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Current MBP 13".. or Good Alternative?

C

ChocoboNL

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 20, 2008
81
1
Hello everyone,

I am looking for a replacement for my gf's - now dead - laptop (non-Apple). My preference would lean towards the MBP 13" over the 'new' MB, don't particularly like how the plastic unibody turned out and I heard about cracks and the aluminum model being superior. On the other hand, the buyer's guide states that it is due for an update (but no known refresh date yet and immediate replacement is required).

However, she is currently used to Windows and is content about it - then again, she doesn't know Macs. Therefore, I am curious about possible alternatives, the laptop does not have to pack a lot of power (she would just use it for the casual things, no game or anything; office, mail, IM's, internet). I want her laptop to be of proper build-quality though and not too heavy (she's a slender girl ;)). So I was Interested in Lenovo too, but don't know their range of product at all.

So, any suggestions? Not looking for hate on wintels here (is this the wrong forum to ask? :p), just some honest advice on good quality laptops that are not overspecced, preferably under the $1,000 mark (I know the 13" MBP surpasses that).

Thanks in advance!
 
Not sure how old your girlfriend is.. but i'm a girl, so i'll give my opinion..

If she hasn't expressed interest in having a Mac, I wouldn't buy her one.. I recently switched to the Macbook Pro and I love it, but I've been wanting to do it for a long time.. I think if she is happy with windows, just buy her a decent laptop and let it be..

I think someone really has to want to make the switch..
 
I disagree with Izzy above in only that some people don't know what they are missing and once they make the switch (or their family, sig other etc makes that switch and they get a taste of the high life) they end up realizing what the fuss is about and don't go back. Especially in today's Macs with Intel chips you can reboot and run it like an actual windoze machine. Not to mention run a shell without rebooting via Parallels, VmWare and the like.

In short what I would suggest is to keep an eye on the refurb store and snatch up a current 13" or even 15" if the price is in range. If you know how to use and work with Mac's, you might have a legit copy of Windows 7 ready for the day she opens it and boot camp it for her. I bet she'd love having the best of both worlds.

If you are starting to lean away from a Mac then just do your online research with the usual suspects ie HP, Lenovo, Sony etc.
 
Hii Izzybeff,

Thanks for the reply. :) She's in her 20's, like me. Reason for thinking about the MB - which I think to be the better option after taking a shower; a shower is, as we all know, refreshing for both mind and body, hehe - is that I have it really is not that expensive and I believe the (build-)quality to be superior to similarly priced laptops of other manufacturers. Also, even though she never talked about 'switching' - not all that tech savvy - she did like working with my MB when she did. And I can help her out a lot better when she doesn't know how to do things, as I forgot all about how things work on windows, let alone W7. (Tell me if I'm 'selling myself a product here'. ;))
Even so, what laptops would be comparable in the windows-segment? As I have been totally out of it the last years.. :(
 
comparable products might be the Lenovo T410/T410s and the Lenovo X201/X201s. I would suggest shopping on the lenovo.com/cpp site or lenovo.com/spp site to save quite a bit of money.

Any other brands than lenovo that you are interested in?
 
heres an idea....if you have a mac let her try it for a week or so and see what she thinks. may ruin a bit of the surprise but if you just say "hey since your laptop is dead you can use my MB for now" then it may still seem innocent enough.

I myself am currently waiting on making the switch to mac when the new MBPs come out. If I wasn't such an avid gamer then I would ditch windows for good but my i7 tower keeps me strapped to windows to play my games.
 
If you do decide on a Windows machine, I second kny3twalker's recommendation of the T- and X-series ThinkPads.
 
The newer unibody white MBs dont have the same cracking issue the old ones did. IIRC they are going for $850 on the refurb store (with a bigger HDD) compared to $999 for the base MBP.

If FW, a SD slot and an illuminated keyboard and external battery indicator arnt worth $150 to her it might be an easy savings.
 
Mactagonist said:
The newer unibody white MBs dont have the same cracking issue the old ones did. IIRC they are going for $850 on the refurb store (with a bigger HDD) compared to $999 for the base MBP.

If FW, a SD slot and an illuminated keyboard and external battery indicator arnt worth $150 to her it might be an easy savings.
Click to expand...

Microcenter has them new for $799.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys and girls, apparently there's a back-up laptop available from some friends. Allows us to look more on ease. Although I think the white MB is a very good contestant. :)
 
is she buying it or are you paying for it? give her your old one buy a new one for yourself. a $1000+ gift is pretty serious for someone who is only a "girlfriend". not to question your relationship, but i would think you either have to have lots of spare cash, or are essentially ready to marry each other to be exchanging gifts that big.
 
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