Gaming Computer vs Mac

[BertKoor]

For macs gaming is not an option

Oh really?

Code: Select all

~$ brew install mame

[Jac459]

Oh really?

Code: Select all

~$ brew install mame

He he, Why play call of duty when you can play metal slug ?

[Serhii Kot]

I have noticed an interesting trend:
If you are using Mac, - You prefer Macs.
If you are using a PC, - You prefer a PC.
If you are using both - You prefer Mac.

[Jac459]

I have noticed an interesting trend:
If you are using Mac, - You prefer Macs.
If you are using a PC, - You prefer a PC.
If you are using both - You prefer Mac.

Haha, you will generate a lot of hateful answers .

On my side it is very attached to the period... I was a big fan of Windows Phone, Windows 8 UI and gestures... It was a selling point for me. Now, Windows 11 is slick but I don't see any difference with MacOS, they are very similar and thus quite both boring (and nearly perfect)...
The reason why I prefer Mac now is just due to the CPU technology, AMD and Intel both struggling to catchup... I hope snapdragon will create a breakthrough and present a real threat to Apple Silicon (I am only talking for laptop). Overall I like to be ecosystem independent...

[j wazza]

A workstation pc is better than gaming computer. I prefer PC to mac, you get more performance for less money. If money is no object, either is good.

[Jac459]

Again, you're making a lot of assumptions here. Granted, that might "typically" be true, but you still appear to be consistently under-estimating the power usage of modern dekstop components, both whilst idle and at full load.

You are overestimating the power usage by a lot. I don't have a top of the line hardware (i5 12600 + 3060ti), but with all power savings off and running a daw with a few tracks I get: CPU:20W, GPU:25W. I don't completely believe software readings, but with all overhead I don't think it's above 70W. Under full load with prime 95 it does consume 120Watts, which isn't a whole lot for a torture test.

If nvidia will fix their drivers it will be another saved 15W and it's possible to save another 10W on a CPU by enabling back the energy saving stuff.

I did some testing with a power metering some time ago and it turned out that it's the monitors that consume a lot of electricity and not the PC itself.

My 2 27' monitors consume more than 100W. I don't think I should worry about my PC consuming a lot of energy if my monitors consume more than that. PC is very silent, except for the noisy HDD, which I will replace at some time, with 2TB SSDs NMVe getting cheaper every day. I think you can buy 2TB below 100$ with really fast models around 150$.

0.15kWh was an estimate for a MAC, for PC I used more reasonable 0.45kWh,it's not that much, but averaging over a year you shouldn't be consuming much more than that. Even if you triple that amount, it will save you only the 100$ per year, and if you are such an active user you probably need the extra power of PC.

Thinking back of this discussion, I think where you live really matters and totally screw up the numbers.
I am in Singapore and in Singapore people use either fans or air con. It is 30° Celsius summer AND winter period.
At home, my kids have a room with 2 gaming PCs, they are very warm and the aircon is always blasting when we use them.
It doesn't happen with apple silicon, it is always cold and I don't need to use aircon, even not fan sometimes.
Now if you consider the electricity price of aircon, you are at a full different ballpark.

[2DaT]

Thinking back of this discussion, I think where you live really matters and totally screw up the numbers.
I am in Singapore and in Singapore people use either fans or air con. It is 30° Celsius summer AND winter period.
At home, my kids have a room with 2 gaming PCs, they are very warm and the aircon is always blasting when we use them.
It doesn't happen with apple silicon, it is always cold and I don't need to use aircon, even not fan sometimes.
Now if you consider the electricity price of aircon, you are at a full different ballpark.

You can't play heavy games on apple silicon at all. I don't get why all apple users compare apple silicon to PCs with very heavy GPUs. Obviously, big GPUs consume a lot of power, but you can't run the same stuff on apple silicon, therefore you can't compare it.

When idling, apple silicon is more efficient, but difference between 70W PC and 20W Mac isn't that big in a grand scheme of things. For example, a floor fan to move the air in a room consumes more than 100W.

It is only when you use a GPU and a CPU the things get hot. A big GPU can consume 350W easily, add 150W CPU that is working at full power and this whole thing outputs the heat like a small heater. Majority of this is big GPU though, and apple silicon doesn't a very powerful one.

[Jac459]

Thinking back of this discussion, I think where you live really matters and totally screw up the numbers.
I am in Singapore and in Singapore people use either fans or air con. It is 30° Celsius summer AND winter period.
At home, my kids have a room with 2 gaming PCs, they are very warm and the aircon is always blasting when we use them.
It doesn't happen with apple silicon, it is always cold and I don't need to use aircon, even not fan sometimes.
Now if you consider the electricity price of aircon, you are at a full different ballpark.

You can't play heavy games on apple silicon at all. I don't get why all apple users compare apple silicon to PCs with very heavy GPUs. Obviously, big GPUs consume a lot of power, but you can't run the same stuff on apple silicon, therefore you can't compare it.

When idling, apple silicon is more efficient, but difference between 70W PC and 20W Mac isn't that big in a grand scheme of things. For example, a floor fan to move the air in a room consumes more than 100W.

It is only when you use a GPU and a CPU the things get hot. A big GPU can consume 350W easily, add 150W CPU that is working at full power and this whole thing outputs the heat like a small heater. Majority of this is big GPU though, and apple silicon doesn't a very powerful one.

