Don't let brand fanboyism/discrimination from either side sway you either way. If there's a product that seems to be what you want, get it don't pay attention to what people think of you buying it.

Plus, if OSX isn't your cup of tea, you can always install windows 7.

 

I've been using computers since DOS and I currently own both PCs and Macs. I've had nothing but awesome experiences with my Mac Pro and Macbook Pro. Actually I'm using my MBP while waiting for my compression fittings to arrive for my PC liquid-cooled build. When I first bought it (2008) I liked it, but wasn't very impressed. Now that I put a SSD in it, I love it! If you're shy about buying a new one because you don't know if you're going to like it or not (like I was) I suggest getting a used on in good shape and throwing a SSD in it. Couple the laptop with an AppleTV and you have a solid streaming solution for anything that's in iTunes. Yes, you can use applications such as Handbrake to re-encode any video to 1080p and stream it on Apple-centric devices. Somehow they've figured out how to get all of your devices to work extremely well together.

My MPB still can't touch my PC for gaming!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by leafonthewind

Plus, if OSX isn't your cup of tea, you can always install windows 7.

At one time I remember the news reporting "The fastest laptop to run Windows 7 is...a Macbook". That was funny as hell, but so true. Windows 7 smokes on my old Macbook Pro.

 

I have PC and Mac here. You can always go into Bootcamp mode to run Windows for specific application if needed then reboot back into OS X. I love both operation systems, each has their own + and -.

OS X is really stable and great for working environment, entertainments but not for games obviously the OS X API level is not really designed for gaming but you can bootcamp into Windows to run games just like on PC.

Work environment is great because of the user interface and workspace managements.

By the way, iOS is a mobile operation system platform.

 

It still depends on the exact nature of work you'll be doing. I like Macs because it is Unix based. The touch pad gestures on the mbp are also the best I've ever seen.

No gaming though. Any slightly intensive game causes mbp to overheat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

I was very anti-Mac for a long time based on price alone, but once I dove in and picked up a MBP, it was all downhill from there. Despite claims of Apple keeping a closed ecosystem, OSX is far more open than Windows. Learning the terminal is easy if you've ever used Linux, the software availability is essentially the same or in some instances, better (see: Iridient Developer) than Windows offerings. The number one thing I love about my Macbooks (the rMBP is my go-to for digital editing since my sig rig is not only way overpowered for editing RAW files it's also, shall we say, less-than-portable) is that the attention to detail is second to none, and if you have any problems, Apple's support is far and away better than that of any PC laptop manufacturer. Sure, they're pricey, but they're not 10-pound laptops with zero battery life and terrible TN panels.

For the record, I'm about as non-partial as it can get when it comes to hardware, as I run three PC desktops at home, two Macbooks, an iPad mini, a Nexus 7 (flo), a Surface RT and a pair of Linux servers. There are things I like and dislike about all of them, but I'm not drawn to any of them in particular (ok, my sig rig for heavy-duty video/photo editing and gaming and the rMBP get the most use

). If you get a chance, go to the Apple store and PLAY with OSX. Let that be your deciding factor -- it took a few months of using my old roommate's MBP to truly appreciate all the dorky stuff I could do with an OS people typically consider as something made for the computer-illiterate.

 

why not? apple hardware is fantastic, stable, and OSX is an excelent OS.
( though you will be frusterated learning it ) but afterwards you'll love it.

apple is one of the few electronic manufacturers that understand the design principle of 'touch points'

My christmas present to myself will probably be a new mb air to compliment my desktop that runs osx/win8

( though i have to say, it seems you buy into the hate bandwagon easily. hate on macs without any reason, and win8 as well it seems )

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sub50hz

I was very anti-Mac for a long time based on price alone, but once I dove in and picked up a MBP, it was all downhill from there. Despite claims of Apple keeping a closed ecosystem, OSX is far more open than Windows. Learning the terminal is easy if you've ever used Linux, the software availability is essentially the same or in some instances, better (see: Iridient Developer) than Windows offerings. The number one thing I love about my Macbooks (the rMBP is my go-to for digital editing since my sig rig is not only way overpowered for editing RAW files it's also, shall we say, less-than-portable) is that the attention to detail is second to none, and if you have any problems, Apple's support is far and away better than that of any PC laptop manufacturer. Sure, they're pricey, but they're not 10-pound laptops with zero battery life and terrible TN panels.

