10 Reasons I Spent $3,000 on a MacBook Pro

[pocketdrummer]

Let us review...

Ridiculous reasons for your choice:

* A Keyboard (I have a nice feeling keyboard that I bought for $20)
* Reliability (3d editing programs crash frequently, mechanical noise comes through outputs when using apple laptops for audio)
* Matte finish ($50 upgrade to something we've had since the beginning of laptops! SIGN ME UP!)
* Battery (Great, until you have to service it.)

Good reasons:

* Display itself
* Dual-boot capability
* Recyclable... mostly.
* You get to join the masses of people who think they're computer makes them better than everyone else.

Some things not mentioned:
* Upgrades are painfully overpriced
- 270MHz CPU upgrade for $300 ($1.11/1MHz)
- 8Mb Ram for $1,000 (OWC 8GB DDR3 Memory Kit - $697.99)
* Accessories overpriced:
- $20 for crappy little remote.
- $30 for DisplayPort to DVI adapter (so you can actually use it with every other monitor in the world.)
- $100 for DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter (don't you wish you didn't buy that 30" Apple Monitor now?)


Bottom line... It's a pretty computer, and people will give you a million excuses like a person addicted to drugs.

 

[pocketdrummer]

Ah yes, and lack of proof-reading leaves me with typos I can't correct... therefore damaging my credibility. Oh well, take it or leave it.

 

[michaelahess]

It does have a keyboard light that reflects just enough off the white lettering to see them in complete dark. It is also very sturdy, some of the low end thinkpads aren't as well built but I have seen T and R series fall out of trucks while running and break a bit of plastic here and there. I've seen two 17" and a 15" macbook pro's do the same thing, entire screens shattering. A tough laptop needs some "give" to be robust, the more rigid, the easier it will break if dropped. If all you do is terminal work, like I do a great deal of, get an Epson ActionNote from back in the day, weight was about 2 pounds, easy to read greyscale screen with ripterm on it. Perfect console laptop.

BTW, I know plenty of router guys that don't know crap about pc's, and some that do, they are kinda like software developers, "give me visual c and tell me where the power button is" and they think they know it all. Tinkerers and the rest of us "geeks" almost always know more about the hardware/software that runs the world than the developers and programmers.

Apple can kiss my you know what about me running OSX on my intel systems, it's only for testing purposes, I sure as hell don't use it for fun! I have a full time iMac G4 to test older OS9 and OSX 10.4 and earlier stuff, and my laptops for 10.5 stuff. I don't use it for productivity, work, play, etc. and I've paid Apple plenty for other crap that my clients use, they can just suck it if they want to be that greedy. Yet another reason not to buy overpriced Apple products.

And yeah, I have: "I have actually configured and used an OC192 to pass internet traffic, have you"

[citation][nom]billlake[/nom]OK, so one of my requirement is a backlit keyboard, does your IBM have that? Plus where I work the IBMs are called trash pads because they break so often. They are not durable. we also use Panasonic tough books which are a step above t in durability but the screens are so small that they are not very good for my work.Again find me a laptop with all the features I need for my work and I will give it a try. I have used laptops for the last 17 years, yes, I had a monochrome laptop. I have used NEC, IBM, Dell, HP, Compaq, Panasonic, and more. For me the MacBooks have served me very well. I did not want to pay this much but other vendors just do not offer the features in the same combo as this. Alienware does but they cost more than an Apple.I also run VM's on my laptop to simulate customer environments to included Solaris, Linux (several flavors), every windows OS, I have Cisco CallManager/Unified Comm Manager.Send them to NewEgg.com for their HDMI cables, then they will be able to afford a MacBook Pro with all their savings.By the way Apple just called, they are tracking you down for illegally using OS X on a PC that is not a Apple product. Yeah they suck about that.[/citation]

 

[KyleSTL]

Or, for you to show me another laptop with same features (or at least close) for a lot less money.

