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Macbook Pro 13" vs (comparable PC)

Forum Laptops & Notebooks : General Laptops & Notebooks - Macbook Pro 13" vs (comparable PC)

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montanabay   06-18-2009 at 03:21:38 AM

Hi All,

Never, ever, thought I'd be getting a Mac, but the new Macbook Pro 13" has me ready to pull the trigger. My question is, what PC out there in the same price range will compete?

The comp needs to be DDR3, >=2.26Ghz, >160GB 5400rpm HDD, and NVIDIA graphics (for CUDA).

The reason I'm so tempted is the academic program Berkeley has with Apple, $100 of the MacPros and a 8GB iPodTouch ($229) free....

so for $1099 I'd get:

13-inch : 2.26GHz
2GB memory DDR3 1066
160GB hard drive1 5400
SD card slot
Built-in 7-hour battery2
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics

+ 8GB iPodTouch...


I'd prefer a Lenovo T400, but they seem to have locked up with ATI.

Thanks!

Josh

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Bronze Laptops badge frozenlead   06-18-2009 at 04:33:53 AM
- -1 +

http://www.sagernotebook.com/produ [...] =customize

That machine while leave the mac in the dust with a processor upgrade, which still leaves it below the price of the mac. You can even throw in an upgraded resolution if you'd like, and still be under the price - with a better CPU, GPU, hard disk, more memory, and still have things like HDMI and a card reader.

------------------------------ Sager NP5793 | T8100 2.1GHz | 4GB DDR2-667 | 8800mGTX 512MB | 320GB 5400rpm | 1920x1200 17", 24" | Win 7 x64
 Reply to frozenlead
cadder   06-20-2009 at 08:01:52 AM
- -1 +

You can find lots of machines to equal or better the Mac's specs and speed for less money. As an exercise you could try configuring a Dell XPS or Latitude, a Sony Vaio, maybe a Lenovo, to have similar specs.

Apple puts a lot of effort into their design and construction and they look really nice. Trying to choose or compare with other machines based on price and specs is not going to be fair and is missing the point a little. It is like comparing a Lexus with an Impala. The Lexus is nicer and more expensive, but the Impala might be faster. If you like the appearance and construction of the Mac, then don't worry about a little extra cost. However I view the Mac vs. other discussion as primarily a matter of which OS you want or need. If you don't need OSX then you might be better off with a PC, then determine how nice of a PC you want to buy.

I don't care about Apple mostly because of their attitude, but I wanted a better than average machine, so I bought a Dell Latitude.

Reply to cadder
Anonymous   06-27-2009 at 04:09:05 PM
- -2 +

"I don't care about Apple mostly because of their attitude, but I wanted a better than average machine, so I bought a Dell Latitude."

Hmm. I guess you like the Microsoft's Attitude of "I want to control everything". Kudos my friend. Welcome to a Microsoft world, where we don't give a ***. If we can not make a better product, we will by the company and put our name on it. We would but Apple, but that would cause us too many problems with this monopoly bull ***. That's the Microsoft Way! I know of another guy who had a similar thought, but I could not quite understand everything he said because, the video footage was from the 1940's in black and white and he was speaking in german. Did you know that Microsoft's' top coders are not American. Well, you do now.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to Anonymous
Bronze Laptops badge frozenlead   06-28-2009 at 04:18:06 PM
- -1 +

....if anything, it's Apple with that attitude.

------------------------------ Sager NP5793 | T8100 2.1GHz | 4GB DDR2-667 | 8800mGTX 512MB | 320GB 5400rpm | 1920x1200 17", 24" | Win 7 x64
 Reply to frozenlead
wonderingwhatis   06-28-2009 at 05:20:25 PM
- -1 +

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspag [...] 8090589096

500GB 7200rpm drive
4GB ddr3
2.4ghz
9400m 256mb
HDMI out

Price $899

I'm not a huge dell fan, but you can get similar specs in a PC for a couple hundred less than a mac generally.

Reply to wonderingwhatis
montanabay   06-28-2009 at 06:47:24 PM
- -1 +

so I put a fake iPod Touch ad on Craig's List, I'd have no problems selling the 8GB for $200, I must have got 20 replays in the first couple hours of posting.

so the true cost of the MacPro 13" would be ~$800 when all is said and done...


whats the word on Windows 7 and Macbook Pros? Are the fully supported yet or is it still using Vista drivers?

Cheers,

Josh

PS:

Lenovo has 15% discount online right the T400

ugh, if it only had NVIDIA graphics!


Message quoted 1 times
Reply to montanabay
halcyon   07-07-2009 at 02:45:04 AM
- -1 +

montanabay wrote :

so I put a fake iPod Touch ad on Craig's List, I'd have no problems selling the 8GB for $200, I must have got 20 replays in the first couple hours of posting.

 

so the true cost of the MacPro 13" would be ~$800 when all is said and done...

 


whats the word on Windows 7 and Macbook Pros? Are the fully supported yet or is it still using Vista drivers?

 

Cheers,

 

Josh

 

PS:

 

Lenovo has 15% discount online right the T400

 

ugh, if it only had NVIDIA graphics!

 


Windows 7 works fine with the Macbook Pros using the Vista drivers. Don't expect Apple to bother with 7 drivers before 7 is at least RTM.
As far as as the PC laptop vs MacBook Pro you can get a cheaper PC. So if having a primarily aluminum and glass laptop with a adjustable backlit keyboard and the ability to run OSX and Windows appeals to you consider the MacBook Pro. If you just need a laptop get a PC laptop.


Message edited by halcyon on 07-07-2009 at 02:45:40 AM
Reply to halcyon
supershibbydude   07-23-2009 at 09:42:08 PM
- 0 +

Anonymous wrote :

Hmm. I guess you like the Microsoft's Attitude of "I want to control everything". Kudos my friend. Welcome to a Microsoft world, where we don't give a ***. If we can not make a better product, we will by the company and put our name on it. We would but Apple, but that would cause us too many problems with this monopoly bull ***. That's the Microsoft Way! I know of another guy who had a similar thought, but I could not quite understand everything he said because, the video footage was from the 1940's in black and white and he was speaking in german. Did you know that Microsoft's' top coders are not American. Well, you do now.




What is wrong with you? Sure, business ethics are questionable, but that's the way large companies operate. Now that apple has a strong presence, they are using tricky business tactics as well. You're just singling Microsoft out because you heard some other people talking about it.

And the Hitler thing? Really?

Reply to supershibbydude
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