Is the MBP worth the money vs windows notebook

[getz76]

For the vast majority of users, the MacBook Pro is over-specified and over-priced.

Lots of quotes about "build quality" here, but Apple portables are middle-of-the-pack in terms of failure rates compared to the other big builders; note that all the big-builders offer budget portables that are included in their failure rates. Let us not confuse lovely industrial design with reliability.

If you are browsing, emailing, chatting and occasionally doing some video and picture work, a MacBook Pro is not "worth it". If you have money to spend, go for it, but do not consider it a value proposition.

 

[thermodynamic]

I am in need of a new notebook. I can not decide if I should spring for a new MacBook Pro, A MacBook or A windows notebook at less than half the cost. I never considered a Mac until I got my iPhone. I love how it works, never any problem of any kind. Sure wish my windows notebook was the same.
Any advice would be appreciated

IMHO, yes.

You're paying more, that's no question.

It's OS X that makes it worth buying and that's what compelled me to switch, even if they use the same Intel processors. (I've been a Motorola fan, going way back to 1987, but Intel's CPUs run the coolest in the mobile arena, which probably helped convince Apple TO make the crossover in the first place. Along with Intel's CPUs being cheaper, no doubt, but Intel (and AMD via x64) have made great strides since the original and horrid 8088 CPU design (of which the Motorola 68000 was 3 years older at the time and far more competent AS a CPU... but that was ~1980. Intel's impressed me... and when I first used PCs (I was an Amiga fanboy in the day), AMD ran rings around Intel... then came the CoreDuo line that knocked AMD down, and AMD's processors still have yet to match the blazing speed of Intel. (Intel's chips have always ran cooler as well...) AMD's CPUs may cost a little less, but from perspectives of heat and performance, they're not that good of competition anymore. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html - great site. )

 

[-tWv-]

I think a mac is worth the extra cash because of the quality, the OS, and the longevity of the machine. Windows machines seem to get slow and crap out after a couple years, with a Mac you could use the same computer for 5 years and performance would remain basically the same. I'll never go back to pcs just because of this fact, but there is so much more about a Mac that I love, the list is long. If you have the money, try a Mac out, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed

 

[Obscurelight]

want durability? get a lenovo, those things are tanks what attracted me to macs in the first place was aesthetics.

 

[thermodynamic]

Thanks for all the answers to my post. I was pretty much sold on a Mac when I made the post. Today I test drove my friend's new Dell w/ windows 7. That convinced me. I could not bring myself to buy another windows piece of crap,so I promptly drove into Anchorage and purchased my new Macbook Pro. I really love this machine. A bit of a learning curve but it seems pretty simple for what I do.
Thanks again for your replies
Jeff

Congrats!

As with all things, there will be a learning curve. But it'll be easier than you think.

Especially if you have to remove apps or get a new Mac -- it's FAR easier to move apps between Macs than to diddle with every nuance with Windows. (only certain apps have activation routines and those would be done on Windows or OS X, but even then it's still possible to transfer the applications without whipping out the original media and re-installing all from scratch.)

OS X has its foibles too (nothing is perfect), but even considering those, OS X is a better platform. (YMMV depending on use, but I've been a Windows tech for 20 years and a fairly happy Mac user since 2009. I still use Windows, but only via Parallels and I keep a snapshot to restore to when registry bloat sets in (I'll spare the tech tangent, but Windows bloat is still alive and well in Win7, as my Win7 partition on my 2009 Mac Pro will instantly prove. Nix the registry and that issue will go away, but Microsoft is stuck with it, and it was a nightmare ever since 24 August 1995... the day I bought a second copy of OS/2 Warp... August 24, the day Windows 95 came out... and that Rolling Stones song Microsoft used to promote their new toy... what was that song again, "(Can't get no) Satisfaction"? oh, wait, it was "Start Me Up"... my bad... )

 

[DropKick]

I was in the same boat, and I think it's worth it for OS X and their build quality. These machines also hold their resale value unlike a Windows notebook.

With that said, a cheap windows notebook is certainly capable and windows7 is excellent.

 

[thermodynamic]

I think a mac is worth the extra cash because of the quality, the OS, and the longevity of the machine. Windows machines seem to get slow and crap out after a couple years, with a Mac you could use the same computer for 5 years and performance would remain basically the same. I'll never go back to pcs just because of this fact, but there is so much more about a Mac that I love, the list is long. If you have the money, try a Mac out, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed

Windows PCs are of flimsier build... but some of the more recent portables do have some problems - usually heat-related and by and large only with the higher-end MBPs. (I exchanged my 2011 17" MBP for another (same model) and promptly got AppleCare to be safe. It didn't have the overheating problem and has ran rock-solid...)

 

[thermodynamic]

I was in the same boat, and I think it's worth it for OS X and their build quality. These machines also hold their resale value unlike a Windows notebook.

With that said, a cheap windows notebook is certainly capable and windows7 is excellent.

Another great point!

My 2009 MBP (17") sold for roughly 51% its sale value in 2011. Some might manage to eke out 55% or even, in one case I read about, 60%, but 50% for a 2 year-old laptop is phenomenally good. For a 2010 Windows laptop that was virtually unused and sold in 2011, I was lucky to get 30% of the original value, thanks to what was pretty much the going rate everybody else offered. Official trade-up sites (e.g. Best Buy's) offer far, FAR less.

 

[macbook pro i5]

the macs rant expensive if you think about it because you might get better specs on windoze pcs but buying antivirus antispyware and all that other crap adds up all my life i used windoze but osx is much more refined buy an mac you won't be diss a pointed