For the record, I'm about as non-partial as it can get when it comes to hardware, as I run three PC desktops at home, two Macbooks, an iPad mini, a Nexus 7 (flo), a Surface RT and a pair of Linux servers. There are things I like and dislike about all of them, but I'm not drawn to any of them in particular (ok, my sig rig for heavy-duty video/photo editing and gaming and the rMBP get the most use

). If you get a chance, go to the Apple store and PLAY with OSX. Let that be your deciding factor -- it took a few months of using my old roommate's MBP to truly appreciate all the dorky stuff I could do with an OS people typically consider as something made for the computer-illiterate.

I was in the same boat as you. When I was younger and in college, I was anti-Apple and 100% a PC guy. Later on I picked up a Mid 2012 rMBP 15" for my video editing and haven't looked back. The attention to detail and the quality is amazing, compared to the terrible plastic laptops from Windows. Not to mention the latest update, OSX Maverick gave my battery another hour or so. There isn't a Windows laptop with similar battery life, thickness, and screen resolution.

 

too expensive for me...my toshiba has served me well for 3 years and counting....less than 500 bucks...

 

I will respectfully disagree with the opinions so far posted.

If you spend half of the cost of a new MacBook on a PC instead, you can get comparable build quality, speed, lifetime, etc.

I'm not talking specs. I'm talking about the quality of screens, hardware, construction, etc.

Any $1500 computer is going to crush a $400 Costco Toshiba with a plastic body and 1366x768 crap screen.

Always compare $ for $. There is literally no price point where a Mac makes sense if you remove the OS from the equation. There is always a non-Apple branded laptop that will do the same job for cheaper and be of equal or superior build quality/screen quality, etc.

 

Pricing on MacBook Pro and Desktop lines are too high compare to other notebook out there but other than that, the hardware and design is solid.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmark2

I will respectfully disagree with the opinions so far posted.

If you spend half of the cost of a new MacBook on a PC instead, you can get comparable build quality, speed, lifetime, etc.

I'm not talking specs. I'm talking about the quality of screens, hardware, construction, etc.

Any $1500 computer is going to crush a $400 Costco Toshiba with a plastic body and 1366x768 crap screen.

Always compare $ for $. There is literally no price point where a Mac makes sense if you remove the OS from the equation. There is always a non-Apple branded laptop that will do the same job for cheaper and be of equal or superior build quality/screen quality, etc.

I needed FCP so it wasn't a question for me, however you do bring up some valid points about the price. MBPs are expensive no doubt but the latest Retina 13" MBPs are reasonably priced @ $1299 and if you have a college email you can get a $100 discount on top of it.

Specs aren't everything for Apple products (OSX being extremely light), it's the experience that makes a big difference between picking a Windows PC vs a Mac, which a lot of users here fail to take into account. Which PC OEM lets you take your notebook to their retail store and get it replaced that day?

And you won't find a comparable Windows laptop (resolution, thickness, construction) that will get as much battery life.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmark2

If you spend half of the cost of a new MacBook on a PC instead, you can get comparable build quality, speed, lifetime, etc.

I'm not talking specs. I'm talking about the quality of screens, hardware, construction, etc.

Show me a $650 unibody aluminum 13" laptop with a 2560x1600 IPS panel.

Quote:

Always compare $ for $. There is literally no price point where a Mac makes sense if you remove the OS from the equation. There is always a non-Apple branded laptop that will do the same job for cheaper and be of equal or superior build quality/screen quality, etc.

Dollar for dollar doesn't apply unless you're a whining PC fanboy. If you want a Mac for the OS, build quality, customer service or one of the other advantages they offer over the typical PC laptop, you pay the premium, simple as that.

