkering (easy for any engineer to do).

For most people who can afford it, a mac is a better machine, but it's expensive!! I bought a new MacBook Air, and it cost about $1,000. I could get a Chromebook for a few hundred.

I've used Macs for about 12 years, and I'm not going back either. They have been more reliable overall. My new machine has an M1 chip, which is problematic, but I'm sticking with it for the moment. Soon, all Macs will have the M1 chip, so they will work out the kinks.

I used to spend hours on the phone with tech support when I had a PC. I spend considerably less time with tech support with Apple products.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always been a hard core Windows guy, but it’s really going down the toilet as it becomes more Mac-like. Is only going to get worse with Windows 11. Unless you are a hard core gamer go with a Mac.

OVERALL:
+1 Mac!! Earned my living at one point in life with only Microsoft products. Generally, although they still have a use in server farms and there is legacy software that only uses Microsoft; for the majority of users, Mac is just an overall better experience and less frustrating. However, there are exceptions depending on your specific needs.

PROS:
Once you get used to it - Macs are just overall easier for non-technical folks to maintain. Very high quality software overall.

CONS OF MAC ONLY:
You probably still need to purchase Microsoft software. If you or a child is an engineer, Mac has no effective equivalent to Visio. I've looked for a while now. Xbox-related apps willl also be difficult to run, since they are integrated into the O/S.

There are emulators that you can use on Mac (Google "best vm emulators for mac"), but you may not get the same overall performance, and you'll need to pay for software subscriptions (which is why you may end up having two laptops if you're into computers in college, work, etc.).

Hope this helps!

Mac but new ones cannot be upgraded.

I’ve always been a hard core Windows guy, but it’s really going down the toilet as it becomes more Mac-like. Is only going to get worse with Windows 11. Unless you are a hard core gamer go with a Mac.

Anonymous wrote:Once you go MAC you never go back!

Ha!

I actually went back, but I use my laptop for pretty utilitarian stuff: word processing, spreadsheets, farting around on the internet. If I were involved in anything design-y, I assume I'd want a Mac.

I'd rather have the extra money. But I also believe in throwing money at things that would otherwise annoy me, so if you're used to a Mac, it will probably be easier to use.

PP here: on the new/refurbished question: Refurbished from the manfacturer is fine. These are typically better than new, since a human has gone through the entire unit and tested it fullly. Anything that might be bad would be replaced. If there are any problems, they are likely to present themselves within the term of the default warranty.

This is _not_ the same as buying "refurbished" from some random company on Amazon, Newegg, or Ebay. Some of these are likely to be fine, but others are just "used" products. These are generally older models, anyway.

As for what configuration to buy: yes, manfacturers generally over-charge for things like RAM and storage. If you are buying a desktop, it often makes sense to buy the base model and upgrade the other parts when it arrives. You can do this with some laptops, too, but, increasingly, manfacturers are soldering the RAM and/or solid-state storage to the motherboards (sometimes there is a slot for additional RAM as well). This is bad, since, if you buy one of these machines, you are basically stuck with whatever you get for the life of the machine. If you must buy something non-upgradeable, you probably don't want the base model.

Get the Big Mac! Not the Big Mic. The Big MAC.

You won’t go wrong. 😊 👩🏽‍💻

Desktop vs. laptop is a separate decision from Mac vs. PC. If you need portability, get a laptop. If not, get a desktop. All things being equal, a desktop will give you more power per dollar and will tend to be more upgradeable and last longer. Note that desktops generally don't include monitors, so you will need to buy one or more if you don't already have one.

In general, all-in-one desktops (the ones that include the monitor and computer in a single unit) are just non-portable laptops and don't have the performance and upgradeability/reparability of desktops. If you are considering one of these, you might as well get a laptop instead. It would at least have the portability advantage.

Also, in general, high-end laptops are a bad deal if you don't absolutely need portability for high-end work. In the PC market, I can buy a $3k laptop or I can buy a $2k desktop that will outperform it and a $1k laptop for email and web browsing when travelling.

As for PC vs. Mac: what are you familiar with using, what software do you need to use, and what platform is required for that software? If the software that you need to run is only available for one platform, then the decision is made for you. If not, then I would suggest going with whatever platform you or your friends/co-workers are most familiar with, since that will likely give you the fewest problems (or will making fixing them easier). Also, consider your budget.

I'm guessing that OP isn't a gamer, but now is a really bad time to buy anything for gaming due to the GPU shortage.

Another random thought: if buying a laptop, get the extended warranty. Laptop repairs are expensive and often hard to get done unless you have an extended warranty. Don't get an extended warranty for desktops--these tend to rarely fail and repairs are easy (largely because parts are standardized and interchangeable).

(Note that, above, I am generally referring to "Windows PC" when I mention PC. I'm guessing that OP isn't interested in Linux or BSD or any of the other operating systems that can run on an x64 architecture.)