Ever thought about switching from PC to Mac, or from Mac to PC?
If you're considering a new or additional computer there are plenty of things to consider before deciding which platform to pledge allegiance to.
Does the Mac's lower cost of ownership make it a better long-term bet? What's the best platform for modding, tinkering and tweaking?
Can you really compare a PC or Mac laptop on price alone? Let's find out.
PC or Mac: price
If PCs were made to the same standard, from the same materials, with the same profit margins as Macs then they'd be just as expensive as Apple kit. Most of them aren't, however, and as a result most of them are much cheaper than similarly specified Macs (it's a completely different story in tablets, phones and MP3 players, but that's another article).
NOT CHEAP: Macs are many things, but they aren't cheap: the most affordable Mac starts at £599
PC vs Mac: reliability and total cost of ownership
The standard response to "Macs are expensive" is that Macs offer lower total cost of ownership (TCO). That's true, but that's more relevant to businesses where reliability and security dictate the amount a company spends on IT support. Macs are more secure than PCs - they don't get viruses and malware is almost unheard of - but Microsoft has been closing the gap for years, and a savvy PC owner's Windows 7 box is very secure, too.
Security is just part of the equation, however. Windows 7 is pretty solid, but we still find it crashes more frequently than Snow Leopard does. There are two reasons for that. The first is that OS X Snow Leopard is based on BSD, a flavour of Unix that's been around for decades and which is famously reliable.
The second is that where OS X only needs to support a very small group of computers - Apple ones - Windows has to support so many possible PC manufacturers, models and configurations that it's a miracle it works at all.
In our experience misbehaving drivers, mysterious freezes and other irritants are much less common on the Mac. As a result, for demanding tasks where time is money and hardware gets hammered such as when you're using a PC or Mac for graphic design or a PC or Mac for video editing, we'd choose a Mac over a similarly specified PC.
SAFE: It doesn't take much effort to make Windows perfectly secure. Windows 7 is the safest Windows yet
PC or Mac: ease of use
Windows 7 is the friendliest Windows yet, but given the choice between otherwise identical machines running Windows 7 or Snow Leopard we'd go for Snow Leopard. The difference in ease of use is particularly apparent when you use additional apps such as Apple's iLife (free with new Macs) and Windows Live Essentials (free from live.com): the Apple apps are more welcoming and considerably more polished. Windows vs Mac OS is like the difference between, say, a Ford Mondeo and a top-end BMW: the Ford does the job perfectly well, but the BMW's nicer to sit in.
EASY: We think Macs are easier to use than PCs, especially when you compare applications such as iLife with Windows Live Essentials
PC vs Mac: desktops
Mac desktops bear little relation to PC desktops: they're more like laptops, cramming entire computers into impossibly small sizes. PC desktops, on the other hand, are usually based on standard form factors, standard components and standard cases. That keeps their prices down - for the "how much?" £599 Apple wants for a basic Mac Mini you could get a very decent desktop, while the £999 Apple wants for an entry-level iMac would pay for a PC so fast it travels through time - and it means PCs are usually much easier and cheaper to upgrade.
Apple does do an easily upgradeable desktop, the Mac Pro, but that starts at £1,999. Once you start getting happy with the options list you can easily crack the ten grand barrier.
BIG BOX: £599 gets you a Mac Mini - or the uglier, faster HP Pavilion P6655 with more storage, more RAM and better graphics
PC or Mac: netbooks
The closest thing to a netbook Apple does is the MacBook Air, which is approximately £600 more than a typical PC netbook - so if you need a netbook and price is key, then it's a PC for you. However, netbooks are compromise devices, designed to be as cheap as they are portable, and they're not designed for demanding tasks; the Air is a proper Mac, designed for proper work and priced accordingly.
