Dell vs Mac for Poker/Business

[SunOfBeach]

Hi,

We're buying a new laptop for our business, and choosing which to buy, I'm trying to consider not only biz-related issues, but poker-related issues as well.

For our work, I really need 2gb (expandable to 4gb) of RAM, and 2.33GhZ or so.

Thus, I've narrowed down to the MacBook Pro or the top-notch Dell, both of which are about 2900 with the best 17" glossy screen, etc.

There are a couple of things I just can't resolve, though - and everyone is giving me different information:

1. Just for purposes of not getting viruses, isn't a Mac a better deal than an equivalently priced PC?

2. I prefer BoDog to the Mac-able sites such as Full Tilt. Someone at CompUSA is trying to tell me that "the new Mac is like a PC too, you can run anything by running it in 'PC format'". Is this true? Can I thus play on BoDog on a Mac?

3. Does doing (2), if it exists, open the Mac to those viruses that I thought I was immune from (in 1)?

Also, if anyone knows of a cheaper way to get the speed/power I'd like (I really only care about 2gb+, expandable to 4gb, 2.33MhZ+, etc... I dont need any other funky features) - I'd love to hear suggestions.

Thanks.

PC

[Beavis68]

I dont know what "PC format" is, but you can run a Windows OS on the Macs using either Boot Camp or Parallels. I have heard that Boot Camp is the best way to go. I think on Parallels it actually runs inside of the mac os, where in boot camp they run seperately, but I am not sure.

[TomHimself]

google.com

you set up a partition for windows and you boot up each time you want to play or you can use virutalization which means it runs combined with OS X. windows can still get viruses but OS X will not. so just use windows for poker and thats it

[Beavis68]

if you want to do the virtuallization route, that is what paralles is for. I think it costs money though. I beleive you can download bootcamp for free from Apple.

With parallels both OSs share all resources and run at the same time. You can reboot one and still work in the other. With boot camp you use one at a time and will have better performance since you are not sharing resources.

[TomHimself]

yes it costs will build up because you will have to buy a new XP/Vista most likely because the disks that come with dells only work with dells

[kerowo]

Parallels is 80 bucks and will let you run Windows software on the Mac while still running Mac stuff. This doesn't apply to super graphics intensive stuff which most poker sites aren't.

XP is another 130ish bucks and Vista is about twice that so if you go the mac route you are well over 3 grand just to turn it on unless you have a copy that isn't licensed to a particular machine and can use that.

Unless you have a big reason to move your bidness to a Mac you are probably better off staying Windows.

[Ray Zee]

as cheap as computers are do you really want to use your business computer for gambling on the web.
why risk compromising personal and business data just so you can use the same computer. it just takes once to mess up and you will regret it.

[Shoe Lace]

Keep in mind that if you want 4 GB of ram you need a 64 bit operating system. You can have 4 GB with a 32 bit OS but you won't be allowed to use all of it.

The downside to a 64 bit OS is that the driver support is a fair bit worse. It'll be hit/miss for the most part. Double check each (google) piece of hardware to make sure the drivers aren't in bad shape or non-existent.

[Beavis68]

Ray, I don't understand your concern, I would think that the business computer would be connected to the internet anyway. What makes playing poker so risky?

Shoe is right about the memory. Your computer will only be able to addres about 3.2 to 3.5Gb of memory of the 4Gig installed. Other resources will use the rest of the addressing.

[Jonathan]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi,

We're buying a new laptop for our business, and choosing which to buy, I'm trying to consider not only biz-related issues, but poker-related issues as well.

For our work, I really need 2gb (expandable to 4gb) of RAM, and 2.33GhZ or so.

Thus, I've narrowed down to the MacBook Pro or the top-notch Dell, both of which are about 2900 with the best 17" glossy screen, etc.

There are a couple of things I just can't resolve, though - and everyone is giving me different information:

1. Just for purposes of not getting viruses, isn't a Mac a better deal than an equivalently priced PC?

2. I prefer BoDog to the Mac-able sites such as Full Tilt. Someone at CompUSA is trying to tell me that "the new Mac is like a PC too, you can run anything by running it in 'PC format'". Is this true? Can I thus play on BoDog on a Mac?

3. Does doing (2), if it exists, open the Mac to those viruses that I thought I was immune from (in 1)?

Also, if anyone knows of a cheaper way to get the speed/power I'd like (I really only care about 2gb+, expandable to 4gb, 2.33MhZ+, etc... I dont need any other funky features) - I'd love to hear suggestions.

Thanks.

PC

[/ QUOTE ]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

I am using a macbook with parallels for poker stuff and it works great.
However, I never do any email stuff or web surfing under the windows
emulation, only under Mac OSX. Its been working out great for me,
and I am thrilled that I bought the mac and not another pc.

Good Luck