NS computer geeks. I need a laptop...

chicken

chicken

Active member
So I am looking at replacing my laptop pretty soon here. I will be using it for school so I want it to be very commutable. I want it to be a little bit larger than my old one (probably in the 14"-15" range.)

my question is is there really anything better than the 15" MBP? I am talking about hardware only here, I know you pay more for OSX. When I say hardware here though, I also don't just mean the raw specs, I know I can go to the store and but a shitty plastic dell that is faster than a MBP.

Really the large touchpad, the durability (all metal), and the the thickness of the macbook, plus the light up keyboard, are all great features that I cannot seem to find in other computers at the store.

Basically what I am asking is if you know of any "clones" of the MBP that are cheaper that you would reccomend. It just seems to be a waste to spend $2500 on a laptop when I will probably never run OSX. I just refuse to buy a shitty, ugly, plastic laptop.
 
http://1saleaday.com/flash/

Cheap computers up there for the day. I ordered a mouse from this site, works great. I would look for a comptuer that is NEW not Factory Refurbished. Atleast on that site.

I have no idea which you want because I did not read what you said you needed. But here are some cheap laptops for you to choose from.
 
If you're dropping $2.5k on a laptop, get the MBP. Any high end PC laptops would be great for you, but MacBooks are a much more solid investment. You could easily squeeze 4 years out of one, and the unibody design and high quality components will make a difference.
 
ugggh, i know this is futile, but my one year old HP dv7 is almost all metal, has backlit keyboard, 17 inch screen and only cost me $1200 after i invested in a SSD. the thing is a tank and very, very quick...being able to launch applications as soon as i see my desktop is handy.

if you want a laptop to last, invest in a SSD. this will pretty much prevent your data being lost due to a fall...also SSDs are much more reliable than conventional HDDs.

ps i'm a systems admin and between myself and another person manage ~200 workstations and 26 servers so get the fuck at me
 
well I hope you know what I mean. A mac is built out of the same basic stuff as any other laptop. They just manage to put it together in a nice looking and durable way.

as for the other guy. I would prefer NOT to spend that much on a computer. This is why I ask.
 
lol HP

although, there aren't many decent laptop manufacturers, so I guess HP is just as good as the rest.
 
read the reviews, and the screen has major issues as well as the keyboard. Surprise surprise!
 
hmm the screen thing I could deal with, but the keyboard would be a dealbreaker for me.

It's just crazy how many people hate on macs and say you can get just as good of a computer for cheaper, but now that I am trying to do this I literally can't find one.
 
inb4 nickski and other windowgarglers hate on apple when very few laptops deliver like a MBP does. Checklist:

all metal housing

keyboard - backlight, aluminum spacing, isn't a plastic sheet like some laptops

processor - fast quad core

decent display with non-integrated GPU

ram - 8gb

With a windows computer, you can pic 3, maybe 4 out of the 5.
 
very few windows laptops meet ALL the things I listed above. Desktops wise, it is easy to beat a mac, but you do miss out on the actual OS, applecare warranty, shiny looks.
 
that's what It seems like to me right now. The guy at the store was trying to steer me away from the macbook, saying that I was paying more for inferior hardware.

I lifted up the macbook with one hand, no flex. all the plastic shitty computers flexed a ton. I don't see how a macboook is "inferior" hardware.

I would say 95% of the time I am not gonna be even close to maxing out ANY modern laptops computing powers. However a good keyboard, a durable design, a good trackpad. THOSE are the things that I consider good hardware, since they are much more applicable to what I do.

How can all the other manufacturers fuck up THAT bad? There are plenty of good solid "ultrabooks", but when I look for something with a bit more power, they all get bulky and ugly.
 
No. That computer is fucking old.

I have the same processet that's 4 years old, and it's even 2.6GHZ

2Gigs of ram isn't enough for anything.

Shitty graphics card.
 
as for the OS though, I have no intentions on going back to osx. I guess I would probably dual-boot just because I paid so much for a mac.
 
Also I suggest not getting anything with AMD....

AMD are only good for simple processing. Intel is for high end gaming and uses multicore rendering better than AMD.

 
i know but its cheap. those are the reasons im not getting it myself, im just waiting for the new pros to drop at WWDC.
 
What is your profession/what will you be using the laptop for/what programs do you need to run?
 
$2500 seems plenty of budget for a well kitted out 15' MacBook Pro.Get the high-res screen, the anti-glare is an option I should strongly advice, it cuts glare to a minimum and has more accurate colors.

Don't get a memory or HD upgrade via Apple.

Buy an 8GB aftermarket kit, there are kits specifically made for MacBooks.

Also get an 120GB (or larger) SSD and an Optibay/HDcaddy.

Remove the superdrive and instal the SSD, making the SSD your boot drive will speed up things by a ton.

And the 500GB is still there for extra storage.

