Use OS X or Vista for SL???

Hullo, I have a MacBook Pro with Vista installed in addition to OS X. So far, I have been using SL on OS X. However, I understand that SL was originally developed for Windows, so perhaps performance is better on Windows. If you experience with both, please tell me whether you have found this to be the case, or if you know of any formal comparisons that have been made, I would be interested in reading them.

Thanks

Gaud

Gaud
Yes it's true the Mac version is a port from the Win client.

I had both versions installed on my MacBook Pro and the performance was slightly better on the PC side (slightly smoother movement and a couplle extra fps), but I can't say it was a huge difference. Not enough for me to put up with XP's (not Vista) constantly bugging me to download patches, warning me that my computer was "at risk" from viruses, the occasional blue screen, etc. (As a side note, when SL crapped out under OS X it was just that program that was affected. I waited a second and launched SL again. When it died under XP it locked the whole computer up and required a restart)

I guess it's just what you're more comfy with. I'm a longtime Mac guy, so for me it wasn't worth the hassle for an extra 3-4 fps.

Also from what I've been reading here SL has some issues with Vista. You might want to take a look at the Vista sticky in this forum.

Thanks for the info Deej. One of the reasons I was thinking of trying it on Windows is because of the frequent freezes on OS X. Often the freezes are limited to SL and I can just restart the program, but sometimes I do have to reboot the computer. And twice I have had instant kernel panic (OS X greyed-out screen of death, which I'd never seen before!) just from starting SL, not even from logging in.

I tried installing SL in Vista, but like you say, there are issues. SL will not start, giving me the error message that my graphics drivers are not up-to-date, even though they are and even though I've succesfully installed and played other games. I was thinking that this might be a problem with Boot Camp, but I'll take a look in the thread on Vista that you mentioned. Perhaps it's not worth the trouble if the benefit is only a few fps and the freezes are just as frequent on Windows

And here I thought I was the only one experiencing mystery freezes on the Mac -- the ones where everything *looks* normal, but you suddenly realize that everyone else has gone very quiet......and you're not really there. Sometimes it necessitates a modem restart as well as a computer reboot, sometimes it just crashes to the desktop. Variety is the spice of life, right?

It's good to know that PC users have their trials as well

I'm not a techie and I haven't moved on to an Intel Mac yet, but FWIW the only times I have trouble with SL on OS X 10.4.9 is when everybody is having trouble, no matter what they're using.

So, if you don't mind a "did-you-plug-it-into-the-wall" kind of suggestion, you might consider using OS X unless you run into trouble and trying Vista if rebooting OS X doesn't solve your problem. I mean, Vista has to be good for something.

With Vista you can get a good video card and decent machine for a lot less than Mac (do Macs even support 8800's?) Apples-to-apples (pardon the pun) you get much more hardware for the same cash, or the same hardware for less cash, by getting a PC vs getting a Mac -- and the performance of SL is very much relative to the hardware. So unless you are rich and not constrained by budget, get the PC and get more hardware.

I realize this will devolve into a goofy PC vs Mac thread. I use both, think highly of MacOS (it is, after all, Linux), however if you shop, you get MUCH better value on hardware on PC's (although less so for notebooks).

Well the OP already has a Intel-based Mac, so there's no real reason for him/her to buy another box just to play SL.

Gaud I have to echo what another poster said. Depending on what LL has done to screw up the latest version (early 1.13 and the latest 1.15 the worst offenders by far) I either am able to use SL for long periods without incident or have many crashes and many relogs in short order. It's not an issue with OS X it's the SL client. It's well known that both Mac and Win versions have a horrid memory leak, meaning that over time SL will chew up more and more memory until it takes all your RAM and freezes/crashes your machine. Sometimes the program will just unexpectedly quit and sometimes you get the "quiet crash" like what Mitsou described.

If you're having frequent kernel panics you may need to try some troubleshooting as this could be an issue with OS X. Have you added any new hardware or software to your system? Do you have any USB hubs attached? (weird USB issues frequently cause kernel panics) Without making this post any longer than it already is, I'll just say to check this website for info on diagnosing/correcting kernel panics:

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060911080447777

At any rate if you do decide to play under Win, do it under XP instead of Vista. You'll keep your blood pressure lower and also keep more of your hair.