PC notebook thats better than this Macbook Pro

[deltakid]

One of my friends is about to buy a 2900 Euro (that's about 3800 USD) 15" Mac Book Pro with the following specs:

3.06 ghz intel 2 core duo
4 GB 1066 mhz DDR3
128 GB solid state drive
DVD-RW
15" monitor

I told hom he should check some cheaper PC alternatives and he is interested in this too because Windows 7 should be better than Vista. He uses it for working with large graphic files and a bit of video editing.

What notebook would you recommend?

 

[TheStu]

If all he is interested in is specs, then he will almost certainly find something better. If he wants portability and whatnot, then the MacBook Pro is fairly tough to beat.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: TheStu
If all he is interested in is specs, then he will almost certainly find something better. If he wants portability and whatnot, then the MacBook Pro is fairly tough to beat.

Dell has the Studio XPS 16 which I hear has a terrific screen, and you can basically fully spec it out for $2000 USD

 

[IlllI]

i would think 128gb would be rather small if he was working with large graphics and video editing

 

[Parasitic]

SSD is still overpriced IMO. I'd consider Dell's Latitude line or Lenovo's Thinkpad series if you're looking at other manufacturers.

 

[deltakid]

thanks!

 

[MrX8503]

$3800 USD? Man what a waste of money!

If he wants the MBP, which is an awesome laptop (i own one), tell him to drop the SSD, drop the 3.06 down to 2.8, and drop the 4GB to upgrade it himself. With the money saved he could probably go on a cruise or something.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: deltakid
One of my friends is about to buy a 2900 Euro (that's about 3800 USD) 15" Mac Book Pro with the following specs:

3.06 ghz intel 2 core duo
4 GB 1066 mhz DDR3
128 GB solid state drive
DVD-RW
15" monitor

I told hom he should check some cheaper PC alternatives and he is interested in this too because Windows 7 should be better than Vista. He uses it for working with large graphic files and a bit of video editing.

What notebook would you recommend?

Wow, $3800?? That's highway robbery.

Sorry, but I use my computer to WORK. I don't buy it based on how great it looks or that it's made of some fancy aluminum. Laptops for 20 years have been made of plastic and they've been just fine. Don't buy into the hype and outrageous price they charge. You can most certainly find a much better laptop for a little more than 1/2 the price.

 

[WackyDan]

THINKPAD. T series or W500

 

[PascalT]

good to see Apple is still ripping off their "fanbase".

 

[Farmer]

Originally posted by: WackyDan
THINKPAD. T series or W500

This. Alternatives would be Dell Precision or HP Elitebook. Faster for muuuuch less than that MBP, $2000 max.

The aesthetic is different, but I never liked silver laptops anyway.

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Wow, $3800?? That's highway robbery.

Sorry, but I use my computer to WORK. I don't buy it based on how great it looks or that it's made of some fancy aluminum. Laptops for 20 years have been made of plastic and they've been just fine. Don't buy into the hype and outrageous price they charge. You can most certainly find a much better laptop for a little more than 1/2 the price.

Well, he did say that it's EU$2900, and we all know that computers tend to be a little more expensive outside the US.

The same configuration in the US is $2799, while a similarly equipped Dell Precision M4400 is $2631. Not really all that cheaper. Before some of you scream and flame "OMG DA PRECISION IS OVERPRICED TO BEGIN WITH!!!!!111" keep in mind that it's the only customizable model I know that lets you stick a 3.06GHz C2D inside.

So there really isn't that big a premium.

My System Details
Intel® Core? 2 Duo X9100 (3.06GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Business Bonus-Windows XP Professional downgrade
15.4? UltraSharp? WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Display
3 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 3 Year NBD On-Site Service
NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M, 512MB
4.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
128GB Dell Mobility Solid State Drive
8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink Power DVD?
9 Cell Battery
Dell Wireless? 1510 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
Dell Wireless® 370 Bluetooth Module
Internal English Backlit Keyboard
No Fingerprint Reader
Integrated webcam with microphone
Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers
No Modem
My Accessories
Timbuk2 Ultraslim Case (15.4)
130W 3P, A/C Adapter
No Intel® vPro? Secure Advanced Hardware Enabled Systems Management
My Services & Warranties
No Onsite System Setup
Also Included
Black Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel w/ Integrated Camera and Microphone
Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme Processor
Windows 7 Upgrade Web Site
Vista Premium Label

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: Farmer

Originally posted by: WackyDan
THINKPAD. T series or W500

This. Alternatives would be Dell Precision or HP Elitebook. Faster for muuuuch less than that MBP, $2000 max.

The aesthetic is different, but I never liked silver laptops anyway.

