After greater than a decade of Mac-centric computing, I made an enormous swap final month, setting apart my MacE book Pro and shifting to an Alienware Aurora R13 desktop as my main day-to-day laptop. While the proliferation of cloud-based providers and cross-platform utilities has made switching simpler than it’s ever been, it’s nonetheless a major change to the way in which we reside and work. Along the way in which, I hit a couple of snags and annoyances, however I additionally unlocked some superior Windows capabilities that had been out of attain on my Mac.

Why the swap from Mac to PC?

In a world the place the majority of my day by day interactions occur by means of a digital interface, switching computing platforms modified nearly every little thing in a roundabout way. Reflexive menu navigation and hotkey patterns ingrained in muscle reminiscence over a few years abruptly meant nothing, and I would wish to be taught new ones of their place. So, given the trouble of disrupting day by day life in methods starting from refined to vital, making the leap to Windows had higher yield some worthwhile advantages. What I’d hoped to achieve within the course of had been:

• More choices in computing know-how and producers
• More flexibility in software program ecosystems
• More customization prospects
• More improve choices for {hardware} and software program
• Much more gaming choices

One month in, I’ve not been disenchanted.

I ought to pause a second to acknowledge that I’m not a “Mac guy” or a “Windows guy.” I’ve been in tech for the reason that internet first grew to become a factor, and I’ve run every little thing from Unix and Linux to Windows and macOS. I used to be a Linux blogger for Maximum PC, an editor of Windows Magazine, and a contributor to MacAddict and Macworld. My company-issued work computer systems have been MacE book Pros for the previous decade, and I’ve consolidated a lot of my day by day life onto Apple’s messaging and media ecosystem extra out of comfort than anything.

So that’s me. Now, listed below are the 5 large benefits I’ve discovered within the swap to Windows.

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

1. The PC has extra {hardware} choices

There’s no getting round it: The PC ecosystem is simply massively huge. While the Mac vary affords a wholesome number of kind elements and efficiency ranges, it doesn’t even come near the breadth of PC programs obtainable for buy off the shelf. And in case you’re into desktops and don’t like what you see within the mind-bogglingly huge vary of prebuilt machines, you’ll be able to hand-select each single part your self and construct one thing customized from the chassis up.

Since Apple moved its Mac traces to the corporate’s personal CPUs, shopping for a MacE book means choosing an M1 chip or an M2. That’s it, except you desire a Mac Mini with an Intel Core i5 or i7, or a $6,000 Mac Pro with a Xeon.

By distinction, the mainstream Windows PC vary presents an abundance of CPU selections. Intel Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 CPU traces every supply a number of choices, as does the copious AMD Ryzen household. If you’re not simply thwarted by decision-paralysis, the Windows world offers you much more room to customise.  

More {hardware} selections additionally means extra pricing choices. The lowest finish MacE book, the 2020 MacBook Air, runs $999. A comparably spec’d Windows laptop computer will be had for $350. It received’t be Apples to “apples,” in fact, as a result of Mac {hardware} is proprietary, however the efficiency will probably be comparable. Meanwhile, high-end PCs supply unbelievable specs in an enormous array of kind elements for each specialised want, from gaming to intense Intel Xeon-powered graphics workstations. At just about each value level, you get extra {hardware} for the greenback with a PC than with a Mac.

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

In my case, I went for 2 totally different PCs, each from Alienware. My daily-use desktop is the Alienware Aurora R13 with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 3.61GHz CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU. For mobility, I selected an Alienware x15 R1 with a Core i7 and an RTX 3070. What can I say? I’ve at all times preferred the peculiar styling of Alienware machines, and these had the specs I needed in designs I dig. These are critically succesful programs, however not extravagantly high-end, and but they each value about as a lot as a midrange MacE book Pro.

