Should I buy a Macbook Pro? Why? or Why not?

[pito]

OK so it's time for me to buy a new laptop. Mine is 4.5 years old it was top of the line back then. Recently I had to re-install Vista after mistakenly formatting my C: drive while using Linux. I had some trouble with Vista before but nothing that drove me crazy. I even sort of defend Vista when people talk crap about it. But now is driving be crazy I don't know what is the problem, explorer keeps crashing. Now I'm considering buying a Laptop specifically a Mac. I'm looking for a honest opinion not from an apple Fan but an apple user. I can't stand that when I ask somebody with a Mac what they think about it, then they go crazy saying that Mac is the best then I find out they pay around 2k for their laptop and when I ask what king of video card, ram or processor they have they don't know. IMO anybody that pay 2k for a system and have no idea what's in it, they are a fan they bought it for the name. FYI, I'm kind of a geek in computer hardware. I've only move around Macs I've never really use one. Money is no problem at all. And Macs has drop in price. I just want a good laptop. I use them all day every day. For music, video, pics, gaming and multitasking on normal use. Please share your opinion with me.

 

[Maziar]

If u aren't going to game then MAC is a good option since the new OS X SNOW LEOPARD is a very good OS

 

[frozenlead]

Agree - if you aren't going to game or do real professional work (engineering apps, etc), a Mac will do fine, albeit ridiculously expensive. If you want to game whatsoever, though, a PC is your best choice.

 

[pcfixed]

a laptop without many softwares installed, without full hard drive will work perfect. you need to get a laptop that has a recovery partition so if the worst happens you wont need any disks just press fn and f11 and it will reformart and be new again and clean.

stupid people pay 2k for a mac because they're better than pc "true" but what is the point if Safari is no diffrent from explorer or mizila, safari wont show you
a website diffrently, you still have to type www. and you still use a touchpad to browse around, so if you need it for normal stuff pc would be fine and save 1.5k

macs are too overpriced, you buy one today and the next 5 months a new one comes out with better features, you waited too long to upgrade 4.5 years is a lot
i recommend a new laptop every 2.5 years at max.

macs are great at using adobe softwares, they dont heat up that bad and they're small and lights, the OSX is very easy to use and requires no maintenance
but its not compatible with many softwares espcialy free stuff on internet is mainly for windows "games, freebies" but too expensive
if youre a normal user, get the cheapest macbook. if you're a designer, film maker, fashion designer who uses adobe and finalcut pro then get a mac, otherwise
you could save a lots of money and get yourself "toshiba or dell xps" laptops are wonderful, and if explorer crashes its not because of the laptop its "windows"
and sofar windows vista is *** I agree but windows 7 is far far better than OSX to me.

 

[raceway99]

i find my macbook much better than my old pcs in pretty much every aspect. but with windows 7 coming out i think the gap could close between macbooks and, lets say, dell xps. because of this i really dont think macs are worth the extra money (unless like pcfixed says you need to use software which is either only available on macs or works best on macs)

but remember this is all my opinion and the only way to really know is if you go to a shop and try them out for yourself.

 

[pito]

Guys, I really appreciate the feedback. I'm a power user not a normal user,I do a lot more than just web-browsing and email. Currently I'm in Iraq so I use my laptop for everything. From web-browsing, to games; and I'm constantly changing video formats, to back up DVDs or watch them on the Go on PSP or in the office on the PS3. Right now i don't do Pictures but that might change.

Also when i get back home I don't see myself doing games in a laptop, as I plan to build a crazy Gaming Rig. But for daily use and the need of power on the go is the reason that I'm considering Mac's. I keep reading about Windows 7 so i might wait to try it, to see if it is what MS is advertising. Also I just saw that HP is releasing an Envy that look nice (like a unibody) and comes with a core i7.

By the way it's an old computer but it's a 1.73Ghz dual core, 2g of DDR2, and a Nvidia Go 7600. more than 4 years and I'm still using the crap out of it. I like the fact that I can be changing a video format while watching a moving and having video streaming to the PS3 with only 3 - 1sec. hiccup during the process.

