1 hour ago, missionctrl said:
For whatever reason, Apple computers are generally looked-down upon in game-developer communities, but I would strongly recommend a MacBook as a laptop.
Probably because a) Macs are not really among the main gaming platforms and actually a rather small market compared to windows PCs, b) the hardware is rather expensive for the performance on offer, so as long as looks and build quality are not the main concerns, but best price/performance ratio, Macs are not strong contenders, and c) Mac hardware almost never has access to the latest and greatest hardware on offer because of Apples tight controls on their hardware and their certification process... which might not be a big deal to you if you are only looking for a good laptop given laptops never will be powerhouses really benefiting from beefy GPUs and stuff like that, and Apple getting up to date hardware every other year otherwise.
If you don't NEED to develop on Mac because you develop for iPhones (which I believe can be done on Windows machines, but with a little bit more complications), or are just 100% tied to the Apple ecosystem or totally in love with their OS, there is no real reason to pick a Mac over a Windows machine.
You can get the same build quality from windows machines if you pick carefully. At that point the prices are not THAT different to Apple machines anymore. But really, the Surface machines from Microsoft can compete with Apple hardware any day of the week (sadly also on high prices).
Now, with windows you get choice. A ton of choice. Like Microsoft or hate them, they still have a pretty open ecosystem. You an pick from a myriad of budget, workstation or high quality hardware options. You can build your own machine from scratch. Everyone can build software for their OS without Microsoft being involved.
That choice can also be a bad thing. I heard many a user complain about it and praising Macs and Apple in general for their simplicity. Which holds true (as long as you don't deviate from the prescribed path... heaven forbid you ask Apple for support on a 2008 Mac Mini in 2017. They had to patch me through about 4 different support units until somebody could say which MacOS version that machine could still be updated to... and that whole process was only necessary because Apple is not prepared for iCloud customers having switched to Android and Windows... its like they rather not have me as a customer if I don't own the full stack of products they offer).
But again, unless you are not looking for that simplicity, but rather have choice and the option to open your PC and replace a damaged part without worrying that you might lose any chance of ever getting support from your PC manufacturer ever again, Windows PCs might be a better choice. With Linux being on the other end of the simplicity vs. openness scale.
Long story short: Apples Macbooks certainly are good machines, if you are not looking for getting the best price/performance ratio, don't mind MacOS or actually mind switching to Windows or another Linux distro (with MacOs just being a very elaborate windowing system over their own distro), or just need the street creds or the looks that come with an Apple machine.
I wouldn't even REALLY put build quality down on that list, not as long as Apple still insist on using aluminium instead of a stronger metal to cast their laptop casings from. That metal just collects scratches way too easy.
But most of the Macs vs. PC debate comes down to religion, not real facts. Because when we get down to it, both OS are equally capable in about all use cases in the hands of an expierienced user, most important software suites are available for both OSes, and you can find similar quality hardware among the huge crowd of different windows machines on offer.
