View Full Version : macbook pro vs other pc notebooks
Hello ppl,
Well i am asking this question on behalf of my friend. He wants to buy a new notebook computer. Money is not a limiting factor. But he wants a notebook which would cover most the features listed below:
1. Portability - important, shouldn't be more than 3.0 Kgs (6.6 pounds)
2. Processor power - core duo - IMPORTANT!!
3. Graphics card - should be able to play most of the high-end games - IMPORTANT!!
4. Display - should be 15-inch wide screen, not box shape as some notebooks have such
5. Software compatibility - he is a cell bio/genetics student, so needs specific software.
6. Operating system - don't care
7. Upgrading - should be able to upgrade at least some of the parts without extreme costs
8. design - yes, it should be decent looking, doesn't have to be super good looking though
9. Service - should have a decent customer service, warranty period, etc. - IMPORTANT!!
10. Battery life - well should last at least 3 hours - IMPORTANT!!
Well yeah he knows that there is no computer that would cover all of the features, but he is interested in knowing a notebook which would cover most of the features including the ones which are mentioned important. Well, I have a macbook pro therefore I told him to go for macbook pro. But of course it is biased. So, if anyone of you have some good recommendations, please mention it. Any advice would be helpful. thanks
1. Portability - important, shouldn't be more than 3.0 Kgs (6.6 pounds)
Check. MBP: 2.53 kg with the battery installed.
2. Processor power - core duo - IMPORTANT!!
Check. Obviously.
3. Graphics card - should be able to play most of the high-end games - IMPORTANT!!
He may not be able to play with full-effects cranked up, but he can certainly get decent gaming performance out of it (relatively speaking, for a laptop).
4. Display - should be 15-inch wide screen, not box shape as some notebooks have such
Check. And the MBP is higher resolution than must 15" widescreens. My current notebook only does 1280x800 (as do most 15" widescreens), but the MBP goes one step higher.
5. Software compatibility - he is a cell bio/genetics student, so needs specific software.
This one we can't really answer. However, because of my answer to the next question, it doesn't really matter.
6. Operating system - don't care
Doesn't matter anyway. The MBP can run any OS he could need, just about. And with the new Parallels virtualization software, he can run XP without even rebooting.
7. Upgrading - should be able to upgrade at least some of the parts without extreme costs
Memory is about the limit to upgrading on a laptop. You can't really upgrade the CPU on most (including the MBP), and the optical drive is pretty much part of the design of the laptop. The only downside here is that the MBP only supports 2GB RAM.
8. design - yes, it should be decent looking, doesn't have to be super good looking though
I don't think I have to tell you the answer to this. :D
9. Service - should have a decent customer service, warranty period, etc. - IMPORTANT!!
I haven't dealt with Apple support, so I'll let somebody else answer.
10. Battery life - well should last at least 3 hours - IMPORTANT!!
He won't get 3 hours playing Doom 3, but with the right energy-saving settings, you can get up to 5 hours out of a MBP (or so I've read).
torifile
2006-04-14, 10:17
What does he want to upgrade? There aren't many parts on ANY notebook that are upgradable. The MBP is something he should seriously consider. A comparable PC notebook is the Acer model that has the core duo, but it's considerably more expensive. I can say without too much bias that the MBP is probably the best computer for his needs.
Apple has significant advantages in the areas of portability, design, and service. The MacBook Pro isn't the tiniest notebook out there, but for its size and power, it's quite portable. Better than average. The design is excellent... just look at it, it's beautiful! There are all sorts of little touches that go into Apple computers that you just don't see on non-Apple machines. And service is another big thing. He should get AppleCare (not a question really, just friggin' GET IT), and Apple is very good about servicing even though they don't offer on-site repairs.
The MacBook Pro also meets the requirements for processing power, display, and software/OS. It has a Core Duo, up to 2.16 GHz, which is about as fast as they go (I'm not sure if there are any notebooks with Core Duos above 2.16 GHz... if there are, they are probably much thicker and more expensive and get awful battery life). The display is a 15" widescreen, and unlike most PC notebooks, it has a 1440x900 resolution instead of the more common 1280x800 resolution. Not a huge jump, but perhaps noticeable. The display is also (apparently) VERY bright, without using one of those annoying reflective surfaces. As far as software compatibility, your friend may have had cause for concern earlier because I'm not sure if all his software runs on OS X, but with the arrival of Boot Camp he should be able to run any Windows programs he wants in XP.
