By the time you deck out a PC with all the extra goodies he’ll need to work quickly, you’ve paid for a Mac.
Sounds like for his needs the $500 PC won’t work. If you price a good Dell I’ll bet the price difference is minimal to nonexistent.
I switched 1 1/2 yrs ago. Very happy I did. Just easier to use, much better display, little need to buy extra software, much less virus prone.
Get iLife and he’s good to go.
Worth it.
I agree with Vinnie - you don’t want the $400 pc. it just won’t do the graphics.
a lot of good advice on this thread. student discounts and refurb machines are a good way to go. I would recommend getting apple care on whichever mac you get.
we have 2 refurb macbooks, both a couple years old. an older mac mini, and a 24” imac at home. has cost a few bucks, but we shouldn’t have to buy a new computer for a few years...
meanwhile, the 2 remaining windows boxes we have continue to slow down. frustrating.