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Switching from Windows 10 machine to Mac – anyone here who did that recently?

The last time I saw a blue screen of death or a freeze up from the Windows OS was.....................heck I don't remember. Maybe a decade ago or maybe 8 years ago. Anyway that just isn't a thing at all very often anymore. I think with Win10 and later it isn't blue anyway.

Don't know what the OP's thinking is or the budget exactly. The M4 Pro Mini at whatever budget level he wants is probably going to do quite well for him.
 
Another point to take into account:
The amount of time and »nerves« it may cost me to perform that actual switch. That would include (1.) to set-up and make the new system run once it arrives at my home. And (2.) to transfer all valuable data from the old to the new system.

I’m a slow guy. I believe that (1.) + (2.) together would take me three days at least – if it is Windows machine > Windows machine. If it is Windows machine > Mac? God knows ... :rolleyes:
 
I did just this while despairing with the performance of my i7 12700K/64G/6TB nVme. I got a Mac M1 Studio Max 64GB/1TB. It's a most irritating machine. Yes it is more stable than the Windows machine - I can get up to say 145 tracks running without a crash but only at maximum buffer size. That's more than the Windows PC would do. The entire lack of available ports - meaning endless Thunderbolt expansion gadgets - and the awful video performance - forget Youtube nonsense - was unexpected. Also it barely has enough memory - remember, that 64 GB is partly for video.

I'm sticking with the Mac because Core Audio is far better than anything on Windows, and as a 28 year Linux user, I prefer being in a *nix userspace.

But the Mac is not magic, it's a high performing for its scale ARM chip. It's also the music industry standard so aids with interchange.

I'm sure I could build a better-performing PC - but I thought that when I built the i7 only to be sabotaged by Intel and Microsoft and threading issues. If I build a new Windows music workstation it will be AMD. I can see Intel going bust. They are startlingly incompetent and always were (with just one or two exceptional chips).

I might buy an M4 Mac Studio if one appears. But the lack of interfaces is utterly appalling and very costly to remediate.
 
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As a software developer my experience is that switching from windows to macbook pro with an external screen (non mac) gives me everything I need and want.
But again, with all due respect, these testimonials can be misleading. Just because you are a software developer doesn’t make you a power user. NTopology or certain Autodesk stuff, macOS is not an option. The OP is using Windows specific applications. Heck look at NVIDIA. Need ECC for everything? Not going to find it on a Mac. I have used Apple since the IIe era, PCs since the XT era. I have even run SGI Octane and Irix when I needed specialized software…. I have built PCs from the 286 era and Hackintosh’s when that was a thing…

Macs are amazing and if you have not used one recently, for a lot of stuff, it’s a lot of performance for not a lot of money. Hands down, the Mac Mini M4 is a bargain. It’s cheaper than the Topping D90 used to go for. On the other hand, despite the amazing things that the Mac can do thanks to super large L2/L3 cache, there is definitely clear strengths of the PC platform.

I strongly recommend AGAINST the idea of buying a PC with the idea of upgradability. Yes, you can easily add memory, storage and even change GPUs and sometimes CPUs. The problem is that even though you may get a few upgrade cycles, even if it’s easy to upgrade the RAM, your CPU may be too slow, or there has been a change from DDR4 to DDR5 RAM, etc.

Macs are easier to trade in and resale compared to PCs, but both PCs and Macs march with progress so depreciation is high.

The best example I would give is buying iPhone XS with 512GB or an iPhone 13 with 1TB just for future proofing the risk of running out of storage. The reality is that you probably can upgrade your phone when it’s time to upgrade your storage.

It compiles speedily and gets out of the way to let you do your work the best you can.
In short it's just a joy to use.

I agree. But I find joy when using both my Macs and PCs…

The worst part is swapping between the CTRL-X/C/V versus “ALT/Command/⌘“ X/C/V for keyboard shortcuts. But it’s a little bit like being bilingual.

I am a fan of classic buckling spring keyboards and you can get them for Macs too:
 
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