Well I don't know why you assume I am an apple user... I have both.
You can play medium heavy games on apple, like shadow of the tomb raider... but pc is waaayyy better.
The point is a lot of people use gaming laptop for music production and somehow, it get super super hot... I agree that normally the gpu should not kick in but that's not my experience. My experience is not being able to keep the laptop on my lap.

[jamcat]

I have noticed an interesting trend:
If you are using Mac, - You prefer Macs.
If you are using a PC, - You prefer a PC.
If you are using both - You prefer Mac.

Yep. I use both. I prefer Mac. By a lot.

Being a Windows user is the default. Being a Mac user is a deliberate choice. Most Mac users are former Windows users who can and have used both but prefer Mac to the point of no longer using Windows at all.

Those of us who use both are somewhere on that path of transition. But it always starts at Windows and ends at Mac. Very rarely the other way around.

[PAK]

Thinking back of this discussion, I think where you live really matters and totally screw up the numbers.

100%. Usage conditions matter. EG It's also not uncommon for audio users to care about background noise. Everyone thinks fan noise, but audio recording can also limit the ability to open windows / doors etc. Then there's sound proofed walls (which act like a blanket to keep heat in!) Such conditions mean a computer can easily contribute towards an uncomfortable hot room - even in cooler climates!

Now if you consider the electricity price of aircon, you are at a full different ballpark.

Indeed! And some modern components definitely make a bad situation worse..

[PAK]

You can't play heavy games on apple silicon at all. I don't get why all apple users compare apple silicon to PCs with very heavy GPUs. Obviously, big GPUs consume a lot of power, but you can't run the same stuff on apple silicon, therefore you can't compare it.

That's true to a degree. People compare partly because, once you go above the base Mac level, you're quickly spending the sort of money where those are the components in comparable priced PC's.

Go with a lower GFX spec? Not so fast.. What if you want 2 or 3 screens? Or you might want HDMI 2.1 support, for higher refresh rates, or 4:4:4 HDR etc, and 4K screens require a reasonable amount of grunt even for desktop only use. These are all non-3D uses which push you away from onboard GFX and more towards (at least) mid-range gaming cards, along with their energy profiles - which aren't always the best, even at idle.

Yes, there's many use cases where Apple Silicon makes no sense. EG If time is money, and you do a bunch of 3D work, PC's with dedicated GFX cards are normally the better choice. Or, if you use demanding games - as you said. Caveat there being gfx card prices are getting high enough that consoles are starting to make more sense for many (a Brooks Sniper might help )

When idling, apple silicon is more efficient, but difference between 70W PC and 20W Mac isn't that big in a grand scheme of things. For example, a floor fan to move the air in a room consumes more than 100W.

Argghh.. It depends on usage and location!! ( BTW No Apple Silicon machine without a screen default idles at 20W presently.. Even the Ultra Studio is between 10W and 13W.. ).

Say you keep a machine on 24/7 (not that uncommon.. ) and are based in a country with insane energy prices - like the UK. That 50W extra is 1.2kWh per day, 438kWh/year, or US$188.34. Atm, over 5 years of system use, that's a US$941.70 difference! So what you think is "an insignificant amount" isn't always true.

Most countries charges aren't that high, of course, and most users don't leave a machine on 24/7 either. But, the closer you get to those kinds of things being true, the more Apple Silicon might make sense - beyond just the usual PC Vs Mac thing. Obviously you can do things to improve the PC too. EG, With a bit of silicon lottery luck, you might get an AMD chip which undervolts well - and that will reduce energy use whilst keeping much of the high end performance (might want to avoid an Asus mobo atm tho ) A Platinum PSU, rated at the correct amount for your usage, will help too etc. etc.

It is only when you use a GPU and a CPU the things get hot. A big GPU can consume 350W easily, add 150W CPU that is working at full power and this whole thing outputs the heat like a small heater. Majority of this is big GPU though, and apple silicon doesn't a very powerful one.

Depends on use cases too. But, yes, mostly you're right. However, if you're using the computer mainly as a DAW, you often don't need that aspect.. Sooo..

[vurt]

Say you keep a machine on 24/7 (not that uncommon.. ) and are based in a country with insane energy prices - like the UK.

maybe for the good of the planet as well as the bank balance, best to switch off when not in use.
same as any electrical appliances.

the future depends on it!

[donkey tugger]

Say you keep a machine on 24/7 (not that uncommon.. ) and are based in a country with insane energy prices - like the UK.

maybe for the good of the planet as well as the bank balance, best to switch off when not in use.
same as any electrical appliances.

the future depends on it!

Surely then you'll be replacing all your telephone exchange gizmos for the soft sinths?

[vurt]

Say you keep a machine on 24/7 (not that uncommon.. ) and are based in a country with insane energy prices - like the UK.

maybe for the good of the planet as well as the bank balance, best to switch off when not in use.
same as any electrical appliances.

the future depends on it!

Surely then you'll be replacing all your telephone exchange gizmos for the soft sinths?

nope, ive forgone light, cooking and a freezer.
therefore i can do two point five hours per day noodling.

tbh, the light, the bulbs are gone, and theyre not easy to find the right bloody ones here.
need small bulbs with big screws. not arf!

[donkey tugger]

tbh, the light, the bulbs are gone, and theyre not easy to find the right bloody ones here.
need small bulbs with big screws. not arf!

Is it these?;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1