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alternatives to the macbook

N

nomorevista

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 16, 2008
12
0
heres my idea- so many people are looking at the macbook for the first time, and trying to work out are they getting ripped off with the cost issues.

why not post here other alternatives with

1) similar specs and build qualities, so shoppers get a feel for what they are really getting
2) with a picture
3) and customer review is possible
4) price

For example this is one i considered - when i priced it out the Macbook came out surprisingly close

lenovo_ideapad_u330_02.jpg


Lenovo IdeaPad U330 - 22672BU
From: $1,249.00*
Sale price: $1,199.00*

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P7350 ( 2GHz 1GHz 3MB
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
13.3 WXGA TFT with integrated camera AntiGlare 1280x800

System graphics - ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
Hard drive - 250GB 5400
DVD Recordable
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
starting at 4.18 lbs.
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)

CUSTOMER REVIEW -PERFECT LAPTOP
Date: November 19, 2008
Pros: Processor, Memory, Storage, Input/Output compatibility, Keyboard/peripherals, Wireless card, Display resolution, Screen size, Display performance, Video card, Bluetooth, Weight, Battery, Durability, Support, Security Features, Build Quality
Cons: speakers

"This Laptop can't get any better!! A lot of people says that the battery is not good, But honestly I think the battery is great!!! I use it for so long! Just make sure you charge it fully when you get the laptop before you use it. This laptop is pretty powerful. I even played Dead Space and Gears of War on this laptop with no problem. Veriface is also a great way to sign yourself in instead of typing the password. The Speakers are not THAT good.. But what can yo expect, its a laptop. Use headphones. Keyboard feels great. The Backlight on the monitor is GREAT. I compared it to other laptops and this one beats all the other LCD's. SUPER CLEAR! Pretty Light laptop. THIS IS A GREAT LAPTOP FOR THE PRICE!!!! GET IT!!"
 
It's certainly not ugly. I have the last rev BlackBook, so I'm hoping Apple will have come to their senses in four years time and give us a better option to the new line, such as carbon fiber. But if they insist on staying on this impractical path, something like that may be an option.
 
VAIO® CS Series Notebook PC
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5800 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
Model Features: 3GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, CD/DVD burner, Bluetooth®, camera/microphone, touch-sensor multimedia controls, glossy black finish
$1,000



... now only if these will run OS X without hacks.
 

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To me the new trackpad and especially OSX are big deals though. Don't take me wrong, I like Vista and use it on my desktop PC but I haven't been very impressed with it for laptop use.

I would have no problems using a non-Apple laptop if I could install OSX on it, but alas, at the moment there seem to be pretty bad issues with "Hackintosh" when it comes to things like laptop WLAN, sound, Bluetooth etc chips. Just no drivers available I suppose.

To me the biggest faults of the Macbook are the poor vertical viewing angles on the display and the lack of a FireWire port. Both of course rectified by going for the MBP but then you have to deal with the larger size and weight.
 
rdowns said:
This is a site dedicated to Apple and Macs. If I wanted a Dell, Levano, HP or Sony laptop, I'd be reading www.pcrumors.com
Click to expand...

I don't think the OP was trying to promote the PCs. He/she is making a point that, while many people think MBs are expensive compared to the "$500 PC laptops", but in fact, if you match the specs, the PC prices are similar to MB prices.
 
OK :rolleyes:

Spoken like a true fanboy without any basis of fact. Macs cost more on average with less features. People are just willing to pay more because of OS X and some other reasons, but PC's for the most part give a lot more bang for the buck.
 
Yes my point is that - I know that i have paid a premium, i accept that and it was my choice.

BUT- for others looking into this - evaluate what the premium really is- I wish i had thought this way when i bought a $500 compaq last year that has already died on me. At the time i could not justify the price up to a mac from $500.

