Windows alternatives to Macbook Pro?

[CurseTheSky]

Looks like a good machine, but with a cheap, plastic chassis.

Most machines out there these days are. Even the ones that come with aluminum panels are usually just a thin sheet of aluminum glued on top of plastic. The ASUS UL series feels very nice in practice, but you'd be kidding yourself to liken the chassis to a MBP, for example. Look up Anandtech's review of the ASUS U33 (I think - whichever one has the bamboo panels) and you'll see what I mean. Again, they're nice machines, but the chassis just isn't solid.

That's why I keep repeating the Envy series like a broken record. They're the ONLY notebook PCs that I know of that have solid metal panels and frames. It's too bad it isn't fully unibody like the MBP and has a keyboard tray instead of individual key cutouts, but the better internal specs and connectivity compared to the MBP 13 and better price compared to the MBP 15 make it a worthy sacrifice, IMO.

 

[vbuggy]

No love for the Elitebooks?

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

No love for the Elitebooks?

They look nice, but a little pricey for me.

 

[alkemyst]

I like thinkpads at the upper budgets. I am a bit biased though since I did pretty much create the IBM PS/2 FAQ back 20+ years ago and rocking a T60 for my personal carry now.

Check out the Lenovo T410 and T510.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...91A03AF24034A0011B825513BCED&tabname=Features

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I like thinkpads at the upper budgets. I am a bit biased though since I did pretty much create the IBM PS/2 FAQ back 20+ years ago and rocking a T60 for my personal carry now.

Check out the Lenovo T410 and T510.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...bname=Features

Prices are good. I used to hear about the Thinkpads being built like tanks, is this still true today? They're ugly as hell, but that's not an issue for me. Lenovo stuff isn't widely available in NZ but importing isn't too much of an issue for me.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Prices are good. I used to hear about the Thinkpads being built like tanks, is this still true today? They're ugly as hell, but that's not an issue for me. Lenovo stuff isn't widely available in NZ but importing isn't too much of an issue for me.

My T43 is a tank, biked to school with it in my backpack, dropped it down stairs, fell off a desk, used 15+ hours a day for 4 years straight, held by LCD. Only needed to replace its cooling fan once, but its still chugging fine to this day.

 

[ahenkel]

Hey has anyone mentioned a Mac yet. I hear they gots magnets :awe:

 

[vbuggy]

Prices are good. I used to hear about the Thinkpads being built like tanks, is this still true today? They're ugly as hell, but that's not an issue for me. Lenovo stuff isn't widely available in NZ but importing isn't too much of an issue for me.

To an extent - I think most of the features which are immediately noticeable as 'Thinkpad signatures' are there, the rock-solid keyboard base, the best-behaved Trackpoint in the biz, etc. But in terms of overall build quality, they could these days be level - or even very slightly behind - HP's professional range IMO, I've had gripes with fit & finish on the X300, T400s, and the current X201T's - zero functional issues I ought to say though.

However they are sometimes more conservative in terms of engineering and this can still make for more durable machines when under very heavy use/abuse.

I've been trying to recommend machines which have a reasonable GPU since you don't care about weight in order to increase the utility of the machine, and the Lenovo's I believe fall off the wagon in this respect - so I've held off recommending the T series. But if you don't mind Intel HD graphics then Lenovo definitely has 'proper Thinkpad' entries in the $1K range.

And yes, they're godawfully ugly. I think the 'designers' take perverse pleasure in it, because I think they're way uglier than they even need to be if you put all the engineering needs together and said 'right, give me the boxiest thing which will fit those needs'. The total anti-Apple, if you will - so I dunno, maybe a good fit for you?

 

[Fingolfin269]

OP, I had the same problem when deciding on my laptop a few months ago. Never was an Apple user, never wanted an Apple, etc. I went to Best Buy and started playing around with a MBP for some reason and walked out without thinking about it again. But as I started researching other options I kept finding little flaws in them just like you keep pointing out. The screen sucks. The keyboard sucks. The chassis is plastic. Etc. etc. I kept thinking back to the MBP and how much I liked the screen, how much I liked the keyboard, how much I liked the trackpad, etc. I finally made a deal with myself that I would just buy the 13.3" MBP and try it out for awhile knowing that since the secondary market is so strong for Apple that I could just sell it if I didn't like it and not be much out of pocket.

Let's just say that was 3 or 4 months ago and I'm typing on it right now and have no intention of selling it. I'm not a fanboy of Apple or anything but I do understand why people say these are quality machines now.

With that being said, I do continue to look at the Envy 14 line and wonder what might have been. To be honest I wish I could afford both.

 

[CurseTheSky]

With that being said, I do continue to look at the Envy 14 line and wonder what might have been. To be honest I wish I could afford both.

They come in at a similar price point, so to me, it boils down to this:

If you want OSX, slightly better build quality, a better track pad, better overall battery life, and more third party accessories, get the MPB.

if you want Windows 7, better internal specs, a better screen, more connectivity, and more options to customize, get the Envy 14.

Which, all else aside, still comes down to the Windows 7 vs. OSX debate. Everything else is either personal preference or a trade-off.

