5 Laptops that Destroy the New MacBook Pros

[emtownsend]

Snow Leopard only costs $29 new, so Apple can't say the price premium is due to OSX... I love my Macs, writing on one now, but I too think Apple prices are out of hand in today's market.

 

[restatement3dofted]

Nice article, Tuan.

A lot of people still linger under the misconception that because something has the Apple logo tacked onto it that it's somehow a superior piece of technology, that it somehow performs its functions better than products that don't bear the almighty glowing fruit.

Now that Apple computers are built almost exclusively using hardware manufactured by other companies, what you'll find under the hood is rarely different from the guts of a PC. Having moved away from purely proprietary hardware, the only distinguishing features are the operating system, aesthetics, and cost - and battery life, as noted.

Oddly enough, though, the myth of superior Apple hardware lives on in a lot of people.

E: Awwwwwww, I'm sorry that facts are so unpleasant, downvoters! Whether you want to accept it or not, under the hood, most of your Apple's parts are the same (if not a bit older) than the parts of the PC laptop across from you at Starbucks.

While I'm primarily a PC user these days, I also own an Apple, and there hasn't been a time in the last 15 years that I haven't - but that doesn't stop me from recognizing that the hardware isn't any different anymore. Facts are facts, I'm sorry they make you such sad pandas.

 

[Be0wulf22]

I argued in favor of PCs for years, I was just like many of you. I became a mac user when Leopard came out about two years ago. Now I wouldn't trade it for any of the competitors mentioned here. Yes, there are cheaper PCs with higher specs. But you have to look at the whole package. Build quality, stability, ease of use, customer support. Check Consumer Reports. And no, I'm not a non-technical person. I admin windows servers by day, have microsoft certs, and a masters in computer science. just my 2 cents.

 

[Tomtompiper]

Why if the Macbooks are so poor do people still buy them? could it be that for some things Mac OS is simply better and the extra money is justified? Grow up people there is room for more than one flavour of computer in the world, get over it.

 

[tuannguyen]

[citation][nom]mianmian[/nom]Mackbook pro 15" : 5.6lbASUS G Series G51JX-A1 7.26lb Alienware M15x: Starts at 9 poundsDell Studio XPS 16: 6.5lbSony VAIO VPCF113FX/H: 6.9 lbsEveryone knows the lightweight of notebook comes at price.Only comparing spec is stupid pointless for notebooks.[/citation]
You're right. I added in weight comparo. Thanks!

 

[Euphoria_MK]

Too true, I mean really $500 for a couple extra hours? Not worth my hard earned green. Also most of that extra battery life is probably dependent on limiting power and performance on the hardware, I'm willing to bet that if you ran all of those laptops at full capacity the difference in battery life would be much less impressive.

Same goes for the PC laptops... any way you look at it you can spend another $100 - $150 and get an extra battery that you need to carry along with your 10 pound laptop or you can stare at a black screen after watching one movie...

 

[littlec]

[citation][nom]Euphoria_MK[/nom]Correct,and what is the point of buying a laptop if you are not buying it for mobility, which means it needs to be light, sturdy and have a great battery life... 13 inch and maybe 15 is the way to go.I laugh at those 17 inch and 18 inch laptops. I might as well build two desktop PCs with twice the performance for that money. I can't imagine someone dragging around a 10 pound laptop with them all day. Lol... you might as well put some wheels on them and roll'em around[/citation]

Really? 10 pounds? are you weak? how did you get through school without books? I'm just saying that 10lbs is nothing. I barely feel the difference between my G4 macbook and my 17 inch gamer. Weight is only an issue for people who like to complain about things sorry.

 

[Rich_H]

Most of these laptops have great specs but are not built well. Try traveling every day with them for a year and see how they hold up. The MacBook Pros are much more expensive but are better built. This isn't about the chips and the memory. It is about the rigidity of the case, the quality of the display, the soldering of the motherboard.

I use to go through a laptop every 9 months. After 18 months my macbook pro is as good as new.

For people who leave it on a desk, the others are probably fine

 

[tayb]

I don't know why other companies can't get better battery life. We have a 15" Macbook Pro in my house (among many other computing devices) and the thing gets 7+ hours of battery life in light usage. My thinkpad with the bulky extended battery in the back and a modular battery in the drive tray can only manage 5-6 hours if I'm lucky. I just don't get it.

