I've owned a desktop gaming rig (Q9450, AMD5850, etc.) for about 4 years now. When I bought it I went high-end because I thought I'd be playing 3D games all the time, but that never happened (instead I had two kids 
.
I recently sold it and purchased a 2011 MBP 15 2.2GHz, 8GB ram, hi-res anti-glare. I kept my 24" Dell Ultrasharp LCD monitor though for hooking it up to.
Primary reasons for switching:
A. I'm not gaming as much as I used to say about 5 years ago (I go through spurts where I game for a couple months on a daily basis for 2-3 hours/day, and then get busy with life and don't game at all for 2-3 months).
B. Figured that when I would game (really the only game that I do play is World of Warcraft which my gaming rig was way overpowered to do anyways, and that a laptop would do just fine while also giving me the ability to be mobile by playing WoW from the couch (so I could at least be in the same room as my wife who is on her iPad all the time and not in some other room playing on my own), or I could even take it on the go.
C. I was sucked in by the allure of having a gadget that would be my mobile side-kick and that I could take anywhere, but would also be powerful enough to do what I use the desktop for.
I think on this point it's important to note that my search for this gadget started in late 2010 with wanting to get an iPad 3G (but then decided to wait for the iPad 2 since it was right around the corner); that then morphed into wanting to get an iPhone 4 for the same reasons, since the 1st gen iPad seemed to bulky; and then finally to a laptop so I could have more power to play games on the go mainly or from the couch.
Instead, I bought my wife the iPad 16GB wifi for Christmas, and she is on it ALL the time.
D. I was sucked into the (very effective) Apple marketing in general and build quality of the MBP and also sucked into the allure of having something different to tinker with in regards to a new OS in OS X (thought it would be cool
It's important to state that I am really more of a "consumer" than a "creator" of content. Any creation I do is done on my work-provided laptop for my real job, so all of this is really just "toys to play with".
My actual real uses for it in order of use by time spent are:
1. The regular stuff: internet, email, word processing or simple spreadsheets, etc. as well as reading eBooks (which makes it difficult to do in bed). I actually had a Sony eBook reader which I returned since the MBP was just TOO expensive to have both - 40%
2. Downloading HD video (h264 in mkv) off of usenet, then paring and raring the files and copying to my NAS device across the network so it's accessible through my network- 30% (but it kind of runs in the background almost all the time).
Most of the time here is in the downloading, and I'm rarely in a hurry that justifies paring and raring as fast as possible.
Also, I wouldn't really watch the HD video on my MBP, but instead on my TVs via my networked media tank device.
3. Photo editing: nothing professional just family pictures and making them look better - 10%
4. Playing WoW (or similar kinds of games, but never really anything like Crysis, etc.) - 15% (except when I go through those spurts, then it's more like 60%)
5. Light HD video editing: again, nothing professional just family video shot from my Nikon D90 that I would use a very simple-to-use program to put together - <5%
After having the MBP for about two weeks now, I have to say that I really am impressed and enjoying it from an aesthetic point-of-view.
The build quality is phenomenal, it is very comfortable to use, pleasantly surprised with the display and great speakers on it, and finally the pride of owning something this sexy feels really good (oh, and it handles WoW just fine when I have time to play...I've only played for half an hour since I've owned it).
I think OSX is cool and snappier than Win 7, but I'm still struggling for doing even some of the basic things.
After getting rid of my gaming rig, I made my NAS dual-boot so I am running Windows 7 on it, so a PC does exist in the house and it is capable of running WoW when I need it to (albeit, on lower graphics and in a fixed location in the house).
The only problem (manageable) is that it cannot be both a NAS and a Win7 PC at the same time of course, which thus requires me to use another machine to download, par/rar and then transfer files across the network to the NAS.
I do have my work laptop (Thinkpad T410) that I could use for this purpose.
The main problem is the MBP cost me $2,620. I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse simply because of the high-cost of the laptop vs. my primary uses listed above. It isn't just that it's a MBP, it's spending $2000+ on any laptop just so I can surf the net, do some office tasks, download hd video and occasionally play WoW. Carrying it on the go was important though.
However, I need to have some kind of new gadget (I'm obsessive this way), and need some help making this decision.
Since I am still within the no-hassle 14 day return policy on the MBP, I was thinking I would return the MBP for a full refund and go with one of the following scenarios:
A. Buy an iPad 2 64GB 3G: This would satisfy my gadget craving, allowing me to have that mobile "companion" I was initially searching for that I could take anywhere (albeit I'd need a 3G service plan), and also allowing me to do most of what I use a laptop for minus the photo/video editing and playing WoW.
I could use the dual-boot Win7 PC for those things, and my work laptop for the mkv file downloads and par/raring.
It would put about $1,620 back in my pocket.
The only caveat here is that we already have a 1st gen iPad 16GB wifi in the house that I have access to: but it's my wife's and not mine, and thus between my wife and kids on it all the time, I often find it's always being used. I'd also like to take it with me on the go so I can use some remote location-based apps, have it function as a GPS, etc.
My wife however thinks that buying a second iPad is a complete waste, since we already own one.
B. Buy a different laptop that can still play 3D games like WoW, but may put $500 to $1000 back in my pocket. It still wouldn't allow me to have that total portability that the iPad would provide (unless I went ultra-portable which would not make playing WoW or even editing photos as easy, but I do have that 24" monitor to hook up to.
C. Keep the MBP: suck it up and just keep the device. It really does everything I need it to do, but gosh was it expensive.
While money is not an issue (as spending the extra $1000 or two won't mean my kids will starve), I do have a REAL issue with spending money needlessly when I could get away with a slightly less convenient overall solution for my needs for a lot less spend.
Please help me make my decision.
