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Looking to Buy a Laptop, need help Please. Also, Mac vs. PC.
NeonBlackJack
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey Everyone,
I'm a college student, and I've realized that it would be highly beneficial in this day and age to modernize my work platform. I'm an avid PC Gamer, and built a great gaming rig a year ago that is running Vista and takes care of all my power multimedia requirements such as gaming, music and video. However, it's a desktop and about as far from portable as you can get. What I'm really looking for is a Laptop that I can carry around to all my classes, take notes, do my work, use the internet and have some fun while I'm at it. My school offers discounts from Apple and Dell, so those are the companies I'm mainly considering. I've been a straight PC man my whole life, and have even had some harsh words for Apple in the past. However, the slick Macbook update has caught my eye, and I do a lot of music recording and multimedia editing, which I feel Apple may have superior applications for. Also, I like the idea of being able to dual-boot Vista and Leopard on an Apple computer, so that I can use the best of both worlds.
Here are the three Laptops that I've priced out, based on different desires/price breakdowns:
Dell Studio 15"
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
-Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
-2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 (I'll buy another 2 gigs from Newegg for 30 bucks or so)
-256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
-250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
-Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ Advanced HD Software Edition
-Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 LCD (1920x1200) w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
-2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis w/Accidental Damage Prot.
-All for $1,318.47 w/Tax
Apple Macbook 13"
-Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz
-2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (Once again, I'll buy another 2 gigs from Newegg. I can do that for a mac, right?)
-250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
-SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
-Nvidia 9400M Graphics Chipset
-Applecare Protection Plan
-All for $1,799.74 w/Tax
Apple Macbook Pro 15"
-2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
-2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x1GB (Once again, Newegg)
-250GB Serial ATA @ 7200
-SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
-Nvidia 9400M Chipset w/ Nvidia 9600M GT 256MB GPU
-Applecare Protection Plan
-All for $2,335.81 w/Tax
Clearly these are of slightly different classes. I'm considering the Macbook Pro because of its potential to game and its increased processing power for Music/Video editing and recording, as well as the increased power for dual-booting Vista and running games on that. I mostly do Music recording and editing though, so would the regular Macbook have enough power for that?
The main question though is the Dell vs. the Macbook. The Dell is cheaper, but will I have a better experience/performance on the Macbook?
Also, if anyone knows of other PC builders where I can get a better deal/more customization than the dell, I'd love to know about them.
Thanks for reading the post, and thanks for any opinions/advice you can give.
Thanks again,
Jack
I'm a college student, and I've realized that it would be highly beneficial in this day and age to modernize my work platform. I'm an avid PC Gamer, and built a great gaming rig a year ago that is running Vista and takes care of all my power multimedia requirements such as gaming, music and video. However, it's a desktop and about as far from portable as you can get. What I'm really looking for is a Laptop that I can carry around to all my classes, take notes, do my work, use the internet and have some fun while I'm at it. My school offers discounts from Apple and Dell, so those are the companies I'm mainly considering. I've been a straight PC man my whole life, and have even had some harsh words for Apple in the past. However, the slick Macbook update has caught my eye, and I do a lot of music recording and multimedia editing, which I feel Apple may have superior applications for. Also, I like the idea of being able to dual-boot Vista and Leopard on an Apple computer, so that I can use the best of both worlds.
Here are the three Laptops that I've priced out, based on different desires/price breakdowns:
Dell Studio 15"
-Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
-Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
-2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 (I'll buy another 2 gigs from Newegg for 30 bucks or so)
-256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
-250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
-Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ Advanced HD Software Edition
-Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 LCD (1920x1200) w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
-2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis w/Accidental Damage Prot.
-All for $1,318.47 w/Tax
Apple Macbook 13"
-Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz
-2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (Once again, I'll buy another 2 gigs from Newegg. I can do that for a mac, right?)
-250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
-SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
-Nvidia 9400M Graphics Chipset
-Applecare Protection Plan
-All for $1,799.74 w/Tax
Apple Macbook Pro 15"
-2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
-2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x1GB (Once again, Newegg)
-250GB Serial ATA @ 7200
-SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
-Nvidia 9400M Chipset w/ Nvidia 9600M GT 256MB GPU
-Applecare Protection Plan
-All for $2,335.81 w/Tax
Clearly these are of slightly different classes. I'm considering the Macbook Pro because of its potential to game and its increased processing power for Music/Video editing and recording, as well as the increased power for dual-booting Vista and running games on that. I mostly do Music recording and editing though, so would the regular Macbook have enough power for that?