The MacBook Pro is not completely up to snuff in the areas of the graphics card, upgrades, or battery life. Battery life is barely three hours at best, from what I've heard. Upgrades are basically nil, but the same is true for all notebooks and I really don't understand what he's doing looking for upgradable components in a notebook computer. Almost none of them have it, and the ones that can be upgraded will be so big and expensive as to fall far short in several other areas. As for the graphics card, it's actually decently powerful, but it's not a powerhouse. Furthermore, Mac gaming sucks. Lucky, though, there's Boot Camp, which should allow him to run Windows games perfectly well.
I think the MacBook Pro is a really good compromise. It's portable, powerful, has a good enough graphics card to get by (he'll have to tone down the graphics settings on the latest games, but that's true for all but the largest desktop replacement notebooks), it has a great display, the ability to dual-boot Mac and Windows, an excellent design, industry leading customer service, and hopefully enough battery life to serve him.
great answer luca. thanks... i guess he can now go get himself a macbook. BTW.. by upgrade i meant, easy access to hard disk, ram, etc. So that it can be changed easily. Well apart from the ram, MBP doesn't have easy access to other parts. but this is not a big deal. so its alright. i would have recommended him alienware notebooks, but i have read some reviews, apparently the service sucks (BIG TIME!!!).
Memory is about the limit to upgrading on a laptop. You can't really upgrade the CPU on most (including the MBP), and the optical drive is pretty much part of the design of the laptop. The only downside here is that the MBP only supports 2GB RAM.
well is there any notebook which can add more than 2 GB RAM? I know most notebooks support only 2 GB... I haven't heard/seen one which can support more than 2 GB. at least not yet.
Some should be able to support 4 GB of RAM, by using two 2 GB modules. I don't know if such modules are available yet. If they are, they'll be extremely expensive.
I do not know of any notebooks with more than two RAM slots.
Oh, and Alienware sucks.
well is there any notebook which can add more than 2 GB RAM? I know most notebooks support only 2 GB... I haven't heard/seen one which can support more than 2 GB. at least not yet.
I've just got a Thinkpad T60p at work. It'll take up to 4GB (though it's got 2 in it at the moment as the cost of the 2GB modules is pretty prohibative at the moment..)
Euain
kelani20
2006-04-25, 15:38
my genetics professor uses a mac for all of his programs. judging by all his presentations during class, there are a lot of gene sequencing/mapping programs that are supported on the mac osx. i don't know though.
I'm having the exact same issue!!!! Man I can't decide. I just sold away my Powerbook G4 and I need a laptop for work. I like the thinking that I could isolate personal life from work life (2 different OS)... but I did just think of something that could be a deal breaker... Ctrl+PgUp/PgDown! Can this be done in WinXP on a Mac? What is it.. Fn+Ctrl+DownArrow/UpArrow? This is an important key combo in WinXP and powers most apps (Firefox tab switching, Excel worksheet switching, etc.)...
Any users w/ this experience out there?
Um.
Generally there are keyboard shortcuts for things like that in Mac apps. They may not be linked to Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn, but they'll probably be there.
I don't know what the command is to switch Excel worksheets, but I know that in Firefox you switch tabs using either Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+Shift+Tab (to go backwards). Safari uses Cmd+Shift+[ and Cmd+Shift+] to switch tabs.
Safari uses Cmd+Shift+[ and Cmd+Shift+] to switch tabs.
Thank you Luca.
N
my genetics professor uses a mac for all of his programs. judging by all his presentations during class, there are a lot of gene sequencing/mapping programs that are supported on the mac osx. i don't know though.
I think so, yes.
http://www.apple.com/science/software/lifescience.html
fcgriz and Luca summarized it well. The MacBook Pro is probably one of the better laptops covering the features you listed.
Thank you Luca.
N
Safari also uses Cmd+Shift+Left Arrow and Cmd+Shift+Right Arrow to switch tabs.
Safari also uses Cmd+Shift+Left Arrow and Cmd+Shift+Right Arrow to switch tabs.
As an alternative option, yes. Sadly.
Its preferred shortcuts are Cmd-Shift-{ and Cmd-Shift-}
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