The differences from a hardware perspective between a Mac and PC laptop shortened dramatically once Apple moved from using Power PC to Intel based processors in the 2000’s. All Macs and most PCs run on Intel processors, although AMD is making a run and made their presence in the PC market. All laptops on average have roughly 8GB (Gigabytes) of memory, 500GB of storage, integrated graphics video, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, and a built-in webcam. This common baseline of hardware is pretty good, but there are a few things to keep in mind when considering purchasing a laptop, not just which one between the two platforms.

Apple’s laptops now have one type of port: Thunderbolt 3, which means you’ll require a special adapter and cable to interface your device to a TV, camera memory card, or older accessories. Many PCs still have dedicated ports like an USB-A port, SD Card Slot, and HDMI port. These don’t require you to use an adapter for those common tasks.

The most noticeable difference between Mac and PC hardware is the amount of selection you have. Many PCs running Windows come from 3rd party companies, with technical specification that can vary. If you have specific requirements for a computer in mind with more RAM, touch screen technology, lots of ports, webcam resolution, excellent speakers, then PC laptops are the way to go. Apple is the only company that makes a Mac; they are pretty straight forward in terms of their design, way they are built, and your choices will come down to three types of systems that can be slightly customized. By being the only company producing all Mac hardware, Apple makes sure all of its computers meet a specific standard in quality and workmanship. There isn’t anything quite like their process on the PC side, but again, you have a ton of more options with the PC platform.

Windows 10 vs. Mac Operating Systems

Mac and PC hardware have become closer to one another over the past 15 or so years, but their Windows 10 and Mac System operating systems are still quite different. Mac System OS is part of Apple’s specific ecosystem, which includes iOS on their assortment of Apple related devices, like the iPhone, iPads, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Some of these platforms have similar apps and are designed to work with one another. On Apple Mac’s and iDevices data is stored on iCloud Drive and are synced between all of your devices through apps built right into those operating systems. In some cases, you can recreate this experience using third-party apps available on the PC platform utilizing synchronization, but Apple’s experience is generally more seamless.

The upside with this is that the marketplace for software, both with paid and freeware, is enormous with Windows. There are many options for any function or task, so you won’t have to search around too long to find what you need. Both software platforms have an upside and downside, but there’s one place where Windows truly has a lead: Gaming. Windows is a gaming platform, Mac is not. In many cases, game developers don’t have the budget to reprogram their games for a totally different software platform that doesn’t meet the same hardware standard and requirements for running today’s latest games.

The biggest difference between Mac System and Windows is that because Mac is less common, being 10% of the market, it’s a lot less appealing to hackers developing malware, viruses and malicious code. However, as hackers get bored this trend seems to be changing with more and more security risks occurring on the Mac platform these days. Mac System also has some additional safeguarding in place to help most users avoid an infection, by limiting their access to the computer’s file system and user permissions. Windows may not have all of the same safeguards, but Microsoft has been diligent about security patches and filling holes quickly to keep users safe.

So, which one is better and which should I choose?

While the differences between a Mac and PCs have waned over the years, both platforms are very strong. You’ll be able to accomplish the same sets of general tasks with word processing, creating worksheets, surfing the web, photo and video editing and streaming videos without facing a lot of performance issues, assuming you picked a type of system with adequate memory and processing resources.

If you prefer Apple’s tech, and don’t mind accepting that you’ll have fewer hardware and software and accessories choices, and don’t plan on gaming, you’re better of getting a Mac. If you’d like more hardware choices and want a platform that’s better for gaming, you should get a PC. Finally, in the business world the PC platform and Microsoft is dominant. Mac doesn’t have a big presence in these environments. More times they are specific to graphic related departments. But as far as networking, whether in a home business or corporate environment, you’ll find PC’s with Microsoft software networking in almost every business today. Last but not least, from a cost perspective, Mac can be more expensive as there are no buying options. PC’s have a variety of options and availability from 3rd party manufacturer standpoint, so you will find from a budget standpoint that you may be able to buy, for example, a PC laptop for far less than the cost of a MacBook.

If you prefer Apple’s tech, and don’t mind accepting that you’ll have fewer hardware and software and accessories choices, and don’t plan on gaming, you’re better of getting a Mac. If you’d like more hardware choices and want a platform that’s better for gaming, you should get a PC. Finally, in the business world the PC platform and Microsoft is dominant. Mac doesn’t have a big presence in these environments. More times they are specific to graphic related departments. But as far as networking, whether in a home business or corporate environment, you’ll find PC’s with Microsoft software networking in almost every business today. Last but not least, from a cost perspective, Mac can be more expensive as there are no buying options. PC’s have a variety of options and availability from 3rd party manufacturer standpoint, so you will find from a budget standpoint that you may be able to buy, for example, a PC laptop for far less than the cost of a MacBook.