Sorry, Rachel, but this has been done more times here than I'm sure most would care to count. I'll counter - show me an equivalent laptop that is as much or more, I'm sure those would be much easier to quantify.

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]KyleSTL[/nom]Sorry, Rachel, but this has been done more times here than I'm sure most would care to count. I'll counter - show me an equivalent laptop that is as much or more, I'm sure those would be much easier to quantify.[/citation]
KyleSTL,
Plenty of people have given great examples of machines that are more powerful and similarly priced, or even more powerful and cheaper--but I have yet to see an equivalent laptop that has the same features (including similar weight) for less money (though there are a few that are similar for the same money)...That's not to say that those other laptops aren't great--they just don't happen to match up exactly in terms of features. For some people, that particular feature-set is very desirable. It is this issue that is riling everyone up. Some people seem to think that the priorities of people who want a MacBook Pro 17-inch are just *wrong*--and they can't seem to accept that there are people out there who have different priorities than them. The point of this article was to show someone who has different priorities than the majority of people who read Tom's Hardware.

Thanks for reading.

 

[fpsgamingsa]

Ok I own a 13" Macbook, an older model 17" pro like this is about, and a Dell 17" Vostro. The Apple products in my opinion are better built, but you do pay for that quality. Remember all of this is about product placement and value. Both the Macbooks fit exactly with what they are used for. And interesting they get used a lot in a home with over 25 computers in it. But while everyone is price configuring and matching I wanted to give the Dell Vostro a dig.

This is on the Dell site right now:

This is a Vostro 1710 and the screen is 1920x1200 for this price. And it has a 10key pad a feature some end users really value.

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Business, Service Pack 1
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE No Productivity Software
WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
LCD PANEL 17.0 in UltraSharp™ Widescreen WUXGA LCD Display w/TrueLife™
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R write capability, with Roxio Creator
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GS (128 bit)
HARD DRIVE 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Internal card
BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Wireless 360 Bluetooth Internal for Windows Vista
WEBCAM Integrated 1.3 mega pixel Web Camera and Digital Microphone

$1,468 and it weighs just 6.5 IBS according to the Dell website.

That is a lot of notebook for the money in my opinion. Funny it stays in the bag more than my 13" Macbook and I am not sure why?

 

[BillLake]

Thanks but again I never said anything about Apple products making you better, smarter or more anything, I said it is just a PC and find the one that works best for you.

External keyboards for $20 kind of destroy the word laptop.

Like it or not, many laptops that might compete at this level just do not offer matted screens, check them out and you will see.

[citation][nom]pocketdrummer[/nom]Let us review...Ridiculous reasons for your choice:* A Keyboard (I have a nice feeling keyboard that I bought for $20)* Reliability (3d editing programs crash frequently, mechanical noise comes through outputs when using apple laptops for audio)* Matte finish ($50 upgrade to something we've had since the beginning of laptops! SIGN ME UP!)* Battery (Great, until you have to service it.)Good reasons:* Display itself* Dual-boot capability* Recyclable... mostly.* You get to join the masses of people who think they're computer makes them better than everyone else.Some things not mentioned:* Upgrades are painfully overpriced - 270MHz CPU upgrade for $300 ($1.11/1MHz) - 8Mb Ram for $1,000 (OWC 8GB DDR3 Memory Kit - $697.99)* Accessories overpriced: - $20 for crappy little remote. - $30 for DisplayPort to DVI adapter (so you can actually use it with every other monitor in the world.) - $100 for DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter (don't you wish you didn't buy that 30" Apple Monitor now?)Bottom line... It's a pretty computer, and people will give you a million excuses like a person addicted to drugs.[/citation]

 

[BillLake]

Well if you are configuring OC192 then you must work for a very big company, like I do. That means that you should know there is more than one way to do almost everything.

You like the IBM and the keyboard light, it was great when no one offered backlit keyboard but to compare the two is Apples to Big Blue, totally different and if you have used both, I have a T43 as a backup PC, and I can tell you there is no comparing them.

