PC or MAC for CMU students?

Ultimately, PC is the way to go

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Ever since Apple began its rise in the computer industry with icons like the iMac G3 and the MacBook, there has been the relentless war of computers. Every year more and more people take sides, or take the easy way out by going with Linux.

Especially in recent years, the war has been heating up with Apple making even more money with its questionable methods of expanding the computer industry into the future. On the other side, you have the much more affordable options of the PC industry. So why a PC over a Mac?

If you’re an owner of the recent MacBook Pros you will understand this more than anything. The new MacBooks have a very big limiting feature to its ports. The new MacBook pros only have a headphone/microphone jack, and only 4 USB-C ports to it.

Now if you’re like me and you don’t have everything USB-C that’s obviously a huge problem. What if you want to hook up your laptop to a display with HDMI for a movie? Nope. You need a normal USB port to connect your iPhone? Too bad, find a dongle. It becomes very tedious and an inconvenience when you need all those types of ports that usually come on a normal Laptop.

Performance is another big feature that gets limited by Apple in almost all perspectives. Some people won’t pay as much attention to this as myself; however it’s something to keep in mind. Right now, my personal PC on my desk is a fairly powerful machine.

If I compared it to an iMac right now and got as close as I could to matching the computer specs, I’m going to be paying approximately $500-$800 more on the iMac. Not to mention that the iMac, being as powerful as it is, won’t be able to play bigger games at a smooth and more satisfying experience like you can achieve with my PC.

This then leads me into the possibly biggest deciding factor: money. We all know the stories and have the experience of dropping our entire bank accounts in a laptop or even computer. It’s insane how much a MacBook can cost, let alone a Mac.

Having a Mac can cause a lot of problems based off your career/major. In the business department, nobody uses Macs unless it’s mostly for note taking. The extra amount of money necessary to purchase a Mac does not provide anything additional to help benefit you as a student, let alone when you’re in the field.

However, not everything is expensive and limiting at the mothership at Apple HQ. One big thing going for you as a Mac is having the great connectivity and likability, such as how a lot of programs and features can carry over to other devices.

For example, Mac has a feature where you can be doing something like looking at an article online on your Mac, you can pick up your iPhone and continue reading that same article. Also, Apple does a good job of having a great design, along with a unique operating system that some people find to be easier to use than Windows or Linux.

In the end, I personally find PC to be the winner here. I prefer having a system that I can use in more than just some ways, play bigger more demanding games and having a unique way of making it feel more personal to me.