Can't Decide between MacBook Pro and HP

[cdecker15]

I've literally been stuck this past month trying to decide which is best. I purchased the HP Spectre x360 (7th Gen i7, 16GB, and 512GB SSD) for $1150. It has it's cons. And so does the MacBook Pro 13 with Touchbar. But I cannot decide which is the best for me.

How long does the MacBook Pro 13 with Touchbar last battery wise? Does the fan spool up under light loads (this is a con with the HP)? Which way should I go? If I go with the MacBook, I'll only be getting the 8GB, i5 6th Gen, 256GB storage vs what I have now. I have everything else apple, so it would better connect with my phone and watch. It also has much much better graphics. Any advice?

I paid $1150 for the HP. The MacBook Pro with Touch is currently on sale at BB for $1649. Is it worth the $500 difference? Won't the MacBook last longer?

My credit card promo ends in just a day, so I need to make my mind up quick!

 

[mklnz]

Depends how attached are you to macOS really. If you don't mind Windows then your choice would be a lot easier.
Also keep in mind Apple products tend to hold their value better, so that's another thing to consider.

Most Apple laptops have extremely quiet fans, almost inaudible during light operation. I often see people with Windows laptops next to me and the fan is going crazy and they're just on Facebook. I don't own the HP but if this is something that might bother you then you might want to look into it more.

As for integration, of course owning a Macbook would be heaps better. You might miss all these little things that just "work", for example auto unlocking with your watch, Airdrop, wireless copy & paste, iMessage, call and text forwarding etc. If you go with the HP you'll be losing a lot of that.

If you're concerned about graphics, in 2017 you'll see a lot more external graphics options. It depends on what you plan to use it for, if it's for gaming you'll be likely in Boot camp anyway, in which case a Thunderbolt 3 based graphics solution should work just fine in Windows. I myself am planning to get a eGPU solution via Thunderbolt 3 for docking with my 13" touch bar MBP.

Keep in mind specifications are easy to compare. Overall experience is not something you can compare so readily. Overall if you are already in the Apple ecosystem owning a Macbook will give you a better overall integrated experience.

I work in both ecosystems daily and every time I'm booted into Windows I really miss the integration with the rest of my Apple products and services.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I as well as most professionals think it's worth the difference. I could list off a hundred reasons, but here's one sticking point: resale value. Though they may seem expensive at first, Macs hold their value better than any other computer. What's the difference really if you can get $500 for the HP laptop in 4 years and $1,000 for the MacBook Pro?

 

[cdecker15]

Depends how attached are you to macOS really. If you don't mind Windows then your choice would be a lot easier.
Also keep in mind Apple products tend to hold their value better, so that's another thing to consider.

Most Apple laptops have extremely quiet fans, almost inaudible during light operation. I often see people with Windows laptops next to me and the fan is going crazy and they're just on Facebook. I don't own the HP but if this is something that might bother you then you might want to look into it more.

As for integration, of course owning a Macbook would be heaps better. You might miss all these little things that just "work", for example auto unlocking with your watch, Airdrop, wireless copy & paste, iMessage, call and text forwarding etc. If you go with the HP you'll be losing a lot of that.

If you're concerned about graphics, in 2017 you'll see a lot more external graphics options. It depends on what you plan to use it for, if it's for gaming you'll be likely in Boot camp anyway, in which case a Thunderbolt 3 based graphics solution should work just fine in Windows. I myself am planning to get a eGPU solution via Thunderbolt 3 for docking with my 13" touch bar MBP.

Keep in mind specifications are easy to compare. Overall experience is not something you can compare so readily. Overall if you are already in the Apple ecosystem owning a Macbook will give you a better overall integrated experience.

I work in both ecosystems daily and every time I'm booted into Windows I really miss the integration with the rest of my Apple products and services.

Thank you for your in-depth reply. I really appreciate your time. I originally wanted to go with the new MacBook as soon as I saw it, but decided to go with the HP to try for a month since Bestbuy had a pretty good holiday return policy (like 2 months). I am glad I tried it. I literally have everything else Apple (watch and phone), so I can only imagine how nice it is to have everything "work" together. The fan noise from me (not running any programs at all) is audible which is a big negative for me. I don't want to be in one of my college classes with notepad running and sounding like an airplane is taking off. Being that the MacBook is on sale at Best Buy for $1,649.99, I think I am going to go with the it. It is what I originally wanted in the first place.

I as well as most professionals think it's worth the difference. I could list off a hundred reasons, but here's one sticking point: resale value. Though they may seem expensive at first, Macs hold their value better than any other computer. What's the difference really if you can get $500 for the HP laptop in 4 years and $1,000 for the MacBook Pro?

