best hacktintosh laptop - hands down - not mini

[MagickMan]

I have not had any of these issues running win7 under bootcamp on a 2011 13 inch MacBook Pro.

Me either, 15" 2011 MBP.

 

[rsutoratosu]

exactly, i tried to put one together and it jsut never work as well..

xps m1330 intel / nvidia graphics
studio m1535
lenovo x200 / x201
hp 6910

whatever notebook i got at home i tried.. some work, some doesn't.. audio driver, video driver, need the correct wireless card.. now I just have a macbook.. much easier.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I think you got the answer. There is no substitute for the real thing.
(Also run Windows 7 on 5+ Macs and never ran into any of the issue.)

Well id like to at least see what options i have.

At most, im probably just going to play around in OSX, and id much rather have some bugs in OSX and a completely perfect windows experience.

I really should rephrase the question to:

"I want to buy a MBP or Air, but only want to use windows on it - good idea????"

Ultimately, i havent decided if i will try out a mbp or air, but id at least like to get an option for running osx on a pc.

----
And lastly, I highly value screen resolution, so am i better off getting the air? I know its more money, and you lose some features, but how much of a hit does it take in performance? And i need a ethernet cable from time to time, is there an adapter i can use if i absolutely need it? Also - i checked for a refurb macbook air, but could only find the c2d versions, is there anywhere that sells the newest air refurbished?

 

[runawayprisoner]

The newest Air would only hit refurb when people are tired of them and returning their devices.

So far, there have been very few cases of such.

As far as processing power go, the 2011 Air is very powerful, and actually just a little tiny bit slower than the Pro line. It's definitely faster than the 2010 Pro line. It effectively makes the difference between Pro and Air down to either RAM or hard drive space, but if 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is adequate for you, I'd say go for Air. The screen resolution difference is very noticeable.

Personally, I have a 2010 Air with a C2D, and the 2GB of RAM. 2GB doesn't feel so limiting at all. SSD makes a world of difference there.

There's a USB ethernet adapter sold by Apple if you need Ethernet. It costs quite a pretty amount, though.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

exactly, i tried to put one together and it jsut never work as well..

xps m1330 intel / nvidia graphics
studio m1535
lenovo x200 / x201
hp 6910

whatever notebook i got at home i tried.. some work, some doesn't.. audio driver, video driver, need the correct wireless card.. now I just have a macbook.. much easier.

Yup, same with my last laptop. Its a MSI 1651/GX620, which is supposedly fully compatible with 10.6.4 accoring to this: http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/HCL_10.6.4/Portables#GX620 but it never fully worked for me.

The newest Air would only hit refurb when people are tired of them and returning their devices.

So far, there have been very few cases of such.

As far as processing power go, the 2011 Air is very powerful, and actually just a little tiny bit slower than the Pro line. It's definitely faster than the 2010 Pro line. It effectively makes the difference between Pro and Air down to either RAM or hard drive space, but if 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is adequate for you, I'd say go for Air. The screen resolution difference is very noticeable.

Personally, I have a 2010 Air with a C2D, and the 2GB of RAM. 2GB doesn't feel so limiting at all. SSD makes a world of difference there.

There's a USB ethernet adapter sold by Apple if you need Ethernet. It costs quite a pretty amount, though.

Might give the 13" 128GB version a shot then. Does the inventory on the mac store for refurb change frequently? If im looking for that specifically, should i keep checking for it?

I also saw that there was a sale that had something like 200 dollars off one a while back, does this happen frequently? I know Dell almost never charges full price on some of its stuff, and will give u a better price if you call them. (i could have bought a U2700 monitor for like 600 bucks or something like that last time i checked with them)

Is it worth it to call apple and haggle? lol

 

[slackerinabox]

Also possibly worth checking out - ebay or amazon. Apple's refurbs are basically as good as new but they sell their B stock (scratches, dents) to resellers. I've seen MBAirs on Amazon for $750

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Also possibly worth checking out - ebay or amazon. Apple's refurbs are basically as good as new but they sell their B stock (scratches, dents) to resellers. I've seen MBAirs on Amazon for $750

If I can get the 13" 128GB Macbook air for under $1000 either new, refurbed, or with scratches, i might give it a shot.

Should i be searching B stock or something similar? Or is it listed under new and used on the main page? Dont know if id get one off ebay though.

 

[slackerinabox]

If I can get the 13" 128GB Macbook air for under $1000 either new, refurbed, or with scratches, i might give it a shot.

Should i be searching B stock or something similar? Or is it listed under new and used on the main page? Dont know if id get one off ebay though.

