In the Market for a New Laptop

[shogun]

Stay with the MacBook fam, I'm the only few people in my class with a MacBook

How is that possible? Seems like most school kids have macbooks. I would walk through my college's library and 8 out of 10 people had macbooks.

 

[solegit08til]

Dell vostro 3650
Dell XPS

 

[venom lyrix]

what are the pros / cons of the new Dell's

(please don't say "they're not a macbook)

 

[PRIME]

macbook

/thread

 

[lobcity]

HP Envy w/ Beats Audio . 6gb mem . 17 inch screen . 750 GB hardrive for like $700.00. or upgrade w/ a Bluray drive and 1TB hard drive, get some Beats Headphones still under 1200.00

 

[venom lyrix]

saw ^ on amazon for $619

 

[lobcity]

saw ^ on amazon for $619

HP is a very good brand. I think a lot of people get caught up in MacBooks because its Apple and a status symbol. Your paying a crazy price if your just browsing and playing music. But how can you front on a 17 inch screen. I used a Macbook in film school for editing. But my main computer for browsing and music is an HP. Macs are great when your doing a whole bunch big tasks like photoshop/editing/producing etc... I love my HP w/ the beats audio.

 

[venom lyrix]

I'm just weary of HP. And the idea of going back to windows and possibly dealing with viruses and stuff. Never had that kind of issue with Mac.

I'm sort of trying to talk myself into being openminded and look at options other then mac really.

 

[calikev34]

I'm just weary of HP. And the idea of going back to windows and possibly dealing with viruses and stuff. Never had that kind of issue with Mac.

I'm sort of trying to talk myself into being openminded and look at options other then mac really.

i think they're worth the money for that reason alone
like ive never worried once about viruses with my macbook
but last time i had a pc i think it lasted me a year and a half

 

[Nawzlew]

Although it's rare, Macs can get viruses. One of the reasons it's rare is because of the Windows market share.

 

[dontsteponmyshoes]

Unless HP has stepped their game up Id stay away. My HP is only 2 years old and this ***** gets so hot it melted a small hole in my windbreaker pants. Ive also had to replace the battery twice!

 

[tekthemaestro]

if I'm not editing video or music do I really need a macbook pro?

I know it's bigger and has more space but for someone who uses a laptop for writing, net, film watching should i step it up to the pro?

honestly you sound like you already understand the truth behind this debate from your wording. everyone here is suggesting a macbook, but theres no concrete reason why. macbooks are the most expensive facebook status updaters out. people say you dont catch viruses on em, unless youre constantly downloading torrents, a free-porn addict, or really think you have chances at winning those pop-up sweepstakes...youre not going to encounter a virus.

you already know in the back of your mind you dont need a mac for what you want to do. save the money. opt for something else. if youre dead set on purchasing a mac, understand its certainly not for the tasks it can perform.

 

[tekthemaestro]

Unless HP has stepped their game up Id stay away. My HP is only 2 years old and this ***** gets so hot it melted a small hole in my windbreaker pants. Ive also had to replace the battery twice!

what? it gets that hot and you didnt think to have the entire thing replaced under warranty?

 

[venom lyrix]

honestly you sound like you already understand the truth behind this debate from your wording. everyone here is suggesting a macbook, but theres no concrete reason why. macbooks are the most expensive facebook status updaters out. people say you dont catch viruses on em, unless youre constantly downloading torrents, a free-porn addict, or really think you have chances at winning those pop-up sweepstakes...youre not going to encounter a virus.

you already know in the back of your mind you dont need a mac for what you want to do. save the money. opt for something else. if youre dead set on purchasing a mac, understand its certainly not for the tasks it can perform.

This has certainly crossed my mind. But the issue still is what is a better / more affordable alternative that will perform at equal to better rates as the macbook?

 

[milestailsprowe]

Wow I must be the only one on Niketalk who loves the Chromebook. looking at these response. The Acer C720 does everything I could want out of a laptop outside of extreme CAD work and big 3D games but thats whatever.

If OP has been using Mac for years then keep to that. Changing ecosystems is hard

 

[tekthemaestro]

This has certainly crossed my mind. But the issue still is what is a better / more affordable alternative that will perform at equal to better rates as the macbook?

ill be honest with you. if all youre doing is listening to music, writing, internet, and watching movies... any recent laptop has the stats you need, because none of those are cpu hogs, you dont even need more than 4gb of ram. now you say you store alot of music and ill assume movies too for the heck of it. you CAN NOT accept 64gb. 128gb should be your minimum. if you like to multitask alot, an i5 is your minimum processor. if you dont multitask alot you can settle for an i3. imo, i5 or greater period. its always better to have too much than too little.

all in all, your minimum laptop would be:

4gb ram

128gb hd

intel i5

battery life ?

those are very basic requirements. you wont see the benefit of a macbook until youre running pro tools, final cut pro, AND autocad at the same time. if youre really trying to go tit for tat with the macbook line, then the Acer Aspire S7 or sony vaio pro (find a deal on it first) is your answer. Youll save a couple hundred and match or beat the macbook.

