A Windows User: Actually, the Mac's hardware is MUCH better than a PC's hardware, even before the G3 came out. The Mac has a really nice platform design, while the PC has suffered years and years of the digital equivalent of duct taping and bailing wiring and electrical taping added hardware features. It's a literal mess. As for software, a Mac running BeOS would run circles around ANY and I mean ANY WIntel system. Of course, if you ran Winders on an Alpha, it's a slightly closer match.