Buying MacBook Pro makes sense?

[cyberboy_varad]

Without making this another OS X vs Windows thread, just some personal opinion on your research to clear up some misconceptions. Interface is completely subjective but in general the interfaces are very similar, with some minor quirks. Lion has an edge on multi-touch, but all of it can be emulated on Windows 7 with the latest touchpad drivers. Search, pretty much neck and neck. Windows 7's indexing is slightly faster, but again, very minor differences. The start menu search works just as well as Spotlight. Multimedia - Windows 7 wins hands down. It's an absolute no contest. One of my major gripes about OS X is the horrible GDI, the lack of a single good video renderer and no GPU acceleration. On Windows you have MPC-HC, EVR, MadVR, DXVA, AVISynth, dozens of players and filters, etc. which makes video a far superior experience. On OS X the best player is VLC which sucks, quite frankly, thanks to its archaic renderer, walled in decoders and constant gamma shifts. But it depends on how much of an enthusiast you are. I work in the film industry so I am anal about video quality. OS X can play all your videos and music fine for sure - just Windows will do it much, much better. Oh, and did I mentioned OS X's GDI is locked down to 8-bit? If you have a 10-bit monitor/HDTV, don't look at OS X. Security - once again, Windows 7 is far more secure than OS X. Like a hacker once put, Windows is like living inside a well guarded prison in the middle of a war torn nation while OS X is like living in an open country with no locks. What that means is the only reason OS X is perceived to be more secure is simply because it is much less attacked due to its low market share. But if someone wanted to exploit your computer, OS X and Safari are easy pickings and always the first to fall in hacking competitions. This is also why OS X is banned from many networked workplaces. Backup - functionally identical but Lion has a much cooler interface in Time Machine. Quality - not sure what this means? On Windows 7 front - don't see how web browsing is an advantage, and multitasking is again subjective. I know people who feel OS X / Launch Control is slightly easier to multitask with (I disagree, it can't get easier than Win+#). There's a massive, massive list of things Windows can do that OS X can't but I feel many of it won't be relevant for your purposes.

In the end, it is up to you. For your usage, this is what Windows will do better - Movies, Photoshop. What both will do just as well - Blogging, surfing, downloading. What OS X will get you is a new experience and a change as it is clear you are tired of Windows. I would have recommended Ubuntu or Linux Mint but you won't get Photoshop natively.

Quality words. You have a point. So not taking this to OS level debate, I've made my mind to install Windows 7 using Bootcamp.

For your purpose a MBP with a ssd will be the best option.

DO NOT get into the Mac vs.Windows thing...it is basically a nonsense debate.

Go,get a Mac,you won't regret it.

Only problem is that,you will hate most Windows laptops(not Windows)for the rest of your life.

Windows 7 is decent enough,but the Windows laptop manufacturers simply do not know how to make a good worry free machine.

You will not find a single decent lightweight Windows laptop in 60-70k.

Most are either so called gaming machines,ugly...heavy...below average screen with extremely poor build quality.Or Thinkpad or latitude like thick and heavy.

Windows ultra books are even worse...as useless as Android tablets.

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+1. The hardware and software makers are the same for MacBook, so the combo of both seems to make a worry free machine. MBP weight's approx. 2kg, there are many Windows laptops which weight the same or little less but their built quality is poor. Just today had a look on Dell XPS 13 (Ultrabook), its as costly as an mid end gaming notebook.

For all those ranting on ivy, not only it will bring HD4000 (a great improvement over HD3000), but it will also noticeably lower the TDP, which will result in more efficient notebooks with longer battery back ups. #cyberboy_varad IMO you must wait for Ivy.

Thanks for the input. Waiting for Ivy is better option from all sides, only thing is once refreshed these MBP's should reach India soon.

I have a few suggestions to make:

> The battery life on MBP even the sandy bridge powered one is very good to excellent. For a general purpose notebook for internet usage like blogging,youtubing etc nothing comes close to it. Also that touchpad... Once you use it all others start looking like shrunken jittery ones..

But If you are also using boot camp then the battery life will take a hit when running windows...

>The thing(MBP 13") is heavy. The specs may say 2 Kg but do check it out in a store before you commit . All that metals does feel good and screen and speakers are excellent,But if you are looking for something mobile that you are going around to lug everyday then every gram counts..

What I will suggest is either get the Air or wait for the nex gen Mbook Pro. Anyways its a win win situation unless you want a notebook right now../.

You have got the point. Battery life is excellent on Mac OS X and luckily my use suites the best. Yes, even I've read somewhere that Windows 7 with Bootcamp will reduce the backup. But that's only when I'm using Windows which will be very rare in my case.

Now since my other considerations include portability, I'll definitely wait for the Ivy as it will bring both performance upgrade along with portability (as they are removing the optical drive). I'm in a winning situation since I'm buying MBP only after May, that's when my exams are over.

