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Worth selling my "MacBook Pro" for a real MBP?

iMpathetic

iMpathetic

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 7, 2007
2,547
4
IMBY
Hey guys....

I guess I've grown to miss the Mac recently. Originally, I was just gonna unload my laptop to pay for an older Pro. Maybe an aluminum Santa Rosa or something. I ended up talking to someone from craigslist that said he'd give me an awesome price for it if I could get Snow Leopard on it.

Well, I'm typing this from 10.6.3 on my laptop now. Full video card support (QE/CI/etc), wireless is detected as Airport Extreme, I have multitouch gestures on my trackpad, etc etc. The problem is, it's still a big, thick 17" PC laptop. I'm not generally snobbish about the way computers look, but I have to admit: I was definitely looking forward to having a legit Mac to use. I have a Phenom II X4 rig, so I don't need a ton of power... my specs are as follows:

-- 2.8GHz C2D T9600
-- 4GB DDR3
-- 500GB 7200RPM HDD
-- 17" 1920x1200 display
-- nVidia GeForce 9800M GTS

So, the problem is, as we all know, Macs cost way way WAY more for comparable hardware specs. I'd be able to MAYBE trade this for a 2.2 or 2.4GHZ 15" MBP or maybe one of the new 13" Pros with the 2.26GHZ P8400. It would be nice to have all the little things-- the backlit keyboard, the lack of kernel panics when you forget to shut it down right, the fact that Apple laptops have beautiful design.

Anyone want to weigh in? The nicest legit Mac I've ever owned was a 2.2GHz blackbook in 2008, so the whole Pro thing is new to me!
 
The 13" Pros are nice machines. And quick, for what they are. If it were me, I'd probably miss the huge screen resolution and the better video card if I were to switch from your machine to a MBP.

I've done the hackintosh thing a few times. Never keep them around for very long. It's fun to experiment, but they're too unreliable.
 
DannySmurf said:
The 13" Pros are nice machines. And quick, for what they are. If it were me, I'd probably miss the huge screen resolution and the better video card if I were to switch from your machine to a MBP.

I've done the hackintosh thing a few times. Never keep them around for very long. It's fun to experiment, but they're too unreliable.
Click to expand...

Mine has everything working now... quite honestly, I would keep it for sure if I could stop the fans from being on so much!

I do love the real Macs. Hmmmm. Right now, I have it running on a 120GB 5400RPM disk because I don't know if I have to keep 7 on the nice hard drive. I have it in the computer and Disk Utility open to format it, but I haven't done anything. :p
 
I love my 15" early 08 MBP but I can't imagine buying it had I known about the GPU at the time. I would stay away from all the models with the 8600m GT in it.
 
I recently came from the PC world, being a "Windows guy" for many years. I never understood the value in a Mac and thinking they were over-priced, etc.

I now have a MacBook Pro 13"; the base model from the beginning of the year (I was too eager and couldn't wait for the new version) and am incredibly happy with it. The OS is very nice, of course, and if you've managed to make it work on your PC you are experiencing a lot of the pleasure and joy. The other side, though, is that the MacBook Pro looks and feels nice; it really is a joy to use. The screen is gorgeous, the keyboard feels nice, the touchpad is the best I've ever used, and the form factor is wonderful; the entire laptop is thinner than just the body of my previous PC (that is, body + screen closed of the mac is thinner than the body of the previous PC).

I say take the plunge. It's a gorgeous machine, it looks and feels great, and you won't be listening to those fans all the time.

Andrew
 
awalkerca said:
I recently came from the PC world, being a "Windows guy" for many years. I never understood the value in a Mac and thinking they were over-priced, etc.

I now have a MacBook Pro 13"; the base model from the beginning of the year (I was too eager and couldn't wait for the new version) and am incredibly happy with it. The OS is very nice, of course, and if you've managed to make it work on your PC you are experiencing a lot of the pleasure and joy. The other side, though, is that the MacBook Pro looks and feels nice; it really is a joy to use. The screen is gorgeous, the keyboard feels nice, the touchpad is the best I've ever used, and the form factor is wonderful; the entire laptop is thinner than just the body of my previous PC (that is, body + screen closed of the mac is thinner than the body of the previous PC).

I say take the plunge. It's a gorgeous machine, it looks and feels great, and you won't be listening to those fans all the time.

Andrew
Click to expand...

Yeah, those were pretty much the reasons why I was gonna get rid of it. Someone should be coming by to make an offer on it, we'll see if it's a good one!
 
Macs cost about the same or slightly less for COMPARABLE hardware. Not way way way WAY more... Similar PC systems sell for MORE than Macs. Processor speed, RAM, and hard drive aren't everything. Look at the beautiful screens, long battery life, giant trackpad, backlit keyboard, aluminum case, etc. Those things aren't free.
 
I hate these threads. HATE them. You have to consider battery life... and the size/ weight of the laptop :rolleyes: sure the processor may be faster, but they look like crap and are huge. I dont touch my parents hp... all three inches thick of it.

Oh yeah, and one thats not plastic...
way to take what he said out of context...
i wouldnt trade with my parents for their horrible hp no matter how much faster it was...
 
aimbdd said:
I hate these threads. HATE them. You have to consider battery life... and the size/ weight of the laptop :rolleyes: sure the processor may be faster, but they look like crap and are huge. I dont touch my parents hp... all three inches thick of it.

Oh yeah, and one thats not plastic...
way to take what he said out of context...
i wouldnt trade with my parents for their horrible hp no matter how much faster it was...
Click to expand...

Oh, okay, your parents have an HP you don't like. That's completely relevant to my Gateway FX which is half as thick as that HP and is actually a nicer computer overall.

I'm probably not gonna keep it, but sometimes you get the most inane responses from people who haven't really thought about what they're saying.

Oh, BTW... Apple sells a "huge" laptop too. 17" MBP. :rolleyes:
 
Apple's 17 inch is 1 lb heavier than the 15", 2.1 lb heavier than the 13". Also takes up the same area as some of the bulkier 15" models from other vendors :cool:
 
I want to chime in again and share thoughts on other posters advice.

I think when flipping through the BestBuy or Future shop flyers, it can become misleading. The PC I replaced was a Dell, and it was originally a $700 machine. I upgraded the battery, the hard drive, the screen and before I knew it, i was at $1300. That was at the same price point as a Mac, but the battery was still 1/2 that of the mac, it was heavier and bulkier. Granted that was 3 years ago, but I don't think that the PC designs have evolved to be on the same level as Apple.

Likewise, the Ram / HDD / GHz isn't the only thing that makes a computer. Sure, they appear to be easily comparable figures, but that's why I want to loop back to my point about the box store flyers for computers. Flipping through them, it seems like 90% of the computers are well under $1000. They have faster processors, more hard drive, and sometimes more Ram - these aren't the only figures. Those computers also come with 2 hour battery life and are huge and heavy.

It all depends what you want to do with your computer. For me, programming for hobby, photo management, communications can be done on a $300 netbook, or a $500 17" PC... but I like that my computer is as powerful as the 17" PC, and as light and portable as the netbook (ok, it's a touch bigger, but worth it). I don't know many computers on the market that compete on the level of battery life and portability as the 13" MBP that hit the same price point, and that was important to me; I just don't like lugging around really heavy computers.

I know I said my thoughts earlier, but I can always have more thoughts to share, right?
 
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