Convince me not to get a Macbook Pro

[Schadenfreude]

Okay, this is the deal;

I'm currently looking to save $$$ for a new laptop - for around the 2nd half/end of this year. I know the general rule of thumb is to wait until you're ready to buy as gadgets upgrade almost on a daily basis, but - correct me if I'm wrong here - as lot of laptop makers keep a lot of the same models and simply upgrade the internals, with a fairly minor adjustment in pricing, I feel fairly safe in setting a monetary goal and saving up for it.

This said laptop will be my primary system. I may have gypsy blood in me (have you ever seen an asian gypsy? neither have I) but me + the wife like to move around and space is a premium so a desktop (I am well aware of the price + performance advantages that desktops provide).

Here's the specs I'm looking for, from high(most important) to low(least important)

- 13.3"~15.4" display, at least 1440 x 900 resolution or above.
- It least an i7-level processor.
- Mid-to-low level discrete graphics.
- Magnesium/Aluminium Chassis.
- Thin & Light (it's unrealistic to expect sub 1" thickness with the specs I've listed here)
- Preferred maker: Asus, Dell, Lenovo
- Preferred to avoid: HP, Acer
- Cheaper is, as always, better - I'm looking to spend around $1,500.00~2,000.00 or less

Here's what I usually do on the computer:
- Graphic Design (Illustrator, Photoshop)
- 3D Graphics (Silo 3d, 3D Coat, Blender, etc.)
- Surf the web
- Play "hardcore" games (Starcraft 2, Team Fortress 2, looking forward to Brink etc.)

I'm not serious about the 3D graphics as much as graphics design, but I'd like something that can handle it.

With those specs in mind, I was considering possibly the Envy 14 (but the screen supplier closed and it's made by HP, eewwww), The XPS 15 (God those things are awful ugly), Dell Precision, the Lenovo Thinkpad, and the Apple Macbook Pro 15.

The pricing is not as big a deal as I'm planning on keeping this thing for quite some time.
And surprisingly, the pricing on the last three - the Precision, Thinkpad and Macbook Pro are priced somewhat similarly - never had a Mac (so I'm not a Mac Fanboy - I'm planning on installing Win7 on it anyways) but I have to say, I do like the minimalist design and I want to see what the fad is all about.

But is there something that I'm missing? Such as other laptop models or disadvantages of having a mac (other than being a wannabe hipster)?

---
tl;dr - I want a MacBook Pro 15, tell me if there's something better.

 

[mnewsham]

Look at the new dells xps 15 with the 1080p screen and sandy bridge cpu.

 

[simonizor]

If you're concerned about more than the way that the outside looks, pretty much any PC laptop is better. You can get much better specs for less money.

 

[corkyg]

Look at the new Lenovo T520.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Look at the new dells xps 15 with the 1080p screen and sandy bridge cpu.

I am considering it, but it looks a lot more bulky . . . and (as vain as I am) ugly.

If you're concerned about more than the way that the outside looks, pretty much any PC laptop is better. You can get much better specs for less money.

Oh I don't doubt it, and I'm defintiely looking around; but do you have any recommendations?

Look at the new Lenovo T520.

Oooooh, that's a nice piece of kit. It's not up on the Lenovo website yet, but I'm keeping my eye on that baby for sure!

On a side note, it's a shame that Asus laptops aren't customizable - I could think of a few models that are just about perfect (and I'm a fan), but the lousy display kills . . ..

 

[mnewsham]

the G73JH is a nice one and the screen isnt TOOO bad.

 

[hans007]

because you can get a lenovo W520?

a laptop with dual display port outs, aquadro, 4 ram slots, a sandy bridge, and available 1980x1080 screen with touch option?

(well i have a w510 at work, which has all that except the sandy bridge).

granted its not a mac, but its um better in every single way other than the debateable mac os vs win7 and the pretty case (the thinkpads being more functional if anything and less hipster looking which is a big plus to me)

i think thinkpads have a magnesium chassis and its rubberized on teh back of the screen too.

i know you wanted thin and light, so a T520 would work too (the 14" ones are lighter than the 15" T520s). i think the only real disadvantage to the T series is they only have 1 display port and i dont think the 14" can ge tthe 1080p screen and only 2 ram slots.

 

[Schadenfreude]

the G73JH is a nice one and the screen isnt TOOO bad.

Right, but it's 17". I'm looking more towards something in the 13.3" to 15.4" sizes.

I currently have a DV7T Quad edition and I hate it - the keyboard is mushy, the trackpad is lousy, the design is cheap and ugly, and worst of all; the display is just absolutely horrid!

I admit, the laptop I had before spoiled me: a Vostro 1500 - magnesium casing, awesome 1680 x 1050 display . . . it weighed a ton but it was built like a brick and I could play Team Fortress 2 (on a lower resolution, it only had a Geforce 8400GS M in there) - too bad it was starting to show its age when I started dabbling in 3d graphics programs . .. .

 

[mnewsham]

Right, but it's 17". I'm looking more towards something in the 13.3" to 15.4" sizes.

