Dissapointing Apple

[sth]

The mbp doesn't have 4 cores so it's going to be too slow and costs way more. I was hoping it would have the i7 quadcore but I guess apple is always behind.

Eeer.... the i7-620M in the MBP isn't much slower than the i7-720QM in the ASUS. In fact it's faster in most benchmarks and just slightly behind in multicore rendering.
But on the other hand the MBP achieves a much longer battery life, which is important for many people, and so are things like noise and heat.

Anyway, for the stuff you're planning to do, the ASUS seems to be the better option: Go for it.

 

[shambo]

I was looking for a powerful 17" for rendering and some gaming. I would have liked a mbp but it's too far behind and too little value for the money. I've pretty much decided to go with this asus. Maybe with the extra money I'll get an ipad 🙄. Why don't they lower the price of the mbp to be more competitive?

That's one ugly machine bro. Hope you're happy sitting in Starbucks with it.

 

[Mindinversion]

The Asus also comes with a 1 year accidental damage warranty on top of the 2 year standard. It can also drive 2 24" monitors [HDMI + VGA output], run 2 instances of WoW @ 60FPS with fully maxed settings, hold up to 16 gig ram. The chassis is sturdy [no flex whatsoever] though the keyboard tends to flex inward in the center.

And the best part is, it's as quiet as a MBP, even under load [actually quieter, since the fans are bigger and thus you don't get that annoying high pitched whine]

heavy is not the issue with this thing, it actually feels lighter than it looks. Finding a backpack to fit it if you don't get the A1 or A2 versions is the trick.

Of course it moves you back into Windows, which means removing bloatware, tuning up the OS, disabling useless system processes, updating drivers, cleaning registry, disk cleanup/defrag schedules, antivirus, antispyware. . .I could go on and on 😉



I LOVE my Acer, don't get me wrong. . but I'm not ready to trust Windows with the safety of my work data 😉

That's one ugly machine bro. Hope you're happy sitting in Starbucks with it.

That comment was so shallow you could drown in half a thimble full of water. Who cares if it WORKS, what matters is if IT LOOKS GOOD!

I'd ask you what kind of car you drove, but you'd probably just respond "the shiny one" 😉

[to the general public: I'm sorry, i couldn't resist, some things in life are just TOO GOOD to pass up]

 

[PAC88]

hahaha.. nothing against asus but that thing... wow. maybe it's just a bad angle?? haha

anyone that even considers that thing as a potential buy should do us all a favor and just get the asus..

 

[BayouTiger]

I looked at that Asus last week when shopping for a replacement for an employee's Dell. It is a nice machine for a desktop replacement, but at 8+ lbs plus a big brick and less than 2 hours battery life it is more of a transportable than what I consider a laptop. I ended up getting her the Dell Studio XPS16 with the i5-430 instead. I ran some tests on it against my 2.8 MBP and I was surprised that my Mac running Win7 under parallels5 beat the Dell by about 20 seconds on a 1:15 calc. We use a dedicated single threaded calculation engine to do lighting design. I even installed the intel widget to make sure the i5 was in turbo boost.

I am thinking that the 620 may be the right fit for the best real world performance and great battery life. Unfortunately with the exception of Handbrake ( I have a Mac Pro that handles my encoding) I live in a pretty single threaded world.

 

[koruki]

I've given a lot more of my money to Asus than Apple to be honest (see sig, anything that could be made by Asus is Asus)

For a laptop the unibody alone is enough to have me dedicated to Apple.

Another comment that I agree with and see very often, particularly in new PC switchers is how the Macbooks just continue at the same speed years later while the PC laptops crawl to a halt(still on my first Macbook after 2 PC laptops, might have second macbook pro by tonight! 😀), being a someone that works in tech I still can't find a simple explanation for it, cause even with fresh format and install of windows on the PC, it doesn't seem to speed things back up.

 

[panzer06]

The Asus also comes with a 1 year accidental damage warranty on top of the 2 year standard. It can also drive 2 24" monitors [HDMI + VGA output], run 2 instances of WoW @ 60FPS with fully maxed settings, hold up to 16 gig ram. The chassis is sturdy [no flex whatsoever] though the keyboard tends to flex inward in the center.