I also was just joking around about Apple calling, I actually don't think they have ever tracked down any user just companies. I think Apple should compete directly with MS on all hardware but then they would have plenty of problems also so I respect all operating systems and hardware.

Well I guess we will just disagree and that is good, there is room for more than one type of laptop in the world.

[citation][nom]michaelahess[/nom]It does have a keyboard light that reflects just enough off the white lettering to see them in complete dark. It is also very sturdy, some of the low end thinkpads aren't as well built but I have seen T and R series fall out of trucks while running and break a bit of plastic here and there. I've seen two 17" and a 15" macbook pro's do the same thing, entire screens shattering. A tough laptop needs some "give" to be robust, the more rigid, the easier it will break if dropped. If all you do is terminal work, like I do a great deal of, get an Epson ActionNote from back in the day, weight was about 2 pounds, easy to read greyscale screen with ripterm on it. Perfect console laptop.BTW, I know plenty of router guys that don't know crap about pc's, and some that do, they are kinda like software developers, "give me visual c and tell me where the power button is" and they think they know it all. Tinkerers and the rest of us "geeks" almost always know more about the hardware/software that runs the world than the developers and programmers.Apple can kiss my you know what about me running OSX on my intel systems, it's only for testing purposes, I sure as hell don't use it for fun! I have a full time iMac G4 to test older OS9 and OSX 10.4 and earlier stuff, and my laptops for 10.5 stuff. I don't use it for productivity, work, play, etc. and I've paid Apple plenty for other crap that my clients use, they can just suck it if they want to be that greedy. Yet another reason not to buy overpriced Apple products.And yeah, I have: "I have actually configured and used an OC192 to pass internet traffic, have you"[/citation]

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]pocketdrummer[/nom]Let us review...Ridiculous reasons for your choice:* A Keyboard (I have a nice feeling keyboard that I bought for $20)* Reliability (3d editing programs crash frequently, mechanical noise comes through outputs when using apple laptops for audio)* Matte finish ($50 upgrade to something we've had since the beginning of laptops! SIGN ME UP!)* Battery (Great, until you have to service it.)Good reasons:* Display itself* Dual-boot capability* Recyclable... mostly.* You get to join the masses of people who think they're computer makes them better than everyone else.Some things not mentioned:* Upgrades are painfully overpriced - 270MHz CPU upgrade for $300 ($1.11/1MHz) - 8Mb Ram for $1,000 (OWC 8GB DDR3 Memory Kit - $697.99)* Accessories overpriced: - $20 for crappy little remote. - $30 for DisplayPort to DVI adapter (so you can actually use it with every other monitor in the world.) - $100 for DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter (don't you wish you didn't buy that 30" Apple Monitor now?)Bottom line... It's a pretty computer, and people will give you a million excuses like a person addicted to drugs.[/citation]
Ha! Your last line cracked me up. But seriously--you don't get to scratch keyboard off the list because you found a nice external keyboard. That doesn't count, dude! And for battery servicing--yup, someday it might need to be serviced (but what battery doesn't?). I guess that's why the author talked about Apple's great service, which makes servicing the battery especially stress-free. Anyway, good summary 😉

 

[BillLake]

That is a great point, I only use my backup when I have to do two things at once. The IBM gets dusty all the time but it is smaller and lighter so why not use it. I like the extra screen room, so do not mind it. Some like the smaller size, some like backlit keyboards some never need them. Thanks again for making a great point. Use the PC, try it out and then buy the one that fits your needs. Save up longer if you can't get what you want. The reason is if you buy what does not work for you or is not what you need you will waste more money replacing more often until you get what you need and want.



