In response to yesterday’s Ten Reasons Your Next PC Will Be From Apple, Gnomie D.T. Germak writes:

Chris, you do have some valid points. However, I own my own small computer company (I am a computer systems engineer), and my company builds desktop machines, gaming systems (from entry level to the outrageous), high end workstations, and mid-level servers. Our machines are completely tailored to the customers’ requirements, and, let me tell you, I’ve replaced countless of the “Big Company’s” machines. Why? Well, according to our customers, there are three main reasons:

1. Service: Lifetime labor, five years on all hardware (no fine print).

2. Quality: We use only the highest quality, time tested parts.
3. Performance: Most of time we use AMD Opteron/Athlon 64, sometimes Intel P4.

Also, our prices are significantly less expensive than the big boys due to numerous reasons (the main two are overhead and we are not trying to make up for the non-existent profit margin from selling countless $400 PCs, which, by the way, are garbage).

Now, Apple does make some slick looking machines - I’ll give you that - however, if anybody thinks that Apple/Intel machines (with the current Intel architecture) will outperform an A64/Opteron, you may want to think again - especially if memory latency is important (a big weakness of current Apple hardware). Won’t happen. We’ve tested just about every conceivable combination of hardware and OS on both sides and, 90% of the time, the AMD machines are superior.

I’m not a fanboy, either. It does not matter one bit or byte to me as a business owner. We build, support, and service both Intel, AMD, Windows, Linux, etc. Also, “sending shockwaves throughout countless Windows enthusiast communities” is somewhat laughable assuming you’re actually referring to PC enthusiasts. I am a PC enthusiast, not a Windows enthusiast - there is a very big difference. The reason I’m saying this is that, no matter how you slice it, Apple/Intel will be PROPRIETARY hardware. PC enthusiasts usually build their own boxes.

Now, if you really want to see a MAJOR shockwave, Apple should release a version of OS X (which, according to my sources, already exists) that will run on PC hardware! I’ve been saying this for years: It’s the OS, not the hardware, that makes an Apple an Apple (at least on the inside of the box). I’ve talked to many enthusiasts about this already and just about all of them couldn’t really care less about running Windows on an Apple/Intel machine. On a side note, ALL of them found it quite comical that the Apple zealots now will be using x86 processors if they want the “latest and greatest” from Apple.

In case you are wondering, I’ve serviced and used Apples/Macs from the beginning right alongside PCs (I repaired my first computer in 1982), so I’m not talking out of my backside on this topic. Actually, I’ve shocked myself in taking time to even compose this e-mail as I’m very busy. Also, being on both sides of the fence, so to speak, over the years, I’ve always found it strange that people that only use one platform think that the other isn’t worth crap. Each has advantages/disadvantages. It does seem, however, that most knowledgeable PC users are willing to admit this, but most Apple users won’t. However, lately (past couple of years or so), it looks like most of the Apple zealots have had their heads buried in the sand.

The reason I’m saying this is we have multiple G5 systems (the latest ones) and have extensively tested them against comparable Opteron systems, and I now the Apple guys don’t like to hear this, but, much more often than not, the Opteron systems outperform the G5s. Sorry.

Well, anyway, I’ve got to get back to work, and in closing I’ll say this: I’ll be sticking to my Opteron system, and I’m sure 99% of the “PC enthusiasts” will be sticking with a PC - at least for the time being. It used to be I’d split my time between both, but ever since Opteron, that is not he case. Actually, depending on what I’m doing, my time is now split between an Opteron system running Linux or Windows.

Have a good day! Oops, one other thing, a lot of enthusiasts are gamers, and for the best performance, there is no better way to go than an AMD based machine. Keep in mind that this based on countless hours of in-depth testing. Also, game developers know this and, because of this, our games are optimized to run on PC hardware (using Windows as an OS). This also won’t change any time soon.

[tags]windows,mac,apple,intel,amd,pc,processor,opteron[/tags]