Has anyone switched to Mac from a relatively more "powerful" notebook?

[bruno75]

I've plenty of friends who consider me crazy for jumping to a Mac from my current system:

Dell XPS m1710 (black)| 17" Truelife WUXGA | Core 2 Duo T7600G 2.33@2.66Ghz | 2gb DDR2@667mhz sdram | 512mb 7950GTX | Philips 8xDVD+-RW | 100gb sata Hitachi Travelstar 7200rpm | 4gb Transcend SD card --> Readyboost | Dell Draft N Wireless 1500 | Dell Wireless 355 bluetooth (internal) | Dell 2407wfp 24" LCD | D/Dock | Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000

Am I just completely nuts for jumping to a 15.4" macbook pro? Does anybody know of someone who has done something similar? Basically, I originally bought my XPS for gaming and productivity. I've traditionally been a big gamer, but in general I don't really have much time to game anymore and I've probably spent 5 hours gaming within the past month due to my schedule being so busy. I've always been unhappy that my laptop isn't more portable because it's kind of a pain lugging around the XPS 17" when I want to go to say Starbucks, etc.. or use on a plane. On top of that, I really and truly hate Vista, with a passion. I have so many complaints that I don't know where to start and I've longed to switch to the Mac OSX for awhile but never worked up the nerve to actually do it. The last Apple computer I had was an Apple IIgs in the 80s. Anyway, I'm losing money by switching to a less powerful machine and I'm just paranoid that I'm going to regret it. I'm hoping to love OSX and finally be able to rid myself of needing to use Windows for productivity. I'd also like to be able to do some gaming on the computer but older games are fine with me. Ah well, it should be shipping end of this week and I'm going to give it a full test run to see if it's adequate. My friends still think I'm nuts.

 

[Help!]

What is less powerful about a 15inch mbp?

mbp pro comes in either

* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB memory
* 200GB hard drive1
* Double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB
or
* 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB memory
* 250GB hard drive1
* Double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB

and these are the stock configurations

 

[martychang]

What is less powerful about a 15inch mbp?

The GeForce 7950GTX is older than what's in the MBP's, but vastly more powerful. But if you're not gaming so much anymore you'll be better off with the MBP, all you need is to want a Mac, and have the money.

 

[RichL]

Just re-read what you typed and pretend someone else wrote it. I was in the same position last summer but had a powerful desktop and wanted to switch to a laptop for portability/ I didn't need power any more since my PC gaming time declined. Then I bought an xbox 360 Elite but that's another story ^_^.

But sure, go ahead. The MBP is a very nice machine. I've been out of the loop and didn't realize the new processors came out but that's definitely a plus!

-Rich L.

 

[FF_productions]

Get to know the Mac, the productivity gained by the OS almost offsets whatever speed decrease your talking about.

I've used Windows, I was a Windows Wiz, been there done that I guess you can say.


When people do a straight switch, this happens..

Get to know the OS, get a book on Leopard, learn the advantages.

 

[bruno75]

Just re-read what you typed and pretend someone else wrote it. I was in the same position last summer but had a powerful desktop and wanted to switch to a laptop for portability/ I didn't need power any more since my PC gaming time declined. Then I bought an xbox 360 Elite but that's another story ^_^.

But sure, go ahead. The MBP is a very nice machine. I've been out of the loop and didn't realize the new processors came out but that's definitely a plus!

-Rich L.

So, any regrets about switching?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

No, you're not crazy. For basic usage, very rarely will you need more then 1ghz worth of CPU power.

plus, that XPS is HUGE!

 

[MezicanGangxtah]

I actualy dont see why the new macbook pro would be "less powerful" than youre current laptop the graphics card might be better at games although it is older. But other than that the specs on a macbookpro seem better , you can amp it up all the way to 2.6 ghz 200 gig 7200rpm hard drive 4 gigs of ram superdrive and geforce 8600m GT 512 megs... And it runs windows and OS X !!! i see no reason as to not go for this .

P.S. maybe you want a screen that is 17 inches? IF so i hope youre aware MBP come in that size as well! and has a extremely high resolution option too

 

[xkRoWx]

MBP's portability(thinner, lighter) and OSX makes up for every other superior hardware that Dell's got to offer. What's the point of having a super laptop with crazy hardware specs when the OS it runs doesn't even do its job properly? Not to mention all these other malwares, sharewares and drivers you need to download to make Windows work.

 

[bruno75]

The GeForce 7950GTX is older than what's in the MBP's, but vastly more powerful. But if you're not gaming so much anymore you'll be better off with the MBP, all you need is to want a Mac, and have the money.

Well, I don't game as much as I used to, but I still enjoy gaming and go through phases. I fully intend to game on the mbp and probably would not purchase it if I couldn't game on it because computer gaming is still an important part of my leisure time when I'm able. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm through with needing the latest and greatest notebook graphics card and there are plenty of older games that I haven't had time to load up and enjoy and it seems to me that the 8600m GT should be more than capable of handling those games.

If I find myself needing more game time in the future, I just plan on buying an xbox 360 or a pc tower to game on. Certainly a cheaper alternative than constantly upgrading a notebook. I just want to be sure I'll be able to do some basic gaming on the mbp via bootcamp.

 

[Help!]

It seems like everyone in the thread is equating the power of the machine by its video card?

 

[bruno75]

It seems like everyone in the thread is equating the power of the machine by its video card?

I think the main "downgrades" would revolve around the fact that I'm going from a 17" 1920x1200 to a 15.4" 1440x900, 7950GTX to an 8600mGT (losing roughly 2-3K 3dmark05 points), 2.5Ghz cpu from the t7600G which overclocks to 3.0Ghz.

All that while losing a few hundred dollars.

It's my belief that the hardware design, quality, merits of OSX and ability to bootcamp to Windows for gaming will make it worthwhile.

 

[mgacam2]

I went from LOVING high speed gaming pc's to a macbook pro thinking I didnt have enough time for games anymore. Then I went and bought a PS3 and havn't been happier.

 

[steve31]

I had a 1710 xps 512 gpu and switched to a MBP 2.4 256 gpu...I have had no regrets at all. I love mac osx and my MBP. I also run windows in boot camp and play games...it can play anything that my xps could!

 

[RichL]

So, any regrets about switching?

My only regret is not being able to upgrade my desktop when the next new thing releases. I always loved cracking open my machine and switching things around .

Other then that I love this MBP. When I had time, I could play Battlefield 2142, WoW, WC3, Crysis (on Medium and low res - but ran great), and just about any game that was out last year. So the power is still there but turned just a tid bit down.

You should be satisfied.

-Rich L.