The age-old debate: are PCs better than Macs?
Well, the answer isn’t so clear-cut. You could make a solid argument either way. In fact, we have. Read our blog post 10 Reasons Macs are Better than PCs for the other side of the story. Today, we’re going to argue in favour of the PC.
Here are 10 reasons PCs are better than Macs.
1. Cost Effective
When you purchase a PC laptop or desktop computer, you get a lot more bang for your buck in terms of hardware. There are also thousands of PC computers sold at thousands of retailers, so there is a ton of variation when it comes to price. Macs, on the other hand, have an almost universal price, so you’re less likely to get a good deal.
2. Better for Gamers
The gaming industry is huge. Computer games are becoming more advanced, and require a large amount of space and top-of-the-range graphics cards. For the price of a Macbook (which certainly couldn’t run the latest game titles), you can pick up a PC computer with the hardware needed to run modern games. Plus, many games are simply not compatible with the Mac operating system.
3. Simple to Customise or Build
If you know what you are doing, PC computers can be customised or even built from scratch without too much trouble. In contrast, Macs can’t really be customised at all. This means for a relatively small amount of cash, you can acquire are really powerful machine.
4. The Operating System
This is a tricky one – some prefer the Mac operating system, while others prefer Windows. Here’s a good metaphor to help you grasp the difference: the Mac is like driving an automatic, whereas Windows is like driving a manual. You have more control over your device’s processes when using a Windows computer. There are more settings to mess around with, and more small changes to make that will transform a run-of-the-mill computer into a machine that performs exactly how you need it to.
5. Flexible Hardware
Unlike Macs, the hardware in PCs can be changed and updated when you need. You can install a new graphics card, increase your hard drive, or replace hardware that’s stopped working. In fact, you could completely reassemble your PC with your own customised set of components. That kind of thing’s just not possible with a Mac.
6. Customised PCs for Your Specific Needs
Flexible hardware means that you can create a system ideal for your specific needs. Machines can be optimised for gamers, video editors, architects, designers, photo editors, and more. Specialised components can be installed into your PC, which means you won’t be wasting money of features you’ll never use.
7. Security
We’re not talking security in terms of viruses, because PCs are more susceptible. We’re talking security in terms of protection against failed innovation, drastic change, and the possible elimination of the operating system itself. Mac users put all their eggs in one basket –the same company makes both their device and their operating system. If future Mac innovations fail, Mac users will have to either grin and bear it or make the switch. Because there are so many PC computers, PC users will always have a choice of devices. And, because the majority of computer users use PC, Windows is less likely to make drastic changes.
8. Cheap Support
Apple technical support is hands down more expensive than Windows and PC support. When you buy a Mac product, 90-day phone customer support is included for free. Sure, the support is really good, but it only lasts 90 days. After that, you’ll be paying. Plus, if your PC does break, you can get it fixed just about anywhere. Not all computer shops deal with Macs, and taking your device directly to Apple can be costly.
We help our customers with both PC and Mac computers, so if you do have an issue with either, don’t hesitate to get in contact.
9. Less RAM is Required
Windows’s virtual memory is much more effective than Mac’s. A PC running low on memory will run slow, but it won’t breakdown. A Mac running low on memory is much more likely to crash. This means you need less RAM in a Windows computer to ensure it’s reliable.
10. Freeware
There is a copious amount of freeware available to Windows users. We’ll let the stats speak for themselves. Download.com has over 55,000 programs compatible with PC, and just under 5,000 for Mac.