 

[pojih]

gf wants one, she just doesn't get it.

I showed her this article - she said she wants the battery life.

Her computer is never far from the wall now...

/sigh

 

[bliq]

The one thing that's important to professionals like myself is the weight. the lightest of your macbook beaters is 1.5 lbs heavier than the mbp. That's a difference that's noticeable. Also, the MBPs have 8-9 hour batteries, also a big plus for professionals. Not that I don't like wintels. I like many of the CULV netbooks. I'm trying to decide between an m11x and a 1810t for my personal laptop.

 

[Be0wulf22]

[citation][nom]emtownsend[/nom]Snow Leopard only costs $29 new, so Apple can't say the price premium is due to OSX... I love my Macs, writing on one now, but I too think Apple prices are out of hand in today's market.[/citation]

Hmm..you star by saying Apple priced something at "only" a certain price...and end with "apple prices are out of hand".

So, you are bashing them because they priced their OS upgrade way too cheap compared to the hardware? How much is the latest Windows?

 

[littlec]

[citation][nom]dkprnce[/nom]Seriously are you pc boys still doing this? Like it or not there is a difference. I have a 5 year old macbook powerPC. the battery finaly gave out and I've kicked bent and warped the power cord plug so much that im sure its a fire hazard. Do you know what I never have to do? RESTART from a crash. or repair a virus riddled HD. My laptop stays on and plugged in (all beit, dangerously I'm sure) 24hrs a day and for the last 2 years I've never had a crash. THAT is the difference!![/citation]

All of those problems are because of OPERATOR ERROR, it's not the PCs fault the user is a nub. I've been virus and crash free for over 5 years.

 

[nevertell]

You get the premium of running macos. Well, legally at least.

 

[jonpaul37]

So, i wonder why Dell doesn't just use Aluminum for their notebooks and use better batteries, it really won't cost them much as they have all that stuff made in China and i'll bet they STILL charge FAR FAR less than Apple. Again, not that i support Dell, it's just Dell is my best friend when it comes to Apple, LOL

Dell sells ..... for a high price
Apple sells .... with whipped cream on it for a much higher price

Either way, if i had one choice, it's still ....., i would go with the Dell with the lower price

And if anyone trys the "Mac OSx is far superior" arguement, they are dead wrong, Windows 7 is just as good, if not better.

Thank you, drive thru!

 

[Hilarion]

The "Apple Experience" is a flatter wallet for unexceptional or lower performance. I'd rather spend that money elsewhere.

 

[Euphoria_MK]

[citation][nom]littlec[/nom]Really? 10 pounds? are you weak? how did you get through school without books? I'm just saying that 10lbs is nothing. I barely feel the difference between my G4 macbook and my 17 inch gamer. Weight is only an issue for people who like to complain about things sorry.[/citation]
I assume you dont move around much... Try traveling coast to coast with your backpack and going through security check points with extra 10 pounds on your back... you'll know what I am talking about...
Every pound counts. Plus I hate that plastic is not very sturdy. On my old 14 inch Dell laptop I got my screen damaged. Then I had a 12.1 inch Dell which was better for traveling but battery was still pain in the ass.
Then I ebayed it and got myself a 13 Macbook Pro. I love it. I run MacOs X with Win 7 for some work apps and Fedora 12. Flying New York to San Francisco with only one charge kicks ..., plus I like how sturdy but light the case feels.
Cheers

 

[bliq]

this article is quite the hatchet job- not at all unbiased. it's an op-ed piece. weight, build quality, battery life, and appearance are all very important aspects to consider when buying a laptop, not just "personal preference" and a point here and there. Not everyone needs an extra one or two hundred mhz or 8G vs 4G of RAM. These laptops are being judged apparently solely on gaming capability and raw CPU speed, areas that MBPs are not necessarily focused on while the windows machines have a clear slant. If you want to compare, do application tests- the slower CPU in a mac may be faster with specific apps than a windows machine with a faster CPU. Or maybe compare to see if browsing, email, and office app use is any faster with the windows vs mbp machines since that's what the vast majority of people use laptops for. What about HD video playback? I don't understand why people on this site hate macbooks so much- they're actually very good computers that don't crash a lot and often make work easier for engineers like myself when working with non-MS OSes and software.

