Solved! Macbook Pro 15inch vs Xotic Pc's Force 1656

[BonzerChicken]

K Money is no problem since they both are almost identical with the best stuff in them.

My question is how are the batterys comparable? is the mac way better or is it just like an hour longer or what?

Also which one would you get and why?

 

[deadlockedworld]

The Mac will have slightly longer battery life, but the PC would give you the option to change batteries--and the Mac would not.

Wait a couple weeks before buying a Mac though-- new i5 macs with Nvida Optimus technology should be coming out very soon and will provide a significant performance jump.

 

[BonzerChicken]

How soon will this be because i need to order it in like 2 weeks.

what would slightly longer batter life be? like an hour? 30 mins?

 

[deadlockedworld]

Highest model of Macbook 15 review:
http/www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Mid-2009-2-8-GHz.18795.0.html

The new implanted lithium-ion polymer battery with 73 Wh has a higher capacity than its predecessor (50 Wh). With this the runtime also increases by about 50% in a direct comparison.

The actual runtime is not only dependent on the processor and graphic load, but also from the operating system and the applied graphic card.

For example, we reached a sensational 8h 53min without an outlet with the 9400M under Mac OS X at simulating reading a text file at minimum brightness.

Regrettably, only the fixed 9600M GT can be used for Windows. Therefore (and because of a poorer optimization to Windows) the runtime decreases to 5h 13min without load.

We established the worst case in Windows via Battery Eater in the Classic test (GPU full load and CPU). The integrated battery only ran for 1h and 39 min here.

We achieved over 6 hours of runtime at WLAN surfing in Mac OS X (9400) relevant to practice. Two short movies on DVD can very well be watched with 3h 41min at DVD rendering.

Conclusively, the runtime increase is remarkable due to the new battery. For instance, with the old battery DVDs with only about 2h 20min could be watched.
---

I dont know of any Xotic Pc reviews as they are a relatively small company. I do know that its built on a MSI platform that is not of a quality equal to the Macbook.

--
There are no details on what Apple will do with the macbooks---just rumors and tightening inventory. Many analysts expected them to refresh the macbook line when they released the ipad--so it is overdue. However... may not happen within the 2 week window you mention.

 

[deadlockedworld]

This has some details on potential changes:
http/arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/02/nvidias-optimus-is-primed-for-new-apple-macbooks.ars

 

[lotri]

The Mac will have slightly longer battery life, but the PC would give you the option to change batteries--and the Mac would not.

+1 to this. How often do you foresee yourself going without plugging into a socket? If you're not planning to go on battery for more than 2 hours, I think the Force 1656 should be fine.

There's also the reason that the 1656 has such poor battery life. It comes with the Core-i7 processor which eats up a LOT of power. Add that to a more powerful GPU and you will understand why it falls so short of the Macbook Pro.

What do you plan to use your purchased laptop for?

 

[BonzerChicken]

well i've been thinking and the reason im getting a laptop is so i can be portable. And the thought in my head was why do i want a heavy laptop that can do it all but with the cost of a terrible battery so basically making it just a desktop pc which i dont want so i want a laptop that can be portable for a long time and play games like all the blizzard ones and Counter strike source. I wont do any super hardcore gaming like Crysis. ill mostly just be surfing the web and play games like SCII when it comes out and Diablo III when it comes out

 

[deadlockedworld]

What is your price range? I might be able to find some suggestions. Does it need to be thin+light, or just portable?

I like macs, but if you want to game Macs are not a good option--Blizzard is one of the few PC game companies that makes mac versions--Most do not.

 

[lostandwandering]

well i've been thinking and the reason im getting a laptop is so i can be portable. And the thought in my head was why do i want a heavy laptop that can do it all but with the cost of a terrible battery so basically making it just a desktop pc which i dont want so i want a laptop that can be portable for a long time and play games like all the blizzard ones and Counter strike source. I wont do any super hardcore gaming like Crysis. ill mostly just be surfing the web and play games like SCII when it comes out and Diablo III when it comes out

Well, I pointed out the HP Envy 15 which has the looks of the Mac, but the power (actually better) of the other Windows laptops you've been looking at. Plus, it should net you around 4 or 5 hours of battery life. Best of both worlds IMO.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...odexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY15_series

 

[deadlockedworld]

Asus' first optimus laptop was released this week:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220706&cm_re=asus_laptop-_-34-220-706-_-Product

The optimus technology allows the graphics card to turn on and off depending on how intensive the graphics you are using are. It should offer the maximum graphics+ battery life combination.

 

[lostandwandering]

Asus' first optimus laptop was released this week:
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220706&cm_re=asus_laptop-_-34-220-706-_-Product

The optimus technology allows the graphics card to turn on and off depending on how intensive the graphics you are using are. It should offer the maximum graphics+ battery life combination.

9.3 lbs...... damn!

 

[deadlockedworld]

Yea.. only the 17 inch version is out at the moment. I assume the 15 incher will come out soon.
The ultrathin UL50 has an older version with manual graphics switching thats aluminum and pretty. It has an overclockable CULV processor, but discrete graphics.

Otherwise this is a powerful 15 inch all-arounder for $999 with a GT 240 graphics card.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146613

 

[lotri]

Lol.. seriously heavy. How is Optimus compared to the Switchable Graphics on the UL-series?

 

[lostandwandering]

Yea.. only the 17 inch version is out at the moment. I assume the 15 incher will come out soon.
The ultrathin UL50 has an older version with manual graphics switching thats aluminum and pretty. It has an overclockable CULV processor, but discrete graphics.

Otherwise this is a powerful 15 inch all-arounder for $999 with a GT 240 graphics card.
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146613

Yeah, I think I still stand by the 5830 in the HP Envy though. Should provide better gaming than the other two cards.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Lol.. seriously heavy. How is Optimus compared to the Switchable Graphics on the UL-series?

I think the key difference is that optimus is automatic software instead of manually switchable. Nvidia has designed some seriously intense algorithms which analyze different executables to decide if they need the graphics. They have always been better with the software...

I agree that the 5830 is probably better... its just that I would never buy an HP unless it came with like a 4 year warranty. Plus when you look at the Envy in person its not mac-like at all-- that corrugated pattern is ugly as hell.

Maybe we can come to a consensus after the OP lets us know what his limitations are.

 

[lostandwandering]

Maybe we can come to a consensus after the OP lets us know what his limitations are.

He's said that money isn't an issue and was looking at a $2800 system in his other threads so I'd use that as the limit, lol. IMO, the issue is that he seemed to want a laptop that is capable of gaming, but has the portability of a Mac. Unfortunately, I don' t really think that's possible. Most Windows laptops that have decent gaming cards only seem to get 3 hours max of battery life. When you compare that to the 6 or so of a Mac, it seems rather pathetic. However, the Optimus solution would be a good choice if only they gave it a better card than the GT 325.

 

[BonzerChicken]

There is no price limit actually around 4000 though the thing about that HP Lost is that ive seen reviews that says it only has about an hour of battery life

 

[BonzerChicken]

So what would be the difference in battery length? if i got the macbook pro and the force 1656 with a 9 cell battery

also is the 9 cell battery heavier than the 6 cell?

 

[lotri]

It would be a bit heavier and, depending on the shape of the battery, it might also bulge out a bit (sort of like those 12-cell batteries that stick out like a you-know-what.

But on the plus side, it does give longer battery life (you would think it gives an extra 50% but I doubt it).

 

[BonzerChicken]

K i think im going to get the MSI 1656 unless the Macbook Pro gets the intel i5 before i order.