Now I just need no hiccup and be able to do more. So, it's time for an upgrade.

 

[noxyst]

Howdy Pito,

You are faced with the same choice i had 2 years ago (when vista was released) and at the time i went with this ~ macbook pro 2.4Ghz C2D, 2Gb Ram (upgraded myself to 4), 8600GT 256Mb & 160Gb 7200rpm HDD (upgraded to 320Gb when snow leopard released). Im a IT Professional (network engineer and some gaming) and use my laptop all day everyday in all sorts of weird and wonderful places and to date (knock on wood) it hasn't let me down once. The biggest gripe i have with mine is it gets a tad hot when i use it for more than 2-3 hours flat out (6-8 apps and 2-3 virtual machines running), the new uni-bodies are much better at heat dissipation and battery life tho so all's good there. gaming wise i played the new (at the time) bio shock on max detail on boot camp with no issues. Also play wow on the OS X side when time permits and that's not an issue either.

The OSX operating system: After many many years of working with windows im pleased to say it has been a joy to work with OS X - the new snowy is clean + fast and has made my laptop feel brand new again. Its nice when something just works and i don't have to mother it along all the time. Granted there is software that will not work like visio but nothing that either VMware fusion or bootcamp hasn't fixed.

On a side note I have been using w7 since beta at home and altho its a massive improvement over vista its still not as polished or reliable as the OS X OS.

I would recommend waiting for the new macbook pro release late 2009? early 2010? with the mobile i7 chips intel just released as that will be the new bench mark in terms of mobile processing speeds for some time to come. I'll be looking at buying a new lappie about that time and it will def be a MBP again no questions asked.

So to sum up : Power wise you will have no issues, compatibility with certain software easily solved with fusion, hardware and software reliability is great (providing you dont get a lemon which does happen). If price is no issue then go all out and enjoy a new experience.

Hope this helps mate please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Cheers
Steve

 

[joshuaone_five]

Hello Pito, I own a macbook pro 15" i have 3.06ghz processer 4gb of ram and 500gb hard drive. i love it I work in the media at my church and constanly fixing the pc's. i have finalcut express, logic express(audio record and editer) and apeturue(for photos). i got the mac because i got tired of windows crashing on my old laptop, i know how reliable macs are i use a g5 desktop everyweekend at church. This is my first acctual mac and i love it i dont go anywhere without it.

joshuaone_five

 

[jennylee8887]

hi Steve,
as u mention about the mobile i7, what is the different between the current 1 and mobile i7?

currently i am looking at the macbook pro 13 (2.26 GHz)...

thank you.
Warmest Regard,
jenny

 

[Maziar]

hi Steve,
as u mention about the mobile i7, what is the different between the current 1 and mobile i7?

currently i am looking at the macbook pro 13 (2.26 GHz)...

thank you.
Warmest Regard,
jenny

Plz don't go off-topic,if you have questions about i7 mobile,then please make a new thread and ask.

 

[godwhomismike]

What is your time frame? I'd recommend sitting back until Thanksgiving to see if Apple releases any Macbook Pros with the new Intel Core i7 Mobile cpus. All of the big name laptop manufacturers are releasing 15"+ laptops with these new quad core laptop CPUs. I would say it would be safe to assume that Apple will follow suit very soon.

The lowest end Core i7 Mobile CPU is said to match and even exceed the performance of the 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo mobile CPU. It's definitely worth waiting up for.

 

[mrkd04]

OK so it's time for me to buy a new laptop. Mine is 4.5 years old it was top of the line back then. Recently I had to re-install Vista after mistakenly formatting my C: drive while using Linux. I had some trouble with Vista before but nothing that drove me crazy. I even sort of defend Vista when people talk crap about it. But now is driving be crazy I don't know what is the problem, explorer keeps crashing. Now I'm considering buying a Laptop specifically a Mac. I'm looking for a honest opinion not from an apple Fan but an apple user. I can't stand that when I ask somebody with a Mac what they think about it, then they go crazy saying that Mac is the best then I find out they pay around 2k for their laptop and when I ask what king of video card, ram or processor they have they don't know. IMO anybody that pay 2k for a system and have no idea what's in it, they are a fan they bought it for the name. FYI, I'm kind of a geek in computer hardware. I've only move around Macs I've never really use one. Money is no problem at all. And Macs has drop in price. I just want a good laptop. I use them all day every day. For music, video, pics, gaming and multitasking on normal use. Please share your opinion with me.

