Thinking of making the jump from windows 7 to Osx

namrehtaew · August 29, 2015, 08:18:08 AM

Hi all, My win7 pc is getting old now and overdue for a change. Until recently, I was planning to make the move to a win10 based pc as I have been using Windows for 25 years! The seed of doubt was sown in my mind after seeing my nephew using his new Macbook Pro! Needless to say I was very impressed....and this is from a lifelong Apple hater lol!
The one thing that will stop me from making the move is not being able to run my favorite games which include Rimworld and Factorio right at the top of that list! Does Rimworld run as well or better on Osx than win10? ( given equivalent hardware )...... Any thoughts??

Menuhin · August 29, 2015, 09:38:43 AM

Speaking as someone who grew up around both. My first pc was windows, then I used OSX for around 6 years then switched back to windows. Both operating systems work fine, but the reason I moved away from OSX is simply the lack of games. Even with things like wine, and games ported to mac the amount of games you can reasonably play is greatly decreased.

As to how rimworld and factorio in particular and how they run on OSX i can not say as I haven't played them on OSX. But in general most video games will be running better on windows then they will on OSX assuming equivalent hardware. This is simply because the vast majority of games were written for and on windows, the ports allowing you to play on OSX can sometimes be pretty decent and it'd be hard to notice a difference and other times it will be a severe decrease in performance.

akiceabear · August 30, 2015, 12:17:08 AM

I've played on both Windows and OSX (using a MacBook Pro). The performance is essentially the same, although there are a few small annoyances on Mac - for example, there sometimes are odd graphical artifacts around trees swaying in the wind.

Also, it goes without saying that you'll want to buy a good mouse, as playing the game with a trackpad (on any system) is very cumbersome.

I second the other opinion - Windows is a far superior if you are interested in gaming.

StorymasterQ · August 30, 2015, 09:49:18 PM

Off Topic (in an off topic thread), but I first read the title as "Thinking of jumping out the window" and had to make a double take.

milon · September 01, 2015, 07:31:20 AM

Quote from: namrehtaew on August 29, 2015, 08:18:08 AM
...Until recently, I was planning to make the move to a win10 based pc as I have been using Windows for 25 years! The seed of doubt was sown in my mind after seeing my nephew using his new Macbook Pro! Needless to say I was very impressed....and this is from a lifelong Apple hater lol! ...

I myself am a Windows guy, even if I hate a lot of MS's decisions. I also know very little about OSX. What, exactly, impresses you? What's your opinion of Win10 if you've used it? Did you make a decision about what OS to go with?

Lerxst · September 01, 2015, 01:17:22 PM

Quote from: namrehtaew on August 29, 2015, 08:18:08 AM
Hi all, My win7 pc is getting old now and overdue for a change. Until recently, I was planning to make the move to a win10 based pc as I have been using Windows for 25 years! The seed of doubt was sown in my mind after seeing my nephew using his new Macbook Pro! Needless to say I was very impressed....and this is from a lifelong Apple hater lol!
The one thing that will stop me from making the move is not being able to run my favorite games which include Rimworld and Factorio right at the top of that list! Does Rimworld run as well or better on Osx than win10? ( given equivalent hardware )...... Any thoughts??

As a former IT tech, my bias is pretty obvious. Macs *were* good. They had custom parts and they were high quality. Then, as of about 10 years ago, the same manufacturers made components for both PC and Macs and the Mac quality dropped. There were rarely calls from Mac users who had troubles with anything. Now, hell, they even have a marketing gimmick revolving around their tech support centers.

So you're getting the same hardware, with a 75% markup for the name. Better off looking into an Alienware system for the price you'd pay for a Mac.

You'd also have to get used to playing games a couple years after everyone else. Mac support is pretty much the bottom of the priority lists for most developers, especially the Indie ones.

Then we can talk about upgrading... I just bought another 8 gigs of RAM and a new GeForce card for my 3.5 year old PC. $200 with all the discounts included. Good luck trying that on a Mac...

namrehtaew · September 03, 2015, 05:47:47 AM

Hi All,
Thanks all for your input! I'm still using win7 on my desktop, and this is the machine I do most of my gaming on ( I'm in the Queue for win10!). I have decided to hold on to this machine a bit longer, I will certainly give win10 a fair try before changing. I'm still strongly tempted to try the Macbook Pro 13 as I need something I can carry around which is energy efficient and will run Rimworld and Factorio. Maybe such a machine does not yet exist!!

harpo99999 · September 03, 2015, 05:28:17 PM

based upon my experience with winx on my customer's machines, I would suggest holding off on the winx for a few more months eg to about april or may

Adamiks · September 16, 2015, 06:35:05 PM

I never tried another systems than Windows XP and Windows 7, but i must say that Windows 8-10 is more android on PC than a system i would like to operate on.

