User blog comment:Andronikos Leventis/Help! What should I buy?/@comment-3109473-20110320135854/@comment-1519608-20110320170002

The speed of a system isn't determined solely by the program it operates (Windows vs Mac) but by the hardware specifications of the machine itself. Looking at speed tests, an out-of-the-box Windows 7 pc and out-of-the-box Mac OS X machine with comparable hardware and specifications perform at around the same speed... fast enough, certainly, not to be worried over which one performs faster (I still remember a time when it took 5 minutes to turn on a computer- it's not like that anymore!). In some areas, the Windows machine outperformed the Mac, in other areas the Mac computer outdid Windows.

In most cases, product reviews will come down to product loyalty. Mac people will swear up and down by their macs, and many (not all) Windows people will preach Windows... neither one is right or wrong since, as WalkerGuy said, the machines have different reputations and a different target audience.

As for prevalence, Windows computers are much more common and more programs are written for it. That's not to say that Mac doesn't have programs for it, but some very specialized software may just not be available on Macs. More and more, however, this is becoming a non-issue, especially in games - newer games are usually compatible on both systems.

Mac systems are less prevalent, so they are largely less targeted for malware (viruses and the like) than Windows are. Also, from what I understand of Mac design, they are built in such a way where they are inherently more secure. However, that's not to say that a Mac is safe from everything you can throw at it, so security software is a must in both cases.