They're listed under used/refurb (depends on the actual seller) of the new product. Believe the best price is $1162 right now. Saw a last gen model for under $800 but I'd spend the extra for the faster processor. What about this? http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC700LL/A

 

[slackerinabox]

Err. that link is for the pro, they have a 13" air for around the same price on apple itself

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Err. that link is for the pro, they have a 13" air for around the same price on apple itself

been checking for it. Havent seen a refurbd i5 air on apples website yet, only the c2d versions.

Probably going to wait it out and see if i can get one for 1150 refurbished, if not i can get it new for 1250 with an educators discount.

 

[Patranus]

At most, im probably just going to play around in OSX, and id much rather have some bugs in OSX and a completely perfect windows experience.

You say that now but once you get it and use OS X more.......
(I know tons of hard core windows people [Geeks and non geeks] who "hated" macs/OS X, until they got one.)

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

You say that now but once you get it and use OS X more.......
(I know tons of hard core windows people [Geeks and non geeks] who "hated" macs/OS X, until they got one.)

tried it before. Went osx on my main computer for a few Weeks, ultimately went back to windows.

I personally don't even use the new taskbar, I change it to combine when full, Which might explain part of the reason I don't like osx.

It just comes down to productivity, and I admit, osx is much prettier, i'm much more productive with a pc. I'm constantly using aero snap, and slamming my mouse in the right corner of the screen to show desktop. Just one thing that isn't as easy in osx

 

[TheStu]

tried it before. Went osx on my main computer for a few Weeks, ultimately went back to windows.

I personally don't even use the new taskbar, I change it to combine when full, Which might explain part of the reason I don't like osx.

It just comes down to productivity, and I admit, osx is much prettier, i'm much more productive with a pc. I'm constantly using aero snap, and slamming my mouse in the right corner of the screen to show desktop. Just one thing that isn't as easy in osx

You can get Aero Snap functionality on OS X through third party programs, and if you are using a trackpad, you can use gestures to show the desktop.

Personally i prefer Divvy over Aero Snap, but I also prefer keyboard commands and gestures over invoking things with the mouse. With Divvy I can divide the screen into a 10*10 grid (or a 6*6 grid, or anything in between) so I can have 1 screen take up 3/10 of the screen and the other takes up 7/10. I seldom need 2 windows that each take up exactly half the screen.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

You can get Aero Snap functionality on OS X through third party programs, and if you are using a trackpad, you can use gestures to show the desktop.

Personally i prefer Divvy over Aero Snap, but I also prefer keyboard commands and gestures over invoking things with the mouse. With Divvy I can divide the screen into a 10*10 grid (or a 6*6 grid, or anything in between) so I can have 1 screen take up 3/10 of the screen and the other takes up 7/10. I seldom need 2 windows that each take up exactly half the screen.

I don't know, maybe i'm just stubborn in my ways, but i'm always just more comfortable in windows, and besides looking a little nicer, there really is nothing osx does better than windows, at least for what i'm using it for.

Plus there's just so many programs and games that just aren't as good/aren't the same on Mac.

my primary pc will always be a pc. It plays with my phone better. And for as much as I use it for odd things, there's just so many things it can't do.

I may be willing to give it a try anyway add my secondary computer/laptop

 

[TheStu]

I don't know, maybe i'm just stubborn in my ways, but i'm always just more comfortable in windows, and besides looking a little nicer, there really is nothing osx does better than windows, at least for what i'm using it for.

Plus there's just so many programs and games that just aren't as good/aren't the same on Mac.

my primary pc will always be a pc. It plays with my phone better. And for as much as I use it for odd things, there's just so many things it can't do.

I may be willing to give it a try anyway add my secondary computer/laptop

Nah, i can deal with that. I personally find that I am more productive in OS X, to each their own.

Have you had a laptop before? If so, how do you usually use them (on a desk, as a portable, that sort of thing.)

 

[GregGreen]

In OS X on a MBP, fn+"backspace" equals delete. Is this not true when running Boot Camp?

Sorry, no good info on a laptop to run OS X. I had a Dell Mini 10v that I ran as a Hackintosh before installing ubuntu netbook edition -- worked well but that was a very specific situation

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Nah, i can deal with that. I personally find that I am more productive in OS X, to each their own.

Have you had a laptop before? If so, how do you usually use them (on a desk, as a portable, that sort of thing.)

