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Will Macs last longer

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  • 25-08-2012 8:43am
    #1
    gzoladz
    Registered Users Posts: 2,196 ✭✭✭


    I will try to explain the question...after 5 years my laptop is coming to the end of its life and I will need to replace it.

    Because of I have a tablet, I really only need the laptop for: working remotely from home, light admin, internet (web, skype, video streaming). No gaming.

    For such a light usage, I know that almost any EUR 400 laptop in the market should do and there is no reason to pay 250% extra in a Mac.

    However, I have always had windows and despite how much you look after them they do get slower with time. And I do not want to have an unusable machine in 1 or 2 years (my current one was a high end laptop at the time, hence from a specs point of view it is still somewhat descent).

    What is your experience like with Macs? Do they also get slower or they maintain their "as new" performance for longer?

    Thanks,
    G


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    #2
    Torqay
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,835 ✭✭✭Torqay


    They maintain their "as new" performance as long as any other computer.

    For example, I have two Dell laptops here, both nearly 10 years old and they still perform "as new". Is their as "new performance" any good by today's standards? Hell, no... but they still work as well as they did when they were new (OK, the batteries aren't great anymore ;) ). Any Mac will be just as "outdated" as a Windows laptop in 5 years time since they're now based on identical hardware, Intel Core iX processors, Nvidia graphics adapters, etc. Only difference is the Operating system* (and indeed the price). In 5 years, a Core i7 processor in an Apple will be just as "ancient" as it will be in any other machine.

    * The operating system does have an impact on the "as new" performance though: Tests on identical hardware show that Windows 7 noticeably outdoes Snow Leopard in 3D image rendering benchmarks. It is also noted on Call of Duty 4 that Snow Leopard is 5fps to 7fps slower than Windows 7. So if you're running graphic intensive applications or games, Windows certainly is the better choice.


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    #3
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,890 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Except celeron. Celeron was always ancient. Celeron is a swearword in my department. I hold the same contempt for the AMD E-1 series.


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    #4
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Why are you comparing a budget laptop with a MacBook? I see this happen regularly, people will buy a budget Celeron laptop for about €400. It will be slow and clunky and will run Windows badly, they'll hate the experience. Their friends will say, 'get a Mac, they're so much nicer'. So they go and spend a fortune on a Mac and are blown away by the experience. Truth is, if they spent a little more on a Windows laptop they could get a better piece of kit and a better experience.

    A fresh install of Windows and a memory upgrade will bring any 4 yr old laptop back to the speed it was in day one.


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    #5
    Torqay
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,835 ✭✭✭Torqay


    PogMoThoin wrote: »
    Why are you comparing a budget laptop with a MacBook?

    Beats me... ;)

    I don't know what Celerons or AMD have to do with Apple computers. To the best of my knowledge, after the "transition" Apple have never used anything worse than a Core Duo processor in their computers and certainly no AMD, they're called Intel-Macs for a reason. :D


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    #6
    cnocbui
    Registered Users Posts: 19,838 ✭✭✭✭cnocbui


    Torqay wrote: »

    * The operating system does have an impact on the "as new" performance though: Tests on identical hardware show that Windows 7 noticeably outdoes Snow Leopard in 3D image rendering benchmarks. It is also noted on Call of Duty 4 that Snow Leopard is 5fps to 7fps slower than Windows 7. So if you're running graphic intensive applications or games, Windows certainly is the better choice.

    That's curious, I came across some comments by professional CG artists who's tests came to the opposite conclusion where real world 3D rendering apps were being used:

    http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-1044213.html


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    #7
    cookie1977
    Registered Users Posts: 6,794 ✭✭✭cookie1977


    cnocbui wrote: »
    That's curious, I came across some comments by professional CG artists who's tests came to the opposite conclusion where real world 3D rendering apps were being used:

    http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-1044213.html

    That test seems to have involved bootcamp and therefore not exactly 2 identical machines


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    #8
    ahnowbrowncow
    Registered Users Posts: 2,565 ✭✭✭ahnowbrowncow


    Overheal wrote: »
    Except celeron. Celeron was always ancient. Celeron is a swearword in my department. I hold the same contempt for the AMD E-1 series.

    Intel have released celeron cpus in 2012 so celerons are a lot faster than you think


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    #9
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,890 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    ahnowbrowncow wrote: »
    Intel have released celeron cpus in 2012 so celerons are a lot faster than you think
    We're still racist to them :cool: The Celeron brand itself is intentioned to signify Intel's lower-end lineup of CPUs.


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