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Is a MacBook Pro really worth the money?

Absolutely, and if you research PCs, you will find that many are actually on-par with similarly spec-ed PCs, at least in Canada. The 2011 MBP base model is the same price as the Toshiba Portege R800-series/R700-series with the same specs (though the Toshibas have 3 USB ports).

A while back I never thought I'd truly convert from PC to Mac... but after just a few weeks on my MBP what I thought was a blazingly fast PC with awesome specs (similar specs to my MBP actually except i3 vs i5 processor) is now cumbersome to use. OS X is just that great.

I rely heavily on MS Office and Exchange and they have been a pleasure to use on the Mac. I should add that I don't game so that has never been a consideration when selecting a laptop. I can't get over how intuitive OS X is though.
 
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sm0 said:
it's not the best laptop in the world, but it sure as hell is the nicest...

worth the price? probably not. but life's too short for mediocre
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"Sure as hell the nicest, and life's too short for mediocre." If you're going to be on a laptop for hours a day, get something that feels good.

And I do feel it's worth the price. Just think of the resale value of Macs: today I sold my five year old white Macbook for $450--I bought it as a refurb for $900, so it cost me $90/year or $1.73/week to own it, after resale.

The total cost of ownership of the MBP, if we take into account resale value, probably compares favorably to most other laptops. So yeah, it's worth the price.
 
topocalypse said:
i never regret getting the MacBook Pro.
if i can start all over again, i would still buy the macbook pro.
but since i have my custom made gaming pc, i dont need macbook pro for gaming. i would say the only suck thing about macbook pro is gaming.
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That's a killer combo. You get all the reliability from Apple, and all games and compatibility from a gaming pc, albeit a really cheap price.

When my gaming pc crashes, I whine for a full day while I either reinstall or replace faulty components. I don't loose anything since it is only my gaming PC, and I keep OS, multimedia and games in different HDDs.

When my MBP crashes, I..... wait, this has never happened to me
 
My opinion is...

I cannot deny the fact that mbps are a bit too expensive. No amount of justifications of OS, hardware, Apple support, etc can make me think that it's worth the price. And that's just me, but you are free to think otherwise.

But, will I continue to buy it and cringe every time I do? - yes because it works and it's mainly hassle-free. Three years of usage and no problems (aside from diminishing battery capacity) is heaven. I pay because there are no other options.
 
Definitely not worth the money.

Aside from the issue that are known..

There isn't anything beside OSX that makes it unique..

I can get like tons of laptop that have better specs with 1k less than my MBP 15" 2011.

If it wasn't for iOS programming, I probably won't even keep the laptop due to its horrible temp issue.
 
I would say yes. I do have one of the new models and it is fantastic. You may be able to get similar specs in a much cheaper pc, but not without serious drawbacks. (weight, and lack of battery spring to mind)

The ivy bridge processors will likely be a huge improvement, however with all new technology there are likely to be early problems. So I would steer clear of those for at least the next year or so. (assuming apple stays with intel of course...)

Overall, worth every cent. Plus these models tend to hold their value pretty well.
 
Cosider the support. Watch for a used one.

If you have ever needed a repair on anything in your life you will appreciate taking your MBP to an Apple Store. I think that their repair service is second to none. I took my Air there on a Thursday and told them I had to be in Philly on Monday for a presentation. It needed parts they didn't have, so they overnighted it for repair and it was sent back to me Saturday delivery.
I also had my iMac there for a screen and hard drive replacement. Never a problem any time. Always courteous and helpful. Many repairs are done same day.

Consider grabbing a used one. I purchased a 15" 2011 MBP 2.0 i7 yesterday for $1,550 on Craigslist. Just a little over a month old.
 
It's worth the money until the new model comes out. If you don't have a direct need to make $$ with it just buy the cheapest and you will never feel bad. If you need one to make money then money is usually no object.
 
MBP $1579 with student discount: Core i7 2.7 GHz - 13.3″ - 4 GB Ram - 128 GB SSD

Toshiba Portege R830-S8330 $1542- Core i7 2.7 GHz - 13.3″ - 4 GB Ram - 128 GB SSD

Pretty much. With that price difference, you start to decide on looks.
 
For me, it's absolutely worth it! I paid $1300 for my refurbed MBP (see sig) almost two years ago. I haven't had a single problem with it. And I'm on my machine SEVERAL hours a day.