Just a though - have no experience in that stuff, i just like to complain ;d

Facepunch · October 06, 2015, 07:36:38 AM

To get a Mac is to get an alienware:
You're wasting a whole boatload of money. If you're ultra rich, and you live in a mansion of gold, and drive a golden Lamborghini, go ahead and pickup both a Mac and an Alienware computer. But, if you're not so rich, get yourself a Windows. Windows 7, I'd recommend. Windows 8 is a pile of ass, and I haven't had time to look into Windows 10, but I don't trust it. If you build your own machine, or even go into a trustworthy shop (Local computer shop I got my comp from was called Memory Express, they've got places here and there in Canada. Not sure about in the states, tho.) and ask them for help in choosing out your parts, they'll advise you there. And most of them will also build it, for an hourly charge (Takes 2 hours, tops.)
A few price comparisons:
Macbook Pro: $1999
Alienware: $1400 (I looked into some of their rigs, they got one listed at $1399, it will run any game you put it through for the next year or so at max settings, solid 60fps)
PC you picked the bits out for: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nTcHyc
That's $678.62. Prices might fluctuate a little, but my point stands.
That's $1320.38 cheaper than a Macbook which will perform far worse.
That's $721.38 cheaper than an Alienware computer, of roughly similar specs.
That computer I linked above, will run most games for a few years, most of them at max settings, with a solid 60fps.

But hey, it's your money.

MisterVertigo · October 06, 2015, 11:01:52 AM

I'm an IT guy for a school district. I'm certainly a Windows guy, but I don't necessarily hate Apple.

I agree with most of the folks above. If you want to play games (other than from the iTunes Store) you need a PC. You can install Boot Camp on a Mac computer to run Windows, but that is a waste. Then you just spent a whole bunch of money for a PC with an Apple on the box. You can get just as good of quality for a lot less money.

Now, if you want the Mac for other purposes to along with gaming that is up to you. If you are going to be using the Mac for it's niche purposes (graphics, video, etc) then its up to you if that is worth the extra cost. Also, if you already have an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, etc in your home then you will love how easy your MacBook will work with all that stuff already.

However, if your primary use for the computer is gaming, then you will not beat a PC as far as price for performance.

MisterVertigo · October 06, 2015, 11:28:33 AM

Oh, and don't be put off by Windows 10. It's not that bad. I used Windows 8 and 8.1 and I didn't hate it, but it was certainly a big change from XP or Windows 7. Windows 10 still has a lot of the Windows 8 "stuff", but it feels a lot more like a desktop OS than 8 did.

Although, I'm an IT guy and I'm not rattled by change as much as some folks. If you go into it thinking you are going to hate it, then you probably will. Things are in different places, things look different. However, everything there was before will still be there.

97% of my time spent on my home computer is gaming or browsing the web. For those two things it would make no difference if I was running Windows 7, 8, or 10.

Pheanox · October 07, 2015, 11:25:45 PM

Gonna chime in.

I've worked in IT, have used both Macs and PCs. Rimworld works fine on Macs, I've done some testing on them in the past. Didn't try modding though on them so I can't speak to that.

I'm going to mirror the general sentiment that Apple computers now are really just marked up and overpriced PCs. I don't see the advantage to them anymore.

As for Windows 10, I haven't had any issues with it. I upgraded my desktop from 7 to 10 and have only noticed a (minimal) performance increase. My tablet went from 8.1 to 10 and same story. I know personal experience means little but I haven't noticed any reason personally to not update. I use both tablet and desktop to browse, consume media, and play games. I have streamed on my Windows 10 desktop with no issue.

tomerbarkan · October 08, 2015, 05:57:02 AM

Apple computers are pretty much horrible as soon as you want to do something that is a bit different than what Apple have in mind... For them it's my way or the highway. And they charge a lot for their way.

I recommend sticking with Windows.

Facepunch · October 12, 2015, 01:58:02 PM

If you do go with windows, you should stick to 7, IMO. Microsoft's been trying to fix what isn't broken, and it made everything ugly. W7 works fine, great compatibility, Ive been running it for 3, or 4 years and haven't found a single program. my laptop has W8, the compatibility's a little bit dodgier. Cant speak for 10, though.