And the best part is, it's as quiet as a MBP, even under load [actually quieter, since the fans are bigger and thus you don't get that annoying high pitched whine]

heavy is not the issue with this thing, it actually feels lighter than it looks. Finding a backpack to fit it if you don't get the A1 or A2 versions is the trick.

snip -- for stating the obvious


That comment was so shallow you could drown in half a thimble full of water. Who cares if it WORKS, what matters is if IT LOOKS GOOD!

I'd ask you what kind of car you drove, but you'd probably just respond "the shiny one" 😉

[to the general public: I'm sorry, i couldn't resist, some things in life are just TOO GOOD to pass up]

hahaha.. nothing against asus but that thing... wow. maybe it's just a bad angle?? haha

anyone that even considers that thing as a potential buy should do us all a favor and just get the asus..

I own the BB version and while it only has a single 500GB HD, no Bluetooth and a 1600x900 display that is inferior to the 1080p screen, it only cost $1199 and has a space for an additional HD and easily added a Blu-ray drive for $59 (ebay tray load BD-Rom combo).

As I've stated elsewhere on this forum, it may not be pretty, it weighs 7.5 lbs, has a 150watt AC Adapter and gets less than 2hours on a battery but the ATI 5870 screams on any game and the Blu-rays play great on my HDTV here or at the Hyatt Place hotels on the road.

Carrying 2 laptops is a pain but it is the way of things so long I as need a Mac for work and Apple doesn't offer a performance option.

Cheers,

 

[SamTheeGeek]

Dude dont worry about what people are saying.... buy what you want, you are the one paying at the end and not any one on this thread.

So if you like it and you are pretty convinced , i say go for it. Its a pretty nice spec'd machine , personally i dont really like asus the only windows company i would go for is Sony. Top quality laptops i would compare it to apple, love there hardware and build quality 😉

but i do believe the reason you created this thread is because you are not really sure , so don't be offended by members opinions do what you want 😉


have fun and enjoy your new laptop

 

[alejandro1938]

Again, if you need power, and battery life plays little to no significance, why don't you get a desktop with some real power behind it?😕

Mobility? Being able to carry around your whole editing suite in one package and not lug around a full sized tower and monitor and peripherals? Its a mobile desktop! At least I assume thats a decent enough justification for sacrificing battery life for performance in a laptop, the assumption that your not going to be far away from an outlet.

 

[Bluegiz90]

That machine is real nice! I feel sad now, I feel like Apple is ripping me off by having me pay what they're asking for.
Ignore the people saying "Good luck getting it repaired in 12months" etc (Fanboys 🙄). I've had many PC's and had no such problems. Who seriously buys a laptop based on looks aswell, if you do, you need to find something better to spend your money on 😀.

 

[JoeG4]

I ended up getting her the Dell Studio XPS16 with the i5-430 instead. I ran some tests on it against my 2.8 MBP and I was surprised that my Mac running Win7 under parallels5 beat the Dell by about 20 seconds on a 1:15 calc. We use a dedicated single threaded calculation engine to do lighting design. I even installed the intel widget to make sure the i5 was in turbo boost.

Granted your 2.8GHz MBP cost twice what that Dell did, I wonder what kinda test you're doing there.

 

[palmerc2]

Why don't they lower the price of the mbp to be more competitive?

That's a good question, in a keynote recently with Steve Jobs, I forget exactly what the topic was, I believe it was the iPod keynote a few months back. He said something around the lines of "we've made 1 billion dollars profit in 2008 on the iPod alone..........but we don't care about that, we care about delivering a good product"

Someone should hold him to that. I know every company needs to make money, but if they don't care....why not make them cheaper??

 

[QCassidy352]

Why don't they lower the price of the mbp to be more competitive?

because they're not trying to compete against brick-like, high-end gaming notebooks. They're pushing sleek design, high battery life, medium-high power, and of course, OS X.

I don't get why people keep expecting apple to start making ultra-high-end (in terms of pure hardware) computers and pricing them to compete with the Dells and Asus' of the world. That's not their game and it never has been. If all you want is the most possible power and/or the best possible price-to-power ratio, apple has never been the right choice.

That's a good question, in a keynote recently with Steve Jobs, I forget exactly what the topic was, I believe it was the iPod keynote a few months back. He said something around the lines of "we've made 1 billion dollars profit in 2008 on the iPod alone..........but we don't care about that, we care about delivering a good product"

Someone should hold him to that. I know every company needs to make money, but if they don't care....why not make them cheaper??