[citation][nom]fpsgamingsa[/nom]Ok I own a 13" Macbook, an older model 17" pro like this is about, and a Dell 17" Vostro. The Apple products in my opinion are better built, but you do pay for that quality. Remember all of this is about product placement and value. Both the Macbooks fit exactly with what they are used for. And interesting they get used a lot in a home with over 25 computers in it. But while everyone is price configuring and matching I wanted to give the Dell Vostro a dig.This is on the Dell site right now:This is a Vostro 1710 and the screen is 1920x1200 for this price. And it has a 10key pad a feature some end users really value.PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Business, Service Pack 1PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE No Productivity Software WARRANTY & SERVICE 1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service LCD PANEL 17.0 in UltraSharp™ Widescreen WUXGA LCD Display w/TrueLife™ MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM OPTICAL DRIVE 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+/-R write capability, with Roxio Creator VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GS (128 bit) HARD DRIVE 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive WI-FI WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Internal card BLUETOOTH WIRELESS Dell Wireless 360 Bluetooth Internal for Windows VistaWEBCAM Integrated 1.3 mega pixel Web Camera and Digital Microphone $1,468 and it weighs just 6.5 IBS according to the Dell website.That is a lot of notebook for the money in my opinion. Funny it stays in the bag more than my 13" Macbook and I am not sure why?[/citation]

 

[solymnar]

He had the money to spend, and bought a laptop that was exceptionally comfortable to use (for him, remember when you talk about keyboards YOUR hands fit better on different models, so when you say "X is the best keyboard" you should always qualify it with "for me").

A lot of the article was silly to me. But then again I don't carry a 17" laptop around and use it for most of my work. If I use something for work every day then I would damn well want it to be as comfortable and enjoyable to use as possible. If I have the money to spend and get as close to my dream specs with it. So much the better.

Its entirely possible that other vendors have solutions that would be equally or more pleasing to use for various users. Obviously a lot of us think its kind of nuts to spend that kind of money on a laptop that will be pretty obsolete in a few years. Clearly it was worth it to the author. Some people buy insanely expensive cars to drive 55mph to work. You can get upset at them for doing it...but usually that's a product of insecurity, rather than just being able to say "hey I'm glad you like it". Even if its not for you. /shrug

Now if that person is someone you know who really can't afford to be spending money like that...well yeah you should probably smack them upside the head.

Since the article and comments are rooted primarily in how something feels and looks to an individual trying to argue any hard points is...well...somewhat pointless to me.

Personally I'd buy a killer keyboard and rather large flat panel that I can still use when the laptop is long dead and gone, but I clearly don't have the same kind of money to throw around and the work I do benefits greatly from having more screen real estate (spreadsheets, math modeling, etc.). After working on 24wide or larger its REALLY hard to stomach working remotely longer hours on 17" and smaller.

Nice battery life though for a 17". Probably largely a product of the LED backlighting. I hope it becomes common place across the board, laptop and otherwise, it seems to be going that direction anyway.

 

[nukemaster]

Everyone is entitled to use whatever they want. Its a great computer, but I want a numpad, something apple has ample room to place(speakers can be moved down).

Why does no one else use a magnetic power connector? Well, lets face it, Apple loves to sue. Not worth it in the end.

Despite being Tomsguide there should at least be some tests(battery at the least). Without them its just an Apple Ad.

 

[solymnar]

[citation][nom]billlake[/nom]External keyboards for $20 kind of destroy the word laptop.[/citation]

This is only true if you are primarily using it on business trips. Many people who use a laptop extensively for business take it between home and work much of the time. In those cases they often have a very nice docking station and/or separate monitor keyboard and mouse. It sounds like you could benefit from a mouse with the one you have as it is. I do feel the argument being constantly brought up about mincing $100s over .5lbs is pretty weak, but then again perhaps I'm just bigger/larger framed, more muscular etc? I know when hiking 3lbs isn't much of a difference to me but can be a huge impact on some of my smaller friends.

 

[rooket]

If you spent 3 grand on a laptop I don't care what brand it is that has a 9600M GT in it and I don't care how much RAM is on it maximum is 512 as far as I've seen, you plainly got ripped off. You can buy a dell with high end nvidia cards in SLI that will blow that thing away in gaming for under 3k.