The main question though is the Dell vs. the Macbook. The Dell is cheaper, but will I have a better experience/performance on the Macbook?
Also, if anyone knows of other PC builders where I can get a better deal/more customization than the dell, I'd love to know about them.
Thanks for reading the post, and thanks for any opinions/advice you can give.
Thanks again,
Jack
NeonBlackJack on
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That is pretty much what netbooks were built for. The most popular/best suggestions are something from the Asus Eee line, and the Acer Aspire One. I think it is worth it to get one with a 6-cell battery, because you can get 4 hours easily running everything all at once. Once you work a little power management into it, 5-6 hours is doable. They are about 2lbs. I use a 901, a nine inch screen Eee, and the tiny keyboard took a few days of getting used to. The 10 inch screen netbooks have a keyboard closer to a fullsize, but I wanted as much portability as I could get.
The biggest downside is there is no optical drive. However, you have a desktop already, so do you reeeally ned an internal drive on your laptop? I've also been incredibly hapy with Ubuntu, a form of Linux. It's very easy to get used to and works incredibly well. I bring this up because some netbooks come with Linux.
There is a thread here titled to be about Eees, but it's pretty much the goto for netbooks. I recall someone in the last 3 pages talking about a netbook that could run COD4.
-Take notes/access the internet in class.
-Be able to do my work from anywhere on campus.
-Listen to music
-Watch Movies
-Play the occasional game, but nothing hardcore like I do on my desktop
So actually...maybe all I am looking for is a netbook.
It would be nice to use my laptop as a mobile music recording station, however. My desktop is working fine for a stationary studio though.
I have an HP tx2510us that's 2 1/2 months old that I haven't been using that I'm looking to sell, and it also might nice for note-taking.
It's a pretty geared towards multimedia as well.
Buy some useless stuff at my Cafepress site!
Geek points aside.
I haven't installed Windows on it yet so I can't say anything about that, but damn everything about this laptop is nice.
Buy some useless stuff at my Cafepress site!
With that said, why such a high budget for a laptop (from what it sounds like) you are using for school shit? Unless you need it to do a specific function that takes a lot of power you should probably shoot for something more limited since your desktop can do gaming and the workhouse deals.
Netbooks I hear so much shit about you'd think it was the spawn of a laptop fucking the devil.
Doesn't include the GFX card but does have more ram, you might be able to add the GFX card on top and still retain the discount.
The smaller (13" and 9") will also be on sale for <$700. In fact, I think the 9" is going to be <$400.
Go here: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1004395
For the full PDF.
Also, I would recommend you not get the glossy screen, sure it looks slightly prettier but it glares like a bitch.
I'm also curious what negative things have been said about netbooks to garner some of the responses here. Sure, some of them are piles of shit, but not all of them.
As I said the Mini 9 is going to be very cheap, keep in mind the SSD is only 4GB but I'm pretty sure it has an SD card slot and a 16GB SD HC card can be had for like $30.
Please don't buy in to the "MAC IS DA BEST" nonsense.
You're not getting anything for all the extra money you spend on it.
As far as netbooks, I've played around with the Acer Aspire One and it's a pretty solid machine. VERY small and lightweight; would easily go into a bookbag or backpack. The keyboard does take some getting used to and I am not a fan of the touchpad design (left and right click buttons are on the left and right sides on the touchpad rather than under it, which is awkward). I wouldn't use one as my main computer, but as an on-the-go computer, a netbook is certainly capable. Especially if you're not planning to do much more than some note-taking, web browsing, e-mail, music, etc. with it.
However, I'm thinking that since I really only have a few weeks left in this semester, maybe it would be wise for me to hold off on my laptop purchase, and see where things stand closer to next semester. After the holidays and whatnot. I don't return to campus until the end of January, so I can see what kinds of new Netbooks drop after the holidays and decide my purchase for next semester. Does that sound like a sound tactic?
