Mac versus PC?

I need help! I'm thinking of jumping from PC to Mac. Can anybody enlighten me on the advantages and disadvantages of using Logos on one or the other? That's the main thing for me...which laptop will handle Logos better? It's either the Macbook Air with the M1 chip or a Dell XPS 13 with a 12th gen i7 processor. Any and all info appreciated!

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Comments

JT (alabama24)

My suggestion is that you not make Logos the deciding factor unless this is really the only thing it’ll be used for. If that is the case, your best bet is to get the input from someone who owns and uses both regularly. Hopefully you will get some such responses

Levi Durfey

I agree with JT—don't make Logos the deciding factor. It will run pretty much the same on either computer.

Why do you want to switch to a Mac? Those reasons might carry more weight.

John Fidel

I switched to Mac in 2008 and also use PC for work. I think the hardware lasts much longer and runs more smoothly than PCs. I have a 2012 MacBook Pro that runs great. That's a 10 year old machine. I did replace it this year with a MBP M1, but the cost of ownership over the long run, for me is much less than PCs.

Logos 10 on and M1 or now M2 Mac is blazing fast.

JT (alabama24)

the cost of ownership over the long run, for me is much less than PCs.

This depends upon the user's model(s) of computer ownership. Some users believe computers are a necessary evil and buy them as cheaply and infrequently as possible. For a user under that model, (s)he will scoff at the cost of a Mac, buy an inexpensive windows computer and keep it forever. There is no convincing that person.

DMB

I need help! I'm thinking of jumping from PC to Mac.

Agree with other posters. Why switch? And per Logos, Mac is the cultural tail on the donkey, at FL. By necessity the Mac folks in Phoenix have to pedal faster (maybe not harder, just faster). Sort of like Android is the tail relative to iOS, at FL.

Plus you'll miss your favorite Windows features. Lose some, gain some. I switched. I miss a lot of ease-of-use features in Windows. Mac is more dictatorial.

But I switched for the benefits of 'dictatorial' ... cross platfrom apps and data movement, and 'I'm getting old' .... UI stability, dependability, etc

Mike Binks

I need help! I'm thinking of jumping from PC to Mac.

My advice, all things being equal is...

Macs are for those who want to get work done without drivers and virus scanners and the regular maintenance that they involve.

Windows machines are for those who want fine control of everything in their machine and connected to it and who have the time to maintain it.

If working within the Mac environment is acceptable or even desirable in your circumstances then a cost of ownership calculation can help with the rational. Last time I did that I worked out the cost over a six year period. Remember to factor in the cost of any software that you might need to subscribe to during that time. Pretty much everything basic is included in the Mac package.

xnman

Welll..... All things being equal.... I have never found that using and Apple Mac is cheaper than using a PC.... And my last pc lasted 51/2 years.... but it was 3 years old when I bought it from a friend....

mab

I'm still using the XPS 15 with an 8th Gen i9 that I bought when I gave up waiting for an MacBook Pro that was late to market. Given that Apple later decided to abandon the Intel chip and my machine is even faster on Win 11 than 10, and L10 runs screaming fast, I'm quite happy.

I still have an itch for a Mac to replace my ancient Mac Mini, but Apple for me at present is my iPad which gets gobs of use.

DAL

Mac‘s overall performance is better and they last longer. The thing about windows is that they run good, but for some reason they get too many updates! It’s like something gets updated every week, whereas Macs, they just work and don’t get updated as much.

My brother’s oldest Macbook Pro is 11 years and still running! His other Mac Air is 8 years old!

Try and see if you qualify for the upgrade program Best Buy offers! A new Macbook Pro for $28.15 — $41.15 a month depending on SSD size; and you get to have a brand new MacBook Pro every 3 years!

DAL

Lee

Hi Steve

I used computers from the first x286 system that I built.

Over the years I would always say that PC was better, and only people with extra money got a Mac.. [:$]

But then in 2015 I wanted to get a better computer to run the Logos program. So I got my first Macbook Pro 15"

I was changed after the learn to use the Mac I watched many youtube videos about how to understand the Mac.

Now My Wife and I are on our second Mac systems she has the M1 Macbook Air, I have the 14" Macbook Pro M1 Pro.

I mainly use Logos and it runs great. I would never go back to using a windows PC.

Dave Hooton

Macs are for those who want to get work done without drivers and virus scanners and the regular maintenance that they involve.

Windows machines are for those who want fine control of everything in their machine and connected to it and who have the time to maintain it.

