There is an app called crossover games. I've used it to play some steam games in osx. Apparantly TF2 and Left 4 Dead and other popular games work with it. Obviously it's no replacement for windows, but it is something. You can also install Windows XP on a Mac, as a good friend of mine has Windows XP on his intel iMac. I don't own a real intel mac though so im not entirely sure what's involved.

Get a Mac if you feel like paying twice as much for something that does less, or otherwise, get a PC.

PC

I forgot about that, I've han't used protools personally, however I have had an Album made using it. My producer was the one recording it and tweaking it so i have no first hand experience using it.

The creator off this thread knows so little about computers, that he has to ask on a forum if he should buy a PC or a Mac.

Also, he didn't mention that he wanted a gaming computer. All he said, was he wanted some advice. He made one post. ONE post, which asked for advice on Mac VS PC. He's an ENTRY level user.....

Another thing, the computer I linked doesn't "suck" it's actually quite a machine at that price point. Around 350 bucks for Windows 7, 3gb of ram out of the box, a warranty, 2core processor running at 2.7ghz, no heat problems, low power usage, fast, reliable, and actually, a half way decent graphics card as far as integrated goes, and it'll play World of Warcraft at a fair clip according to the EXCELLENT reviews it has recieved at Newegg.....

Because, you....people....he's having to ask if he wants a PC or a Mac. He is not going to be able to upgrade his videocard. He's not going to be modding his case, and he's not going too be playing HD gaming on his PC for a price this low, because those PCs don't exist unless you build them and pirate the OS, and guess what guys, guess what. This guy CANT BUILD A PC. The small form factor might even be a plus for him. Many who bought it, enjoyed its compact size. In fact, this is a perfect office computer.

The PC I linked is a great for the dollar, it will be able to perform anything a computer can do, short of graphics intensive processing, at a very reasonable price point. It is a fantastic entry level computer. It's a great second computer, and for say, a student, it would be an ideal desktop with plenty of multimedia potential.

The OP is an ideal candidate for an entry level computer, though as I've mentioned, the computer I linked is not only quite powerful relatively, it is also very cheap. It's also very versatile with HDMI out, and a wide array of connectivity features.

The major misassumption you've made, is that I believed the PC I linked was intended for HD gaming or for modification. It obviously wasn't, and I would have been completely ignorant to recommend something like that to my target audience.

You see, I thought of all of this, before I posted. I knew, and calculated everything I've just written, in seconds, befored I decided to post my suggestion for a computer for this person. It was a great suggestion. I was actually shopping for an entry level PC for my brother over the past few weeks, so I knew this was a good choice.

How much thought did you put into your posts? Do you think that because you can read specs on newegg that I couldn't? Is that a skill, to you? Would you suggest he go with the 1600 dollar prebuilt HP? I mean, sure it has Vista, but it'll run Crysis at acceptable fps. Maybe he should build a computer like me? What parts would you suggest, because we both know, obviously, he should build one. Everyone can do that. Everyone.

This has really ground my gears.

For the record:

Win 7 home premium 64 bit

GeForce 9200 integrated

3gb ddr 2

320gb hd 7200 rpm

Athlon X2 64 bit 2-core 2.7 ghz

16x DVDr/rw

Card Reader

Optical Audio out 5.1

HDMI out

9 usb ports

recommended use: Home/Office

1 year warranty

Mouse and Keyboard included

5/5 eggs on newegg

360 dollars.

I'm not saying it's the best deal in computers,but it's a damn good entry level PC for a fair, and I believe, for a good price, but it obviously isn't going to work for current gen gaming.

Very well, maybe our assumption that he wants a gaming PC was unwarranted.  However, what about your assumption that he does not want to play games on it?  What if he bought this computer and didn't realize that it wouldn't play games because you didn't say so.

Regardless, unless space is a serious issue for this person, small form factor is a poor choice.  Larger cases are going to have better airflow, and therefore better cooling.  Also, upgrading is limited.  Assuming he doesn't know anything about computers, lets say he asked his friend to install him a new graphics card?  His friend would say 'no can do, your case sucks'.  Replacement parts are going to be more expensive also and harder to find at your average computer store (Power Supply, for example).  An equivalent computer in a bigger case would be the same price, if not cheaper.

If your assumption is correct and he wouldn't be upgrading it, why would anyone want a 64-bit OS.  Typically, the reason to get a 64-bit OS is to utilize 4 Gigs of RAM.  This computer only has 3 Gigs.  You could say it is to take advantage of a 64-bit processor, but so few programs don't support that even if it runs on Win7 64-bit.  Also, there are a lot of programs that simply do not work on 64-bit OS.

At a 360$ price point, I would be curious about the quality of the parts, especially the motherboard.  You get what you pay for.

So yea, unless you need dirt cheap and space is a serious issue where it is going, the computer sucks.  Of course, that is only my opinion.  An opinion I've formed after getting a computer science bachelors degree and working as a computer technician and computer salesman for a few years.

