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[bombjack]

Hi,

I'm looking for a mid-range computer between 300 and 500$.
Searching the internet, I noticed that the MAC Mini is 499$.
It's basic components are 'nearly' the same a PC of the same price.

Beeing an all time user of Windows, I was wondering if going for a Mac is a good choice.
I use my computer for writing game code(2d & 3d), making pixel art, 3d modeling and playing games (mainly indie).

I don't want to start a PC VS MAC thread but just get some advice on the issues I could be facing by daily using a MAC.

[Rusk]

Are the programs you are used to available for mac? What about the games you play?

[bombjack]

It seems that most programs and games I use are available on mac.

[oahda]

I don't know what games you play, but when it comes to development I have to say that my switch to Mac from Windows a couple of years has made things feel smoother for me at least. I used it alongside Linux for a while too, after having used Linux exclusively for a while.

It boils down to what environment you use tho. If you use Game Maker all I can say is that the Mac version is awful. Unity works great on Mac, tho. Xcode for C++, C, whatever languages it supports, is really nice too. Best IDE I've ever used.

Anyway, I encourage all devs to develop portably for at least Windows, Mac and Linux alike these days. It is far too easy to do in 2014, even using languages like C++.

[Layl]

As an all times Windows user, you might get annoyed by the small things the UI works different in. If you really want to switch to mac you can get used to it but it would take a while. As well, out of my own experience with macs, if something breaks you're entirely on your own. They're very iffy with warranty.

[ThemsAllTook]

I'd say it's good to have one of each. If you're keeping your current PC, a Mac Mini is probably a fine choice. Even if you're not, you can always use Boot Camp to dual boot to Windows.

[dancing_dead]

isn't mac mini basically a laptop in a little box?
if performance is a concern, for the price you can probably do quite a bit better with a custom PC with full "desktop" parts.

[Snowstorm]

It all depends on what you're most comfortable with using, and what you believe will be more beneficial for you.

Personally, I prefer Windows because of how open-ended it is in terms of software development, and it has the biggest number of users.

[bombjack]

thank you all for your answers
Still hard to decide... Afraid of the unknown... 

[pelle]

Mac works great. Well, I spend 99 % of my time in emacs, terminal or a browser, so I rarely notice differences between Mac and Linux (and I jump back and forth between my Linux and OSX machines every day, coding on the same projects), sharing many of the same config files over git. If my SO didn't insist on a Mac I would probably not have one, but just get a cheaper and more powerful pc to run linux on instead, but it is quite nice to have a Mac because there are more games for OSX and the hardware looks good on the desk.

But it looks like every new version of OSX is introducing new limits "to protect the user" (or whatever). More and more applications are only available from the app store instead of real downloads that you can install and upgrade or downgrade at your leisure. I find this trend rather disturbing. If it starts to feel almost as locked-down as iOS is there will be no more OSX for me.

[oodavid]

I'm a recent Mac convert, if only to make iOS development smoother, my preference is Linux all the way, but I'm not a hardcore games developer :S

[Layl]

I'm personally way too addicted to Visual Studio 2013 to ever leave windows.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

geez is 300-500 mid range now? in the old days you couldn't even get a computer for 500, haha. the cheapest computer i've ever bought was 1500 (back in the 90s), most expensive was 4000 (in the late 80s). times have changed too much

anyway, if you want to develop games, i recommend *against* the mac keyboards; i can't imagine programming while typing on one of those. though you can always buy a full-sized keyboard with actual keys that you press rather than those little 1/10th of an inch buttons and then connect it via usb i guess. but basically: you have to realize that if you are making games, stuff like screen size and keyboard comfort matter just as much, if not more, than the actual stats and power of the computer (ram and mhz and so on). if you are used to typing on a windows-style keyboard, changing to a mac-style keyboard is going to be a shock, they are very different experiences to type on:

real keyboards:


mac keyboards:

[bombjack]

geez is 300-500 mid range now? in the old days you couldn't even get a computer for 500, haha. the cheapest computer i've ever bought was 1500 (back in the 90s), most expensive was 4000 (in the late 80s). times have changed too much

anyway, if you want to develop games, i recommend *against* the mac keyboards;

wow, someone that should have nearly my age.. I thought I was the only one remembering the 80's.
I just 'allowed' myself to develop games last year for my 40's.
That's true that the price of computers has really fallen down since those days.

Is it possible to use a PC keyboard on Mac ? Won't it be missing some special keys ?
I'll go to a mac store to see it the flat keyboard works for me, or not ...

