Mac vs. PC in 2025 - has the balance shifted?

[dellboy]

there also are firmware updates deployed, which you can't revert and which are barely documented either.

Thanks for mentioning that firmware updates can't revert. I was just about to buy a Mac Mini. I googled it, and although it seems to be possible to revert the firmware with the use of a second Mac, its a lot of hassle. I think my new plan will be to dump my current PC laptop and build a PC desktop. I have got tired of all the hubs dangling off of the laptop.

[MrJubbly]

If backward compatibility is an important personal requirement (and for me, it is), then Windows is the only viable option.

I moved seamlessly from Windows XP to Win 7 to Win 11. Everything still works for me. Projects created from 20+ years ago still load correctly for me today, on Microsoft's most recent OS update.

I doubt the same could ever be said for Apple or their users. Or even anything close to such backward compatibility support. It seems, Apple routinely breaks essential core compatibility of some form or another, every few years, or with each new product launch.

I am also not a fan of their overly proprietary approach and business model. I would never want to commit to such an eco system.

[Michael L]

Further to Mr Jubbly’s important point, the only way to keep backward compatibility is to stop updating MacOS.
You also can’t buy older versions of Apple software for your old computer, unless you first buy the current version and its compatible hardware.
Thus, hardcore Apple users must keep old systems. Not the best!!
Apple policy wasn’t always this way, but it’s now run by a supply chain expert, in a very top-down structure.
This is all to reduce Apple support costs, force hardware purchases, and increase profits.

[Greenstorm33]

I just got a Mac mini and it’s great. In addition to being something like twice as powerful as the Windows gaming laptop it’s replacing, it’s so quiet. And not having to fight the audio system and/or rely on third-party drivers to get good latency is nice as well.

[rod_zero]

My only problem is that you need a damn USB hub for peripherals.

You don’t. Mac Studio has 6× Thunderbolt 5/USB4 USB-C ports. Mac mini and MacBook Pro have 3 ports each. But since the keyboard and mouse/trackpad are either wireless or built in, that’s probably all you need.

You missed the part where I wrote it was about laptops.

[jamcat]

My only problem is that you need a damn USB hub for peripherals.

You don’t. Mac Studio has 6× Thunderbolt 5/USB4 USB-C ports. Mac mini and MacBook Pro have 3 ports each. But since the keyboard and mouse/trackpad are either wireless or built in, that’s probably all you need.

You missed the part where I wrote it was about laptops.

But like I said, if you're using a laptop, it's really advantageous to use a hub anyways because it makes portability hassle-free. You just plug in a single cable when you're at your studio desk, and all your desktop kit is plugged in and configured. Then you just unplug it and you're good to take your laptop out on the road.

So I don't see the hub as a problem, I see it as a productivity enhancer. I don't even need more ports than my MacBook comes with, but I still use a hub for the convenience of keeping my studio setup in situ.

[stillshaded]

Windoze sounds warmer more analog. Aliasing is more "round"

Mac if you like a colder more "clinical" sound, but you always have to run in 96 khz to get that authentic steve Jobs era power mac sound.

[jamcat]

If backward compatibility is an important personal requirement (and for me, it is), then Windows is the only viable option.

Further to Mr Jubbly’s important point, the only way to keep backward compatibility is to stop updating MacOS.

Windows will be in the same position MacOS was in once the inevitable migration to ARM begins. Intel will be sold off in piecemeal, and you'll have to hold on to an obsolete x86_64 machine to run those old plugins.

[Michael L]

Windoze sounds warmer more analog. Aliasing is more "round"
Mac if you like a colder more "clinical" sound, but you always have to run in 96 khz to get that authentic steve Jobs era power mac sound.

Loook: Power Mac is more round and analoguesque!
QED, baby…

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GraphiteG4.jpg

[MrJubbly]

If backward compatibility is an important personal requirement (and for me, it is), then Windows is the only viable option.

Further to Mr Jubbly’s important point, the only way to keep backward compatibility is to stop updating MacOS.

Windows will be in the same position MacOS was in once the inevitable migration to ARM begins. Intel will be sold off in piecemeal, and you'll have to hold on to an obsolete x86_64 machine to run those old plugins.

I never use Laptops. Always Intel Desktop Windows PCs.

However, I have noticed people who do use laptops, often mistakenly assume that everyone else would also like to. And in doing so, fail to realise there will always be a very healthy market of Desktop-only users to cater for.

[fedexnman]

Mac 2025 - base model still have NO storage and NO Ram but are affordable . Add more storage and ram and it is NOT affordable .
PC 2025 - you can build your own , you can add infinite storage and ram and also game besides music .

[Touch The Universe]

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Storage might have a simple solution if you can literraly think outside of the box, but ram...

Just do a lot of bouncing

[keyman_sam]

For $2800 I can get a Mac Studio with 64GB RAM, 16 P-cores, 1 TB SSD.

Perf wise is there any PC I can buy that can come close?

[jamcat]

If backward compatibility is an important personal requirement (and for me, it is), then Windows is the only viable option.

Further to Mr Jubbly’s important point, the only way to keep backward compatibility is to stop updating MacOS.

Windows will be in the same position MacOS was in once the inevitable migration to ARM begins. Intel will be sold off in piecemeal, and you'll have to hold on to an obsolete x86_64 machine to run those old plugins.

I never use Laptops. Always Intel Desktop Windows PCs.

However, I have noticed people who do use laptops, often mistakenly assume that everyone else would also like to. And in doing so, fail to realise there will always be a very healthy market of Desktop-only users to cater for.

Ok. But I’m not sure what any of that has to do Microsoft’s move to ARM or Intel’s slow motion implosion. All of the Windowsphere is going to be affected.

[PAK]

If backward compatibility is an important personal requirement (and for me, it is), then Windows is the only viable option.

Long-term software history shows the main barrier has proven to be either copy protection, encryption, or a reliance on hardware nobody cares about enough to emulate or translate. Pass these barriers and you can (just about) run any software on anything.

And “translate” means things needn’t be restricted to virtual machines. A ton of old Windows software runs just fine via Crossover on Mac OS. It can even tap into modern Mac features.. EG Using Apple’s Voice Isolate mode on the Mic input for your Windows audio programs! It seems like a lot of people are unaware you can do this on Mac OS.

For longevity it might be wiser to look towards Linux. Notice how the MS consumer side continues to diverge from the business OS side? (Stripping users of control as it goes.) If sufficiently decoupled you might find compatibility comes much further down any list for a consumer OS. Change is the one thing you can count on. Microsoft’s relative inertia, when it comes to non x86-64 devices, also might’ve created a false impression that Windows is somehow more immune to future compatibility challenges.

For Mac’s, all I can offer is my own experience: Intel VSTi 2.4’s (2006) ran on supported versions of Mac OS up until 2022. That’s 16 years. And you can still run it all on a virtual machine if required. Near everything I use (besides Hypersonic 2!) also made it over to native Apple Silicon. Even stuff I’d never have expected - like the Access Virus as a plugin (without Powercore), or Pro 54 courtesy of CMaj.

Granted, individual use cases vary, and any longevity is usually despite Apple rather than because of it. But some people’s perceptions appear way off when it comes to Mac OS and this sort of stuff..