My wife and I own and operate a non-profit. I've traveled the world with this thing. I've spent countless hours transcoding, editing, and exporting videos using the entire final cut suite. Never had any problems.

Plus, I'm in charge of all our accounting work which I do through quickbooks (I run windows7 in a virtual environment)

The flexibility and reliability my macbook pro offers is second to none. It never crashes or freezes or has any other unexplainable bizarre behavior. It handles everything I can throw at it!

AND to top it all off - it is still worth $750!!

So for me and my needs - it's absolutely worth it. For others, it may not be.
 
It depends on how you define value

I've owned two laptops so far. A Thinkpad T43, and a Macbook Pro 2009.

I spent $2200 on the T43 when I bought it back in 2004. And guess what—it still works just fine. I've replaced the keyboard and the hinges (my fault, I dropped the laptop 3 feet onto a hard floor), and bought a new battery but that's it. Even when I dropped it, the LCD, HDD, and the laptop mobo survived just fine, and I bet the hinge would not have broken if it hadn't fallen at a weird angle.

My mom uses that laptop everyday. It runs Windows 7 just fine for her (Firefox, Office apps, no Photoshop or stuff like that). The cost of the battery and the hinge and the keyboard added up to $300.

So, for $2500, I got a laptop that worked beautifully for me for five years, and now works just fine for Mom, and it's probably going to last another 2-3 years. Never crashed, never did anything funky, it just kept on going. Is it worth that $2500? You bet it is. Just divide that by 7 years (and counting).

When it came time to buy a new laptop for myself, I considered buying another T-series, but I always wanted a Mac, so I got the MB Pro. Again, I spent $1300 on it, and then upgraded the HDD to 500 GB 7200 RPM, and (this year) upgraded the RAM to 8 GB.

It works perfectly, never crashed, never had an issue. For my needs, it's probably going to last another two years, at which point I'll buy a new one.

I'm an advanced user, and I've used Windows, Linux, Solaris, and OS X, and all OSs have their issues. Since I know what to do, I don't really have a problem running Windows or whatever. OS X is great, but I won't buy a laptop just for it. I buy a laptop that is a pleasure to use (especially the Keyboard.. the Thinkpad had the BEST keyboard ever), and just fades away and let's me get on with my work.

I used to work for PC World, and review laptops, so I've torture tested many many laptops, and I firmly believe that you get what you pay for. It's not about the specs; it's about the whole package.

That's how I define value. To me, it's worth it. On the other hand, I know people who want the latest and greatest, and buy a badly built but highly specced laptop every year. Nothing wrong with that.. that's how they define value.

Do what makes you happy, and don't let other people make up your mind for you.
 
Considering a mac

I am considering a Mac very seriously, and I do think it is worth the money.

The most important thing is that MacBooks and macs come in only a small combination of hardware. This makes it very easy for the developers to develop software such as the OS X to run and run well in them. Because of the hardware is selected for you already you can be sure that you will be getting a laptop that is very well tested.

In contrasts, I had my customer who her boss bought a fujitsu laptop for all staff. It came with Vista preinstalled. But the funny thing is it only came with 1GB of RAM and vista requires a minimum of 2 GB of RAM which is just plain ridiculous how fujitsu could sell a laptop like that! Truly Jobs is right that there are stuff in the market that he would not be proud to ship...

How about thise with sufficient specs you ask? I had another customer who custom built his computer with MSI hardware, he got MSI Mainboard, GPU, MSI compatible ram, and set it up and it couldn't run without getting blue screen...

The bottom line is in windows based platforms, the hardware configuration is left to the companies that sells hardware, which leads to incompatibility. Buying a windows laptop is something like lottery. You never know how well it will work. But buying a MacBook, you know it will work as apple builds both the software and the hardware and sufficient testing is possible to be done.
 
I used Windows laptops for years. They were fine. My MBP is a little expensive for what it is but to me it is worth it. Just the trackpad alone is worth it to me. I like the fact that everything just "works" on the MBP. Tightly integrated components and software. So for me, yes it is worth it.
 
iLog.Genius said:
You know what, I love my MacBook Pro but it's definitely not worth the price tag. I consider myself a tech savvy guy so people who say OS X is this and that, Windows doesn't do this, looks like that, I pretty much laugh at because the annoyances that you find in Windows can be taken care of and you can probably find a similar annoyance with OS X. With that said, I purchased my MacBook Pro because I planned on doing specific tasks that can be done just as well if not better than on a Windows machine. I don't consider money a problem, but the truth is, you can find a computer with similar specs for the same price or even cheaper.