 

[Yoder54]

One component that MBP's have that PC's cannot come close to is the trackpad. After using a MBP trackpad it seems almost Neanderthal to use a HP or Dell laptop. Also, what Windows OS do the above come with and was that included in the price?

For those slamming the 17" laptops they need to realize that some of us need the screen space for the work we do. Even with a 24" monitor attached it does not seem like enough sometimes, and 6.6 pounds is not that much to tote around. Hell, I am sure many here carry more than that amount in extra body weight.

 

[JonathanDeane]

[citation][nom]tuannguyen[/nom]Banned for signing up just to troll.[/citation]

Thank you!!! I love a good joke but that one is just worn out, at least with the Chuck Norris jokes there was something resembling variety.

 

[Yoder54]

[citation][nom]nforce4max[/nom]Its (sic) Teaparty (sic) time in the Boston harbor (sic) again.Along with an MacBook I'll toss in the recently passed and unfinished health care bill.[/citation]

Yikes, must you pollute us with your horrid command of the English language and your myopic politics?

 

[tuannguyen]

[citation][nom]bliq[/nom]this article is quite the hatchet job- not at all unbiased. it's an op-ed piece. weight, build quality, battery life, and appearance are all very important aspects to consider when buying a laptop, not just "personal preference" and a point here and there. Not everyone needs an extra one or two hundred mhz or 8G vs 4G of RAM. These laptops are being judged apparently solely on gaming capability and raw CPU speed, areas that MBPs are not necessarily focused on while the windows machines have a clear slant. If you want to compare, do application tests- the slower CPU in a mac may be faster with specific apps than a windows machine with a faster CPU. Or maybe compare to see if browsing, email, and office app use is any faster with the windows vs mbp machines since that's what the vast majority of people use laptops for. What about HD video playback? I don't understand why people on this site hate macbooks so much- they're actually very good computers that don't crash a lot and often make work easier for engineers like myself when working with non-MS OSes and software.[/citation]
I updated the article to include weight. My apologies. At home today with a bad cold! :]

 

[falchard]

Top Dog in consumer laptops is still the Asus G73JH-A1.

 

[vant]

I don't think PC laptop owners get it. I've gone through countless PC laptops (latest was a Tecra M7 tablet) and it's becoming apparent to me that ease of use, battery, and weight are the most important factors when using a laptop.

If you game on a laptop, stay away from Macs. If your just editing word documents, doing presentations, taking notes (like I do) a MacBook makes much more sense. Not only is the battery life and weight immensely helpful, OSX seems to be designed with laptop users in mind.

Here are some areas which help me greatly when using my MBP because of OSX:
1. Enlarged trackpad: I don't have to 'finger run' when I try to move my mouse across the screen.
2. Multitouch gestures. It doesn't get any sweeter then here folks. Three finger swipe back = Back, forward = forward. No more clicking forward or back buttons. No more hitting delete to go back. Four fingers down = reveal everything (very nice). Four fingers up = reveal desktop. Two fingers to scroll (best scrolling technology in the world). You can also combine the forward/back swipes with the command key to open new tabs based on the page you wanted to go to.
3. Sleep. Have you used sleep on OSX yet? It's faster then Windows. You close the lid, it sleeps. You open the lid it instantly comes on, NO LOADING BAR! NO WAITING!
4. No bloatware. No need to run any virus scans (because viruses/trojans are less predominant but still exists).

All these benefits are easily worth the 'premium'/'apple tax' that comes with the laptops. I didn't buy it because it was 'pretty' and I don't care much for brands. I bought it because I was forced to used one for a few days and I was amazed at the speed that I could do things compared to my Windows laptop. If Windows based laptops picked up all these features, I might just come back but for now MacBooks are clearly superior in the laptop game. Yes it sucks at specs, but specs are far from everything. I'll gladly take a 20% slower processor, if it means I can use multitouch shortcuts.

 

[climber]

Dekstop or laptop, you can always get a more powerful (hardware) based system that is way more upgradeable (desktop) than a Mac, the same goes for a laptop. Compare a Eurocom system maxed out for a workstation or a gaming rig, and a Macbook... no comparison. For the same dough, you get more bang for your buck on a PC, you just don't get the "air of superiority"... 😉