Well anybody knows when does refreshed Mac's reach India? iPod's, iPhone's and iPad's take month or more, is the same with Mac's?

Get an MBP and have both Mac OS and Windows on it and use whichever one you want. As far as laptops/portables are concerned, MBP's have in general better build quality than the competition and definitely worth the price. Do note however that the internal hardware itself is standard stuff and comparable to any Dell or HP and made on the cheap in Chinese factories just like the others. The external build quality is still enough to make it a worthwhile purchase.

The OS itself is a different matter altogether. Mac OS is no longer the OS that it used to be. From being a OS preferred by professionals (graphics, page layout etc) , it has become a OS used by novice users with most sane enterprises starting to ditch Mac OS for Windows. As far as I am concerned, Mac OS X Panther is the last decent Mac OS version. The newest Mac OS versions work alright only when they are fresh out of the box, make a developer/professional/power user kind of setup out of it and the OS is no longer stable. The last BSOD I encountered on Windows was in 2004 and was caused by a hardware issue. On the other side however, after I started using Tiger on my iMac at work, it used to hang/crash every day. Also critical apps like Finder used to crash on a regular basis. Boot up used to take 5~7min. Mind you this was not a out of the box setup however as it was configured similar to what a page layout professionals setup is like. I have a Windows setup on the same iMac configured in a similar and it used to perform considerably better and much more stable. Even if windows used to slow down sometimes, it at least never crashed on me or required me to to do a hard reset like Mac OS used to do.

Since you are novice user yourself, all this shouldn't matter to you, so as I said get yourself an MBP and you can use whichever OS you prefer.

Looks like your experience with Mac OS X is bad. But here I've decided to Bootcamp my Mac for better usage.

1. 24/7 Downloading - Good luck keeping the MBP on 24/7. Those things heat up mad mad when the lid is shut and if used 24/7. Your battery will also die out pretty fast

2. There is no HDMI - Using MiniDisplay to HDMI will only transfer the Picture. NO AUDIO!

I am sorta in the same boat as you. Have started detesting PC Laptops. Unfortunately so far this (MBP) seems like the only alternative.

Ivy Bridge will bring changes in the TDP so hopefully the heating and battery part will be fixed there. Else, I use ASUS RT-N13U WiFi router, it has capabilities to download directly on external media without keeping the PC on.

The newer MBPs and MBAs support sound thru the mDP. You need the right adapter.

http://support.apple...iewlocale=en_US

So this makes my usage still better. Instead, AirPlay makes a better alternative. I'll have to go through its setup or else this adapter will work.

 

[red dragon]

1. 24/7 Downloading - Good luck keeping the MBP on 24/7. Those things heat up mad mad when the lid is shut and if used 24/7. Your battery will also die out pretty fast

2. There is no HDMI - Using MiniDisplay to HDMI will only transfer the Picture. NO AUDIO!

I am sorta in the same boat as you. Have started detesting PC Laptops. Unfortunately so far this (MBP) seems like the only alternative.

1.I have kept mine turned on for weeks together(do not even remember when I turned it off,probably after a SW update a month ago)

Even an idiot will not try to download 24*7 with the lid closed.

2.The audio issue was resolved way back in 2009...no point talking about it in 2012.

Why waste time posting useless stuff?

 

[dafreaking]

Ivy Bridge will bring changes in the TDP so hopefully the heating and battery part will be fixed there. Else, I use ASUS RT-N13U WiFi router, it has capabilities to download directly on external media without keeping the PC on.

I was talking about the fact that if you want to use it as a 24/7 download machine it is impractical. Battery will die quicker is you would either leave it plugged in most of the time or use up more battery cycles fast. (charge-discharge-charge). The router option is much much better.

1.I have kept mine turned on for weeks together(do not even remember when I turned it off,probably after a SW update a month ago)

Even an idiot will not try to download 24*7 with the lid closed.

2.The audio issue was resolved way back in 2009...no point talking about it in 2012.

Why waste time posting useless stuff?

1. Most laptops can be kept with their lids closed without interfering with ventilation. Also keeping it turned on and keeping it on sleep is a different thing. If you have actually not turned it off for over a month, a. you need to get out of your house more. b. isnt the battery life still just absolutely amazing? Only an iDiot will buy a 60K+ computer and use it as a download rig.

2. Thanks to deepakrao's link that has been cleared. My experience was with a late 2009 purchase. The link also mentions that it was resolved Mid 2010 with the MBPs.

Why waste time posting useless stuff if someone has already corrected the facts?

 

[red dragon]

I was talking about the fact that if you want to use it as a 24/7 download machine it is impractical. Battery will die quicker is you would either leave it plugged in most of the time or use up more battery cycles fast. (charge-discharge-charge). The router option is much much better.