 

[jking0821]

good stuff tekthemaestro thats basically what i have been looking for around $400.

I want a 5th gen haswell but they are hard to come by at that price range. A lot of the 4th gens are on sale but the small things i need are screen size and good resolution and that has been keeping me from pulling the trigger on a couple of laptops that fit my personal specs which are basically what you stated....except i have a 500gig external HD so i don't need the 128gigs and id like it to be upgradedable to an SSD if possible.

Still waiting for that perfect deal

 

[tekthemaestro]

$400 for the new haswells? i cant even imagine it at this point. personally i dont even rock with laptops lol. my girl is trying to convince me to get a tablet but egh. i have no need for one. i have my super desktop and it eats everything else up pretty much. its a year or 2 old now (dont even remember) and is still more than keeping up with all the new computers and laptops that are dropping.

16gb ram

1tb HD with 2 more slots to add more

intel i7

bla bla bla you get it lol

cost me $1300 from dell and came with a free xbox 360. cant beat it.

 

[venom lyrix]

got a 750 gb WD external from Sears for $44.

 

[venom lyrix]

ill be honest with you. if all youre doing is listening to music, writing, internet, and watching movies... any recent laptop has the stats you need, because none of those are cpu hogs, you dont even need more than 4gb of ram. now you say you store alot of music and ill assume movies too for the heck of it. you CAN NOT accept 64gb. 128gb should be your minimum. if you like to multitask alot, an i5 is your minimum processor. if you dont multitask alot you can settle for an i3. imo, i5 or greater period. its always better to have too much than too little.


all in all, your minimum laptop would be:
4gb ram
128gb hd
intel i5
battery life ?


those are very basic requirements. you wont see the benefit of a macbook until youre running pro tools, final cut pro, AND autocad at the same time. if youre really trying to go tit for tat with the macbook line, then the Acer Aspire S7 or sony vaio pro (find a deal on it first) is your answer. Youll save a couple hundred and match or beat the macbook.

great info thanks I'll get to work on this

 

[venom lyrix]

any other suggestions?

 

[andycrazn]

aspire v5 or v7 dude. nothing else imo beats those price points with those specs

 

[venom lyrix]

I'm very against Windows 8

 

[Fozz]

I'm very against Windows 8

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Windows 8 either.

 

[createdestroy]

mac hardware (casing/screen) is better designed than almost all PC's
mac and PC internals (processor/drives) are equal in terms of performance and quality.
PC internals (processor/drives) cost less than mac ie. more power for less money.

OS X is equal in terms of functionality with windows 7.
-windows 7 has slightly superior file browsing interface
-OS X runs into significantly less viruses/spyware
-Compatibilty with printers/routers/peripherals is about equal. Windows 7 seemlessly intergrates and recognizes most as does OS X.

For a laptop I would choose a Macbook Pro.
-You can get a faster PC laptop for the price of a Macbook
-The hardware (touchpad/screen/battery life/weight/reliability) makes the price difference worth it.
-Most PC laptops feel plasticky and cheap compared to the Macbook.
-Gaming laptops look like %$#% and the battery life is just as ugly.
-The HP Envy line approaches the hardware quality of the Macbook but fails to match the Macbooks battery life/touchpad quality/firewire capability.
-All functions on the Macbook work very well.... close lid (macbook sleeps).. open lid (macbook wakes up).. battery dies COMPLETELY mid-session (plug charger in and, returns to same session) PC's tend to fail in these areas (usually buggy)

For a desktop I would choose a Windows 7 based PC
-Higher end components for cheaper price.
-Aesthetics don't really matter (you aren't going to carry tower around)
-Easier and cheaper to upgrade and maintain.
-You can get a faster computer + bigger screen than a relatively priced Mac.


The desktop difference is really just the operating system.(MAC Pro has no significant mechanical superiority)
OS X lost its edge when Windows 7 dropped.

If you:
-Have no idea what to do if you get a virus/spyware = GET A MAC
-Want to play the latest games on your computer = GET A PC
-Want a laptop to do things other than gaming = GET A MAC (trust)