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i agree with this article cause it proves that windows is better than mac cause mac isnt made for gaming also mac products are really expensive while parts for a pc are much cheaper and they are better made
I work in the recording industry and I use a MacBook Pro because I’m not as savey with the computer tech. I focus on the software. Though I’m not opposed to using PC, I think that’s the reason why I use a mac. The PC I started with was very unreliable for me and made it frustrating. I did as much research as I could and had a decent budget. It turned out to be the most money I’ve wasted in a single purchase.
what kinda computer did u buy if it had an old operating system like windows 98 or 2000 then it wont be so good but if it had the more stable windows 7 then thats the better choice
I agree with that 100%, an older PC with Windows 7 is pretty stable. We still use windows 7 on our office desktops and laptops, as its so stable, and very rarely run into issues. Windows 98 was very buggy back in the day. Drove me nuts.
well if u think windows 98 was bad windows 10 is even shhittier u dont get full control on how it updates and u get lots of bloatware
Thanks for the comment Erik. Yeah, there is so much more flexibility with PC’s. We still use PC’s in the office, they are easy to upgrade and repair and for very technical work they are still supreme. Funny enough, we use PC Desktops, PC laptops and iPhone and iPad for email’s out on the road. The best of both worlds. But you are very right, for gaming PC’s are the leader.
Hi Paul. Read all comments on pc v imac and noted what your office does by using both. Trying to help out my daughter who runs an ever- growing home-based fashion business (and not tech savy at all!). She does lots of invoicing, address labeling & emailing etc but also needs to integrate easily with her current ipad and iphone. She takes loads of photos for the business and will also move into the need for creative/design software. I (her dad) only knows pc’s. Her windows laptop is about to die, and now planning to upgrade home pc with big monitor, so your advice is appreciated – pc or plunge into more costly imac??
I just wanna give you some advice stick with windows I had a mac and it died when I went away on a vacation after I had it for two years and since it died and apple welds everything to the motherboard I couldn’t get my photos off of the hard drive (or anything else) that is my advice
The main thing I have noticed with Apple products the past 6-8 years is that they die immediately, or soon after their warranty period is done. I thought this was a myth, but most of my Apple products have done just that.
I’ve been an Apple user since the mid-90’s, but since 2018, i’ve started to switch… gave up on iPhones + gone to Android (not looking back ever). My iMac keyboard + magic mouse began to fail (6 months after warranty expiration), and now my iMac is giving me trouble. Not sure if I can afford another one. Hence, thinking about moving to a PC.
However, like Orig’s comment above, I too work in in the recording (music) industry. I’ve had issues with my software not being compatible with Windows. Currently working with Pro Tools 12 + Logic Pro X, and a Focusrite Saffire Pro 26 DAW.
Anyone here switch to Windows using these recording softwares/hardware? Any advice would be amazing.
I’m a Mac user and just started using a PC at work. I did a quick search to see what people are saying is better about Windows, which is how I found this article. I’m writing a comment in response to #8. Apple tech support is actually better than Windows support and it’s free for much more than 90 days. In fact, nowadays I don’t think there are any time restrictions when it comes to phone support. I have two Macs that are long past their warranty, yet I’ve repeatedly called Apple and they’ve provided completely free support knowing that the computers are not under warranty. Maybe there was a time when Apple was more strict about their support policies, but these days they seem to be willing to help anyone on the phone who calls for support. Also, Apple updates their operating system for free every year and Apple happily will provide support when you’re having trouble after the upgrade. My elderly mom has a Windows PC and can’t get help with it unless she pays for phone support. In addition, Apple users can bring their computers to an Apple store and get free in-person support there. So, I actually disagree with the author’s conclusions about support.
Hi Skylamar,
Thanks for your comment on the blog.
I do agree with all your points, and have found exactly the same experience. Apple do provide amazing free support even for old computers, and they also give free OSX updates each year.
I wrote this article a number of years ago, and do need to update it.
Thanks for everybody’s comments, we have about 150 articles on the website, and this one is out most popular one.
Feel free to continue to the discussion, and we are always open to all forms of feedback.