If i had realized that reliability, function and form -needs the spends listed above either

1) I would have paid for a macbook - and swallowed the reduced premium- if any-
2) or would have ended up with a decent vista machine- that is reliable, can run vista well - and probably be content

Either way would have saved me a lot of cash in the last 12 months - and my sanity

This is not about being a macfanboy - its about giving people who come to this forum some insight - so that if they go off and buy a PC they stay happy.

The basic mac i bought 2 weeks ago looks like its a premium of maybe $100-$200

Now if people continue to compare to a $500 machine - well there must be some real stupid people buying the $1000 sonys and thinkpads - as the same logic applies does it not
 
nomorevista said:
Yes my point is that - I know that i have paid a premium, i accept that and it was my choice.

BUT- for others looking into this - evaluate what the premium really is- I wish i had thought this way when i bought a $500 compaq last year that has already died on me. At the time i could not justify the price up to a mac from $500.

If i had realized that reliability, function and form -needs the spends listed above either

1) I would have paid for a macbook - and swallowed the reduced premium- if any-
2) or would have ended up with a decent vista machine- that is reliable, can run vista well - and probably be content

Either way would have saved me a lot of cash in the last 12 months - and my sanity

This is not about being a macfanboy - its about giving people who come to this forum some insight - so that if they go off and buy a PC they stay happy.

The basic mac i bought 2 weeks ago looks like its a premium of maybe $100-$200

Now if people continue to compare to a $500 machine - well there must be some real stupid people buying the $1000 sonys and thinkpads - as the same logic applies does it not
Click to expand...

I'm far from being a fanboy of anything but i have to tell you from experience no matter how shiny a pc looks and no matter how impressive the specs are, it all goes to hell once you start getting spyware and the windows registry gets bloated and bogged down.... all the RAM and processing power in the world wont speed your computer up once it starts slowing down.

plus think about 2 years from now when you are looking to upgrade how much is that pc laptop going to be worth? vs how much that mac is going to be worth?
 
Dell xps m1330

Dell Xps m1330

Starting From $1,140
You Save $141
Now $999

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5800 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

xps1330_open.jpg


Have a Dell xps m1530 , and the price has depreciated so much over the last year!
 
I mean ... yeah, any 2.0/2.4ghz nice-form-factor laptop is going to be a "good alternative" to the MacBook, but that's not really the point is it?

Without OSX, the MacBook is just a nice aluminum laptop. To me, it's the software baby. That's what I paid the "premium" for.

Otherwise, just buy the best you can afford - that's your MacBook alternative right there.
 
If there really was competition for the Macbook I'd be all over it. But this notebook is in another league altogether. The only thing remotely similar is the 13 inch size on other notebooks and the hard drive and ram. That's where the similarities end. OSX, Aluminum Unibody, Multitouch Trackpad, Nearly Silent Operation, Garageband and the other iLife software - nothing else offers these deal breakers. There is no competition to this thing, and that's why Apple can charge whatever they want for it.
 
Couldnt agree more. A friend of mine has a viao, c2d 2.0, 3gb of ram, and windows vista. However, next to my last gen black macbook, it feels like a pentium M with 512 mb of ram. Once windows decides to slow down, there's no processor on earth that can keep up with it.
 
MacJenn said:
OK :rolleyes:

Spoken like a true fanboy without any basis of fact. Macs cost more on average with less features. People are just willing to pay more because of OS X and some other reasons, but PC's for the most part give a lot more bang for the buck.
Click to expand...
You're looking at it at a purely hardware point of view. Look at what you can do with a Mac out the box, look at what you can do with a PC out of the box. Hardware this, hardware that, software is what matters.

Hardware is a complete con. If programmers were forced to code within limits like the old days, programs, operating systems, etc. would not need glutinous amounts of hardware. As it is, programmers need not worry anymore, now that we have a hardware industry fueled by bloatware, and multi core systems that software cannot even begin to take advantage of.

It leads to your everyday web surfer thinking a Mac Mini is too slow for him, and that he really needs that 24" iMac. It leads to people spending $1000 on graphics cards to max out Crysis.
 
Apple products help you to pickup and make you more attractive to the opposite sex. Honest! :D
 
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