Um, are you kidding? Of course they care about the profit. And as a public company, they damn well better.

I think the difference is that apple makes good products first, and the profit follows, whereas other companies look for products that will make profit. But the bottom line is ultimately, always, the financial bottom line.

Who seriously buys a laptop based on looks aswell, if you do, you need to find something better to spend your money on 😀.

Meh, I don't think buying a laptop based on looks is any dumber than buying a laptop based on specs that won't make any difference in your day to day usage (not saying that's the case with the OP, but many people just want the higher number, not because they need it, just because it's the higher number).

 

[BaronStein]

Ok, very good specs, but like, that Asus is ugly, you know that?

Just to ask, if you were buying a girlfriend, just like a computer, would you prefer a girl who has a honor degree in some engineering from MIT but weighting 200 pounds and looking ugly as a monkey's arss with full of STD's, gets tired and bored while you go out, but making you to spend less money, or a girl who has some degree from an above average college, beautiful like a top model, without any STD's, caring and supporting you all the way, enjoying and making you feel good when you go out but more expensive?

I don't know what you think, but I'd definitely choose the 2nd one.

 

[JoeG4]

Ok, so the Asus doesn't look so great. You guys HATE it, with a vengeance. Most of you have 13" MBPs and would never consider a laptop that brute because you MIGHT crack a nail opening the lid. O_O

OMG!

Really?

I'm sitting here with a 16" behemoth that isn't quite as ungainly as the Asus, on my LAP. It's ok. It runs a lot cooler than a MacBook Pro, **** it runs cooler than a regular MacBook to me.

Some people have different preferences. 🙂

 

[panzer06]

because they're not trying to compete against brick-like, high-end gaming notebooks. They're pushing sleek design, high battery life, medium-high power, and of course, OS X.

I don't get why people keep expecting apple to start making ultra-high-end (in terms of pure hardware) computers and pricing them to compete with the Dells and Asus' of the world. That's not their game and it never has been. If all you want is the most possible power and/or the best possible price-to-power ratio, apple has never been the right choice.

Um, are you kidding? Of course they care about the profit. And as a public company, they damn well better.

I think the difference is that apple makes good products first, and the profit follows, whereas other companies look for products that will make profit. But the bottom line is ultimately, always, the financial bottom line.

Meh, I don't think buying a laptop based on looks is any dumber than buying a laptop based on specs that won't make any difference in your day to day usage (not saying that's the case with the OP, but many people just want the higher number, not because they need it, just because it's the higher number).

Your argument regarding design vs power is one of personal preference. It is impossible to have a rational conversation regarding the relative merits of each system because much of the discussion will revolve around either the physical design or the software acumen of the Mac. A properly educated and careful Windows users does not have a bunch of virus and Spyware issues. And an irresponsible college student downloading all manner of illegal music and movies can wreck his OS X install just as easily as a Windows user. When I worked at the University I reloaded many many Powerbooks and ibooks that ran so slow from all the bad apps that had been downloaded.

What most people who find these latest updates lacking are trying to get across to the Apple faithful is that there need not be a either / or situation surrounding performance and style.

I'm certain some industrial designer at Apple has created a beautiful 17" Mac with all the latest hardware that weighs 16 oz more than the current MBP. These are really good design folks. The culture at Apple from Jobs on down says that machine will only appeal to "x" percent of our base and it's another model to support or ATI wants $10 per unit more and that cuts into our profit. Apple does not care about this vocal performance seeking minority.

So long as the current and future products sell well, Apple has no incentive to improve the spec. For all the complaining on this and other Apple forums, these laptops will sell and sell well. --I will eventually own a refurb or used one myself--but I will never pay full price for a machine that I will only use for work and to store my iTunes content.

We buy systems we like or must have for a specific function/application. As long as there enough users willing to buy Macs no matter how much they cost, Apple has no reason to do anything beyond what they do today.

If you love or must have OS X buy a Mac, new, refurb or used. If you want the fastest computer capable of running the latest games with settings turned all the way up buy a Windows systems at a fraction of the cost with more than double the GPU performance.

Ok, very good specs, but like, that Asus is ugly, you know that?