I think that around that time new technology will be out and everything will be a bit more expensive, though you might be able to find a deal on one of these when they clearance them, I doubt it would be much cheaper then this.
<$700 for a Dell Studio seems like a steal to me considering they were over 1k only a few months ago.
If I were you I would wait for this Black Friday and see if I'm tempted enough to pull the trigger.
Edit: oh and I got these deals off the site I linked you
I just noticed they have a Laptop Deals thread up now and their wiki had all those, it's not a rumor, Dell's blackfriday deals were just leaked, this is going to happen for sure.
Here's the laptop deals thread. http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=243103&t=1007763
Also keep in mind Macs never go on sale unless a new model will be replacing them within the month and even in that case they're only discounted a hundred bucks...
They currently have a coupon to get $200 bucks off an SR (and they have some other coupons for money off other models) and they have an education discount that you can sign up for now (I think they just started it). I got my machine for $1,200 shipped so it's definitely within your budget.
Maybe since your in college you can get a Macbook with a student discount?
Also note that if money is an issue you don't have to buy apple care right away since you are covered for the first year. Just buy it before your year is up.
Also, I think it will last you a bit longer than anything else that's out there at the moment. Overall, I think the new Macbook has more value then most laptops on the market.
Both the ram and hard disk are easily replaceable on the Macbook and you don't have to buy the ram from apple. Just make sure its good quality and the right kind of ram.
Do not get a Dell. I have not known a single person happy with their Dell, they tend to use really cheap parts. Also, do not get HP. I have one, they use cheap parts and the network card they use is faulty. Mine broke and was replaced twice on a more expensive model.
I do not recommend a Mac especially if you have a windows desktop. Macs do freeze and crash, they like to lie to you and say they don't. They have problems with file sharing with PCs and Linux systems... they tend to crash. Macs also have issues with windows devices. The new macbooks have a new touchpad with multitouch. Multitouch doesn't work well and the tracking on the pad is not as smooth as windows systems. Alt+tab doesn't work well, it crashes your computer sometimes. Window management is weird and makes it hard to find windows you have open that you minimize. The new systems have a glass screen, very hard to look at in very well lit rooms. Also, the new screens use more power in well lit rooms because they amplify the backlight so you can read it. So don't think Macs are perfect like everyone says, they have issues just like windows and some of them can be really annoying.
THIS. Apple typically gives $100-$150 off consumer class machines for students. It's as easy as showing your student ID at the Apple Store, or going to the Apple Store webpage for your college.
No one's saying anything of the sort. If you have to scrape just to get together the cost of the laptop WITH the discount included, then that's one thing, but this guy is pricing out laptops in this price range already, so obviously he's not broke. Even if you can afford it, $100 bucks off is a great thing.
Also at work my Mac is connected to at least 4 PC network drives every day for copying and receiving files and it's really not an issue at all. Again, I've always been a PC user and while I still like them, I am now of fan of Macs as well.
Just another note: when I went to the store to try the laptop out, I was playing with a Macbook was really impressed with it. I didn't realize until I walked to the next table that I wasn't using a Pro.
Buy some useless stuff at my Cafepress site!
Which would be a great point to bring to the table if the question was "Should I Adopt an Apple Fanboy?"
But it's not.
Agreed.
I have the old revision Macbook Pro base model (I got it in July), and it is an amazing machine. Boot Camp is very easy to set up on them, and I am actually in Vista right now (I have to do my college work on the windows side). you get $100 off macbooks, and $200 off macbook pro's with your college discount. When I got mine they also gave me a free $300 ipod touch, which was great
The only thing to warn you about macbook pro's, although I am not sure if it is the same in the new revision or not, but they get HOT. when I am playing World of Warcraft, or something graphics intensive, the bottom will heat up to around 170 degree's F, so it is not something you can keep on your lap.
So many people are saying "don't listen to the mac lovers", and I could say the same about them, "don't lisen to the mac haters". This is the best computer I have ever owned, and at least laptop-wise I could never see myself getting another windows laptop.
