Help a person new to Macs, about to buy a MBP

[sicshift]

I currently am using a halfway decent dell 15.4". Nothing special about it. My brother is IT for a large company and gives me free computers every 6 months or so but they're probably worth about 3 or 400 bucks on the market. So nothing lighting fast or a nice screen etc.

I'm 30 and actually going back to school to finish my degree. Up til now, I've used it mainly for surfing the net and occasional document use but that's about it.

I really want to get the 15" mbp. Obviously, it's beautiful to look at, has great features, a great screen and above all, I've never met anyone that didn't love their Mac. The problem is of course justifying the price. When comparing stats, it seems that a typical PC is about half the price of a Mac.

This has been my brothers primary argument. Why spend 2k when for about 1100, you can get the same thing in a PC.

I've surfed this forum a bit but if anyone is willing, please help explain why the MBP commands the extra $$. I know that there's more to it. That you can't compare PC to MAC like it's apples to apples.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[LowMach]

just depends on if you want osx or windows software really.

cool thing about macs is that they do both.

you can load osx on pc's, but you will have to be "IT" handy and struggle with each update. not mention the EULA issue.

also its very interesting to me how well the mac's hold there value when compared to dell's or other pc's. for example i bought a used macbook off craigslist and used it for almost 2 years before selling it on ebay for the same amount.

 

[geoffreak]

Go with a 13" MBP. You will notice a huge speed increase over your current hardware and your needs don't require you to have a 15". If you really want the larger screen size, go with the low-end 15".

 

[analytical44]

Go with a 13" MBP. You will notice a huge speed increase over your current hardware and your needs don't require you to have a 15". If you really want the larger screen size, go with the low-end 15".

+1

 

[sicshift]

Why the 13"? What's the big advantage with the 13?

The reason I ask, is that while I'm not in the graphics or design business, a nice, large enough, glossy and vibrant screen is at the top of my list when picking a computer. I've got a couple laptops right now and the newest one is a 14" and I prefer the larger 15.4.

I'm open to suggestions though if the 13" model is some faster computer or great deal etc. Or is it just the price? I noticed it's about 400 bucks difference for just the screen?

I'm also looking at the student discount which takes off about a hundred bucks or so. Plus, they're offering a free ipod touch now. Selling that, with the student discount would help me recoup about 300 bucks I'm guessing.

 

[sicshift]

edit: Looked at the site and saw the spec differences between the 13 and 15. So you're saying that the upgrades are not worth the 500 price difference? I'd really like a 15 inch screen, but damn, 500 cheaper is an incentive.

 

[Michael CM1]

edit: Looked at the site and saw the spec differences between the 13 and 15. So you're saying that the upgrades are not worth the 500 price difference? I'd really like a 15 inch screen, but damn, 500 cheaper is an incentive.

I would be buying the $1200 model more than likely if I was in the market today. I might upgrade the HDD because I'm closing in on using up 250GB, but everything else looks sweet. Sure, you'd always love a bigger screen, but I mostly use mine in clamshell mode with a monitor. I just want it portable when the need arises.

If you plan on only using it as a notebook, I would suggest going for the $1699 model if you can afford it. That's basically what people were paying $1999 for this weekend.

As far as Dell vs. Mac, I can guarantee you that you'll be happier with a Mac unless you do the most extreme gaming. I know a little about OSes, and the guy from Apple who was mocking Windows Vista had numerous points. Mac OS is much much much more stable and makes things you do all of the time (backing up via Time Machine, burning DVDs/CDs, printing bloody PDFs) so easy. If you're an eco-freak, you should check out the "green" stats on the Dell, because I assume a bit of the cost in the Macs goes toward removing harmful stuff. I would also note the battery, which now is insanely better than most I have heard of.