Beware though a refresh is imminent and that always means a sizable speed increase.

But there is another option!

With $2500 you can also consider getting a 11' MacBook Air with an 27' iMac.

This way you will get a rather quick ultraportable notebook with a beast of a desktop.
 
Metal housing - I'll give you that, most windows machines are shitty plastic.

Keyboard - The Macbook Pro has a shit keyboard.

Processor - The 13.3 inch comes with a dual core i5, most laptops come with a fast quad now.

Decent display with no iGPU - Wrong, both 13.3 inch models run on HD3000, the other ones are a 512mb 6770m which aren't powerful.

Ram - Macbook pros only come with 4gb

I run OS X and prefer it over windows, but your argument was bad.
 
profession is student. any job I have will provide a computer. needs to get me through another couple years of university and then potentially grad school.

The stuff I need to run is pretty standard: graphing software, a TeX editor, some astronomy software (3D), office suite, internet, and media playback.

I find there are programs for every OS that get the job done. So I don't need a gaming PC but I certainly could use more than 2gb of ram and discrete graphics.
 
I don't know how much Apple charges for the extra 8GB in the states but over here it's 200 euros.Freaking ridiculous when an 8GB - DDR3 - 1333 MHz kit is just 40 euros.

(I do advise to buy an Apple specific kit, they are usually priced the same or a few dollars/euros more but they are tested to specifically work with MacBooks, i've seen non-specific kits from the same manufacturer fail and work but the Apple specific kits always worked.)
 
I fuckin' hate my Mac! It sucks dick. I only use it because I got it for free from my dad. There is no way that they should cost so much more than a PC. I have PC as well that my brother uses as well that is 2 time faster and much better. I would advise you to save your money and buy a PC no matter what. \rant
 
We were talking about the 15" model, which has a 1gb GPU, quad core, and 8gb ram...
 
Asus Zenbook maybe? Powerful processor, all metal I'm pretty sure,fast SSD, and Asus has great build quality. However it is a tad undersized (13.3 inches), doesn't have a ton of memory or storage either, no optical drive either. But it is a grand cheaper.

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So no Windows only applications, but I guess most of those would run best on windows (i dont know shit about them but a majority of programs out there in any field are windows based)
 
laptops aren't that great to hack, as their built in keyboards are windows oriented, and sleep/trackpads/bluetooth/wireless/shutdown kexts are not as reliable as some people say they are.
 
I helped a friend with a 4530s. Took a little doing, but it seems to be working pretty well. You're right about bluetooth though, it's iffy, as is sleep. Other than that though, it was a fun project, which he's enjoying.
 
I've got a Dell Inspiron. It is 17', but it not a pain for my backpack. It's got great computing power and it just runs really well. It's good for small-medium sized games as well.
 
custom order a sager from xotic. you won't be dissapointed. it even lets you change the keyboard colors
 
I dunno if anything runs better on windows. There is only one piece of windows-only software I need to use and it runs fine on wine.
 
Here's an alternative: build a desktop. If you game at all, this is your best option. My $1,500 rig that I built in July of '08 is still running like a champ. It can handle Crysis at high settings, Skyrim at reasonably high settings, it chews all COD games up, and it laughs at Diablo 3.

AND

You can afford a decent netbook as well. It's basically a laptop in the smallest practical form factor. Decent processors, and easily upgradable ram will give you an awesome little machine to take to class.
 
mals_why_should_we_dont_buy_mac.gif
macs are way overpriced for what you get. you have a decent budget, buy a killer computer. If you want mobility, buy a laptop from a distributer that isnt a peice of shit (hp) and if you want massively awesome performance get a desktop.
 
Maybe the Mac Pro is but most other Macs aren't.

The 27 inch iMac is a bloody steal at 1699 dollars.

First of the 27 inch LED IPS display would run you about 1000 dollars (900 for the Dell option.)

Second the form factor, it've seen regular screens fatter then the iMac.

But you forgot the most important thing about Apple i.m.o.

The design, no other manufacturer comes closes to Apple in terms of Industrial design.

And that is easily worth the premium.

For example:

You can buy an Ikea desk lamp for ten bucks.

Or you can buy an Artemide for 300 more bucks.

They will emit the same amount of light and have the same amount of articulation in the stand.

And still people buy the Artemide.

Why?

Because people are prepared to pay extra for a product with an attractive design.
 
I have no need for a desktop. Don't play games. I want one computer that will do it all for me.

basically this is /thread for me. I like the lamp analogy. I want a computer that looks good (not plastic), is durable, and has decent specs. after a week of looking It is becoming clear to me that apple is the only manufacturer that offers that. I have no brand loyalty, and I run linux so the OS debate doesn't matter to me.

If this upsets any PC fans just show me one actual example of a laptop that matches or exceeds a 15" MBP in terms of design and performance.
 
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