For what it's worth, the new unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros stay VERY cool, even when gaming. I was actually shocked it wasn't burning my lap.
that makes me very, VERY sad
I want one :P
I was as shocked as anyone. I'm pretty used to frying eggs on previous-gen MacBook Pros. Whatever the deal is with the heat dissipation, it's amazing. Even my old plastic MacBook gets hotter than the new Pro.
I'm kinda in the market for a laptop too (a flood in the neighbors apartment ruined ours last Friday). The old laptop was.... old, so we're probably only going to get around $500 - $1500 back from insurance, and we're definitely not rich. That said, we're not into buying things that will only last a year or two either. So... is it worth it to shell out the extra cash for a high end laptop? No gaming. Mostly Office, email and internet. Worst case scenario we'll probably be running MatLab. Worse worst case scenario my wife will be watching some HD-Video from work on it.
@DigDug2000
My school offers a bit more substantial of a discount than that, though not quite 20%. If I may change sides and offer advice to you, with the uses you listed for your laptop, I would definitely recommend NOT spending more than the $1500 you get back from insurance, and even if you spend that much, it'll be a way high end computer for what you want to use it for.
Anybody can respond to my responses, of course. I'd love more input.
As it stands last night, with a good night's sleep reflecting my discovery of Netbooks, my desire to wait on a Netbook so that they can be more fully developed/get Windows 7 specifically designed for them, coupled with my desire to use a laptop for multimedia and use both Mac and PC software, is really leaning me towards a Macbook. I agree that I don't want a dell. They've always felt cheap to me and bogged down by corporate marketing (I hate how they restrict customization. As a custom PC builder, that kills me.)
So my new focused question is:
Macbook or Macbook Pro? Pros, cons, worth it?
Oh, and great suggestion about not getting AppleCare right away. I don't really want to pay that right away, and I wasn't aware that there was 1-year coverage included.
Thanks everyone!
I can offer some advice here.
MacBook Pro - bigger screen, better graphics cards. This means it can play Crysis respectably (mid-settings, 30-40fps). It can play Fallout 3 like a champ (mid-to-high settings, smooth as butter). It can play WoW like a beast (settings maxed 100+ FPS). The main benefits are clearly gaming and a larger screen. A backlit keyboard is also a much nicer addition than most people would think. Expresscard slot is a nice, but not a huge selling point. Also has Firewire, which is nice to have around for external hard drives and video cameras.
MacBook - smaller screen, really light, good integrated graphics card, but nowhere near the Pro's. What this means, is that you can definitely play WoW (around 15-40fps, settings maxed), but not Fallout 3 or Crysis. You can also manage some WarCraft 3 and Sims 2 at excellent framerates (haven't checked them, but they seem good with settings quite high). 13" is GREAT for a carry-around notebook. I used an old model black MacBook as my main machine when I was doing on-site consulting/repair for a while, so they can take a beating, and the new ones only seem better in that regard.
tl;dr: Main differences are that you can play super-modern, high-end games on the Pro. You can play Pre-2006 and moderate-spec games on the MacBook. Otherwise most, if not all, the differences are based on physical size and screen resolution, along with a few other minor perks.
My school has a great deal through their store where I can get the 2.4 Ghz Macbook with 3 years of Applecare for $1582, and I think they throw in an Ipod shuffle while they're at it. That's hard to pass up.
Only thing is, how much of a difference does the 5400RPM HDD in the Macbook vs the 7200RPM HDD in the Pro make?
I kinda "side-graded" the drive from the included 250gb 7200rpm drive to a 500gb 5400rpm drive. I haven't noticed a performance difference at all in real world usage (work and gaming). If anything, the 5400rpm keeps things ever-so-slightly cooler.
It's only $500...and it's really cool...and it does everything I NEED, but maybe not everything I WANT...
Ugh...
Okay. I HAVE a great desktop. I do all my gaming on it. I'd only game on the MacBook while traveling.
I want a laptop for school. Taking it to class, doing my projects, using the school's information superhighway all over campus.
The Macbook would probably last me longer, and I'd be able to use it as a mobile recording studio. It CAN play games when I'd want it to...
The Netbook has amazing reviews on Newegg AND CNet...
GAH!
If you don't want to spend the extra money, get the netbook.
But you have the money, so get the macbook :P
Agreed. Either way you're getting a great computer for a good price.