Many Thanks,
Paul Zdzitowiecki (founder Computer Cures)
So at the in off the day. which is better for my home music recording studio, Mac or PC. Im now using window 7 with my ableton live that works great, however I need to upgrade, need more memory and speed.
windows 10 is better
I’ve used pc with windows all my life for more than 20 years, mainly because nobody around me had a mac or no one could afford it I guess. Since I moved to the UK finally I reach a level when I can buy one. I spend over 1500£ on a MacBook pro and after two years I had enough. For me, it is just too much hustle and not even user-friendly when always something coming up. Another bad is the limitation which comes with the product which is not upgradable at all. After buying it you have to spend extra money on different USB-hub’s, especially now this is my third one. I’ve tried cheap and also an expensive one same sh***t. Also the cable, HDMI to USB-C which not gives you the right resolution and refreshes rate so need a display port one on a 4K monitor. Why simply just get the cable or Pendrive or HDD, LAN and plug it into a device. So the price for apple device is way overpriced what you get but I did know that just too much marketing did catch me to have one at least try one. I’m happy to find this great article just to make sure I was right about windows better than mac. Thanks for sharing
u spent to much
Thanks for the breakdown on why PCs are better. I love the power and customization you can do with PCs vs Macs.
It used to be that PCs were for gamers and macs were for creative professionals. However, in recent times windows has been closing in on that gap while mac really hasn’t bothered to venture into the gaming niche. So I’d argue the reasons for buying a PC over a mac have increased over the years.
I’m not gonna lie, Mac is pretty bad for me mainly because this predecessor just burns like crazy when i play fortnite and microsoft’s windows 8 is doing perfectly fine + whenever i open up my Mac it is very slow making me think that it has reduced its performance while i used irt over the years
I disagree with points 4 and 9.
Point 4. Operating System: One word. WIn32 API. No, it has nothing to do with 32 or 64 bits. Win32 is what most people understand as “Windows”. It all comes with the Registry that is very expensive to read and even more to write, computationally, the Explorer that believe it or not still has elements of IE (Trident via MSHTML.DLL) and the file system that is becoming to show its age. NTFS was built thinking in security and as a replacement for the DOS FAT. Since the year 1999 that is 21 years ago have not been updated and that is because the father of the operating system has been moved to Azure that is more lucrative for Microsoft and due compatibility reasons they do not want to do breaking changes. They tried with ReFS but it was a fiasco. NTFS does not delete entries on the master file table causing it to get big, so big that sometimes it is best to format again to bring it back to a reasonable size. Each entry in the master file table is 4 kilobytes but if you have hundreds of thousands of files like it happens if you do any kind of JavaSript development or photography it gets ridiculous quickly. Then if it gets fragmented performance gets degraded considerably and you need to use tools to put it back together. Rumors has it that Microsoft will get rid of this with Windows 10X for desktops.
Point 9. Memory: I disagree that Windows memory is “better” and I have seen a lot of “stops” (BSOD) because there is low memory and some of them non-trivial like, IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. Dave Cutler father of Windows NT that is what you call today “Windows” is famous for criticising UNIX memory system as “get a byte, get a byte” but the reality is that in low memory conditions Windows sometimes tries to get more that it can get and then the shell and some kernel drivers do funny things. Macs, at the other hand have memory compression. I have one Windows Virtual Machine right now updating to Windows 2004 and very little memory left in my Mac that is hosting the VM. Nothing is happening.
I have been with Windows for more than 25 years and I can tell you that Unix is just a better OS and macOS is a certified UNIX with the comercial software avialable for it plus some unique to it like Sketch for design, Logic Pro for Music and Final Cut for video. I know there are some reviews that Premiere runs faster in Windows, but Final Cut runs faster than Premiere in Windows.
Windows is an aging OS developed by Microsoft India and Managed from Redmond that is exactly 12 hours and 30 minutes behind. I think Windows 10X can bring some interesting things into the table. But I am really more productive on macOS than in Windows.
Mac hardware is first class. There is no middle class. on Windows, you can get the class you want to pay for. If you build a PC with the same components as Macs, (SSD NVem class 50, Xeons instead of i9, and so on) you will get about the same price or even more expensive than Mac. But with Windows you can opt for a lesser quality of hardware to fit your budget and your needs.