I've been using Windows for over 10 years. You get to know the registry to get rid of hidden startup progs, tweak the start menu and do a lot of other nifty things. You spend time learning how to boot into DOS cause sometimes you've just got those moments when you're left with no other choice. Then you discover the BIOS, when you'd like to start tweaking stuff, or get that planned windows upgrade to work, cause it somehow just won't boot right. We've probably all spent time getting to know how to really take care of your pc. Update your graphics card drivers. Update the sound card drivers. Install that 200MB printer software package. Defrag regularly, Scandisk from time to time, try out some reg-cleaners, tuners, boosters, internet-speed-uppers for a while and then learn to stay away from all of that stuff, and the list goes on and on and on and on...

I feel like it's some kind of art, taking care of your pc. You gotta spend time with it. And the more you know, the more you've got to do. And it's a chore, but you feel good once you've made sure that it's running smooth again.

I needed a laptop for Uni, and I thought I'd try a jump to Apple. That was right before the whole Apple computer craze. I spent a lot of time reading up on the hardware, the software, the experience. And was all so convincing...

Well, now I've had a MacBook pro for nearly three years now. It's been a godsend. It was all just miles ahead of what I've used up to then. I first kinda had a gut feeling that something's wrong, that I was missing something... but then at some point I realised that there was a different philosophy behind the OS. It's designed to just let you concentrate on getting things done, and doesn't present you with all kinds of options & settings to mess around with. It mostly really just works. Example: HP All in one printer with WLAN. I could print & scan wirelessly after the install, which took around 2 minutes. No CD's or downloads and no reboot. Just genius. Leaves your computer uncluttered and let's you get to work.

I kinda realised that I spent way to much time playing around with Windows. Sometimes you gotta learn to let go of all the control that you had with windows to enjoy a mac though. E.g. with photos - I always sorted them in folders. First by category, then by date. Seemed ok then. Now I've got over 20000 photos all organised by iPhoto. Was a leap of faith to delete my origial hierarchy. But iPhoto is great. I love it. Same goes for all the other software that they have.

Not to say that it's a less advanced system - it's got powerful tools - whois, finger, port scan & trace route tools all built into a nice little app, advanced wlan network infos that appear on the tidy, unclutterd list when you hold a key, bla blabla... I could go on and on. Basically, everyone who says that macs are for people who don't know how to use a computer are on the wrong track. You've got all kinds of power tools at your fingertips when you need them.

It does have some shortcomings, but those are just little annoyances, like the maximise button, which doesn't maximise. But you learn to deal with those.

And since you say you also game, you probably to have to install Windows for that. I've got a stripped down XP running over Boot Camp, and it's lightning fast. I've played Crysis, Far Cry 2, stuff like that over it. And they run and look quite well for my now outdated mobile card graphics card. And once gaming is done, you switch back to mac.

Do the jump, and you'll see what I mean - it's all quite refined and elegant and really seems a lot more advanced than Windows XP & Vista. I'm sure Windows 7 is a great improvement over XP and Vista, but I honestly will stick to what I've got until they come out with something that really improves upon the experience I've gotten so far.

Can't say a lot about the new unibodies, but my 2007 MacBook Pro with a Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz intel, 8600M GT and 4 gigs of ram (do yourself a favor and buy some 3rd party ram - you'll save a lot of cash) is awesome. It survived rollercoaster rides, 2-3 drops onto the floor from nearly 2 feet, and all the rough daily trips in my backpack. Extremely happy with the hardware. Quality stuff. And from what I've heard, the new unibodies are even better.

So there ya go - honest experience from a happy switcher, summed up

 

[Guest]

Plz don't go off-topic,if you have questions i7 mobile,then please make a new thread and ask.

