Is a MacBook Pro really worth the money?

[thermodynamic]

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.

OS X lacks a registry, thankfully.

The Windows registry:
* gets bloated over time (it can be cleaned but cannot be compacted)
* cannot be compacted due to how Windows runs
* is stuck in a file system that's prone to fragmenting data (fragmented data = slower performance and greater chance of corruption)

OS X isn't perfect (e.g. no H.264 video acceleration for ATi video cards), but having used both, with Windows versions dating back to 3.00 (and its competitors of the time), Windows was, is, and will always be a technical, dilettante joke.

You can find similar hardware specs cheaper, but those companies add in enough trialware, crapware, etc, to not just subsidize the price, but to litter up the registry (and how often does one want to "optimize" their "system performance" anyhow). (some systems don't have crapware installed but that's due to multi-volume licenses bought by the OEM.)

Give me a choice between a Dell Precision and a Mac Pro, I'll go Mac Pro every time.

 

[shansoft]

OS X lacks a registry, thankfully.

The Windows registry:
* gets bloated over time (it can be cleaned but cannot be compacted)
* cannot be compacted due to how Windows runs
* is stuck in a file system that's prone to fragmenting data (fragmented data = slower performance and greater chance of corruption)

OS X isn't perfect (e.g. no H.264 video acceleration for ATi video cards), but having used both, with Windows versions dating back to 3.00 (and its competitors of the time), Windows was, is, and will always be a technical, dilettante joke.

You can find similar hardware specs cheaper, but those companies add in enough trialware, crapware, etc, to not just subsidize the price, but to litter up the registry (and how often does one want to "optimize" their "system performance" anyhow). (some systems don't have crapware installed but that's due to multi-volume licenses bought by the OEM.)

Give me a choice between a Dell Precision and a Mac Pro, I'll go Mac Pro every time.

You can reinstall without those bloatware... Just reinstall using the Downloaded Windows disk and back up your original license with it.

If I don't need OS X, I would choose HP Envy or DV6T anytime.

 

[awer25]

If I don't need OS X, I would choose HP Envy or DV6T anytime.

It's funny, b/c I just sold my HP Envy 17 for a MBP

I never thought I'd get a Mac and hated all their annoying commercials. Windows laptops were available with better hardware and for much cheaper. I got the Envy in Dec '10 with an ATI 5850 (at the time, pretty much the highest ATI card - just a bit slower than the 5870) and an i7 CPU. It was amazing, but the size, weight and battery life really got to me. With the extended life battery, I would get 2.5hrs on a good day. Then someone gave me an '09 13" MBP (long story) and I fell in love with it's light weight and long battery life. When I saw that the 2011 15" MBP just came out with a faster quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU and an ATI 6750 - AND got 7 hours of battery life (even if 5 hrs is more likely) and was under an inch thick, I had to get it. Luckily I was able to sell the Envy and 13" MBP for the cost of the new one, so no extra $ out of pocket.

In short, if you have the money, the MBP is much better than the Envy IMHO due to size, weight, and battery life.

 

[chris2k5]

The OS is what makes the difference always in OSX vs Windows. Windows machines with top hardware and specifications will never been as smooth as OSX with lower end hardware due to the nature of the OS.

I have a old Powerbook that runs smoother and never crashes compared to my 1 year old Sony Vaio Z. The Sony literally takes 5 minutes to start up now while the Powerbook takes about a minute.

 

[Captain Dynamo]

"Better" hardware cheaper

People often say they can get "better" hardware cheaper with PCs. That may be true in a way. For instance, when I was recently shopping for a laptop I found that I could get a faster CPU and a bigger harddrive for less money on a PC than on a Mac.

But of course that's not all there is to the hardware. The subjective experience of the MBP trackpad and keyboard are very important to the quality of my user experience. Having these are much more important to me than a faster CPU or more cores for less money.

 

[punchwalk]

You can reinstall without those bloatware... Just reinstall using the Downloaded Windows disk and back up your original license with it.

If I don't need OS X, I would choose HP Envy or DV6T anytime.

I bought a DV6T Quad Edition in January when Sandy Bridge first came out. It was fast but I hated everything about it from a usability standpoint (trackpad was horrendous, display panel had really low resolution and was mediocre in quality) and wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Mak47]

I think it is, but my needs as a consumer may be different than others.

I value simplicity over technical specs. Not that the MBP is lacking in that department, but some may say so. Anyone who claims OSX is lacking in simplicity has never used it. The simplicity allows me to accomplish more in less time, that is worth money to me.

I also value the dimensions of the notebook. I chose the 13" model because I want portability. My old PC notebook was a 17" model. It was twice as thick and about 50% heavier. It was impossibly uncomfortable to use on the go or even sitting in bed. This meets my needs, thus it's valuable to me.

I also value the design of the machine. Let's face it, the thing is a sight to behold. I value human ingenuity and passion and that's obviously present in this design, which is quite rare for a consumer product.

There are two kinds of buyers for all consumer products. Those who buy the cheapest thing that meets their basic needs of the moment, and those who buy based on overall value. For the latter type, the MacBook Pro is absolutely worth every penny.

 

[shansoft]

I bought a DV6T Quad Edition in January when Sandy Bridge first came out. It was fast but I hated everything about it from a usability standpoint (trackpad was horrendous, display panel had really low resolution and was mediocre in quality) and wouldn't recommend it.

The DV6T is now 1080P...

The temperature is a lot lower than same spec on MBP.

The trackpad in my experience is similar, beside MBP in bootcamp is just a horror.

from usable standpoint. they are able the same to me beside DV6T have a bit lower battery life. But the bootcamp trackpad and temperature issue is a BIG problem for me, especially at its price point.

 

[punchwalk]

The DV6T is now 1080P...

The temperature is a lot lower than same spec on MBP.

The trackpad in my experience is similar, beside MBP in bootcamp is just a horror.

from usable standpoint. they are able the same to me beside DV6T have a bit lower battery life. But the bootcamp trackpad and temperature issue is a BIG problem for me, especially at its price point.

I think the MBP trackpad in BootCamp is worlds better than the DV6T trackpad under any circumstances (you know you can configure it in the Windows BootCamp Config Utility, right?). It's not quite as feature-rich as it is in OS X, but it's still 100 times more usable. Not saying you're wrong, I guess it's just one of those "To each his/her own" sort of things.

 

[Brian nobbs]

MacBook Pro reliability is bad

I've been using sony laptops for years and last year I though I'll treat my self to a new Apple MacBook Pro 15" about £1,800 all in,now 14 months on I've had all sorts of problems wifi not working right spent hours on the phone and weeks on and of on the phone,in the end I said enough enough I'll take it to Apple shop in Cambridge and left it with them to fix,a week later I pick it up and they replace the logic board it came back lot better but not right not as good my old sony,after a mouth it started to reboot on its own when using it and wifi started to play up more and more,with me being disabled though illness it's a nightmare and now it keeps on freezing and to restart the mac I had to keep on holding down the start button anything from 3 to dozen times,it's now in for repairs again,SO IS A MACBOOK PRO WORTH IT YOU MUST BE JOKING,I could of had two sony laptops for that price I now no what I be buying in the future ?????????? SONY LAPTOP.

 

[The Clark]

Absolutely is..

I love my rMBP more than my custom built PC, and that says a lot. Between the OS, the build quality and hardware itself you really can't go wrong. There's a reason Mac's are so expensive; you get what you pay for.