You're right. I didn't think of the resale value, and I can personally relate to being able to sell my iPhone 5s for a decent amount of money when I wanted to upgrade to the 6s. So, not only do they last longer in terms of physically, the value of them is kept much much longer.

Thank you both! I am ordering it now

Apple - MacBook Pro® with Touch Bar - 13" Display - Intel Core i5 - 8 GB Memory - 256GB Flash Storage (latest model) - Space Gray

 

[MICHAELSD]

Thank you for your in-depth reply. I really appreciate your time. I originally wanted to go with the new MacBook as soon as I saw it, but decided to go with the HP to try for a month since Bestbuy had a pretty good holiday return policy (like 2 months). I am glad I tried it. I literally have everything else Apple (watch and phone), so I can only imagine how nice it is to have everything "work" together. The fan noise from me (not running any programs at all) is audible which is a big negative for me. I don't want to be in one of my college classes with notepad running and sounding like an airplane is taking off. Being that the MacBook is on sale at Best Buy for $1,649.99, I think I am going to go with the it. It is what I originally wanted in the first place.



You're right. I didn't think of the resale value, and I can personally relate to being able to sell my iPhone 5s for a decent amount of money when I wanted to upgrade to the 6s. So, not only do they last longer in terms of physically, the value of them is kept much much longer.

Thank you both! I am ordering it now

Apple - MacBook Pro® with Touch Bar - 13" Display - Intel Core i5 - 8 GB Memory - 256GB Flash Storage (latest model) - Space Gray

Awesome, with Apple products you need to look past the specs and compare the experiences. The Core i5 may feel faster on Mac OS than the i7 on Windows.

Either way you should enjoy the MacBook Pro much more! Is this your first Mac?

Contact Best Buy to see if they'll let you add an educational discount on top of the sale price (let me know if you can) .

 

[cdecker15]

Awesome, with Apple products you need to look past the specs and compare the experiences. The Core i5 may feel faster on Mac OS than the i7 on Windows.

Either way you should enjoy the MacBook Pro much more! Is this your first Mac?

Contact Best Buy to see if they'll let you add an educational discount on top of the sale price (let me know if you can) .

This will be my first Mac, yes! That's a great idea also, I wish they'd tell you how long the sales goes until. I am afraid something weird would happen if I don't order it now. Should I maybe order it now, and ask them tomorrow morning? If they can, at least I have the price locked in?

 

[invisibleshoes]

Make it easier on yourself...do you want to be on MacOS or Windows 10?

 

[thesimplelogic]

If the fan noise bothers you, in my opinion the tbMBP (albeit a 15") is quiet in comparison to a lot of laptops, especially under a heavy load. Mklnz is right in that during regular operation you basically can't even hear the fans - nearly 95% of the time when I'm running LPX the fans are at their lowest setting - super quiet and can't even hear them unless you lift the computer to your ear. So to answer your question - no, the mBP shouldn't spool up under light (or even medium) loads.

My thing is your other products - the MBP will integrate so nicely with your phone and watch, whereas you won't have that same experience on the HP. Of course, it depends on how much that matters to you and whether or not the OS is important too. Also - what software do you need to use? How taxing would it be on the system?

Michaelsd is also correct - your resale value will be much much better for the mac.

 

[cdecker15]

If the fan noise bothers you, in my opinion the tbMBP (albeit a 15") is quiet in comparison to a lot of laptops, especially under a heavy load. Mklnz is right in that during regular operation you basically can't even hear the fans - nearly 95% of the time when I'm running LPX the fans are at their lowest setting - super quiet and can't even hear them unless you lift the computer to your ear. So to answer your question - no, the mBP shouldn't spool up under light (or even medium) loads.

My thing is your other products - the MBP will integrate so nicely with your phone and watch, whereas you won't have that same experience on the HP. Of course, it depends on how much that matters to you and whether or not the OS is important too. Also - what software do you need to use? How taxing would it be on the system?

Michaelsd is also correct - your resale value will be much much better for the mac.

Good! I am glad to hear that you are practically unable to hear fans. I mean, with this HP, you can hear the fan (it's not overwhelming, but it's more than I'd personally like idling (I am not even doing anything, just looking at the desktop wallpaper, lol). I am willing to spend a few more bucks and have a better experience, and integration.

Have you heard how the 13" is doing in terms of battery? How does yours do being the 15"?

 

[MICHAELSD]

This will be my first Mac, yes! That's a great idea also, I wish they'd tell you how long the sales goes until. I am afraid something weird would happen if I don't order it now. Should I maybe order it now, and ask them tomorrow morning? If they can, at least I have the price locked in?