Yup, have my MSI-1651 right now, and to be honest, im pretty happy with it. But my mom needs a new computer, and it doesnt make sense to spend 400-500 on her to get a computer about as good as mine, when ill have to upgrade mine in about 2 years.

I mostly use my home pc, but i use my laptop when im at work. Its usually on a desk when i use it, but having something that is portable, and doesnt take up much space is still important to me.

In OS X on a MBP, fn+"backspace" equals delete. Is this not true when running Boot Camp?

Sorry, no good info on a laptop to run OS X. I had a Dell Mini 10v that I ran as a Hackintosh before installing ubuntu netbook edition -- worked well but that was a very specific situation

yea i know hackintosh runs well on many netbooks, but i guess the same cant be said for laptops.

What do i have to do to use ctrl alt del? Do i just throw function in there?

And when im in windows, can i just click the right side of the trackpad to right click? or am i stuck doing the 2 finger or button and click method?

 

[TheStu]

Yup, have my MSI-1651 right now, and to be honest, im pretty happy with it. But my mom needs a new computer, and it doesnt make sense to spend 400-500 on her to get a computer about as good as mine, when ill have to upgrade mine in about 2 years.

I mostly use my home pc, but i use my laptop when im at work. Its usually on a desk when i use it, but having something that is portable, and doesnt take up much space is still important to me.



yea i know hackintosh runs well on many netbooks, but i guess the same cant be said for laptops.

What do i have to do to use ctrl alt del? Do i just throw function in there?

And when im in windows, can i just click the right side of the trackpad to right click? or am i stuck doing the 2 finger or button and click method?

I think that on the newer ones you can click on the right bottom side to right click. I only had Windows installed briefly on my Air, so I cannot say for sure. Besides I am pretty well mentally locked into 2 finger clicking.

I was asking about how you use your laptop because most limitations that you would find in a Mac running Windows would be the same that most Windows laptops would have. The trackpad goes from unparalleled and stellar to just plain decent. Having to deal with quirks on the keyboard (CTRL+ALT+FN+DEL) are the same as when you go from one manufacturer to the other and realize that now the volume home/end keys are over there.

If a Mac is within your budget, and you want to run OS X, I recommend the Mac, even if you are using Windows most of the time. And heck, depending on what you are doing in Windows, you might just be better off in a VM.

 

[Knavish]

I think you would be crazy to buy a mac when you want to use windows 90% of the time. FWIW I run a 2010 MacBook pro and a Dell Precision workstation beside each other on my desk at work every day. OSX has a more polished look, but I find both OS'es to have some minor annoyances.

I suppose if all your computer usage is web and ms office then you might not see much difference, but I don't think I would ever be 100% satisfied with bootcamp Win7. If you really like the look and feel of apple hardware then I would understand the desire to buy a mac for windows use, I guess. What software do you need to run?

 

[deanx0r]

Why not just get the new Asus Zenbook? Anand is working on a review of it now. Almost as good as the MBA, and $200 cheaper.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/

I'd still recommend a MBA, but if being stubborn makes people happy...

 

[Emulex]

asus = poop support. you can't even compare. not even in the same game.

 

[nerp]

Just get the mac. You won't have weird issues in windows as long as you install the Boot Camp drivers/utility after installing it. And watch yourself slowly use OSX more and more over time. That's what happened to me. Now I only use Windows on my Macs for games. That's it. If I need to run any windows apps i just fire up my parallels desktop, mIRC mainly.

 

[runawayprisoner]

I think the better deal would be to grab the 2010 13" Air refurb on Apple store, which is now cheaper than the Zenbook.

While the CPU may be slower, it doesn't emit a lot of heat, the CPU can be controlled to the point where it barely puts out heat, and the GPU is definitely better than the 2011 lineup.

Unless the backlit keyboard is that important.

 

[VinylxScratches]

Get a Macbook....

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I think the better deal would be to grab the 2010 13" Air refurb on Apple store, which is now cheaper than the Zenbook.

While the CPU may be slower, it doesn't emit a lot of heat, the CPU can be controlled to the point where it barely puts out heat, and the GPU is definitely better than the 2011 lineup.

Unless the backlit keyboard is that important.

not a huge fan of the zenbook, might give the new air a try.

Processing power and performance is important to me, and i cant justify using a c2d over an i5. If im spending that much on a laptop, i want something that is going to last.

how is the gpu better for the older ones? why is everyone talking about i7 integrated graphics being so good, but somehow theyre not as good as the nvidia graphics in older macbook airs?

If thats true, then im really torn about which to get, because i was just assuming the newer mba was better in almost every way. does it also have a high res screen?