I know everyone here probably hates these topics with a passion, but I really am having a hard time deciding what computer I wish to purchase for my upcoming fall semester at college.
Now, here's the breakdown: I want a nice computer that I'll be using to code, interweb surf, listen to music, and play games (from oldies to new ones). As such, I need a pretty demanding machine. I really like the MacBook Pro, but if I were to get one I'd much prefer the 17" for its screen real estate, better graphics processing (I believe someone here said it gets less hot since its a larger heatsink). I'm just having a hard time justifying the cost that would run me, even with ADC it's still going to be $2-3 grand once AppleCare and other accessories are added in.
As such, here are the current options I'm debating between:
1) 17" MacBook Pro
+ Huge, hi-res screen
+ Can run games very well (from YouTube videos)
+ Damn sexy
+ Mac OS X
+ Great battery life (according to Consumer Reports a month or two ago)
- Steep price is hard to justify
2) 15" MacBook Pro
+ Mac OS X
+ Can run most modern games, although not necessarily at highest settings
+ Damn sexy
+ Relatively affordable
- Seems to have more hardware problems than the 17" (this is just a personal observation on the forum, perhaps because less people own the 17")
- Can't run games as well as other similarly priced machines
3) Random Dell/Lenovo/Newegg Laptop
+ Affordable
+ Have high specs for the price you're paying, although this can be misleading
- Ugly and frequently cumbersome. I hate those shiny metallic outside cases, and those bright neon lights that manufacturers use to "coolify" their product
- Windows only (Well, maybe Linux at some point too)
- This is not always the case, but piss-poor battery performance
4) Build a desktop
+ Best bang for your buck
+ Great performance, usually
+ Lots of customization
- It's a desktop, so no portability
- I already built one computer and I don't want to go through the headache of building another
- Windows only (sans Linux)
That's a brief rundown of my current situation, and the situation has become a lot more urgent because my old computer's (which I built 3 years ago) power supply is dead, and I'm fairly certain its hard drives were also on a path to destruction (lots of classic Seagate clicks). Basically, I just want some opinions from you guys, or maybe you can contribute to my pro's and con's.
Cheers, and thanks!
Now, here's the breakdown: I want a nice computer that I'll be using to code, interweb surf, listen to music, and play games (from oldies to new ones). As such, I need a pretty demanding machine. I really like the MacBook Pro, but if I were to get one I'd much prefer the 17" for its screen real estate, better graphics processing (I believe someone here said it gets less hot since its a larger heatsink). I'm just having a hard time justifying the cost that would run me, even with ADC it's still going to be $2-3 grand once AppleCare and other accessories are added in.
As such, here are the current options I'm debating between:
1) 17" MacBook Pro
+ Huge, hi-res screen
+ Can run games very well (from YouTube videos)
+ Damn sexy
+ Mac OS X
+ Great battery life (according to Consumer Reports a month or two ago)
- Steep price is hard to justify
2) 15" MacBook Pro
+ Mac OS X
+ Can run most modern games, although not necessarily at highest settings
+ Damn sexy
+ Relatively affordable
- Seems to have more hardware problems than the 17" (this is just a personal observation on the forum, perhaps because less people own the 17")
- Can't run games as well as other similarly priced machines
3) Random Dell/Lenovo/Newegg Laptop
+ Affordable
+ Have high specs for the price you're paying, although this can be misleading
- Ugly and frequently cumbersome. I hate those shiny metallic outside cases, and those bright neon lights that manufacturers use to "coolify" their product
- Windows only (Well, maybe Linux at some point too)
- This is not always the case, but piss-poor battery performance
4) Build a desktop
+ Best bang for your buck
+ Great performance, usually
+ Lots of customization
- It's a desktop, so no portability
- I already built one computer and I don't want to go through the headache of building another
- Windows only (sans Linux)
That's a brief rundown of my current situation, and the situation has become a lot more urgent because my old computer's (which I built 3 years ago) power supply is dead, and I'm fairly certain its hard drives were also on a path to destruction (lots of classic Seagate clicks). Basically, I just want some opinions from you guys, or maybe you can contribute to my pro's and con's.
Cheers, and thanks!
