For me, a photographer, the Mac I chose best suits my workflow of retouching very large image files, continuously moving files between storage drives, importing new files, scanning film, and making large-scale prints. The best part about my Mac, too, is that I have room to grow for any other projects that come my way.
So I'm only a 16 year old guy, and some of you might not consider my arguments valid simply because I don't have much experience. I'm a film making geek, I make short films whenever I'm bored. I've always been a PC guy, and last year, I had a film making class in high school for one semester (5 months) and the class was full of Macs. I used the Mac, I liked some of the features that the Mac had, however, there were many times that frustrated me during using the machine. I've always thought that Macs always looked better than PC's, but as I've read more about computers, I've come to realize that it's only a matter of personal perefrence and screen resolution. You want a glorious monitor on your PC? Buy a 1440p monitor for less than $600.
Cost: I don't think I need to mention this, but i'll do it anyway. You can get a PC that's as powerful as a private jet for half the price as a Mac. Here's a computer build that I'm saving up for, mostly for my 3D animations and Visual Effects: I didn't include a monitor in the list, because I already have one. So, in total with a regular 1080p 24in monitor, the price will reach $2000.
Now, wouldn't a Mac that has these specs cost AT LEAST $3000? Social Status: Everyone kept saying that they wish they had a Mac, simply because it looks colourful and futureistic. After using the Mac at school the first day, I went back home, used my PC again and thought 'I don't see what all the fuss is about.' Conclusion: Explain to me why you Mac people prefer it so much over PC (other than the fact that you're just simply used to it) and tell me why you'd rather spend at least $1000 more on a desktop Mac that will give you the same performance as a PC that costs $1000 less. I'm not trying to create an argument, but I just need to know.
Conclusion: Explain to me why you Mac people prefer it so much over PC. Implying that people here prefer Mac's, they are pretty much universally flamed here. The only Apple discussions happening at Toms is iOS stuff and a Mac vs PC flamewar thread thats resurrected every 3 months or so. Decent amount of Hackintosh stuff though. People have differing opinions of what looks good, but if you don't like their sleek white towers then your a bit stuffed.
Though I will say that Apple products are damn good examples of Industrial Design. In terms of screens, pretty much what you said, 'Retina' is just a fancy way of saying they have a high resolution IPS panel in their machines. Stock Mac's at launch typically aren't too bad in terms of hardware price, especially considering the software and OS included. However once time goes by and you want more than stock configuration is where they start price gouging. Cant deny that Apple does have a prestige around it, but I think the whole 'Unique' and 'Think Different' brand they have built around themselves is crumbling. When they started they were rebelling against 'The Man' (IBM, look at their 1984 ad) but now they are The Man. My opinion on why people get Mac's is simply because its simpler than a PC, they are willing to pay extra for that ease of use and the closed-garden ecosystem that Apple have.
Meanwhile us here on the forum are willing to slog through the issues of an open platform for the superior performance and flexibility. Quite simply different audiences.
Thanks guys for your detailed replies. I can see most of the users here are fond of Mac, and then Apples. I have more than $1k+ so the budget is not my problem then.
Recently I've seen many good reviews on Apple iMac with Retina 5K display. It has fast 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor integrated with AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics processor which might be helpful for me to view pics/images with much precision as well as easy editing.
I'd like to give this a try. Under $2000 is quite good for my budget.