Congratulations, you'll love it! Yeah, I'd just order it now. If they can add an additional educational discount they will as you have 14 days to return it regardless.

 

[cdecker15]

Congratulations, you'll love it! Yeah, I'd just order it now. If they can add an additional educational discount they will as you have 14 days to return it regardless.

Ordered. Should have it early next week at the latest! I'll give them a call tomorrow and let you know about the discount, though! Doubt it, but never hurts to ask.

 

[bopajuice]

I feel the resale value thing is bit overrated. When you start with a higher price of course resale is going to be more. It's all relative. If someone can give me percentage examples to support the resale theory, I would feel better agreeing with this line of thinking. I just sold an iPhone 6. Resale sucks. The market is flooded with them. Supply and demand, nothing more.

As far as which is better it's all about your needs. Is integration important? Is cost of importance, do you need a laptop with better specs for video editing, 3D modeling etc? Do you base your decisions on how much you can sell something for a few years from now? How often do you replace your computers? Just remember a laptop that is relevant now, might work fine in 4 to 5 years, but technology will have moved on making it mostly obsolete. This is coming from a guy who still has two clam shell MacBooks. They are not worth much except maybe to a collector. The choice should be yours not what a bunch of Mac enthusiasts think.

Since you already made your choice I would say congratulations, hope the MacBook meets your needs.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I feel the resale value thing is bit overrated. When you start with a higher price of course resale is going to be more. It's all relative. If someone can give me percentage examples to support the resale theory, I would feel better agreeing with this line of thinking. I just sold an iPhone 6. Resale sucks. The market is flooded with them. Supply and demand, nothing more.

As far as which is better it's all about your needs. Is integration important? Is cost of importance, do you need a laptop with better specs for video editing, 3D modeling etc? Do you base your decisions on how much you can sell something for a few years from now? How often do you replace your computers? Just remember a laptop that is relevant now, might work fine in 4 to 5 years, but technology will have moved on making it mostly obsolete. This is coming from a guy who still has two clam shell MacBooks. They are not worth much except maybe to a collector. The choice should be yours not what a bunch of Mac enthusiasts think.

Since you already made your choice I would say congratulations, hope the MacBook meets your needs.

Supply and demand, and demand for Apple products is much stronger. Just like how resale value is higher for different car models, the resale percentage for an Apple laptop is the highest in the industry by a decent degree.

 

[thesimplelogic]

Ordered. Should have it early next week at the latest! I'll give them a call tomorrow and let you know about the discount, though! Doubt it, but never hurts to ask.

How exciting! Hope you enjoy your new computer, and definitely look at the discount.

I've been doing pretty well in terms of battery life - I haven't begun back at school yet so I haven't been able to give it a proper test run but I'd say I've been getting a good 7-8 hours whilst I've been using LPX doing some heavier bouncing work, and with a lot of tracks, so I really can't complain!

 

[bopajuice]

Supply and demand, and demand for Apple products is much stronger. Just like how resale value is higher for different car models, the resale percentage for an Apple laptop is the highest in the industry by a decent degree.

Apple insider says Apple has 7.4% of the worldwide PC market. Hardly enough to support a higher resale value theory and to say the demand is "much stronger" than the PC market. I'd like to see some statistics to support your claim. Opinions are easy to come by, I am having trouble finding any facts to support this preconceived notion.

In your defense I also read that Apple is outperforming the PC market in sales, but still I am not sure if that affects resale.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Apple insider says Apple has 7.4% of the worldwide PC market. Hardly enough to support a higher resale value theory and to say the demand is "much stronger" than the PC market. I'd like to see some statistics to support your claim. Opinions are easy to come by, I am having trouble finding any facts to support this preconceived notion.

In your defense I also read that Apple is outperforming the PC market in sales, but still I am not sure if that affects resale.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/apple-tax-macs-hold-resale-value/

You can use eBay to compare PC and Mac models. I know Apple holds its value much better after seeing $1500-$2000 Windows laptops plummet to under $400 within 4 years, at least in 2012. I don't know of any PC models with flat pricing to compare it to now frankly. I can say with certainty that a Mac sold for $2000 today will sell for more than PC sold for $2000 today a few years down the line. Only outlier is potentially the Surface line as that has branding and marketing behind it.

 

[Kjung7]

I do agree that Macs hold their resale value. It's not because of demand, but because Macs hold up better over time due to superior hardware. Just look on Craigslist, I usually see high spec'd PCs going for way less than Macs that were released in the same year.