Also if you are into gaming there is no better OS than Windows for that. Long story short, Macs powerful enough to be able to play games comes with workstation cards that are not optimized for gaming in Windows you can balance the hardware to a superb gaming graphics cards that you can do some job too if you are not planning to leave the card 48 hours straight rendering a 3D scene with Maya or something like that because you would end by frying the graphics card. That is what Quadro are made for.
Long story short: If you are from the lower classes, you can’t buy a computer, because you are poor and would complain about the OEMs decisions on selling accessible hardware and (unfairly) Microsoft. Computers, art, 3D engineering, on your words, must be restricted to american middle classes or developing countries middle classes. How shortsighted. I think windows market share disagrees with you. Companies, offices, industries around the world as well, as if your remarks about windows filesystem and win32 APIs were so right and advantages were so striking in productivity and long term system stability and data reliability, most of them would sit with apple to arrange decent deals (and definitely apple would be more than happy to eat OEMs/Microsoft market)
I just got my Mac Mini, installed Widows 10 Pro Education 64 bit and after trying the Mac OS again got frustrated with it and will probably use Windows almost exclusively.
I got the one with an Intel i5, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD so Windows runs great as does Mac OS. This is how I spent my stimulus check.
Used windows for years and love my MacBook better. More stable, less crashes, – i remember windows would always get viruses or get some system file deleted and i’d have to reinstall everything. Everything looks better on macs, productivity and video editing apps are way ahead of Windows. Trackpad is unmatchable so is the keyboard experience. Updates and customer service for almost a decade on older Macbooks. The screen is color accurate for work, the battery life lasts about 8 hours vs 4 hours on my Windows laptop. If you use an iPhone reminders, notes, texts, everything synchs – so that’s a major plus. You won’t be playing games on a thin and light Windows laptop unless it’s one of those 2k costing Blades. It’s all about attention to details and small things that together make a difference when it comes to Macs.
And this is what I agree with in 100%! Couldn’t describe it better 🙂
I agree I have a 11 year old pc and it is still better 2018 macbook
I started with Windows for 15 years but then switched to Mac and prefer it. It is more intuitive and easier IMO…And regarding tech support?
My iMac was built in 2011, and I call Apple whenever I have an issue, and I have NEVER paid one cent for their support. They will go to great lengths to help me, and send me articles for future reference. It is always free.
I use both Windows & Mac. Actually, there is no much different i feel. Some difference were just some UI & UX. About the compabilities, there is always something that can only exist in Windows but not in Mac and only can exist in Mac but not in Windows.
Especially Windows in these days. I agree Windows was frustating, but it was some years ago.
Actually, i think what about good or great were just about the specs. A few years ago, i was frustating with some my laptops that has 2GB RAM, 4GB RAM, HDD, intel atom, old AMD, etc. But when i bough 8GB RAM, 16GB RAM, SSD, core i5, core i7, 10th gen intel; i really feel satisfy so much.
So, i privately prefer the high end spec than about Windows or Mac. I feel okay & want to accept & work with Windows or Mac just like now. But i just want to high end specs.
Although, in some case, i prefer Windows for my employee in my company since there were much windows pc & laptop’s price were cheaper than Mac.
ZTree does not run on Mac. This is the best and simplest file manager ever developed. Split the screen (easy) copy from any folder to any folder – no fumbling around trying to get a highlight so that the file is accepted. Move files and folders in seconds; always see where everything is how old how big etc etc. No file manger comes close. Forced to use a Mac I am being driven to madness.
There is obviously some bias in this blog, like you could just get Libre Office or Google Docs or use Office Online.
I have been with Windows for more than 25 years and I can tell you that Unix is just a better OS and macOS is a certified UNIX with the commercial software available for it plus some unique to it like Sketch for design, Logic Pro for Music and Final Cut for video. I know there are some reviews that Premiere runs faster in Windows, but Final Cut runs faster than Premiere in Windows.