I currently have a DV7T Quad edition and I hate it - the keyboard is mushy, the trackpad is lousy, the design is cheap and ugly, and worst of all; the display is just absolutely horrid!

I admit, the laptop I had before spoiled me: a Vostro 1500 - magnesium casing, awesome 1680 x 1050 display . . . it weighed a ton but it was built like a brick and I could play Team Fortress 2 (on a lower resolution, it only had a Geforce 8400GS M in there) - too bad it was starting to show its age when I started dabbling in 3d graphics programs . .. .

ASUS G53 is the G73 but it is a 15" instead of 17"

 

[Schadenfreude]

ASUS G53 is the G73 but it is a 15" instead of 17"

. . ...

I'm having a nerdgasm.

Kinda ugly as I'm not into the whole "lOOkit i'M aN eXTREEEEEEEME gamEr!!111!!11OL" look, but definitely worth looking at.

 

[mnewsham]

I'm throwing an SSD in my G73 on tuesday and so far i love this baby. And it should only get better once i can boot up in 30 secs

 

[dclive]

---
tl;dr - I want a MacBook Pro 15, tell me if there's something better.

If you want a Mac, get a Mac. Apple has the best integration in the business, and the prices aren't that high once you consider what you get. The 15" model is under an inch thick, so that form factor is doable - plus you get the latest of everything in it, with incredible new IO too, if you care about that. Either the $1799 or $2199 model would meet your criteria quite easily, and even the $1199 model would play the basic titles you have listed ok at lower res.

 

[flensr]

Lenovo thinkpads are field serviceable without voiding the warranty. You can disassemble thinkpads with a single geek screwdriver, and the service manual is available for download on their website. This is a great benefit both in and out of warranty, since you can always just order the part from the service manual and do the repair yourself.

Weight. The solid aluminum MBP chassis adds about a pound to the overall weight compared to other computers with similar size and features. Compare 13" MBP to 13" toshiba R700, and the MBP is at least a pound heavier for a computer with similar size and features.

The upcoming small (13" class) toshiba portege that replaces the R700 should be very light, powerful, have tons of features, and it has a largely metal chassis. The keyboard and display aren't perfect, but the feature set and portability makes up for a lot. You can get the R700 with an i7 so the replacement should also have an i7 option. It doesn't have discrete graphics, but I mention it as an example of a 13" class laptop with more features than the same size MBP.

15" mac doesn't have USB 3.0 or esata, at least until they make (probably expensive) lightpeak/thunderbolt adaptor kits and cables. BD drives are also not available as an internal option for MBP. If those are important to you, they are standard features on many other laptops.

Other laptops have intel wi-di wireless display links (the aforementioned R700 does), and I do not think this is an option with the MBP. Maybe it isn't a big deal but not having to fiddle with cables to hook your computer up to your tv is a nice option if you do that sort of thing.

On the flipside, if you go with the MBP, a lot of other normal system requirements can be trivially solved by an application of money. Want backups, broadband router, etc? Buy a time capsule and air port and never worry about backups again and all your networking stuff will probably work with no more required admin than changing default passwords. Want an external monitor and/or keyboard and mouse? Don't bother shopping around, just get the apple versions because the're pretty good and are guaranteed to work together.

Bottom line for me personally is I also want a 13" or 15" MBP, but there are other laptops out there with hardware configurations that suit my requirements better (lighter weight and have features that are missing in the MBP). So wanting a mac is great and all, but the MBP doesn't fit my requirements so I'll keep on wanting a MBP regardless of what I get, because the MBP I want doesn't exist.

 

[Emulex]

there is nothing better. osx is superior and you know the shortcuts are totally different for photoshop/etc. so you will be keyboard handicapped. while the screen sucks at 1440x900 (that is poopy low res the ipad will have more res than that by year end) it is a decent 6bit panel with LED backlighting - which makes it useless for photoshop so i assume you'll have a nice 30" 2560x1600 for doing real work. macbook screens are no good for color accuracy end of story.

so yeah while a hp 8740w with dreamcolor2 will smoke the screen. the os is different. the trackpad is severely inferior like 10x but the screen has the resolution of minimum use imo 1920x1200 and has a 8+ bit wide gamut panel that can do work.

 

[dclive]

Lenovo thinkpads are field serviceable without voiding the warranty. You can disassemble thinkpads with a single geek screwdriver, and the service manual is available for download on their website. This is a great benefit both in and out of warranty, since you can always just order the part from the service manual and do the repair yourself.

Weight. The solid aluminum MBP chassis adds about a pound to the overall weight compared to other computers with similar size and features. Compare 13" MBP to 13" toshiba R700, and the MBP is at least a pound heavier for a computer with similar size and features.

The upcoming small (13" class) toshiba portege that replaces the R700 should be very light, powerful, have tons of features, and it has a largely metal chassis. The keyboard and display aren't perfect, but the feature set and portability makes up for a lot. You can get the R700 with an i7 so the replacement should also have an i7 option. It doesn't have discrete graphics, but I mention it as an example of a 13" class laptop with more features than the same size MBP.

