Solved! Macbook laptop: What advantages does it have that would justify its pu

Introns

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Price/feature/performance wise, that is. Just wondering, as it would seem that I can get a lot more my money with a "pc" laptop at lesser prices than with a macbook air or pro. (e.g. I been told that the Samsung Series 9 and the dell equivalent all have better features than a mac laptop pro for comparative price)

So to sum it up, what makes a macbook so expensive price/performance wise and what do I actually get for my money?

thanks in advance

Edit: the title should have been "What advantages does it have that would justify its purchase," seems like I ran out of space there...
Also, I plan to use the laptop for word processing, internet and possibly gaming
 
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Macs are good for development (writing software) and art related stuff (like composing and graphics). For my purposes, I find no reason to get a mac. Even in terms of quality, I think Apple has sacrificed quality of hardware for the laptop's looks. My roommate is on his second Apple laptop in 2 years (while I am still using my Lenovo T61 from 3 years ago).

Keep in mind that for a lot of people, owning Apple products is all they strive for. Apple relies heavily on its cult-like followers that seem to consume all the products that Apple churns out. So Apple can get away with charging huge premiums on their products because they know people will buy.

In the end, don't get a mac just for the sake of getting one, because, as you have...

NOnja

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I don't own one (my sister does) so I can't comment from experience, but I'd have to say the build quality is probably the best out there. I've been trying to find a laptop of similar specs and dimensions/weight to the 15-inch, 2.2GHz model and the closest I've found is the Asus N53SV. However, the Asus is a 1/2 inch thicker and almost 1 lb heavier...

I'm a PC guy, but I think Apple makes pretty top notch quality products overall. I also feel that the products are targeted at users who want to buy something they won't have to configure out of the box / be DOA and will last a long time. The same people may not also care about upgrading their system's internals (HDD -> SSD, more RAM) themselves.

That's just me... I'd probably consider buying a Macbook Pro for myself (and run W7 haha) if it weren't sooooo expensive. I still find it difficult to justify spending an extra $800 even if it is built better and has tighter dimensions.

Edit: Anyone know of any comparable laptops (hardware, weight, and dimensions) to the Macbook Pro line?
 

kajabla

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For me, the two main draws of Macs are the OS and the design. They're definitely the nicest-looking laptops out there, and the OS is far superior IMO. Everything just...works. I was a Mac guy for years, but now that I'm supplying the cash I've gone Windows.
 

Sequences

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Macs are good for development (writing software) and art related stuff (like composing and graphics). For my purposes, I find no reason to get a mac. Even in terms of quality, I think Apple has sacrificed quality of hardware for the laptop's looks. My roommate is on his second Apple laptop in 2 years (while I am still using my Lenovo T61 from 3 years ago).

Keep in mind that for a lot of people, owning Apple products is all they strive for. Apple relies heavily on its cult-like followers that seem to consume all the products that Apple churns out. So Apple can get away with charging huge premiums on their products because they know people will buy.

In the end, don't get a mac just for the sake of getting one, because, as you have pointed out, you can get a comparable laptop for less, or a better one for the same price. If your line of work on the computer really needs a mac, then you wouldn't even be considering this problem. :)
 
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trogdor796

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Macs do have some of the best build quality in laptops, and their OS may be useful to some, but does this warrant the price? For many, the answer is/should be no. Unless you always drop or don't take care of your laptop, any standard aluminum or plastic chasis should be fine. So is the look and feel of the Mac OS worth the huge extra cost? IMO no. For development it can be useful, but for the average user/gamer it's simply a waste of money. To get the same performance in a Mac you pay significantly more. Macs are great machines, but for many the cost isn't practical.
 

Introns

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Thanks for the great responses everyone, much appreciated

But the thing is: buying a macbook is a mandatory requirement for my university program and, apparently, there’s no way to get around this. So, it would seem that my options are limited to macbooks for the better or for the worse...

Anyway, I’m now hesitating between a 13” macbook pro and a 15”with the macbook air and the white macbook still on the table-- there’s almost a discrepancy of 500$ between the two, money with which I could probably buy myself a second pc laptop haha, but I’m worry that a 13” might be too small (it looks like it’s right about the size of an ipad!). I would rather buy "more expense" than buy “cheaper” for something that I won’t like (even though “cheap” doesn’t seem to exist when talking about a mac), but I was wondering if I could get some insight from some users point of view:
i.e. is a 15” worth the cost? A
Any suggestions in terms of what features/models/size I should get from a cost/performance point of view (even though it looks like I’m already kind of getting myself scammed by buying a mac)?

At Sequences: I think you are right about the entire cult-like movement, too bad that my university seems to fall among that cult.

P.S.: I’m nowhere near the art/development domain unfortunately… rather in the medical area ;)
On a aside, are macs reputed for having dedicated health science applications (e.g. rxn, pharmaceutical logistics, medical imaging/diagnostics)? (just trying to see if there’s any sense into why my university wants me to buy a mac…)
 

Sequences

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I think this would be an appropriate question for your professors/instructors seeing as how you will be using some specific software. A more powerful computer just means things get done a bit faster. Sometimes, programs aren't really programmed to take advantage of all the hardware upgrades and you end up getting diminishing returns off more expensive components.

I don't think the upgrade is worth $500, but then again I've never actually owned a mac, or was forced to choose between two (although I've had 2 roommates at the same time both of whom had macs).
 

hpfreak

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What is your budget? That will make all the difference...

The 13" Screen size isn't bad, I mean, I think it would be best if you want to use it for more then just Health/Medical apps, it will be a bit more portable when taking notes (if you do...)

I have no idea what medicine is like at college, I don't know any programs that they use.. etc.. So, I don't have a clear idea of what would be overkill, or lacking performance wise...

I guess we know everything we need to know, but it will make it a bit easier if copy+paste this "survey" and answer all the questions...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/50797-35-read-buying-laptop