2. The PC has a much bigger, extra versatile software program ecosystem

Because Windows constitutes roughly 76 p.c of the worldwide computing market share, and builders around the globe who’ve by no means even seen a Mac in particular person are cranking out apps continuously, the numbers sport right here is apparent. I don’t wish to overblow this, as a result of a lot of the actually main productiveness suites on the market work on each platforms simply tremendous. But in order for you seemingly limitless choices for software program in nearly each class, Windows wins hands-down.

For me, this was a lot much less of a difficulty with mainstream apps than with area of interest apps. Niche pursuits, like novice radio and astronomy, for instance, are usually dominated by Windows-only apps constructed by unbiased builders. So, earlier than switching to Windows as my day by day driver, I typically needed to both run a digital machine on my Mac, hook up with a Raspberry Pi field working the apps I wanted, or hold an affordable, spare Windows laptop computer round for infrequent use. But since switching to a PC full-time, these complications have disappeared. (And I haven’t as soon as wanted to get my previous MacE book to run something.)

Switching from Apple’s built-in apps was a blended expertise. It was that in case you had all of your footage in iPhoto, it was troublesome to maneuver all that stuff to Windows. In years previous, I had seen vital degradation of my picture library on importing it into Windows. But Apple has made it surprisingly simple to drag your iCloud photographs into Windows, edit them in Windows Photos, and even see the adjustments again in your iCloud library on a Mac. 

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

For different media duties, I discovered that Apple’s most difficult built-in app to interchange is GarageBand, which is wildly higher than any free equal I’ve discovered for Windows. Microsoft ClipChamp, nonetheless, is now a reasonably stable alternative for iMovie. 

While there isn’t any Windows equal for iMessage in the case of connecting your iPhone to the PC, Windows helps connectivity to any Android telephone, supplying you with far more flexibility in what manufacturers of units you need to use together with your PC. I’ll talk about extra about coping with Apple’s remoted ecosystem of apps and units later on this article.

3. The PC affords higher customization

It feels bizarre to name Windows an “open” working system, however in comparison with macOS, Windows is an enormous ol’ open playground of customization prospects, each for {hardware} and software program. 

The Windows OS can be typically extra customizable than macOS, though an excellent many utilities exist for each platforms. That stated, Apple has a transparent bias towards encouraging customers to tweak the feel and appear of their OS, whereas Microsoft has lengthy fostered a neighborhood of theme builders to assist customers personalize Windows to their tastes.

Apple’s system-on-a-chip strategy to {hardware}, tightly built-in with macOS, has its personal benefits: Apple has centered on constructing a unified {hardware}/software program product that works extremely effectively and yields nice efficiency. Comparing that efficiency to a Windows PC is difficult, as a result of the CPU and GPU benchmarks we use at PCWorld received’t run on a Mac. But the PCs’ large efficiency benefit throughout the board is the flexibility to tweak {hardware} efficiency.

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

A educated PC person can overclock CPUs and GPUs, shut down system processes, and tweak each factor of the software program and {hardware} to optimize efficiency. Most gaming PCs come preloaded with efficiency administration software program only for this function, making it simple even for relative novices to overclock.

4. The PC is filled with improve potential

The vary of {hardware} improve choices for Windows PCs is at the least as huge because the array of off-the-shelf PCs obtainable on the market. CPUs, GPUs, RAM, storage drives, USB controllers, seize playing cards, absolutely anything that may be put inside a pc is out there as a reasonably simple improve for a desktop PC.

While laptops are typically proprietary and far more troublesome to to improve past swapping out RAM and storage, a couple of enable for CPU and GPU module upgrades that may be performed by anybody with a screwdriver. One notably fascinating choice: The Framework is designed for DIYers and tinkerers, letting you construct your individual laptop computer and customise it to your needs.

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

I’ve upgraded Mac {hardware} every so often, in fact: Older MacBooks was pretty simple to open up and add/change RAM and storage. Newer fashions, nonetheless, are constructed as system-on-a-chip, and whereas improve modules exist from some third events, they’re extraordinarily costly relative to PC upgrades, and mainly quantity to changing all the inside logic parts directly.

