Not your normal "what to buy"

[andrewdale]

So, this situation is mildly different from what most people ask. Most of the time, I read someone's post about "this Lenovo is $700 that the Mac and it's got better specs" or "Dells have pretty colors and they're cheaper!" However, I know the benefits of OSX of Windows and that most of the time, the actual hardware is quite similar. I've actually come to find that a Dell XPS 1330 is actually more expensive that a BlackBook when included AppleCare and a Dell warranty of the same length. So, enough of covering my bases.

My fianceé has been working with her Dell Inspiron 6000 for almost 5 years and it has treated her amazingly well! However, the battery is dying, and that's just a good excuse for us to buy her a new laptop. She has her iMac (in my sig) and I have my MBP (in my sig), but she needs something for her photography for on-the-go transferring of files or maybe, at the most, editing on-the-fly.

My question is. How does the actual build quality compare between:

Macbook/Blackbook
Dell XPS 1330
Lenovo Thinkpad

Anyone with experience? We haven't decided if we want to go ALL OSX dedicated, or if we want to keep one dedicated Windows box in the apartment.

I know this is a Mac forum, that's why I'm asking STRICTLY of build quality and overall sturdiness. Experience welcomed!

[krye]

Lose the Windows box. Go all Mac. Nothing is easier to carry around than a MacBook (other than an Air). Is is light, sleek, and without any rough edges, it a a joy, and ease to carry. My sister has an entry level Dell laptop. It is big, clunky, and awkward to carry.

[LightDemon69]

Really, the build quality of Apple products is better than that of competitors 95% of the time. Not saying that they are perfect, they just put a lot more time and care into the build. Most (but not all) PC laptops I've used have cheap-looking and feeling "hooks" that keep the lid closed, lots of ugly looking indicator lights (Power, sleep, wireless, etc.), and overall have a more "plastic-kids-toy" feel to them then a comparable Apple product. The iBook G4's were built better than the MacBooks(no cracks, etc.), but the MacBooks are great. And even if you don't want to go 100% Mac, you could get a nice MacBook and a copy of Windows and use Boot Camp. Then you get a great quality laptop, and the OS you want.

[slybeans]

I've been hearing that the Dell's are very good :)

[krye]

I've been hearing that the Dell's are very good :)

Yeh, if you like plastic.

[dukebound85]

Yeh, if you like plastic.

mb's are plastic whic is what he asked about.........

[andrewdale]

Exactly.

[coday182]

I usually tell this to people who are trying to make the first arguement which you debugged for yourself, but outstanding build quality is another reason that macs are more "expensive" than other computers too.

And as a college student, I can vouch that every time I see someone working on a windows laptop, I almost feel sorry for them...

...always freezing up...
...loads heavier than my macbook...
...UGLY...
...and whenever I am in study groups it kind of gets annoying how I just open up my macbook and I'm connected to the wireless internet and ready to go while the windows laptops are still booting.

But anyways, back to your question. I carry mine everywhere I go and put it through a lot of wear that a laptop should never go through, but it still hasn't shown any signs of wear or tear.

[andrewdale]

I usually tell this to people who are trying to make the first arguement which you debugged for yourself, but outstanding build quality is another reason that macs are more "expensive" than other computers too.

And as a college student, I can vouch that every time I see someone working on a windows laptop, I almost feel sorry for them...

...always freezing up...
...loads heavier than my macbook...
...UGLY...
...and whenever I am in study groups it kind of gets annoying how I just open up my macbook and I'm connected to the wireless internet and ready to go while the windows laptops are still booting.

But anyways, back to your question. I carry mine everywhere I go and put it through a lot of wear that a laptop should never go through, but it still hasn't shown any signs of wear or tear.

Thanks for that input. With my student discount, I'll be able to get her a Blackbook w/ AppleCare for $1582 plus tax. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me. Especially considering the Dell XPS 1330 with a 3-year warranty is over $1700.

[bluedoggiant]

Well in my class, there are two macbooks, and an HP, both 13". I have to say, the HP is a wreck (besides the girl treating it badly, plucked off keys ,cracks eetc.), its a headache to connect it to the internet, and just unusable at startup, macs easily connect to the net, ready for use the second you startup, and more user friendly. her HP has been slowing the class down, literally.

[Shackler]

lets get one thing out of the way.
they all come out of China.
GENERALLY speaking Mac's have better build quality. But its still chance, box by box, some are duds some arent.
Lenovo also has good biuld quality. Those to should be your only options

[keehun]

Only PC comparable to the Macbook is the Thinkpads. I really wouldn't mind buying thinkpads if I can install OSX on them.

I personally thing Lenovo/IBM did a better job of everything (hardware wise) with the Thinkpad than Apple did with their Macbook. I mean you get all sorts of stuff like dedicated graphics, gps, etc within the similar size bounds.

I'd go with a Macbook, but if I can install OSX on T61 or X300 (Thinkpads) then I would definitely go the Thinkpad route. I know there's OSX86, but the compatibility isn't so golden

[GeneKam]

Yeah lenovo/IBM are amazing, the new once have anti spill keyboards and drain that can take a grande starbucks coffee right over in one pour. Amazing machines, but with no OSX its kinda bad.

[andrewdale]

Thanks a lot for these posts. I'm starting to think we will get a Macbook.

The Lenovo is only a few hundred bucks cheaper, and I think that having OSX is worth that much. Maybe not $1300 like some people are claiming, but it's worth at least $500 to me.

:)

Next on the list: Mac Pro w/ Nehalem.

[MacHipster]

In terms of build quality, the Lenovo wins hands down. In terms of portability, the MacBook wins hands down. I suppose you should ask your wife what's more important: weight or toughness.

[keehun]

Actually, if your wife prefers OSX over Windows XP.
For some, their workflows depend highly on Windows, while for most people, OSX is a better choice.

[Ahuckaby]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

Keep checking the refurb store. I got my 2.2 blackbook a month ago for 1049. Pretty much un beatable imho

[McGiord]

Quality is just the perception from the customer.
You are going to be using the computer, so you decide, given them a try at a local store.

If I were in you r position to buy a new machine, I don't even think on a Windows machine, Mac all over, you can run Windows natively also.
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