Hey, I was looking for useful information on iMac and just came across your blog and found it quite interesting, can’t wait to see your new post. You’ve been sharing really insightful posts and I’m an avid reader of your posts. Keep sharing the knowledge and adding value to our lives.
Mac is pretty bad for me mainly because this predecessor just burns like crazy when I play Fortnite and Microsoft’s Windows 8 is doing perfectly fine + whenever I open up my Mac it is very slow making me think that it has reduced its performance.🙂
Just got the top of the line Macbook pro 16″ 64ram because of my new job(they bought it for me)…. Windows machine I have is much older but it is so much faster in just about everything (especially just going through file menus…Mac would take something like 0.5 ~ 1 sec for a simple task that would be instant for Windows). People here says PC crashes and gets virus? I never had that problem with Windows. I even prefer windows for graphic apps (photoshop …..)
Great Read,
Truly informative article, found as I was looking for differences b/w PC and Mac to make a buying decision
I do believe that customizability makes a lot of difference between PC and Mac.
Would highly recommend this guide prior to making any buying decisions.
When I took a new job in web dev, it was all PC. What I’ve learned about the PC makes me think it is a piece of junk. Maybe that’s the Dell brand, I don’t know. It is slooow and crashes without warning. Microsoft is a huge company but the user experience is totally lacking. To get the UI/UX to work right for someone who does front-end web design, requires messing with the registry, downloading countless weird apps, dealing with many dead-ends, apps that just crash, including the main file system viewer. Whaaaa?! You could literally spend hours solving for an issue on the PC that comes perfectly done on the Mac. Why bother? Oh, you want to game? Then get a gaming PC, that’s cool!! But if you are a creative, and I say this having over 30+ years working with PCs and Mac – go with the Mac! Spend the extra cash and get a real machine – these Windows devices are just that – devices that are not completely thought out on the user experience. They are works in progress while the Mac is fully dialed.
And I can prove it. Does your caps lock key have a light on it so you know that caps lock is on? Most Windows users will not know if their caps lock key is on – because there is no light on the key itself – the light is likely over on the keypad, as far away from the caps lock key as possible. If you are OK with this disembodiment of the caps lock key, then use a PC. That is a composite of the experience you’re sure to have on a PC. WTF will become your mantra on a PC whereas you will not think about the computer at all on a Mac – you will just get work done.
The compare windows and macOS in a fair way, you need a flag carrier PC. IMO a thinkpad P1 vs. MacBook Pro with M1pro processor is good to compare. Price range is almost equal and both has Caps lock indicator light 🙂
I used them both and they both have pros and cons while my prefer still is a MacOS Monterey for the moment while I will give a try for windows11 asap.
I’ve been using Mac minis for the past few years. My most recent mini is running the M1 processor. While I really do enjoy using MacOS (Monterey), I had to get a PC to do my daily IT work – mainly because Microsoft Office on the Mac is lacking crucial features which are included in the Windows version.
Although I do have the ability to either remote into a Windows PC or run a virtual Windows desktop via Citrix, Citrix itself doesn’t run reliably on the Mac platform. My new PC is a powerhouse that can also handle gaming quite well, so I’ll get a lot more use out of it. When I’m not doing basic things on my Mac, it just sits on my desk. That seems like a waste to me. Even though my PC actually cost more than the M1 Mac mini, the advantages of swapping out parts on my own, being fully compatible with every software my company runs, and having the added benefit of playing triple-A games on the same hardware outweigh the benefits of having everything tied to the Apple ecosystem.
My move from Mac to PC has me considering going to Android since Windows 11 works well enough with Android phones and should allow me to do pretty much everything I could do using a Mac and an iPhone. I’m kind of a forward-thinker and looking ahead, I believe the future belongs to a more open architecture than Apple would allow its users to be part of.
I think Apple is more for the 1%. It’s way too expensive. They should have lower prices for seniors. If you’re a student it’s cheaper. My Mac book air crashed. Some of the Apple associates don’t know what they’re doing. They are training in you. I’m getting a windows. More companies use them.