My dell came with 9600M GT and it only cost me $1100. Although it is only 15" (and I did purchase the most high end 15" screen they offered on it, what is it WXSGA or something), I'd rather spend 1100 than 3 grand on something that will perform exactly the same.

 

[dante01010]

I would take one too, is the best notebook ever, , great build quality, design, Apple LCD´s are the best , you can run a hacked OS X on a PC but doesn´t have the same performance, OS X are built exactly for Apple hardware..

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]rooket[/nom]If you spent 3 grand on a laptop I don't care what brand it is that has a 9600M GT in it and I don't care how much RAM is on it maximum is 512 as far as I've seen, you plainly got ripped off. You can buy a dell with high end nvidia cards in SLI that will blow that thing away in gaming for under 3k.My dell came with 9600M GT and it only cost me $1100. Although it is only 15" (and I did purchase the most high end 15" screen they offered on it, what is it WXSGA or something), I'd rather spend 1100 than 3 grand on something that will perform exactly the same.[/citation]
You are a person for whom performance is #1 priority. Obviously, not everyone feels that way. Thanks for reading.

 

[BillLake]

Everyone has their requirements. Your Dell only cost you $1100, some would say that is too much, buy an HP DV5 with intel graphics and it only cost $700. Some do better with Netbooks running Linux, I think I will replace my second laptop with one, cuts weigh even more and lets me still have two PC's but there is really no laptop that is perfect for everyone. I would love this laptop to weigh 5.5 lbs, have a 1 TB drive, BluRay burner, eSATA, some dual graphics card for gaming and have a quad core CPU running at 3 GHz, while still running all day, I mean all day on one battery charge. That isn't going to happen any time soon so you have to pick and choose, I wonder if everyone would have said the same if I had gotten an Asus M70 and complained about what it lacks.

[citation][nom]rooket[/nom]If you spent 3 grand on a laptop I don't care what brand it is that has a 9600M GT in it and I don't care how much RAM is on it maximum is 512 as far as I've seen, you plainly got ripped off. You can buy a dell with high end nvidia cards in SLI that will blow that thing away in gaming for under 3k.My dell came with 9600M GT and it only cost me $1100. Although it is only 15" (and I did purchase the most high end 15" screen they offered on it, what is it WXSGA or something), I'd rather spend 1100 than 3 grand on something that will perform exactly the same.[/citation]

 

[Guest]

aluminum uni body... why dont they make a test. turn on the macpro on a table 3 feet high fully open and push it to the concrete floor, and lets see how it looks after. also you can try testing it turned off, if its 100% working then i guess its cheaper than a toughbook so its good. if it doesnt function properlly after or the LCD breaks its just like any other laptop

 

[rooket]

Well I dunno I was interested in buying a macbook pro until I learned that they are still using the fairly mid-range nvidia chip. It's a decent gpu but it should go in laptops that cost around a grand. The styling of these laptops is nice and I like the natural earth magnet power supply attachment in case you trip over the power cord which happens to a lot of macbook users. I guess it depends on how much money you want to spend on styling. Also didn't Apple go with nvidia chipsets to cut down costs, rather than sticking with intel? I don't see that reflected in the prices. My boss' brother bought the small macbook for $1600 with the nvidia chipset and 8500M. That seems like maybe ~$600 or so overpriced for that kind of technology. It doesn't even have HDMI.

 

[Greg_77]

I have a Lenovo X300, real expensive when I got it. Thankfully, my employer paid for it. It does have a great keyboard, and is really robust. Obviously, it is completely different from a 17 inch macBook (features, power, screen size). I still feel both are overpriced. If I had to pay, I would have gotten a slightly heavier laptop with a hard drive instead of a ssd. Same for the macbook. If I could get it for free, it would be one of my first choices, otherwise I wouldn't think about it. To each their own.