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[Netsu]

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

Sometimes I forget not everybody does that. The building part that is.

[InfiniteStateMachine]

The majority of the times I pick the parts then pay my local place 40$ to actually build it. Although this time around I think I'll put it together myself.

[oodavid]

Yeah, that's pretty fun too, a lot of bang for your buck!

[Layl]

A pretty important thing to perhaps mention in the keyboard discussion is that the previously pictured big keys keyboard is a buckling spring keyboard, specifically the classic Model M. It feels VERY different from the general cheap keyboards you can get, which are usually dome switch and feel pretty terrible to type with.

I myself am using a CODE keyboard with MX Green switches. It's pretty nice but kinda pricey.

[Thomas Hiatt]

If you get a mac it is simple to install windows using the included bootcamp software. It is probably much easier to install Windows on a mac than it would be to install OS X on a non-Apple computer. I used a MacBook Air with Windows 8.1, OS X Mavericks, and various GNU/Linux distros triple-booted for about a year. If I wanted a Windows PC I just booted into Windows.

It doesn't matter what kind of keyboard you use, you will get used to it. If having short keys on a keyboard is going to prevent you from making games then you should probably give up anyway.

[Impmaster]

Just sayin, if you like doing pixel art, there's no graphics gale.

Just maybe check what software you need, and check if there's good alternatives on mac before you decide. Imo, the rest is just UI and system differences that you can get used to fairly quickly.

[bombjack]

Just sayin, if you like doing pixel art, there's no graphics gale.

That's a point that makes me thinks twice...
But I saw

that SolarLune is using Gimp for animation, I never though it had tools for it. So I'll maybe give it a try before taking my decision.

[oahda]

I use GIMP at least.

[Netsu]

The majority of the times I pick the parts then pay my local place 40$ to actually build it. Although this time around I think I'll put it together myself.

Oh, didn't even know services like that exist. I recommend doing it yourself tho, it's just a few screws and cables and a little thermal paste for the CPU. Knowing how to put everything together can come in handy later when for example your card connectors or RAM sticks are acting up and you can solve it by reconnecting a card, switching RAM around or whatever. Plus you can easily change parts one by one instead of buying a completely new machine.

On a second thought one harder part is connecting the case controls to the motherboard, it's so tiny and often poorly labelled... sometimes reading the motherboard manual is a must.


On the topic of keyboards though, I never saw much of difference between mechanical and non-mechanical keyboards. I'm not super fast at typing tho. Still, extremely low profile keyboards, like the mac one, are indeed awkward for me.

[BatFastard]

Depends on the user. If you don't mind being hands on, a PC is FAR lower cost in the long run. I have a number of 14 year old PCs that are still being used everyday. Just have to bump up the RAM and GPU, and go for a solid state drive when you can afford it. Impossible to do this on any mac (with the exception of the hugely expensive desktop versions). Mini macs are nice little machines, but you are going to spend 800 bucks to get one with a decent CPU and Ram, plus NO user upgrades. Also graphics cards in these machines are laptop level graphics cards.

Personally I dislike Apples desire to control your technology stack. Its great that you can run a Windows or Linux VM in a mac. But Apple doesn't allow to run a Mac VM on a PC.

[doimus]

I'd advise against getting Mac as an "affordable" option unless you really *need* it for porting software or something similar.
Mac mini is not really that great at all as a platform. Yes it's small and cute, but big fat ugly cables will be still sticking out of it.
Video cable, audio cable, usb cables for external devices, power cable. Then you trip over one of them and you got a flying Mac!  
Really, there's a reason Apple designed iMac form factor and magsafe chargers for laptops - cable management (or lack of it). Mini's got none of that and really sucks in that department. It's also got crappy GPU (don't know about newest one though).


So, if you really *want* a Mac then get a Macbook or iMac. Both are awesome pieces of hardware. My MacBook is by far the best windows laptop I ever had! Which says a lot about quality of apple hardware and availability of OSX software.


But if you want or need a small, affordable home machine, stick with the PC.
I've recently built my home machine with an AMD Athlon APU (quad-core, $60-ish new) and sub-$50 motherboard, also new. I've put it in a neat cube case(that's the biggest expense) and I have perfect little steamboxy home pc. It's not really an AAA gaming machine (Skyrim is playable at lowest settings on 800x600 res) but non-demanding games run flawlessly. It's my little DosBox heaven, that machine - yeah, I remember the 80s too!

Keep in mind we're talking about $150 CPU+MBO+RAM combo here. That's a full-pc for $250. CRAZY!
For $500-600 you can take one of those new cheap Intel Pentiums (wow, that just sounds weird) and Nvidia Geforce 750Ti and you've got better gaming PC than any Mac this side of MacPro will ever be.

[oahda]

As for upgrading, just thought I'd point out that my MacBook Pro from like 2011 is still my primary computer, running decently. Not a fantastic power horse, but very functional, so getting a new one today should be pretty sweet.

It gets a little slower but it can do some heavier movie editing (After Effects) or 3D rendering. However, still absolutely great for game programming (and nice and helpful to see that my 1920x1080 game runs nicely on it still, all while the poor machine has to power a 27" 2560x1440 external monitor and other software running simultaneously).

It does feel like the hardware they put in there can age reasonably well. I've updated the OS several times too, as new ones have been released. Everyone seems to hate Mavericks, tho, so I dare not upgrade to it. The reviews on App Store are crap. I'll stick with my Mountain Lion for now and hope for a better upgrade next time.

[Impmaster]

I'm still using my white macbook from 2009 until I get to get a new laptop for college. It's aged pretty significantly, and I've had to replace hardware quite a few times. Of course, it is nearly 6 years old, so that's understandably.

[bombjack]

I bought a 2014 mac mini (the cheapest one) and I can say that I'm quite happy with it.
I know that a lot of people critisize it but it's good enough for the usage I have.
It's sure that 4Gb is sometimes short but the mac is still usable with very few memory so it's not quite an issue.
I never thought that I would say that that but I'm an happy mac user 

[oahda]

I suppose your new machine runs Yosemite out of the box? Maybe you could give me some input in the thread I just created?

[bombjack]

yes it run yosemite