Just to ask, if you were buying a girlfriend, just like a computer, would you prefer a girl who has a honor degree in some engineering from MIT but weighting 200 pounds and looking ugly as a monkey's arss with full of STD's, gets tired and bored while you go out, but making you to spend less money, or a girl who has some degree from an above average college, beautiful like a top model, without any STD's, caring and supporting you all the way, enjoying and making you feel good when you go out but more expensive?

I don't know what you think, but I'd definitely choose the 2nd one.

That analogy is just plain WRONG!

Cheers,

 

[rhett7660]

That analogy is just plain WRONG!

Cheers,

Yeah but that was freaking funny!

 

[Jiten]

Hope you're happy sitting in Starbucks with it.

I did not realize looking good in Starbucks was a consideration in purchasing a notebook computer.

 

[BEARitone]

Enjoy. I don't see how you are disappointed, Apple has never been about the spec sheet.

If you need to do a ton of mobile rendering(lol, I would guess 90% of the people who say this are lying) then yeah, enjoy your behemoth and don't go too far away from an outlet.

 

[rwdebes]

Eeer.... the i7-620M in the MBP isn't much slower than the i7-720QM in the ASUS. In fact it's faster in most benchmarks and just slightly behind in multicore rendering.
But on the other hand the MBP achieves a much longer battery life, which is important for many people, and so are things like noise and heat.

Anyway, for the stuff you're planning to do, the ASUS seems to be the better option: Go for it.

need to come by my house sometime and listen my early 2008 macbook pro 15" 2.4ghz , sounds like a leafblower sometimes , if i try i can fry an egg on the back .. 😕

 

[nconnella]

This bickering will never end will it? You people who say "your Asus will die in 12-14 months" have no idea what you are talking about. If you think Macs are invincible, well they aren't. I'm currently in the process of getting mine replaced. I've gone through like 4 iphones so Apple is by no means invincible.

Having said that, I love my Apple products for their esthetic design, but more importantly, their intuitive wonderful OS's, on computer AND phone. But most importantly from a business stand point, I NEED to use Mac for my video editing etc. Personally I will never go back to a PC but the fact is you can get WAY WAY WAY more bang for your buck if you get a PC and it does NOT mean it's going to fall apart. Are most of them hideous compared to a mac? In my opinion, yes. But that does NOT make them less of an option. It all comes down to needs. Why don't you people just leave each other alone and be happy that you even HAVE the money and CHOICE to buy what you need, and let others be happy with what they have bought. NO ONE here is qualified to predict that someones PC is going to break down in 12 months... give it a rest. And who ever thinks Macs are invincible needs to look in the troubleshooting sections of the forum and see the thousands of people who have problems every day. They are fragile electronics like anything else!

 

[BayouTiger]

Granted your 2.8GHz MBP cost twice what that Dell did, I wonder what kinda test you're doing there.

I wasn't making any comment on the Dell, but on the i5-430 vs T9600. Just pointing out that the next big thing in not necessarily going to blow away the last generation. The program I run daily is AGI32 and it can work over a processor pretty good.

The Dell Studio XPS series is VERY nice, as is the Sony F series. I am actually tempted to replace my MBP with one as most of my Apple stuff on the laptop is now handled nicely by my iPad. The programs I use for work are all PC (AGI32, AutoCAD, Visio, and several others).

 

[henry72]

Buddy... This doesn't mean anything~ To be honest, Mac OS X doesn't need that powerful hardware compare with Windows~

Hey, enjoy your Windows, I don't need that spec lol
I'll be enjoy my Mac even though your hardware is way better than me

 

[gagaliya]

look at all the apple lemmings falling over each other. Clearly the asus laptop was not a good example for comparison, as it's apples to oranges (no pun intended).

Here's a more accurate comparison, and you can see the value proposition or lack thereof, for the macbook. The only thing macbook got going for it is monopoly on osx.

HP ENVY 15"

Intel(R) i7-720QM Quad Core processor 2.8 GHz
6GB DDR3 System Memory (3 Dimm)
500GB 7200RPM
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics
15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Anti-glare Widescreen Display (1920x1080)
5.16 Lbs
$2100 including battery option up to 6hrs, not including 25% off coupon,

VS

Mac Book Pro 15"

2.66GHz Intel Core i7 (Dual Core)
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
15" 1680-by-1050 LED Screen
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
$2350 up to 8-9hrs battery life

 

[o'malley]

so let me get this straight: different people have different needs and preferences?