Mac vs PC for College [2023 Guide]

Nowadays, a laptop has a pivotal role in the studies of students. Many subjects need computer aid to clearly understand the concepts because a lot of supporting material is available in the form of digital data, Mac vs PC for College, on the inter, in the form of animations and videos, presentations, graphics, and in many other forms. That’s why not only for university students, a laptop is included in the educational need of college students.

The most important, also interesting, question that arises here is asked by almost all students which laptop is best to use, either a MAC or a PC? Straight forward, there is not an exact and hundred percent accurate answer to this question because both have their specialties and drawbacks.

That’s why the simple answer to this question is whichever is according to your needs is the best option among these two.

These are two different architectures, which is why each of these has some advantages and disadvantages. For the best selection, the first thing is to determine your exact need, and then select MAC or PC, whichever has the most options according to your need, is your final choice.

Operating System

When we compare these two architectures, the first thing which comes in front of us is their Operating Systems. MAC books come with their operating system, which is also developed by Apple Corporation, which is the name OS X while on PC laptops, any version of Microsoft Windows is installed.

The popularity of Windows OS is much more as compared to MACOS. If we put these two machines in front of a beginner user, then a Windows-based laptop is operated more easily by that beginner user instead of the MAC book.

The main advantage of the Windows operating system is its start menu which approaches users to different installed programs very easily.

While on the other hand, MACOS has some reservations. The installation of Windows OS is very easy and Wizard-based. On the other side, MACOS installation is more complex than Windows.

Device drivers of different devices are easily available for the Windows operating system, while for MACOS, it can be difficult. Similarly, loading new device drivers in Windows OS is an easy practice compared to driver installation in macOS.

It is mainly because of the popularity and higher use of Windows OS. So, it is the first advantage of PC over MAC for college students.

Application Software

A wide range of application software is available for PCs, while this number is very limited in the case of Apple MAC. It is another big advantage in favor of PC laptops compared to MAC.

User needs different business applications to perform their routine work like Word processing, Graphics, Video Editing, Sound related software, etc.

As a college student, different application programs are required in every new semester. Availability, installation, and use of this different application software is very easy on PCs.

While on the other hand, on the MAC platform, the development of different application software is very less. At the same time, there are many restrictions by MACOS for different application software.

That’s why, due to this, a common user gets very much annoyed, and especially when a user is a college student, this practice is very difficult compared to professional-level users. It is another big advantage of PC laptops compared to the MAC machine.

Gaming Experience

The laptop user only sometimes remains busy in their routine work, but in their free time, the user also uses its machine for entertainment, like watching movies and playing games.

The PC user is again lucky in this option because most games are designed for PC laptop architecture like other application software.

A simple PC laptop user can play games without any problem according to its hardware specifications. Moreover, whenever these users desire to play some other games for which some extra hardware is required to install, then it is also very easy because the hardware of the PC laptop is easily upgradeable.

On the other hand, on MAC laptops, MAC users must install some other specific software like “Bootcamp” to install Windows again on their MAC machines for playing these games.

If the hardware is required to upgrade for some game, then it is impossible on a MAC notebook or iMAC because their hardware is not upgradeable. No dought, it is also a value-adding difference for PC compared to MAC.

Data Protection

Data protection is another important consideration in the digital world, where every device is get connected to a common network known as the Internet. This feature is mainly the most important for business persons and professionals. It is also necessary for students but significantly in business.


MAC machines are much more protected than PCs because most of the threats, viruses, and malware are developed for the Windows operating system, which becomes the reason for intrusion, data theft, and unauthorized access. There are very few threats that are developed for MACOS.

This way, data is more secure on MAC machines than on PC laptops. For college students, this feature is required to some extent but cannot include in basic needs.

Price

One of the most important considerations for a college student is the price of the machine when he or she goes to buy a laptop. In price comparison, a straightforward statement is enough that Apple Corporation does not offer low-price devices.

These machines are also known as luxurious, that’s why prices of these are also high, which can be unaffordable for a college student. Comparatively, PC laptop prices are low except for some of the specific types of laptops. Due to this, for a college student, PC laptops are more acceptable.

Final Words

At the end of this debate, we conclude that PC laptops are considered best for college students because of their many advantages.

While MAC books are very attractive and portable but are specific in their work, due to this, MAC machines are more attractive for businesses and other professionals instead for college students.

Hi... I am Junaid Khan (Telecom Engineer) and professional blogger. I have 8 years experience in tech department and publishing lot of technology based articles on different top websites. Here I will solve your tech related issues and will share my experience with research based content.

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