Lol. Answering her question may have helped the OP in his quest for a more powerful machine. Was just surfing the net in regards to a new MacBook pro coming out and stumbled on this stupid stupid message board. Bwaahahaha at the guy suggesting to wait for a new MBP back in October. And to the mod guy I just quoted you are a douche. A real imbecile. Thanks guys!

 

[Guest]

dont buy a mac, they are not customizable. apple only allows u to switch out the ram and hard drive without voiding the warranty. pcs, u can replace whatever u want. whatever u can do on a mac, u can do on a pc. most people who buy a mac usually put windows on there system because the programs they want wont work on snow leopard. save yourself the trouble and save money buying a pc because macs are overpriced. apple just wants to make profit off u, thats why there so expensive. if u buy a macbook, u will have to spend extra money on the extended warranty because apple dvd driver break easily. buy a pc save yourself the trouble.

 

[Guest]

dont buy a mac, they are not customizable. apple only allows u to switch out the ram and hard drive without voiding the warranty. pcs, u can replace whatever u want. whatever u can do on a mac, u can do on a pc. most people who buy a mac usually put windows on there system because the programs they want wont work on snow leopard. save yourself the trouble and save money buying a pc because macs are overpriced. apple just wants to make profit off u, thats why there so expensive. if u buy a macbook, u will have to spend extra money on the extended warranty because apple dvd driver break easily. buy a pc save yourself the trouble.

What in the world are you talking about?

Customizing Macs is possible, albeit a tad harder. Windows requires knowledge of the Registry, Control Panel, dll's and Reshacker, CMD, and other core components to fully customize (Like my PC! http/prodo123.deviantart.com/art/MY-WINDOWS-XP-SP3-on-7-15-2010-171467767). Simplified by often-buggy 3rd party programs, users are faced with pretty GUI's at the expense of bugs, errors, and sometimes, viruses and crashes. One example is when WindowBlinds took a dump on my laptop and crashed it (had to reinstall XP). Ever since modifying the System32 folder, I've been getting weird DLL relocation messages. In the end, customizing just looks great, but doesn't make your laptop better.

On the other hand, Mac OS X has most of those customizing features built-in (e.g. Icon customization, Dock mods, etc.). Sure, it's a bit harder, but the cleanliness and legacy of Mac OS X guarantees no errors and bugs in the process.

Customizing the hardware is no different, either. You can replace RAM, video card, CPU, heatsink, even an entire motherboard on a PC. Downside? If done improperly, it will fry your PC or at least get some static damage done. Some components are incompatible. You have to worry about SATA, IDE, and all that compatibility.

Macs are straightforward. Though I am quite disappointed the new MBP 13" have soldered-on CPU's so I can't replace them with a Quad-core, I am perfectly happy with living with a 2.53Ghz i5. You can customize each Mac during purchase, anyway (See Apple's Mac Pro). Search up Hackintosh in Google to see how customizable a Mac really is! Just like PC's you can build one from the ground up!

Of course Macs are expensive, and it's true you could save some money by buying a PC. But think about it, no laptop I have seen have an all-aluminum body, not to mention a unibody. No PC I've seen has a multi-touch trackpad. No laptop I've seen has a pane of glass for its screen. No laptop has holes so small it's invisible, yet it lets light pass through. Apple trades quantity for quality, with the price of, well, the price.

As I remember, most laptop PC's that you can buy with 4+ GB of RAM do not have x64 OS, which diminishes its performance. Snow Leopard itself is 64-bit.

As for the compatibility issue, VMware and Boot Camp fixes that. You can install XP on a Mac, and OS X on a PC, anyway. Apple makes enough money on iPods and iPhones alone that they could abandon the line of computers, so no, they're not looking for the amount of profit you think they want. Finally, true, what you can do on a Mac, you can do on a PC, but what you can do on a PC, you can do on a Mac, too.

I'm a PC Power user. Still, I recommend a Mac over a PC.

 

[The_Prophecy]

This topic has been closed by The_Prophecy