In observe, it makes extra sense simply to purchase a brand new Mac than to improve the parts in an M1 or M2 machine. And as a result of somebody will carry it up: Yes, the $6,000+ Mac Pro is far more upgradeable, in fact, nevertheless it’s in a completely totally different class of machine than something even fanatic Mac or Windows customers are possible to purchase. We’re actually not speaking about workstations right here.

5. The PC is a real gaming machine

If you’re in any respect keen on gaming, there’s no denying Windows is the platform with probably the most selections. The largest sport studios develop for Windows first, then consoles or cellular. The largest gaming titles have a tendency to not be obtainable for Mac in any respect. 

Wanna play Call of Duty: Warzone II, Fortnite, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, or simply about any of the highest 20 video games of 2022? You can get all of them on Windows, most of them on Xbox or Playstation, and even the Nintendo Switch has fairly a couple of. A pair run on Macs, however you’ll run out of choices quick. 

You can definitely attempt working an emulator or digital machine in your Mac, and there are methods to stream your video games from a PC, however these are all kludges and hacks, and yield poor outcomes. If gaming is your factor, Windows is a should. 

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

One large draw back: Messaging

The largest problem I encountered switching from Mac to PC was untangling my textual content messaging from Apple Messages’ walled backyard. At least for now, I’ve no real interest in buying and selling in my iPhone for an Android telephone. If I did, in fact, I’d be up and texting fortunately through Windows Phone Link, and will make calls from a linked telephone as effectively, roughly the identical approach I may between my iPhone and my Mac. Sadly, no such connection exists between Apple Messages and Windows. 

There is, nonetheless, a workaround to allow texting and calls between the iPhone and Windows, and that’s to change over to a third-party SMS/calling app that works throughout platforms. The caveat, although, is that whereas these apps can ship messages to and out of your iPhone, all of them get their very own telephone quantity. Some, like Google Voice, make it pretty simple to cope with this forwarding course of, however none are as seamless as simply having your native cellular quantity instantly linked throughout units. For that have, a full swap to Windows means switching out your telephone, too.

Robert Strohmeyer/Foundry

The finest method to keep away from this entice could be to keep away from getting locked right into a proprietary messaging platform within the first place. But, time machines nonetheless being a significant engineering problem, my most suitable choice could also be emigrate my textual content messaging to Google Voice, and use forwarding to bridge the hole. I’d prefer to hope Apple will supply Messages on Windows the identical approach it has enabled the remainder of iCloud. After all, Photos, Passwords, Contacts, and even iCloud Drive sync simply tremendous. Pending that, although, I could also be available in the market for a brand new telephone quickly.

Don’t concern the swap!

Ultimately, it’s by no means been simpler to change backwards and forwards between PCs and Macs. Having virtually all our work and private information within the cloud means you will be up and working on a brand new platform in minutes, and all of your photographs, information, and information will make their approach onto the brand new machine inside a couple of hours after that. So in case you’re considering a swap, the most important hurdle you would possibly encounter is choosing a brand new laptop to purchase, and there are many guides to assist with that call. 

While some people could fear about studying a brand new person interface, my expertise is that macOS and Windows have change into comparable sufficient over time that every little thing from looking out the drive to putting in apps from an app retailer to managing a number of desktops has achieved pretty constant workflow parity between the 2 programs. I did discover that I’d misplaced the muscle reminiscence for Windows hotkeys and needed to spend a while googling those I needed to make use of. This comes with time, although, and it’s solely an issue in case you’re an influence person within the earlier OS.

By distinction, switching cellular platforms stays a far greater problem. Apple and Google stay locked in a battle for dominance, and Apple particularly appears to continuously sabotage switchers with pointless limitations and lock-ins to discourage customers from straying to competing platforms. 

For my cash, the Windows world continues to supply the best breadth of choices in each {hardware} and software program, and the feel and appear of the OS has superior properly previously decade. So whereas the leap has not been fully annoyance-free, the advantages definitely outweigh the issues.