I'm a recent Mac convert, if only to make iOS development smoother, my preference is Linux all the way, but I'm not a hardcore games developer :S

Mac works great. Well, I spend 99 % of my time in emacs, terminal or a browser, so I rarely notice differences between Mac and Linux

I worked a lot on linux which I really like for development. That's a point in favor of apple.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

oh, i'm only 36, but i'll be in my 40s soon unfortunately, haha

anyway, yeah trying out the mac keyboard with a friend's computer or in the store might be good; try to do some typing speed tests for instance (like http://play.typeracer.com/ -- a typing speed racing game you can play in the browser)

on a mechanical keyboard i can get 120wpm, but on the mac keyboard i'm lucky to get 80wpm, and 70 is more typical. maybe this is only an issue for faster typists, but for me at least i couldn't stand typing on a mac keyboard since it lowers my speed so much (besides feeling more uncomfortable)

[pelle]

I don't have a problem with Apple keyboard. Some I worked with, when almost all of us had macs in the office, used pc keyboards instead, so that seems to work if you must.

Big problem with the Swedish Apple keyboards is that the layout for programmers is even worse than Swedish pc-keyboards. There are unpleasant three-key-combos for things like \ or {. I know Swedish programmers that use US keyboards because so many symbols are easier to type. But I don't know if the US Apple keyboard is worse than US PC keyboard or if they managed to keep them programmer-friendly.

[oahda]

I enjoy the flat Mac keyboards and more typical ones with bigger keys alike. I don't really have a problem with either kind. I do all my programming on a Mac one, anyway, for what it's worth. No problems.

I use a Swedish layout, tho, and I actually love those combinations because I think it's great to have [{( and )}] on two keys with different modifiers respectively.

[ThemsAllTook]

But it looks like every new version of OSX is introducing new limits "to protect the user" (or whatever). More and more applications are only available from the app store instead of real downloads that you can install and upgrade or downgrade at your leisure. I find this trend rather disturbing. If it starts to feel almost as locked-down as iOS is there will be no more OSX for me.

Yep, this is a serious concern. Fortunately, Gatekeeper can be disabled...for now.

Another thing you have to deal with on a Mac is Apple's mentality toward backward compatibility. Expect your software to a drastically shorter lifespan on Apple platforms than on others, at least without continual maintenance, due to constant architectural changes and API deprecation. They'll also figuratively move your furniture around every year or so when they decide they want a whole new UI paradigm in their next OS release.

If you can get past those annoyances, it's a pretty nice system.

[erebusman]

anyway, if you want to develop games, i recommend *against* the mac keyboards; i can't imagine programming while typing on one of those. though you can always buy a full-sized keyboard with actual keys that you press rather than those little 1/10th of an inch buttons and then connect it via usb i guess. but basically: you have to realize that if you are making games, stuff like screen size and keyboard comfort matter just as much, if not more, than the actual stats and power of the computer (ram and mhz and so on). if you are used to typing on a windows-style keyboard, changing to a mac-style keyboard is going to be a shock, they are very different experiences to type on:

I actually have a PC at work but got a Mac keyboard specifically because I love it compared to the big fat key approach of PC's.  I'm definitely an OLD school PC person and definitely dig the old equipment for nostalgia - so I'm not a hater of that equipment. I just find it isn't as good for me personally.

My very first family "PC" was an Apple IIe where I used to code in games from magazines I bought for 1-2 dollars because my family wouldn't buy games to keep up with my hunger for content.  Ostensibly the computer was for my 9th step dad who was a dr and he was supposed to use it for 'office work' at home but he never used it at all.

Later when I was 16 my 11th step dad (who was a huge IBM PC nazi -- he hated Macs) helped put up some cash for me to build a IBM 8088 Clone and told me to put it together myself by hand.  I had never done this but was desperate for any kind of computer so was glad to do it.  So I used those kind of keyboards for about a decade.

Nowadays I type about 83-96 WPM and really slim-line keyboards that don't try to slow me down on purpose are really nice -- like the Apple keyboard in the picture!

As far as what computer for you to use yourself personally ; the Mac Mini really is a nice budget PC and mine at home has been solid as a rock and its mandatory to have around for no other reason than you can't build a Mac based game in most engines if you don't have a Mac and XCode available!!  You can often however build a PC build while on a Mac (somewhat dependent  upon your development platform/game engine but generally true).

HOWEVER .. I do 90% of my development work on a PC because the parts are cheaper and when I want to build up a decent dev box the only financial answer that makes sense to me is building my own.

Also the Mac Mini is not very upgradeable (as with most Macs) so if you think your getting in cheap for $500 dollars you might feel differently later when you want a new video card and find out the only option is a new computer!!! 

Whereas if you had a PC its just the cost of how much of a video card you want to budget out right?

There are a lot more reasons to choose one or the other and my post probably doesn't begin to cover half of the questions -- but really you probably want to do some googling as there are sites that cover these choices in depths that probably go far beyond what you want to know but the information is out there already

Best of luck!

[InfiniteStateMachine]

I just build a custom rig, put windows and linux on it and that's always served me well. Also good for the wallet.