Base model for a Dell Precision with a 3.06GHz starts at $1899 (base $1239 + CPU upgrade) - not really "$2000 max" for a faster model.

I think OP should convince his friends to make some cuts to that configuration.

Here are the specs for the base model of Precision M4400:

Intel® Core? 2 Duo X9100 (3.06GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Business Bonus 64 -Windows XP Professional downgrade
15.4? WXGA (1280x800) LED Display
3 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 3 Year NBD On-Site Service
NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M, 512MB
1.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
80GB Hard Drive, 5400 RPM
8X DVD with Cyberlink Power DVD?
6 Cell Battery
Dell Wireless? 1397 802.11b/g Mini Card
Internal English Keyboard
No Fingerprint Reader
No webcam with microphone
Resource DVD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers
No Modem
My Accessories
130W 3P, A/C Adapter
No Intel® vPro? Secure Advanced Hardware Enabled Systems Management
My Services & Warranties
No Onsite System Setup
Also Included
BLACK WXGA Backlght LCD Panel w/ Microphone only
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Windows 7 Upgrade Web Site
Vista Premium Label

Upgrades for the bolded items will run more than $100 even if he did it himself, bringing the total over $2000. And it'll still be missing a DVD burner, bluetooth, webcam, etc etc.

 

[MrX8503]

Honestly 3.06ghz is the most wasteful upgrade path ever in a laptop.

 

[lambchops511]

Thinkpad or Laititude

 

[Farmer]

Parasitic:

Hm, you're right, I was over confident with the under $2000. However, for under $3000, you can definitely get yourself a faster M4400 than that Mac Pro (you can probably even forgo the factory hard drive and upgrade directly to an Intel SSD). That is still quite a lot of savings.

Again, I really couldn't recommend a new M4400 over a similarly equipped Thinkpad T500 or W500. Think about it this way, for less than $3800, you can get yourself a nearly fully loaded Thinkpad W700ds. There is no way a high-end Mac is worth it.

Honestly the $600 CPU upgrade is definitely not worth it.

 

[Parasitic]

Originally posted by: Farmer
Parasitic:

Hm, you're right, I was over confident with the under $2000. However, for under $3000, you can definitely get yourself a faster M4400 than that Mac Pro (you can probably even forgo the factory hard drive and upgrade directly to an Intel SSD). That is still quite a lot of savings.

Again, I really couldn't recommend a new M4400 over a similarly equipped Thinkpad T500 or W500. Think about it this way, for less than $3800, you can get yourself a nearly fully loaded Thinkpad W700ds. There is no way a high-end Mac is worth it.

Honestly the $600 CPU upgrade is definitely not worth it.

I priced the T500 and W500, and yes, both are cheaper than the Macbook Pro. However on neither the T500 nor the W500 you can't get LED-backlit 15.4" screens; and in the EU, you can't get either model with anything faster than a 2.53GHz (at least according to Lenovo Ireland, the only English speaking state in the EU that also uses Euros I'm aware of).

People keep quoting the $3800 OP mentioned, BUT THE MACBOOK PRO DOES NOT COST US$3800!. You have to keep the currency and cost of living consistent. The OP lives in the EU, and yes computers cost more over there than it does in the States.

OP's Macbook Pro = USD$2799 in the US vs. ?2900 in his home country.
The highest packaged "Elite ThinkPad W500 with discrete graphics" (with 128GB SSD and 2.53GHz C2D) is ?2,579.84 (Lenovo Ireland) while the same configuration is USD$2058 in the States ("Enhanced" model, after accounting for differences in parts).

 

[seepy83]

I just got an Asus G51Vx-A1 (Link) that is much less expensive ($1700 US). This is a "gaming" laptop, but I don't do much gaming.

specs:
Intel Core2 Quad Q9000 (2.0GHz)
4GB DDR2
(2x) 320GB 7200RPM SATA (RAID 1 and 0 supported)
NVIDIA GTX 260M (1GB VRAM DDR3)
15.6" LED Backlight HD Display (1920x1080)


I'm not saying that the Dell Precision or Latitude, Thinkpad, or HP Elitebooks that were already mentioned are no good (I deploy them at work a lot), but I was really impressed with the specs/price on this Asus. But the laptop "lid" on the back of the LCD is a bit over-the-top (read: UGLY).

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: seepy83
I just got an Asus G51Vx-A1 (Link) that is much less expensive ($1700 US). This is a "gaming" laptop, but I don't do much gaming.

specs:
Intel Core2 Quad Q9000 (2.0GHz)
4GB DDR2
(2x) 320GB 7200RPM SATA (RAID 1 and 0 supported)
NVIDIA GTX 260M (1GB VRAM DDR3)
15.6" LED Backlight HD Display (1920x1080)


I'm not saying that the Dell Precision or Latitude, Thinkpad, or HP Elitebooks that were already mentioned are no good (I deploy them at work a lot), but I was really impressed with the specs/price on this Asus. But the laptop "lid" on the back of the LCD is a bit over-the-top (read: UGLY).