 

[Emulex]

i gave a 16 year old - who walks to school and back a clearwire and 2730p - 3 years carepack for ADR,DMR,Computrace professional. Through the year (and its hot,cold, rains, sometimes even snows) in the ATL - the elitebook has never needed service. it was the only 2730p fitted with the x18-m G1 and to this day it rocks out without any service.

its been two school seasons. kids do tend to abuse their items. elitebook fits the name it is not rugged - like a panasonic toughbook - but it can stand up to the pepsi challenge of most notebooks.

 

[zerogear]

Prices are good. I used to hear about the Thinkpads being built like tanks, is this still true today? They're ugly as hell, but that's not an issue for me. Lenovo stuff isn't widely available in NZ but importing isn't too much of an issue for me.

Nah, Panasonic Toughbooks are built like tanks. I've seen them survive 2 story drops.

 

[alkemyst]

Nah, Panasonic Toughbooks are built like tanks. I've seen them survive 2 story drops.

pics or it didn't happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ENQ1dUavI8

 

[WildHorse]

``

 

[Emulex]

i've got one of those atom panasonic U1 in a box somewhere at work. why every cop car rocks panasonic toughbooks - they do also do business rugged - which means it will break and cost you money but that slurpee won't kill it. might need a new keyboard - but it will rock out. love that stuff. it must have been halla fun to desing those products.

 

[alkemyst]

don't equate public service with best of products.

 

[Hacp]

i gave a 16 year old - who walks to school and back a clearwire and 2730p - 3 years carepack for ADR,DMR,Computrace professional. Through the year (and its hot,cold, rains, sometimes even snows) in the ATL - the elitebook has never needed service. it was the only 2730p fitted with the x18-m G1 and to this day it rocks out without any service.

its been two school seasons. kids do tend to abuse their items. elitebook fits the name it is not rugged - like a panasonic toughbook - but it can stand up to the pepsi challenge of most notebooks.

I have a 2710p. Its been rock solid. Still chugging along.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

I have kind of a dumb question. I'm looking at the Envy 14 on eBay and I'm going through the optional upgrades. If I upgrade from the 500gb HDD to the 64gb SSD, do I get both, or is the big HDD replaced with the SSD? I definitely want an SSD, but not if I only get 64gb of storage.

 

[alkemyst]

FAIL...

they replace the drive at Dell...on ebay YMMV, you'd need an external enclosure though to use both together.

A Momentus XT 500GB is a good compromise.

 

[CurseTheSky]

If you pay for an upgrade, then assume you don't get the upgraded-from part back unless specifically stated in the terms. Thus, unless the upgraded part is a really good deal (less than the price of upgrading yourself), you should just buy your own hard drive and swap it in. All it takes is six screws in the Envy 14, ten minutes flat.

Momentus XT drives are a good compromise like alkemyst said. I also wouldn't want to be limited to 64GB as my primary storage - 80GB or better yet 120-160GB is much more doable IMO. Otherwise you should buy an external eSATAp enclosure and a normal 2.5" HDD for constant storage. This is one of the only eSATAp enclosures on the market, and it even comes with the cable you'll need too. One cable handles both power and data transfer (at eSATA speeds): http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...eeks.com_Gifts.

 

[swerus]

Asus!

 

[WildHorse]

```

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Here's an all-around better buy than the HP Envy 14 you mentioned.

http://www.powernotebooks.com/ASUS-N82JQ-A1-Gaming-Laptops-Notebooks-sys-3480.html

Notice the USD $150 Asus rebate available through Halloween.

IMHO, SSDs are too expensive now, not worth it. Maybe the competitive marketplace will bring prices down in a year or two, but for now the better deal is 500/7200/16m hdd.

Are you retarded? What the fuck is the matter with you? How does that pile of junk in any way meet the specifications I laid out in the OP? Does it have good battery life? No, it's one of the worst on the market. The chassis is obviously of a poor quality (reviews note lots of flex) and it's a fucking gaming laptop. Rebates are almost never available outside of USA. What are you thinking? Worst. Advice. Ever.

 

[Zap]

This is my mod voice:

GodlessAstronomer, please keep it more civil or the thread will be locked.

I'd hate for that to happen because there's some good info/suggestions in this thread, but dude, seriously, let it slide. We are on an "enthusiast" forum and I see stuff like this happen all the time:

Q: I need a basic $300 computer for grandma to check email.

A: Oh yeah, you need a quad core and SSD, and make sure you get a good video card because onboard is teh suxxors!

Feel free to ignore unhelpful comments, but just keep it civil, m'kay?

 

[Meursault]

I had these exact requirements and went with the HP Envy 14 w/Radiance option. Got the computer in late August, but one of the direction keys didn't function.

Ended up returning instead of getting it repaired as I wanted to see if the world had changed in the month since I placed the order. Didn't find any better alternatives and went to re-order the Envy 14, only to find that the Radiance option was gone. The world did change...it got worse.

I really want a premium laptop experience but have no need for OS X. I'm looking to run Linux and Win7.