Every other week isn't bad, my MBP crashed at least once a week requiring a reboot. It's especially not bad when you consider Windows 7 is a huge step up from an XP install that hasn't been updated in 2 years.
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Current envy 15 user, want to switch to MBP, have doubts
- Thread starter Drecca
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The MBP is a good computer as is the Envy as far as I see it. I like both Macs and PCs so I am not biased either way. My first computer was an old Macintosh in school and I used them throughout my childhood although I have used PCs for the past ten years (with Macs sporadically throughout that time though have not gone through Mac OS X thoroughly).
The thing is though, with electronics being made on the assembly line overseas and standards not being what they used to be, you are going to have various problems such as optical drives, hard drives, and RAM failing. The quality control is not really satisfactory across the board be it for Apple, Dell, HP, etc.
This is just how I see it... if quality control is to improve, jobs have to be created here and overseen at a higher cost by the corporation, no?
The thing is though, with electronics being made on the assembly line overseas and standards not being what they used to be, you are going to have various problems such as optical drives, hard drives, and RAM failing. The quality control is not really satisfactory across the board be it for Apple, Dell, HP, etc.
This is just how I see it... if quality control is to improve, jobs have to be created here and overseen at a higher cost by the corporation, no?
Companies that want to keep their QC up send high level execs over seas to live and watch the plant themselves. My father has lived in Thailand for the last 4-5 years overseeing an Aerospace company.
Very interesting and thanks for mentioning that. Apple could do this and perhaps they should although it's very doubtful they will (much like adding Blu Ray).
I just figure I bring it up and apologize for going off-topic.
Hopefully when I get my Mac Mini, I will have minimal hardware problems.
Sometimes it's worth going off topic 
Never know if Apple already has people living over in China.
Never know if Apple already has people living over in China.
If you swap your envy for a MBP, besides being out 2.5k, not much will have changed. I'd keep the envy, unless you need something on the MBP that the envy doesn't offer (hint: it doesn't)
Sure, if you want to get rid of the ODD and get an external. Then you have to figure out a solution to block the DVD slot unless you don't mind having it open. Despite arguments over how much lack of TRIM will actually hurt him, he still needs to know that OSX lacks TRIM support and that it can affect performance.
Wrong. As said many times here, you can have 2 HDD's if you wish.
And you are woefully inaccurate on the SSD performance. We are finding out TRIM is not really needed with Macbooks. I've had mine for 4 months and Geekbench testing shows no signs of degradation. And I'm not alone on this either. I use my SSD just like any HDD. Well over a TB of data has been written to and deleted from my 128GB SSD.
Open DVD slot? The Optibay takes care of this. How is this an issue? You have to have a caddy of some find to hold the 2nd HDD in place and it blocks the space that was taken up by the optical drive.
And like many people having an external optical drive is not a bad thing, unless you are a gamer, but even then a lot of games are coming via download. Opti drive's are on their way out when it comes to computers. I give built in optical drives 5 years, before they are completely gone from mainstream laptops. People will simple buy external DVD drives if they still need them. Remember 3.5" floppy drives? How bought 5.25? 8"?? I remember them all...
Got it. Lack of TRIM "can" effect the drive. It depends on the drive you buy. True, true.
I can say that SSD Now V+ series from Kingston appears uneffected.
I agree with you about ODDs being on the way out. It's all still relevant info for the OP.
Yes, and performance can also vary wildly in between brands and types (even vary depending on size) when it comes to SSDs.
Yes, and performance can also vary wildly in between brands and types (even vary depending on size) when it comes to SSDs.
I have both a new 2010 15" MBP Core i7, and a identically equipped ThinkPad T510. They are both very nice computers. I've been using both of these brands for years, since I work in both environments.
About the only caution I have for you regarding the MacBook Pro is that you will be paying a heavy premium for the privilege of the Apple logo. Yes it's a fine machine, but it's hard to justify the premium price when the machine is not that much better than a ThinkPad. I get the same life out of a ThinkPad as I do a MacBook Pro. And the ThinkPad is every bit as stable and crash free.
I just went to the Apple & Lenovo Stores online to compare and see if prices had changed much in the last few months.
The 15" Core i7 like mine is $3266 compared to $1978 for the ThinkPad. The "Apple Tax" is huge.
One last question, and I did mroogle this as well, but many results, and pictures on my own screen can't do it justice.
I see some of the apple refurbs are antiglare instead of Glossy. Those of you who use your laptop a lot for work (and 10% of it gaming), do you see any difference, or will that difference only be apparent to those doing video/picture things on it?
I'm near a window most of the time, but I've never had trouble seeing my screen.
I see some of the apple refurbs are antiglare instead of Glossy. Those of you who use your laptop a lot for work (and 10% of it gaming), do you see any difference, or will that difference only be apparent to those doing video/picture things on it?
I'm near a window most of the time, but I've never had trouble seeing my screen.
That's interesting, thank you for the information. I did look at the thinkpads but they don't suit me. However I'm jealous of your battery life. I can't break 1:30 on my envy 15, and when I'll be using it on the road sometimes, battery does trump it.
For some, it's a preference thing. A matte screen does have better color accuracy while sacrificing that "pop" that glossy screens have. However, if you're fine with a glossy on your envy now, you'll be fine with a glossy on a MBP.
I would be very careful before you commit to a glossy display on a Mac. They are glass and extremely reflective. In my office we have three people that have them and they all wish they had matte, although when they bought theirs matte was not an option. There was a period of time when Apple exerted their "we know what's best for you" attitude and no longer offered matte displays. Well it turns out they didn't know what's best for us, they got a lot of push back and within the year, they quietly began offering a choice. I use matte simply due to the large number of hours I spend working on my laptop each day.
Thank you all very much for the wealth of information. I'll be selling my envy 15 to offset the macbook costs, so it's not a total loss.
As for hard drives, I'm going with the Momentum XT (as everyone else is). I saw most people are cloning their drives. I won't have any data on mine before the swap. Does the MBP come with a DVD (like windows) and I just put it in, install?
Or do I really need to clone the drive?
As for hard drives, I'm going with the Momentum XT (as everyone else is). I saw most people are cloning their drives. I won't have any data on mine before the swap. Does the MBP come with a DVD (like windows) and I just put it in, install?
Or do I really need to clone the drive?
haha love the "apple tax" thing, i got mine fully loaded 15" without the upgraded ram and without the SSD, and without the anti glare, i got the high res screen, 2.66 ghz i7 and a 7200 rpm hdd, and i spent like $2400 with 13% tax included, sold the free ipod, so knock $150 off that, so like $2250, i will upgrade the ram at some point and get an SSD when they are actually affordable, but man is this computer a ROCKET!
I just tried to buy an HP ENVY 17 but ended up returning two with maxed out specs because both had different issues wrong with them 30 minutes out of the box. IMO and from experience their build quality for what they advertise as a "premium notebook" is complete junk.
Processors get hot, and the heat has to go somewhere while gaming your computer should get very hot because of your high end graphics card, I would be worried if your computer was not getting hot.
Get the MBP it will be about the same performance for about the same price, plus the battery life is x5 as long and the build quality is top of the line.
Processors get hot, and the heat has to go somewhere while gaming your computer should get very hot because of your high end graphics card, I would be worried if your computer was not getting hot.
Get the MBP it will be about the same performance for about the same price, plus the battery life is x5 as long and the build quality is top of the line.