15" mac doesn't have USB 3.0 or esata, at least until they make (probably expensive) lightpeak/thunderbolt adaptor kits and cables. BD drives are also not available as an internal option for MBP. If those are important to you, they are standard features on many other laptops.

Other laptops have intel wi-di wireless display links (the aforementioned R700 does), and I do not think this is an option with the MBP. Maybe it isn't a big deal but not having to fiddle with cables to hook your computer up to your tv is a nice option if you do that sort of thing.

On the flipside, if you go with the MBP, a lot of other normal system requirements can be trivially solved by an application of money. Want backups, broadband router, etc? Buy a time capsule and air port and never worry about backups again and all your networking stuff will probably work with no more required admin than changing default passwords. Want an external monitor and/or keyboard and mouse? Don't bother shopping around, just get the apple versions because the're pretty good and are guaranteed to work together.

Bottom line for me personally is I also want a 13" or 15" MBP, but there are other laptops out there with hardware configurations that suit my requirements better (lighter weight and have features that are missing in the MBP). So wanting a mac is great and all, but the MBP doesn't fit my requirements so I'll keep on wanting a MBP regardless of what I get, because the MBP I want doesn't exist.

I see a lot of different brands mentioned; Apple draws all the benefits and technologies into one brand and one set of models; no need to buy Lenovo this and Toshiba that to get X feature from one and Y feature from another, so I'm not clear on exactly what you're stating in your summary above.

Re: monitors, keyboards, mice, routers, backup solutions -- there is no need to buy Apple-specific models; they work with any of the standards; that's been the case for years and years.

The R700 Toshiba you mention (with the Wi-Di) uses the old non Sandy-Bridge chips, and so is behind in technology compared to the MBP.

I own a 2010 MBA. Can't say it's the fastest thing around, but the convenience of super light weight, super thin, and fast disk access makes up for the slower CPU quite well.

 

[dclive]

there is nothing better. osx is superior and you know the shortcuts are totally different for photoshop/etc. so you will be keyboard handicapped. while the screen sucks at 1440x900 (that is poopy low res the ipad will have more res than that by year end) it is a decent 6bit panel with LED backlighting - which makes it useless for photoshop so i assume you'll have a nice 30" 2560x1600 for doing real work. macbook screens are no good for color accuracy end of story.

so yeah while a hp 8740w with dreamcolor2 will smoke the screen. the os is different. the trackpad is severely inferior like 10x but the screen has the resolution of minimum use imo 1920x1200 and has a 8+ bit wide gamut panel that can do work.

1440x900? If screen res is an issue, OP should buy a MBP 15" with the higher res screen; problem solved.

I detest the non-Apple trackpads I've had to work with so far. Dell's in particular is terrible. Why can't they all just copy Apple's?

 

[chewietobbacca]

Sager's NP8150 or NP8130 will get a lot of what you want too, it's in the 15.6" form factor

1920x1080 resolution (I heard the matte screen is incredible), the new Sandy Bridge processors, GTX 460M etc., - and it's cheaper by a good amount.

If you want the GTX 485M or 6970M too, they are available as options (the 6970M is coming later)

 

[dclive]

Sager's NP8150 or NP8130 will get a lot of what you want too, it's in the 15.6" form factor

1920x1080 resolution (I heard the matte screen is incredible), the new Sandy Bridge processors, GTX 460M etc., - and it's cheaper by a good amount.

Weight? Price? Support?

 

[mnewsham]

Weight? Price? Support?

More then you want but not too bad, like a brick, and Sager offers good support

 

[mnewsham]

With the GTX 485m it weighs about 7lbs and costs about $2,300 with the i7-2720QM

 

[chewietobbacca]

6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38" ~ 1.69" (h)

If you get the -S1 model of it, you can get a GTX485M (basically a downclocked GTX460/560) and 2720QM, Blu-Ray and 750GB HDD for $2100

If you wait for the 6970M, which is supposed to cost a good bit less, you can get it all for $2000 or less supposedly

 

[dclive]

6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38" ~ 1.69" (h)

If you get the -S1 model of it, you can get a GTX485M (basically a downclocked GTX460/560) and 2720QM, Blu-Ray and 750GB HDD for $2100

If you wait for the 6970M, which is supposed to cost a good bit less, you can get it all for $2000 or less supposedly

But it's a thick and bulky monster of a laptop. Something tells me it doesn't have 7 hours of battery life either.

I suggest OP still focus on MBP and similar.

 

[Emulex]

macbook pro 17" is 6.6lbs. lightest 1920x1200 i could find that wasn't a turd. (7 day a week in store support or on-site next business day is my min requirements for services).

 

[Ualdayan]

Honestly, if you started out wanting a Macbook Pro you might be able to find cheaper or faster laptops but you're still going to wish you had got the Macbook Pro.

 

[Zap]

But is there something that I'm missing? Such as other laptop models or disadvantages of having a mac (other than being a wannabe hipster)?

---
tl;dr - I want a MacBook Pro 15, tell me if there's something better.

What you'll be missing is all the notebook refreshes for Sandy Bridge. I'm not saying "don't get the Mac." I'm saying "unless you need it TODAY, you should WAIT to see all the new models."