This argument isn't exactly about this computer. However, I think it's specs are great for its price, as you've mentioned. You've marginalized it, by claiming that its small form factor causes more heat, and reduces the ability to upgrade. You've also mentioned that  the parts might be of low quality.

Truth is, those are nitpicks. For the price this is an excellent computer. This is a "dirt cheap"(your words) price on a computer with fantastic specifications. It also has HDMI out, so he can hook it up to his HDTV, and he can play older games like Warcraft 3, NWN, or even World of Warcraft much better than most CPUs with absolute shit integrated graphics cards.

The computer has 5.1 out, HDMI out, a decent integrated card, and good parts. I've inspected it. Yet it still manages to only cost 360 dollars. You'll have a hard time beating that.

Sure, it might "suck" compared to a lot of computers out there, which cost much more money, and still don't manage the connectivity of this PC. However, it ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT SUCK for the price. In fact, it is one of the best bargins out there for the price, as far as PC's go. The warranty moots most of your nitpicks, and again, upgrading with a small form factor is impossible, but also unnecessary unless you want to game on the PC.

Now, I do understand you making the incorrect assumption that only HD gaming ready PCs should be recommended, because this is a gaming website. However, I can't forgive you clinging to the presumption that price has nothing to do with quality. What would you pay for a Mac with these specs? What if the PS3 was 10,000 dollars? Then, it would suck. Price is a major factor, and you DONT always get what you pay for. Sometimes you get much more, and sometimes you get much less. You need to learn how to use the internet, if you don't believe that.

THIS was my point. You can get a PC that can do pretty much anything the best Mac can do(for the casual user) at about the same speed(or greater), with much more connectivity, for 360 dollars. Remember, gaming sucks on a Mac, one of the largest talking points is that HD gaming is terrible on Mac. Same as this computer. However, this computer is 360 dollars, not 1000. It comes with Windows 7, and at this price, if you built the PC, you'd pay 100 dollars for that, alone.

Is this PC hot? No, stays cool even under load.

Does this PC have quality parts? Yes, I've inspected it, and I've also owned many, many Acer products as do many modern frugle PC entheusiasts. I also own several self-built computers and one hybrid.

Is this computer fast? Very, even the HD is fast

Can you game well on this computer? If you aren't gaming in HD, then it's not bad. This is not a gaming PC.

Does this computer have bells and whistles? 16x DVD Rw, card reader, HDMI out, 5.1 optical toslink out, nice integrated graphics, very efficiently sized, Windows 7 premium, decently sized Hard-drive, 64 bit processor, 3gigs of ram out of the box, 9 usb ports. This would be a GREAT entry level PC or the PERFECT HTPC. Do you disagree? Is this a bad HTPC, lol?

Does this PC have a guarntee? 1 year warranty, 30 day money back guarntee.

Is this PC well respected? Great reviews all over the internet, sold out everywhere.

is this PC well priced? Specwise, this is one of the best dollar to power ratio PCs in mass production

For YOUR purposes, it sucks. For a casual, and for 99 percent of the civilized world, this PC is far superior to their current PCs, and costs far far less than they paid for them.

Let's get off this PC. I don't really care about it. I just became offended at the implication that I didn't know what I was talking about. Bro, I build computers monthly. Honestly, I think this would be a great first PC for the kid, or any kid, or any student. Gamers, shop elsewhere, or build your own, this is obvious.

You did make a few good points though, so I salute you. Your first paragraph was impressive.

You have some good points too, even though I still would never buy a small form factor PC, even for an HTPC.

This is completely off topic (even more than before).  I just ask that you don't use the term "HD" when talking about PC gaming.  It means absolutely nothing; We have had what console gamers consider HD for a long time.  I don't care if you run World in Conflict at 640 x 480 (what I would consider the closest thing a computer monitor would go to SD, even though it is still progressive scan), it would still probably not run on that computer.  I just don't like the marketing term "HD" because it is very misleading.

As for the brand of computer you go with, I would take a look at ASUS computers before you make your decision.  They are the best quality computer companies out there, and they sell their equipment at very reasonably prices.  Their customer service is real good too.

I like how 90% of the ppl here are trying to recommend a mac for 'everything else' when a PC still does 'everything else' better. LOL

Buy a Mac is you are a 15 yr old angsty school girl looking to fit in with the cool kids during recess.

Mac (i dont play games on my computer)

I was a pc user all my life, used pc's at home and work on pc's at the office.
Over time i got frustrated of my pc getting slower and slower, bugging, looking for missing drivers, how many times have i felt like throwing the damn thing out the window...
Always thought mac was expensive and there would be many things i couldnt do with a mac, still i did some research and found out only one of the soft i use would not work.
So i did it, bought an iMac 24inch
that was a 1 1/2 yr ago, if i was to buy a new computer today, would be another imac.
installed XP with bootcamp but frankly i almost never boot on xp.
i still work on xp all day long and it's a pleasure to find Leopard at home