NOT A NETBOOK: The MacBook Air is small enough to be a netbook, but there's a proper computer inside that ultra-slim case
PC vs Mac: laptops
Should you buy a Windows or Mac OS laptop? MacBooks and MacBook Pros are beautifully engineered devices with impressive battery life, but if sheer horsepower is more important than build quality or battery life Windows laptops often offer better specifications for less cash than Mac OS ones - so for example the Samsung R780 offers a better specification than Apple's fastest, biggest MacBook Pro. Is as pretty, as well screwed together or as solid? Nope, but at the time of writing it's £600 cheaper.
BETTER PRICE: Is this as pretty as a MacBook Pro? Nope. Is it six hundred quid cheaper? Yes
PC or Mac: software
Big-name software packages - Office, Pro Tools, Lightroom, Ableton, AutoCAD, Photoshop, InDesign - are available for both platforms, but the Mac also benefits from some OS X exclusives: Final Cut Studio, Logic Studio, Aperture, iLife and so on. If you're a creative type, Apple has an edge here.
Price wise, Apple and PC software tend to be priced similarly - Office Home & Student is around £70 at the moment, compared to £71 for Apple's rival iWork - while free software such as Google Docs, OpenOffice.org, Picasa and so on are available for both platforms.
One of the most interesting software developments is the forthcoming Mac App Store. Its iPhone and iPad equivalents are packed with programs, and if it works on the desktop it could herald a new age of interesting Mac apps. Apps are what differentiate iOS devices from their rivals, and a bustling Mac App Store could make Apple's platform more attractive when you're considering whether to go with Windows or Mac OS.
MULTI-PLATFORM: Most big-name packages are available on both platforms, so for example Pro Tools is available for both Mac and Windows
PC vs Mac: games
The arrival of Valve's Steam has given Mac gaming a welcome kick into the 21st Century, demonstrating that there's more to Mac gaming than The Bloody Sims, and the Mac App Store may bring a catalogue of new and interesting titles. http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/steam-for-mac-now-open-for-business-688953
For now, though, the PC is still miles ahead. Call of Duty: Black Ops? PC. Fallout: New Vegas? PC. Medal of Honor? PC. Farming Simulator 2011? OK, maybe that one isn't such a big deal. True, you can run these games on a Mac via Boot Camp, but that means buying Windows.
PC FIRST: Blockbuster games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops turn up on PC long before they make it to the Mac
PC or Mac: customising and modding
PCs are much more customisable than Macs, even at the operating system level: if you're mad enough to want Comic Sans as your system font, Windows will let you have it. OS X lets you change the background picture and that's pretty much your lot; even its Dashboard widgets are hidden away until you ask to see them.
It's a similar story with the hardware, although that's for practical rather than aesthetic reasons: the Mac Mini and iMac are unique designs, so customising or modding them is considerably more complicated than it is for PCs with their industry standard motherboards and cases. That doesn't mean it can't be done, of course. It just takes a bit more effort [http://mashable.com/2010/03/23/imac-steampunk-mod/] - and with the laptops you can always go to town with a laser engraving machine [http://cutlasercut.com/engraveyourtech.html/].
MOD-READY: Questions of taste aside, PCs' standard form factors make them easy to modify and upgrade
PC vs Mac: upgrades and repairs
Unless you buy something unusual, upgrading or replacing a component in a desktop PC couldn't be easier: unscrew the case, pop the old bit out, stick the new bit in. Macs are more fiddly: on a 2010 iMac, for example, the only bit you're encouraged to upgrade yourself is the RAM [http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3918]. Replacing other components, such as hard disks, isn't for the faint-hearted [http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4130605].
NEW PARTS: Upgrading Mac memory: easy. Upgrading Mac anything else: not so easy
PC or Mac: and finally
There's one other key factor to consider in the PC vs Mac debate, and that's your current set-up: if you've invested in expensive software packages, the cost of replacing them - assuming they can be replaced - and the hassle of converting files could be the decider.
It's less of an issue on the Mac than the PC, because you can boot into Windows via Boot Camp or run Windows inside OS X with Parallels Desktop. Both options cost money, though: you'll need a Windows license for either and an additional £65 if you want to buy Parallels.
EXTRA COSTS: Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacing software if you're planning to switch - or seek out free open source alternatives
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