1. Most laptops can be kept with their lids closed without interfering with ventilation. Also keeping it turned on and keeping it on sleep is a different thing. If you have actually not turned it off for over a month, a. you need to get out of your house more. b. isnt the battery life still just absolutely amazing? Only an iDiot will buy a 60K+ computer and use it as a download rig.

Oh really,please name a few which runs cool with lids closed and not put to sleep.

It's not only me,but most of the MBP users(barring a few OCDs)do not turn it off for months together.

Regarding going out,Man!You have no freaking idea,how much do I have to travel,travelled almost half the world in last 3/4 weeks and did not turn the laptop off completely for a single second....and yes,the battery is still good for a 2.5 years old C2D machine on Lion.

From where do you get the idea that I bought the MBP for downloading only?

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[dafreaking]

Most laptops that Have vents at the bottom and side can run ok with the lids closed. I never said you bought it to use as a 24/7download rig. The OP stated that one of his uses were 24/7 downloading. I am just saying that a MBP is impractical for that. I too haven't turned 'off' my Dell for a while. I believe that a MBP can stay in a 'sleep' state for 3-4 days before the battery runs out. That means 1 charge cycle in 4 days. If you were to run it normally 24/7 i.e. NO SLEEP you would consume many more cycles resulting in your battery life deteriorating much faster.

 

[sunny27]

Oh really,please name a few which runs cool with lids closed and not put to sleep.

It's not only me,but most of the MBP users(barring a few OCDs)do not turn it off for months together.

Regarding going out,Man!You have no freaking idea,how much do I have to travel,travelled almost half the world in last 3/4 weeks and did not turn the laptop off completely for a single second....and yes,the battery is still good for a 2.5 years old C2D machine on Lion.

From where do you get the idea that I bought the MBP for downloading only?

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Well the laptops I have owned all run cool through the night with the lid closed while downloading stuff. I have owned 3 laptops (MSI Cr400x, HP Dm1z, Thinkpad X220) and have never had issues with heat. Although the MSI Cr400x used to heat up if not kept on a flat surface due to the position of the heating vents.

You apple fanboys should consider using better products once in a while before commenting on them.

 

[avi]

Battery will die quicker is you would either leave it plugged in most of the time or use up more battery cycles fast. (charge-discharge-charge).

Sorry for OT, but I read keeping it on always on mains doesn't affect battery. given that one has to discharge it once in every month

 

[dafreaking]

Sorry for OT, but I read keeping it on always on mains doesn't affect battery. given that one has to discharge it once in every month

Even I thought that it wouldn't. It keeps happening with me though. I will be more than happy to be wrong about this.

 

[RS4]

Oh really,please name a few which runs cool with lids closed and not put to sleep.

It's not only me,but most of the MBP users(barring a few OCDs)do not turn it off for months together.

Regarding going out,Man!You have no freaking idea,how much do I have to travel,travelled almost half the world in last 3/4 weeks and did not turn the laptop off completely for a single second....and yes,the battery is still good for a 2.5 years old C2D machine on Lion.

From where do you get the idea that I bought the MBP for downloading only?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I have used many laptops which run cool with lids closed and not put to sleep for several hours, seriously apple fanboys should refrain from commenting on other products if they dont have any long term experience with good products of other brands.

 

[vantheman5211]

i use my mbp with lid close 24/7.never really switch it off since i have it connected with a henge dock.it doesn't generate heat.

get the macbook pro if you do not have any gaming needs.it is the best notebook around currently thats for sure.

 

[red dragon]

. I believe that a MBP can stay in a 'sleep' state for 3-4 days before the battery runs out.

NO SIR!!

Once fully charged,it holds charge for more than a week...even after 2 years.

My wife's newer SB MBA lasts even longer!

Regarding the closed lid thing,other than downloading try something like light video transcoding and see the magic!!

@RS4

Son,I have access to almost all top notch Windows laptops and can use them as much as I like....and do know a thing or two about them too.

@Sunny27

Brother!Do not get so excited...none here said a bad word about X220,you have the best ultraportable....now chill!!

BTW,try something better than dm1z or MSI CR whatever...before declaring yourself an expert.

Sent from the new iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[cyberboy_varad]

So downloading with lid close seems to be better way, instead I'll prefer downloading on the router as mainstream.

 

[Amax]

Hey, u can wait for some time, there is a buzz that Apple would change the MBP unibody design(its been 6 years since they had made any major change), but thats not the main factor even with the present design nobody come near to it. The thing is introduction of retina display in the Macbook line up. Already its been introduced in Iphone and Ipads. Well if it happen this will be a great experience and worth every penny.