The "drivers and virus scanners" used to be a distraction with Windows PC's but are pretty much taken care of since Windows 10, especially the included/default virus scanner. And SSD's reduce frustrations/maintenance in both camps. Users can get more involved if they want to, but PC's are for those who want to get work done at a reasonable cost.[:)]

Mark McDonald

Macs typically last longer - I have a MacBook Air that is at least 11 years old. PCs support multiple external monitors and I don't think Macs will support more than one external monitor.

MJ. Smith

From building interfaces for Macs or PC to central University functions, I learned that neither PC nor Mac is inherently "better". Rather, one could make very accurate predictions as to how a computer was used to whether it was Mac or PC, for example, Mac was heavily favored in the Medical School, PC was heavily favored in the Math department - I never saw a Mac as a front-end to a Cray.

Graham Criddle

I don't think Macs will support more than one external monitor.

One of my sons has two monitors connected to his MacBook via a docking station.

Levi Durfey

I don't think Macs will support more than one external monitor.

One of my sons has two monitors connected to his MacBook via a docking station.

It depends on the Mac—e.g., current 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros can handle up to four monitors. MacBook Airs can support only one.

Don Awalt

I'll just chip in my two cents....I was a Windows uesr for years, including running Logos on it. I moved to Macs maybe 6 years ago, drawn in by the iPhone/iPad ecosphere. IMHO it's virtually impossible to compare experiences that far apart, whether Mac-Windows or Logos; Logos software for example is tons faster in indexing than it was years ago. I have a MacBook Pro 2021 now, and all I can say is it's the best laptop I ever had. Why?

1) It's wicked fast;

2) This laptop is QUIET. I actually installed a utility that would tell me fan speed, as I didn't believe they ever ran. The fans do run, but you never hear them, AND they hardly ever run. The only thing I can think of that causes them to run, off the top of my head, is Logos indexing - and the fans only hit 25% speed if it's not a rebuild of the entire index. But you won't hear them.

3) Logos is REALLY fast on a MacBook Pro - startup times can vary based on what a user has (I am guessing but maybe collections, layouts etc may influence it), but I have a big Logos system (tons of everything) and from clicking the icon to start the program, to Logos startup music playing, is FOUR seconds. I have 34,000 resources in Logos, and to rebuild the entire index from scratch is 40 minutes.

4) The laptop LOOKS great. I have had my share of clunky, hot air inducing, noisy laptops with so-so displays - aesthetics matter to me, and the MacBook Pro's look great.

5) The display is the best I have ever seen on a laptop, and I have not seen a web site that disagrees with that. Display refresh rates up to 120Hz, full color gamut for multiple standards supported, etc.

6) I pay for Parallels to run a few Windows programs I need for work, it's a $110/year subscription, and I run quite a few quirky things on it without issue. I don't play games, I have read some games run well, others are marginal; but it's plenty fast. Word 365 and Excel 365 both start up in 1.5 seconds. I run Quicken Premier on it, which is a monster performance hog, and my installation has Quicken data for the last 17 years in it; and it is up and ready to go in 8 seconds. I even run Windows 11 beta without issues, and I can have multiple virtual machines running stuff (like Linux, test Windows installs, test MacOS installs) when I need to. With enough memory, it works great. So for $110 a year I have the best of both worlds.

7) Macs are still quite a bit more secure and private than Windows computers. That matters to me these days.

8) If you have an iPhone, integration between the two is awesome. I can get phone calls, text messages, photos, contacts, reminders, notes, music, podcasts easily on either device (and my iPad). I can share clipboard, move an app from one device to another, and more. The integration is quite nice.

9) Battery is phenomenal - you can play a movie constantly and get at least 18 hours on the battery, likely 20 (rated at 21 hours). There are Intel chips that have slightly more power, but their heat and battery consumption is off the charts high.

10) It's super light to me - less than 5 pounds!

There are many many more things to talk about - ease of movie editing/creation, 6 speaker Dolby Atmos sound system, up to 10-core CPU and 32 core GPU in a laptop, all aluminum.rare earth/tin used is 100% recycled, Arsenic- Mercury-, BFR-, PVC-, and beryllium‑free if you're worried about health risks from technology devices, fantastic track pad (first computer I ever ditched the mouse for!), and more.

I think it's easy to compare laptops and focus in on some basics like performance and screen size. But there is a LOT more to making a quality laptop imho.

Obviously, I couldn't recommend a MacBook Pro any stronger than I do :-) Good luck on your selection process!