If not Mac...what?

[seanofford]

I've used Macs for a long time, but I've had to return 4 MBPs. Now I've lost faith. So out of interest (and since a similar question was deleted from the Apple Discussion forum - along with the entire thread about my problems - censorship eh?), can I ask my fellow Mac users - what make of pc notebook would you get if you were not going to get an Apple - and why?

Thanks for your replies,
Sean

 

[Roguepirate]

Pretty much PC's are all the same, no matter the make you're gonna get in general the internals will pretty much be the same. I say decide what specs you want e.g. how long of battery life, what cpu, screen size, notebook dimensions and just go find a notebook that matches your specs.

 

[thuff13]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the problem with the 4 MBPs?

 

[Osarkon]

Acer laptops are alright and my previous laptop before my macbook was an Acer and i'll vouch for it, but I've seen nice alternatives offered by Sony which are more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[boobooq88]

I would probably buy a IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad or maybe an Alienware... Hps are decent. Definately not Acer... the entire case for their notebooks is cheap plastic and feels like itll crack if i just put my hands on it (have a few at work so this is how I know).

But once I'd get it I'd get rid of Windows and Put Linux on it makes it 100x better to me

 

[mkrishnan]

Thinkpad without a doubt, for bulletproof reliability. I don't think Lenovo has managed to do much harm to that brand DNA as of yet.

Possibly also consider certain VAIOs, although I'd be prepared for a higher rate of issues than with TPs. I think even a small handful of Dells are tolerable, although others are a bad investment.

Is Vista stable enough to use yet? As for Linux... it lacks enough core features, particularly in the laptop world, that there's no way I can see using it.

 

[dcv]

Hmm, I used to like the Sony Vaios for style and decent build quality but not sure what they're like these days. There's no way in the world I'd go back to using a Windows pc laptop now though. Suppose you could run Linux or whatever on it, but I personally wouldn't switch away from the Mac OS, despite all the issues with MacBook Pros.

 

[Zel]

Panasonic Toughbook is the only laptop with better design/buildquality.

theyre obscenely expensive and you can take them to an iraqi firefight and drop them off a cliff and theyll keep working just fine.

 

[techlover828]

vaio

I would have to say that the company that most shares apples qualities of style, reliability, and overprice, would have to be sony vaio's. Lets face it, they're pretty sexy. If I had to get anything besides apple it would have to be a sony vaio (plus they do bluray)

 

[seanofford]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the problem with the 4 MBPs?

See here:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=328469

 

[macsforme]

I'd go for a ThinkPad. Rock-solid machines hardware-wise (say what you will about Windows), and quite durable.

 

[FleurDuMal]

The usual answer seems to be Sony Vaio. I admit, I have only ever had one model of Vaio laptop, but it was awful. I had to send it to some depot in France three times after every time it broke. When it died with all my revision stuff on it a couple of weeks before exams, I gave up and went with Apple.

 

[looking4anotebo]

If I wasn't going to buy a MBP, I would go with Asus, no question. When it comes to motherboards and notebooks, they are at the very top.

 

[caffeeneaddict]

if i weren't buying a MBP i'd prolly buy an alienware

 

[chaosbunny]

Whatever you buy, don't get a Thinkpad, they are pretty unreliable since Lenovo makes them. Last year they bought 2 at the office and both had serious problems.

 

[darkcurse]

Sony has a bad rep when it comes to after-sales service and customer support. I think your best bet would be to go for Lenovo's ThinkPad's. They still rate quite high for quality but they look quite fugly

 

[queshy]

The thinkpads are nice unless you don't mind waiting 20 years for them to ship it lol

 

[matthew24]

Thinkpad or Sony, anyway going Windows will quickly restore your faith in Mac again..

 

[nplima]

I wouldn't buy Sony. evil company always in the front line of attacking consumer rights.

I'm quite happy with my Packard Bell laptop. It's got sturdy plastics and fits a numeric keypad on a 15" case. in April it was one of the last few models I could find with XP instead of Vista.

 

[Osarkon]

Whilst Thinkpads are normally reputably durable and all that, and all the reviews I came across while debating between my macbook and a thinkpad reinforce this, the thinkpads's i've encountered since spend about half their time being fixed due to all sorts of issues. It made me quite glad i'd gotten a macbook, although that hasn't been without it's issues.

Certainly the build quality on Acer laptops could be better, but it's not terribly bad and the price is normally really good. I can't and won't vouch for any Dell laptop as every single one i've used has been horribly flimsy, especially the keyboard and i've seen hardware issues galore with nearly every one.

Asus are reputable however and I believe they deal or did deal with the macbook casing, or had something to do with the build process. Their products are normally of high quality.

 

[mpw]

Pretty much PC's are all the same, no matter the make you're gonna get in general the internals will pretty much be the same...

They're also pretty much the same internals as MBs and MBPs aren't they?

I'd go with a VAIO TZ or Asus UF1 for the size alone, hell if I had the money I'd get one and install OSX if I could.

 

[Lau]

Id get this Asus.

Apple hardware is good, but I don't think it's amazing any more, and their customer service here is crap, so I'd be very tempted to use the above and run OSX on it.

 

[MaddieBrad]

.... so I'd be very tempted to use the above and run OSX on it.

how?

 

[Abstract]

If you want dependability, ruggedness, ugliness, and a good overall computer: Lenovo (IBM) Thinkpad
If you want a pretty laptop that's somewhat decent: Vaio

If you want a computer that's somewhere in between the two descriptions already mentioned: Toshiba.


Well, these were the reps 2 years ago, anyway. I don't think much would have changed, not even with the Thinkpad. Some people are going to get a lemon, but that just happens. My old MacBook got fixed 6-7 times, and then they finally replaced it with a new one last month. Was my previous MacBook a bad laptop? Yes. Is the MacBook generally a bad laptop? Absolutely not. It's fantastic.

 

[andiwm2003]

I've used Macs for a long time, but I've had to return 4 MBPs. Now I've lost faith. So out of interest (and since a similar question was deleted from the Apple Discussion forum - along with the entire thread about my problems - censorship eh?), can I ask my fellow Mac users - what make of pc notebook would you get if you were not going to get an Apple - and why?

Thanks for your replies,
Sean

i'm in the process of buying a lenovo notebook for work


our it people and about 30 users in our company heavily recommend those. they are very robust, have all the features. they look hideous but it's about funtionality and reliability. we had no problems yet. i'm thinking about a santa rosa R61 thinkpad 14 inch or a santa rose 3000 v200 12.1 inch.

i wish apple made santa rosa macbooks. and i wish they made a new form factor for the mbp's that is more about reliability and robustness than design.