I switched to a Mac Pro this year, but you will find a lot more platform options with a Windows machine. It depends on what you are planning to do, but as a new trader I would generally recommend Windows until you get settled on a platform. If it is available as Java (e.g. IB or TOS) you'll be able to use it with Windows or Mac.
I recently bought a new computer PC and after I bought it, I had a bunch of people tell me I should've got a Mac because it was "better" When i asked them why, I couldnt really get an answer, but i found out from others "why" they liked mac. One guy liked it just because it was the "cool" thing to have, no doubt influenced by the mac vs pc commericials. Then a girl i know recommended it only because she has one, and the only reason she got a mac was because a guy she liked got one! But even that said, I have gone to the mall and been in the Apple store which is always crowded as if there is some kind of special event going on even when their is not. Needless to say, i think think these people are brainwashed by the "mac is cool" hysteria. I also dont like paying 50% more for a computer that does 50% less. Here is a link that says 32 reasons why PC is better than mac. This will really show all the faults of mac so you dont get any surprises later if you do buy one. http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/92605,32-reasons-why-pcs-are-better-than-macs.aspx Now i recommend a PC with windows 7 if you are a new trader and probably have a single screen. Windows 7 is so fast and you dont have to open the windows like you do on vista when you want to go from your trading screen to the web or whatever other program you are using. You can just run your mouse over the "E"(for explorer) and small windows pop up of which you can run your mouse lightly over it and it will show full screen that window. As soon as you move your mouse off it, it instantly goes back to the trading screen or whatever else you were at. (Hope i explained that correctly for you to understand) But Seriously...Win 7 is incredible. 5 minutes on it and i realized how much better it was than vista, xp or any other operating system, plus, all your old programs run on Win 7, unlike when XP upgraded to vista and some programs didnt run.
If you know what you're doing, it doesn't matter which platform you use. If you don't know what you're doing, it doesn't matter which platform you use. So use whatever feels more natural to you, and causes the least amount of aggravation.
PC with Windows. I would look at Cyberpower. You can get an I7 for 1k. Then go to Tiger Direct get yourself a couple of 22" monitors and you're set. C'mon Mac ppl. admit that thing costs 2x as much as a PC. The only reason they don't get as many viruses is they have almost no market share. Why run Mac if you have to windows simulation programs to trade with? I think Apple is a great company really. Steve Jobs is brilliant. But $160 for a little Ipod Nano, c'mon.
If a few hundred bucks difference is that crucial, you don't have enough money to be in the trading game anyway.
And my response would be if you feel like burning dollars then great! But hey whatever works for you. I am happy with PC and you are the Mac.
actually mac is better because they assemble their own computers and the drivers are written specifically for those that they build into the computer and the software is built to use that hardware... a main difference between most pcs and mac is while pc/windows cpus are cool by the os mac os is not programed to do that because its handled by the hardware and bios.... the way the parts interact it allow better management and function with the hardware less has to be done with the software... OSX is more stable and is more efficient in its usuage of resources... you can run vmware fusion on a mac running windows inside fused into the desktop with programs opened in each and it will run on a mac with 512 ram... but windows xp it self on a reg computer requires 300+ to operate correctly and at 512 will hang alot.... reminds of volvo cars and german/swed engineering... its built precise as hell but when it breaks since its all interwoven you gotta replace alot of stuff and have almost no idea till you get into it. and its expensive PC is american engineering at its finest best way to describe windows is guns in world war II while german guns where built precise and when dropped in the sand would no longer function american guns could be dropped in water and sand/dirt they could be bent and rebent back into close shape and still fire.. windows is like it .. it accepts all parts.. isnt meticulously designed... software does all the work so the bios and hardware dont have to... and 80% of the time itll run but when something goes wrong its a 30 min fix not a 4 hour fix usually you just reload the os... you can download any driver and any program.. drop it in the dirt and itll still work.. if your a mac guy... get something for your money get a lenovo y650 and drop hackintosh on it.. all the hardware is built to run the way mac does best lenovo is very mac / linux compatible if your a windows guy you can put together a franken-windows computer piece it together with the parts in your basement for 200$ and itll do well.. or for a *cough* small *cough* price you can get a dual xeon nahalem desktop with 12+ gig ram thatll run all three at the same time with a linux base and youll have the stability of linux and can run osx and windows software without changing computers or restarting into another os. --> if your asking about this stuff this is not the path I would recommend.
i am a mac user, converted about 3 years ago. i really wish the market would cater for mac users more because the system is rock solid. with a mac you dont even need anti virus. i have the old mac pro and the new. the old macbook still has the original software build and is running like a champ... so speaking of stability the mac is leaps ahead of pc.. also if you use fusion or parallels you can make use of snapshots which means a restore from a virus attack or some kind of corruption which pc's are so good at only takes a few minutes. with a pc it could take an hour or more but only if you have the right setup. if you ask me, the high costs for the system really pays for the resilience and stability needed for a trading system. as for compatibility, just go with the virtual technology..