I'm willing to entertain any other alternatives. Also, if you think I should go the other laptop route (B above), please make some suggestions based on my usage.
. I recently sold it and purchased a 2011 MBP 15 2.2GHz, 8GB ram, hi-res anti-glare. I kept my 24" Dell Ultrasharp LCD monitor though for hooking it up to.
Primary reasons for switching:
A. I'm not gaming as much as I used to say about 5 years ago (I go through spurts where I game for a couple months on a daily basis for 2-3 hours/day, and then get busy with life and don't game at all for 2-3 months).
B. Figured that when I would game (really the only game that I do play is World of Warcraft which my gaming rig was way overpowered to do anyways, and that a laptop would do just fine while also giving me the ability to be mobile by playing WoW from the couch (so I could at least be in the same room as my wife who is on her iPad all the time and not in some other room playing on my own), or I could even take it on the go.
C. I was sucked in by the allure of having a gadget that would be my mobile side-kick and that I could take anywhere, but would also be powerful enough to do what I use the desktop for.
I think on this point it's important to note that my search for this gadget started in late 2010 with wanting to get an iPad 3G (but then decided to wait for the iPad 2 since it was right around the corner); that then morphed into wanting to get an iPhone 4 for the same reasons, since the 1st gen iPad seemed to bulky; and then finally to a laptop so I could have more power to play games on the go mainly or from the couch.
Instead, I bought my wife the iPad 16GB wifi for Christmas, and she is on it ALL the time.
D. I was sucked into the (very effective) Apple marketing in general and build quality of the MBP and also sucked into the allure of having something different to tinker with in regards to a new OS in OS X (thought it would be cool
It's important to state that I am really more of a "consumer" than a "creator" of content. Any creation I do is done on my work-provided laptop for my real job, so all of this is really just "toys to play with".
My actual real uses for it in order of use by time spent are:
1. The regular stuff: internet, email, word processing or simple spreadsheets, etc. as well as reading eBooks (which makes it difficult to do in bed). I actually had a Sony eBook reader which I returned since the MBP was just TOO expensive to have both - 40%
2. Downloading HD video (h264 in mkv) off of usenet, then paring and raring the files and copying to my NAS device across the network so it's accessible through my network- 30% (but it kind of runs in the background almost all the time).
Most of the time here is in the downloading, and I'm rarely in a hurry that justifies paring and raring as fast as possible.
Also, I wouldn't really watch the HD video on my MBP, but instead on my TVs via my networked media tank device.
3. Photo editing: nothing professional just family pictures and making them look better - 10%
4. Playing WoW (or similar kinds of games, but never really anything like Crysis, etc.) - 15% (except when I go through those spurts, then it's more like 60%)
5. Light HD video editing: again, nothing professional just family video shot from my Nikon D90 that I would use a very simple-to-use program to put together - <5%
After having the MBP for about two weeks now, I have to say that I really am impressed and enjoying it from an aesthetic point-of-view.
The build quality is phenomenal, it is very comfortable to use, pleasantly surprised with the display and great speakers on it, and finally the pride of owning something this sexy feels really good (oh, and it handles WoW just fine when I have time to play...I've only played for half an hour since I've owned it).
I think OSX is cool and snappier than Win 7, but I'm still struggling for doing even some of the basic things.
After getting rid of my gaming rig, I made my NAS dual-boot so I am running Windows 7 on it, so a PC does exist in the house and it is capable of running WoW when I need it to (albeit, on lower graphics and in a fixed location in the house).
The only problem (manageable) is that it cannot be both a NAS and a Win7 PC at the same time of course, which thus requires me to use another machine to download, par/rar and then transfer files across the network to the NAS.
I do have my work laptop (Thinkpad T410) that I could use for this purpose.
The main problem is the MBP cost me $2,620. I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse simply because of the high-cost of the laptop vs. my primary uses listed above. It isn't just that it's a MBP, it's spending $2000+ on any laptop just so I can surf the net, do some office tasks, download hd video and occasionally play WoW. Carrying it on the go was important though.
However, I need to have some kind of new gadget (I'm obsessive this way), and need some help making this decision.
Since I am still within the no-hassle 14 day return policy on the MBP, I was thinking I would return the MBP for a full refund and go with one of the following scenarios:
A. Buy an iPad 2 64GB 3G: This would satisfy my gadget craving, allowing me to have that mobile "companion" I was initially searching for that I could take anywhere (albeit I'd need a 3G service plan), and also allowing me to do most of what I use a laptop for minus the photo/video editing and playing WoW.
I could use the dual-boot Win7 PC for those things, and my work laptop for the mkv file downloads and par/raring.
It would put about $1,620 back in my pocket.
The only caveat here is that we already have a 1st gen iPad 16GB wifi in the house that I have access to: but it's my wife's and not mine, and thus between my wife and kids on it all the time, I often find it's always being used. I'd also like to take it with me on the go so I can use some remote location-based apps, have it function as a GPS, etc.
My wife however thinks that buying a second iPad is a complete waste, since we already own one.
B. Buy a different laptop that can still play 3D games like WoW, but may put $500 to $1000 back in my pocket. It still wouldn't allow me to have that total portability that the iPad would provide (unless I went ultra-portable which would not make playing WoW or even editing photos as easy, but I do have that 24" monitor to hook up to.
C. Keep the MBP: suck it up and just keep the device. It really does everything I need it to do, but gosh was it expensive.
While money is not an issue (as spending the extra $1000 or two won't mean my kids will starve), I do have a REAL issue with spending money needlessly when I could get away with a slightly less convenient overall solution for my needs for a lot less spend.
Please help me make my decision.
I'm willing to entertain any other alternatives. Also, if you think I should go the other laptop route (B above), please make some suggestions based on my usage.
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