Dell XPS 8300 VS iMac 21'5 for: Graphic art + gaming + fun overall

[Alvorea]

Dell xps 8300: Core i7 2600 / radeon 6450 1gb ddr3/ 4gb ram (plan to upgrade myself) / 1tb hd (plan to put + ssd later) / blue ray player / discrete soundboard THX / 1 year home warranty / subwoofer sound boxes / wired keyboard and mouse
+
Dell Ultrasharp u2311h Monitor

VS

21'5 iMac: core i5 2,5 ghz / radeon 6750m / 4gb ram / 500gb hd / dvd drive / 1 year shipping warranty / magic mouse and keyboard / ios lion / all-in-one / apple display


Both builds go for the same price here, keep in mind that i am considering imac for its software as well.
Never had an apple before,
not going for anything other than that two.

Waiting for ur answers so fast, becouse dells got cheaper for today only here in brazil.

[JonBeMerkin]

Do you mind me asking the price of each?

[Alvorea]

Do you mind me asking the price of each?

both for 3800 BRL money

[Zkeya]

You could build a more powerful computer for the same price.
Mac may be better for graphic design (software-wise) but its hardware is pretty weak. And some people would laugh at you for saying gaming and mac on the same sentence.
Since you say that you would upgrade the ram by yourself on the Dell PC, building your own wouldn't be too hard.

Does the IMac have a desktop or laptop CPU? Also, Dell and MAC charge quite large markups on hardware... are there any others stores you can use? Neither has a powerful GPU AT ALL. The Dell has a very good CPU though. DO you mind switching out something like a GPU?

(I think iMacs use laptop CPUs)
The CPU on the Dell machine is powerful, but not the unlocked version, so O/C isn't possible.

[Arslay]

Does the IMac have a desktop or laptop CPU? Also, Dell and MAC charge quite large markups on hardware... are there any others stores you can use? Neither has a powerful GPU AT ALL. The Dell has a very good CPU though. DO you mind switching out something like a GPU?

[Deleted]

If your mind is set for either of those two, I would probably go for the Dell. Better hardware and the screen is better. Edit: that said, Macs tend to give a "professional" impression, so if you will use the computer with costumers it's not a bad choice I guess.

But, judging by the cash you are willing to spend, you could get something better. Just saying. And for software, almost always there is the same or equivalent software for the Windows platform. Apples own produced software is often not considered high-end, and more caters to low-medium experienced users; Adobe products is usually where it's at.

[Deleted]

...... keep in mind that i am considering imac for its software as well.
Never had an apple before,
not going for anything other than that two.

Seems like you pretty much made up your mind already. So I'd say: have fun with your new iMac .

But as what has been said already in this thread, both are quite 'meh'. But in the end it truly depends on what you plan to do with it.

So what ARE you planning to use it for?
And what made you consider the iMac for its software? Or just because it was something you haven't tried before?

[Veridium]

If you want a computer that has bugs, errors and tons of shit things but where you can game on mostly go for the dell.
If you want a computer that you can trust that will never fail on you go for mac.
If you are only going to game, pc. Mac for the rest, and if you just play wow go for mac aswell.

[Alvorea]

Seems like you pretty much made up your mind already. So I'd say: have fun with your new iMac .

But as what has been said already in this thread, both are quite 'meh'. But in the end it truly depends on what you plan to do with it.

So what ARE you planning to use it for?
And what made you consider the iMac for its software? Or just because it was something you haven't tried before?

I just never had an apple computer before, but everything mac i've meet around has a superb build quality and design that is so attractive.
I feel guilty for wanting a mac but my logical side says that the Dell is a nice option, and it is really cheap comparting it spec with all the current
stuff we see around brazil.

I say those two becouse there isnt much more labels with quality and waranty that worth build here other than those two desktop wise.

I am curious about the dell screen quality, i am relaly 50/50% now.

[Deleted]

If you want a computer that has bugs, errors and tons of shit things but where you can game on mostly go for the dell.
If you want a computer that you can trust that will never fail on you go for mac.
If you are only going to game, pc. Mac for the rest, and if you just play wow go for mac aswell.

6 posts 'till the first PC vs. Mac flaming. I've seen it happen faster in other threads, but still....../shoo

[Deleted]

Mod Warning: No brand bashing guys. Constructive feedback/criticism.

[Alvorea]

6 posts 'till the first PC vs. Mac flaming. I've seen it happen faster in other threads, but still....../shoo

looking for construtive opinion really

[Zkeya]

I just never had an apple computer before, but everything mac i've meet around has a superb build quality and design that is so attractive.
I feel guilty for wanting a mac but my logical side says that the Dell is a nice option, and it is really cheap comparting it spec with all the current
stuff we see around brazil.

I say those two becouse there isnt much more labels with quality and waranty that worth build here other than those two desktop wise.

I am curious about the dell screen quality, i am relaly 50/50% now.

The screen is awesome, don't know how it compares with the iMac's one. Definitely worth its money though.

[Deleted]

The screen is awesome, don't know how it compares with the iMac's one. Definitely worth its money though.

It is way better than the 21.5" iMac one, as the mac uses an older TFT model. The 27" model however uses an IPS panel with better image quality.

[Alvorea]

It is way better than the 21.5" iMac one, as the mac uses an older TFT model. The 27" model however uses an IPS panel with better image quality.

21'5 uses TFT? i though it was IPS

[Alvorea]

For the record imacs use laptop parts so in general they are not very fast and you can't really upgrade them much.

You i know that, cant upgrade anything on the imac other than RAM

[Deleted]

21'5 uses TFT? i though it was IPS

Uhm, you understand me wrong here. IPS doesn't replace TFT, as a TFT-LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) is just an improved LCD technology. What exact type of panel the 21.5" model uses I do not know (it's probably a TN-panel), but both the 21.5" and 27" models are TFT screens with LED back lightning. The 27" model is a more advanced screen however, which uses an IPS panel. It also has a higher resolution.

[Alvorea]

Uhm, you understand me wrong here. IPS doesn't replace TFT, as a TFT-LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) is just an improved LCD technology. What exact type of panel the 21.5" model uses I do not know (it's probably a TN-panel), but both the 21.5" and 27" models are TFT screens with LED back lightning. The 27" model is a more advanced screen however, which uses an IPS panel. It also has a higher resolution.

I see, i though it was IPS, cuz the image on the 21 imac seens gorgeous and so is the view angles.

[Asera]

For graphic design, there is absolutely no advantage to going Macintosh anymore.

The only software advantages on the Mac left are audio engineering and, to a much lesser extent, film editing and post-production (All it has is Final Cut and Shake, both of which are becoming less and less used).