 

i guess usage comes into play. 90% of my time is spent on forums, youtube, music and movies. 10% on spreadsheets.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by coachmark2

I will respectfully disagree with the opinions so far posted.

If you spend half of the cost of a new MacBook on a PC instead, you can get comparable build quality, speed, lifetime, etc.

I'm not talking specs. I'm talking about the quality of screens, hardware, construction, etc.

Any $1500 computer is going to crush a $400 Costco Toshiba with a plastic body and 1366x768 crap screen.

Always compare $ for $. There is literally no price point where a Mac makes sense if you remove the OS from the equation. There is always a non-Apple branded laptop that will do the same job for cheaper and be of equal or superior build quality/screen quality, etc.

I already have a PC... I'm well aware of this, that's what has kept me away from macbooks..

But now I'm not a kid anymore lol... I have a real job, and I'm always on the go, and spend a good amount of time on trains, and in cafe's.. I need a laptop... and I don't want to deal with crap, cheap feeling products that I'm used to with 90% of the stuff on display at best buy...

I think I'm going to save... I feel weird saying I'm going to purchase an apple product because I was always the kid rocking the no name mp3 player, or the Zune, xbox, the PC... doesn't feel right buying a mac... lol

Thanks for all the replies guys... Definitly good to know I can load up windows 7 when if I want...

and yeah no gaming would be done on this... just need to be able to do email, and basic internet browsing...youtube etc...

I'm probably going to go buy a mac book... hopefully when I go into best buy I don't have 5 associates with a collective IQ of 10 try tell jam the damn thing down my throat.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirus2012

I already have a PC... I'm well aware of this, that's what has kept me away from macbooks..

But now I'm not a kid anymore lol... I have a real job, and I'm always on the go, and spend a good amount of time on trains, and in cafe's.. I need a laptop... and I don't want to deal with crap, cheap feeling products that I'm used to with 90% of the stuff on display at best buy...

I think I'm going to save... I feel weird saying I'm going to purchase an apple product because I was always the kid rocking the no name mp3 player, or the Zune, xbox, the PC... doesn't feel right buying a mac... lol

Thanks for all the replies guys... Definitly good to know I can load up windows 7 when if I want...

and yeah no gaming would be done on this... just need to be able to do email, and basic internet browsing...youtube etc...

I'm probably going to go buy a mac book... hopefully when I go into best buy I don't have 5 associates with a collective IQ of 10 try tell jam the damn thing down my throat.

No reason to feel weird. Their laptops are extremely solid products, that are surprisingly competitively priced. And the only laptop honestly comparable to something like the MBA2013, would be the Acer Aspire S7 (~$1500), and Acer is going out of business right now (or having serious trouble). And with their MBP's, they really have no peer on the market in terms of price and quality.

My suggestion would be to look into local Microcenter/Fry's, and see if they are running specials on the MBP/MBA, as they generally run them with a price equivalent to Apple Education store pricing. If not, try and search up a local University, and buy it online through said local university, and just have it shipped to your door (or store pickup if you have an Apple store near you).

Also, he is quite wrong on this sentence: "Always compare $ for $. There is literally no price point where a Mac makes sense if you remove the OS from the equation. There is always a non-Apple branded laptop that will do the same job for cheaper and be of equal or superior build quality/screen quality, etc."

If Coachmark2 were talking about desktops, then he would have a point, but their laptops are a WHOLE different deal.

There isn't an non-Apple branded laptop with the same quality/superior quality for cheaper. Apple has an iron grip on that in the laptop market. And are VERY well priced for what you get. Heck, I used to be a Windows guy, but I recently got an MBA, and its been an absolute joy to use, enough to even cause me to use my actual main computer less, than it.