Gaming laptop means tacky and cheap looking, a fast dual core is generally a better idea than a slower Quad Core, the hard drives are probably setup for RAID 0 which is IMO, a bad idea so the OP's friend will have to wipe them from the get go and then either not RAID them, or set them in RAID 1, which he may not be able to do, and is slower than the 128GB SSD.

The graphics card is certainly better, and the higher res screen will be better for the photo/video work that he does as well.

But got forbid he ever has to take the 'laptop' somewhere on a job, it is just goofy looking. Every 'gaming laptop' that I have seen looks like a mcdonald's toy to me, a big, bulky, expensive mcdonald's toy. ThinkPads, MacBook Pros, Latitudes, these are all well put together, solidly built systems that look like they are made for professional use. Not flashy, not chinzy, nothing to be embarassed by at a job.

 

[seepy83]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Gaming laptop means tacky and cheap looking, a fast dual core is generally a better idea than a slower Quad Core, the hard drives are probably setup for RAID 0 which is IMO, a bad idea so the OP's friend will have to wipe them from the get go and then either not RAID them, or set them in RAID 1, which he may not be able to do, and is slower than the 128GB SSD.

The graphics card is certainly better, and the higher res screen will be better for the photo/video work that he does as well.

But got forbid he ever has to take the 'laptop' somewhere on a job, it is just goofy looking. Every 'gaming laptop' that I have seen looks like a mcdonald's toy to me, a big, bulky, expensive mcdonald's toy. ThinkPads, MacBook Pros, Latitudes, these are all well put together, solidly built systems that look like they are made for professional use. Not flashy, not chinzy, nothing to be embarassed by at a job.

I absolutely agree that it is bulky and tacky looking. But the OP never said anything about this being for professional use, and he's looking to save money so I figured I would put it out there. I bought this because it's a good bang-for-the-buck laptop for personal use...I have a Latitude D620 that I use for work (Network/System Administration).

The Hard Drives don't come with either RAID 0 or 1 enabled...it's up to you to enable it or leave them as seperate drives. Also, the model that can be purchased through newegg is not customizable, but you can order these from other places and make changes (like SSD's, Core2Duo, etc).

It *might* be worth it for him to look outside of the Dell/HP/IBM arena if he's looking to save some money.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: seepy83
I just got an Asus G51Vx-A1 (Link) that is much less expensive ($1700 US). This is a "gaming" laptop, but I don't do much gaming.

specs:
Intel Core2 Quad Q9000 (2.0GHz)
4GB DDR2
(2x) 320GB 7200RPM SATA (RAID 1 and 0 supported)
NVIDIA GTX 260M (1GB VRAM DDR3)
15.6" LED Backlight HD Display (1920x1080)


I'm not saying that the Dell Precision or Latitude, Thinkpad, or HP Elitebooks that were already mentioned are no good (I deploy them at work a lot), but I was really impressed with the specs/price on this Asus. But the laptop "lid" on the back of the LCD is a bit over-the-top (read: UGLY).

Gaming laptop means tacky and cheap looking, a fast dual core is generally a better idea than a slower Quad Core, the hard drives are probably setup for RAID 0 which is IMO, a bad idea so the OP's friend will have to wipe them from the get go and then either not RAID them, or set them in RAID 1, which he may not be able to do, and is slower than the 128GB SSD.

The graphics card is certainly better, and the higher res screen will be better for the photo/video work that he does as well.

But got forbid he ever has to take the 'laptop' somewhere on a job, it is just goofy looking. Every 'gaming laptop' that I have seen looks like a mcdonald's toy to me, a big, bulky, expensive mcdonald's toy. ThinkPads, MacBook Pros, Latitudes, these are all well put together, solidly built systems that look like they are made for professional use. Not flashy, not chinzy, nothing to be embarassed by at a job.

I got a gaming laptop for my professional laptop.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/p...ustomed.php?pid=129131

It looks great and was under $2000 for 17" HD screen, fastest graphics card on the market, quad core CPU, and 4 GB of ram.

It'll eat any MacBook Pro for breakfast and it's significantly cheaper. I use it at work all the time and it looks like a standard work laptop, just a little larger because it's 17".

Photo and video editing programs love multiple cores and are built to utilize them. If you're doing video and photo, the quad is the way to go.

Also, now Photoshop can utilize the GPU and be even faster. So the faster the GPU, the more you can offload from the CPU to the GPU.