Ultimately, if you put money down for any Apple product and at the end it did what you need it to do and then some, then there's no doubt it's worth the money because that's what you paid for. But in terms of dollars spent vs. specs, not a chance - it often comes down to customers paying because it's Apple (let's be honest here, this is a factor) and the way it looks (not even arguable, Apple has the best looking hardware).

I guess at the end, the question whether if it's really worth it comes down to the customer. If a customer needs to spend $5000 on a computer and it doesn't give the user problem, then that would still be "worth it".
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+1. I buy them cause I can afford them, if money was an issue I could get the same done with a cheaper alternative. I love tech, and consider Apple to be a treat. To be honest I could live without os x but still need win 7. I am happy to use both.
 
Definately one of the best laptops I've owned but insanely overpriced, I won mine on a scratch card =P
 
KwanMan said:
Definately one of the best laptops I've owned but insanely overpriced, I won mine on a scratch card =P
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Overpriced yes, but not insanely.

Technical specs are only one part of the points to be taken into account. Build quality, technical support, and many other minor things add to make the computer worth the price.
 
mac00l said:
Overpriced yes, but not insanely.

Technical specs are only one part of the points to be taken into account. Build quality, technical support, and many other minor things add to make the computer worth the price.
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I would not say that Apple products are "overpriced", I'd say the support cost is built into the cost of the laptop. Running an Apple store is NOT cheap by any means. No other computer provider has shops all around the world where you can bring your computer in for service with a quick turn around. You have to spend hundreds of dollars to get equivalent service from a PC OEM, and then also deal with shipping costs and time (at least 2 business days total).

tl dr: Macs aren't overpriced, you're basically paying for reliable support at your local Apple store.
 
dagamer34 said:
I would not say that Apple products are "overpriced", I'd say the support cost is built into the cost of the laptop. Running an Apple store is NOT cheap by any means. No other computer provider has shops all around the world where you can bring your computer in for service with a quick turn around. You have to spend hundreds of dollars to get equivalent service from a PC OEM, and then also deal with shipping costs and time (at least 2 business days total).

tl dr: Macs aren't overpriced, you're basically paying for reliable support at your local Apple store.
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You do realise most countries/ cities do not have an apple store . And AppleCare is extra.
 
Do I think it's worth it, yes.

I remember my Dell's that I bought back in 04/05. They lasted fairly well for about a year, then everything started dying fast.

I even used a 17" Core Duo from Late 2006 up until 2 months ago when I got rid of it for the Mid-2010 MacBook Pro. I got rid of it because of it's age, not because it wasn't useful or "slow". It felt as fast as the first day I got it. I must say, a lot better then the Dell's I bought.
 
shansoft said:
Definitely not worth the money.

Aside from the issue that are known..

There isn't anything beside OSX that makes it unique..

I can get like tons of laptop that have better specs with 1k less than my MBP 15" 2011.

If it wasn't for iOS programming, I probably won't even keep the laptop due to its horrible temp issue.
Click to expand...

Spot the troll post...
 
As a current iphone 4, ipad 2, and mbp owner...I do love apple products. I was waiting for the back to school promo to come back to upgarde to one of the new 15" i7 MBP's...but then this morning this HP deal came along and I jumped at it. I really could not believe the price difference after making what I thought would be my perfect mac.

HP Pavilion dv6t Select Edition customizable Notebook PC

• Metallic dark umber casing
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
• 2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
• 1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life
• 15.6" diagonal Full HD HP Anti-glare LED Display (1920 x 1080)
• FREE Upgrade to Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
• Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) with Wireless Display Support

forrrrrr $948

Will I regret it? Maybe. But gaining, better resolution, Blu-Ray, extra 2GB of ram, 7200rpm HD, HDMI port, USB 3.0....all for about $1100 less....hard to argue.
 
You, my Mac is worth it. Hardware that gets a lot of attention, performance to match and an unequaled resale value. The price is perfect. a+
 
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