One thing to be aware of, is that they solder the RAM directly onto the motherboard with their laptops, so that isn't upgradeable anymore unless you have spectacular soldering skills. So try and get the highest amount that you can afford. The SSD is, however, replaceable, and generally cheaper than buying directly through Apple. I don't believe they use a proprietary SSD in their laptops.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinaesthetic

One thing to be aware of, is that they solder the RAM directly onto the motherboard with their laptops, so that isn't upgradeable anymore unless you have spectacular soldering skills. So try and get the highest amount that you can afford. The SSD is, however, replaceable, and generally cheaper than buying directly through Apple. I don't believe they use a proprietary SSD in their laptops.

Well if the OP decides to pick up the regular MacBook Pro, he can replace the RAM, hard drive or even add a second hard drive by removing the DVD drive.

 

You can get the student discount just by telling them you're in school and just name a nearby major university. They don't even check for an ID, at least in the Apple store.

 

Thanks for the good info guys, I literally know nothing about them, I know my prior judgement made me ignorant, but I realize now how good a piece of technology they are.

Probably going to get the macbook air... looking at them now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100305 - mac book air

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100275 - macbook pro

these are what i'm looking at... can't really decide... I still don't know if I'll like them so is it worth pay all that for the macbook pro and getting the high res screen with the big ssd and ram? or test the water with the cheaper mba...

idk

 

You want a Mac, buy a Mac. Its as simple as that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boostmachines

At one time I remember the news reporting "The fastest laptop to run Windows 7 is...a Macbook". That was funny as hell, but so true. Windows 7 smokes on my old Macbook Pro.

So you believe a Macbook Pro with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10, memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive, will run Windows 7 faster than a non-Mac laptop with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10 memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive?

Is that what you're saying?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirus2012

Thanks for the good info guys, I literally know nothing about them, I know my prior judgement made me ignorant, but I realize now how good a piece of technology they are.

Probably going to get the macbook air... looking at them now.

Good luck man, I never regretted buying any of my Macs (2007 21" iMac; 2008 Mac Pro dual 2.8GHz; 2008 Macbook Pro 15") and have only had 1 problem with any of them which was a complete board replacement in my old iMac, but that was taken care of in 3 days at the Mac Store.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PR-Imagery

So you believe a Macbook Pro with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10, memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive, will run Windows 7 faster than a non-Mac laptop with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10 memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive?
Is that what you're saying?

Never said that, but here's something to look at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/best-windows-laptop-macbook-pro_n_3155815.html

I was specifically referring to a review when Windows 7 was out and a booting and overall speed/usage comparison was done several years back. Trying to find the article, but I do remember it was a big hoo-hah on the news in the US.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PR-Imagery

So you believe a Macbook Pro with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10, memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive, will run Windows 7 faster than a non-Mac laptop with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10 memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive?
Is that what you're saying?

Its been proven.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57581290-37/macbook-pro-declared-best-performing-windows-laptop/

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by PR-Imagery

So you believe a Macbook Pro with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10, memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive, will run Windows 7 faster than a non-Mac laptop with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10 memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive?
Is that what you're saying?

I was actually referring to a comparison done a few years back; it was a big hoo-hah on the news in the US that a Mac was faster at booting and overall operation of the OS compared to comparably spec'd "PC" laptops.

This is kinda cool though: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/best-windows-laptop-macbook-pro_n_3155815.html. Yes, I also noted the price difference.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jixr

Quote:

Originally Posted by PR-Imagery

So you believe a Macbook Pro with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10, memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive, will run Windows 7 faster than a non-Mac laptop with a i7-2630qm, 8gb ddr3 1600Mhz CL10 memory, a GT650m, 500gb 7200rpm hard drive?
Is that what you're saying?

Its been proven.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57581290-37/macbook-pro-declared-best-performing-windows-laptop/

That report was laughable at best and full of flawed data... it would've been accurate if they compared clean Windows installations to clean Windows installations, and even then it is completely subjective to what individual users run on their machines.

Can't even find that report, remember when it came out months ago; was quite amusing. Soluto themselves even admitted the data wasn't completely accurate.