 

[siddharth.beam]

If you are a macbook user than its all good but if not u have to learn a lot plus their are very limited application available in market

go for a window based laptop or ultra-book. at ur price range u can get a top-end to mid end laptop or ultra-book.

 

[sunny27]

NO SIR!!

Once fully charged,it holds charge for more than a week...even after 2 years.

My wife's newer SB MBA lasts even longer!

Regarding the closed lid thing,other than downloading try something like light video transcoding and see the magic!!

@RS4

Son,I have access to almost all top notch Windows laptops and can use them as much as I like....and do know a thing or two about them too.

@Sunny27

Brother!Do not get so excited...none here said a bad word about X220,you have the best ultraportable....now chill!!

BTW,try something better than dm1z or MSI CR whatever...before declaring yourself an expert.

Sent from the new iPad using Tapatalk HD

Hello Mr.Delusional Apple fanboi - Please do bother to check out a few more laptops which are far superior to your substandard apple laptop. As for me - these are the laptops which i have owned. If i include the laptops used by the other members of my family or the laptops issued to me by the office the list would be pretty damn long. I believe that makes me a lot more qualified than you are to talk about laptops!

Just to show you guys about the level of reliability and practicality a thinkpad offers over crappleâ„¢ -- a few images below (taken from my Defy, excuse the image quality)







These are taken at the ongoing Defexpo 2012 @ Pragati Maidan where I am currently representing my company. I haven't had the chance to leave my exhibition booth - these are basically battlefield command systems and Mobile control units to be mounted in vehicles. Some of them are used in armoured vehicles to remotely target enemies using a 50 cal machine gun and 40mm canons.

If you look a bit closely I am sure you can find that all the laptops used are Thinkpads (These images are from the Rheinmetal Germany and L&T's pavilion) There are some really cool systems and technologies being showcased by EADs (european defence systems) and a few others using thinkpads. I will post the pics in a GT thread later.

 

[sbhas2k]

I suggest to wait for a few more months.. revised version of MBP with Ivy bridge processor is expected to release soon...

Also don't forget, this thread will become windows vs Mac debate soon

 

[red dragon]

So sunny bhai,you brought qualification and workplace in the argument!

Let's just say I am the chief clinical statistician for the largest health organization in the world(with headquarter at Geneva) and don't have to represent my organization in expos held in maidans.

I think I have seen more thinkpads,Latitudes(better than thinkpads)Toughbooks(best of the lot) you will ever see in your lifetime.

And what's the point of those pics?Anyone here planning to buy a laptop for war?

 

[krugur]

There is another stable OS which u guys seem to be forgetting.

Linux takes some time getting used to. But once u go linux, u wont go back (unless u are into heavy gaming ofc)

 

[ryanrulez4ever]

So sunny bhai,you brought qualification and workplace in the argument! Let's just say I am the chief clinical statistician for the largest health organization in the world(with headquarter at Geneva) and don't have to represent my organization in expos held in maidans. I think I have seen more thinkpads,Latitudes(better than thinkpads)Toughbooks(best of the lot) you will ever see in your lifetime. And what's the point of those pics?Anyone here planning to buy a laptop for war?

known is a drop and unknown is an ocean mate ( you claim that you've seen everything but my friend you've seen is only what Mr Jobs showed you), you talk about using Latitudes,Thinkpads and toughbooks , i have worked with 4 companies till date (HP,Lenovo,Dell, including Apple) not being partial to any employer here , Apple products go only by face value what looks good from outsides and OS ,on the insides its the similar hardware

LCDs are manufactured by NEC,Samsung,LG same displays used by others

HDDs are manufactured by WD,seagate,toshiba,hitachi same Hdds used by others

Optical drives are manufactured by TSST / LGP and same odds are used by others

Batteries are made by Sanyo.Sony and same are used by others

CPU / GPU same chips just that the motherboards there use firmware instead of bios and the Motherboard manufacturer is the same Foxxcon

Memories are made by mushkin/samsung ....samsung rams are used in other machines as well well

Just the difference is that the apple products are Jobfathered (Like steve jobs godfathering them using his marketing skills which im a fan of ....Mr Late Jobs would even sell a turd calling it a sausage and people would still buy it)

Personally i own both a MBPand an Alienware and as per me "The best machine is the one which suits your needs best" and both are my needs

 

[avi]

LCDs are manufactured by NEC,Samsung,LG same displays used by others

HDDs are manufactured by WD,seagate,toshiba,hitachi same Hdds used by others

Optical drives are manufactured by TSST / LGP and same odds are used by others

Batteries are made by Sanyo.Sony and same are used by others

CPU / GPU same chips just that the motherboards there use firmware instead of bios and the Motherboard manufacturer is the same Foxxcon

Memories are made by mushkin/samsung ....samsung rams are used in other machines as well well

and your point being ?