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Is there anyting remotely comparable to a MacBook Pro?

DMG35

DMG35

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Original poster
May 27, 2021
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So I have a minor issue potentially occurring here in the next few weeks. I'm hearing that my company's IT department is no longer going to support MACOS due to their new VPN service not being compatible with them. If that happens I will have the choice of purchasing my own laptop, which they will allow me to expense provided its a windows machine and I will have to get rid of my MacBook Pro. Right now I have the 16" MacBook Pro which I was going to return for a 14" due to my travel picking way up. But I may just have to return it altogether as I won't be allowed to use it.

I am pretty familiar with Windows but haven't worked on a Windows Laptop in a long time. Is there anything that someone could recommend to me that is close in terms of hardware and performance? My work is in sales and I build presentations and work on complex spreadsheets. I also run a drone company and edit 4K footage for realtors doing overhead shots of homes. Nothing major but my MacBook Pro's have always zipped along without issue.

My main income is with my company so if they so no more Mac then there will be no more Mac for me. I have an iMac also that I can use so this is more for using on the road and away from my desk.

What I would be looking for is:
- Similar hardware in that its not all cheap plastic
- Smooth trackpad performance
- Great screen
- Ability to handle 4K footage without lagging on me
- Portable - As I said I was going to return my 16" for the 14" as I traveled with the 16" and it was a bit to much to lug around. I'd be fine with anything in the 14-15" category though.

If anyone has any recommendations for me I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
 
DMG35 said:
So I have a minor issue potentially occurring here in the next few weeks. I'm hearing that my company's IT department is no longer going to support MACOS due to their new VPN service not being compatible with them. If that happens I will have the choice of purchasing my own laptop, which they will allow me to expense provided its a windows machine and I will have to get rid of my MacBook Pro. Right now I have the 16" MacBook Pro which I was going to return for a 14" due to my travel picking way up. But I may just have to return it altogether as I won't be allowed to use it.

I am pretty familiar with Windows but haven't worked on a Windows Laptop in a long time. Is there anything that someone could recommend to me that is close in terms of hardware and performance? My work is in sales and I build presentations and work on complex spreadsheets. I also run a drone company and edit 4K footage for realtors doing overhead shots of homes. Nothing major but my MacBook Pro's have always zipped along without issue.

My main income is with my company so if they so no more Mac then there will be no more Mac for me. I have an iMac also that I can use so this is more for using on the road and away from my desk.

What I would be looking for is:
- Similar hardware in that its not all cheap plastic
- Smooth trackpad performance
- Great screen
- Ability to handle 4K footage without lagging on me
- Portable - As I said I was going to return my 16" for the 14" as I traveled with the 16" and it was a bit to much to lug around. I'd be fine with anything in the 14-15" category though.

If anyone has any recommendations for me I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Have a look at the more premium Windows laptops:
- Dell XPS series
- HP Spectre
- Microsoft Surface laptops
- Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga
- LG Gram
- Asus Zenbook

Here are some sites with suggestions:
https://www.techradar.com/news/best-windows-laptop
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/best-laptop/
https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-ultrabooks-premium-laptops

I am not going to be more specific than this, because in this price range it is ultimately your choice ;) and ultimately you will have to decide for yourself what is the best fit in your use case and budget.
 
DMG35 said:
If that happens I will have the choice of purchasing my own laptop, which they will allow me to expense
Click to expand...

Been there. After all the hassles of the butterfly keyboard and stage lighting issues, my day job told everyone to pick something else and dropped mac support.

I ended up going for the HP Elitebook x360. It's not perfect but for a Windows device, it works really well. The main draw for me is the keyboard, really nice. Much like the surface keyboard but a bit firmer. To be honest, really enjoying it.

The issue is you are spoiled for choice, everyone has their own opinion. Definitely steer towards the higher end devices though.
 
I would look at the HP's Envy x360 line, especially the Ryzen models. They have good battery life, well priced, and can easily handle everything you mentioned.
 
LeeW said:
Been there. After all the hassles of the butterfly keyboard and stage lighting issues, my day job told everyone to pick something else and dropped mac support.

I ended up going for the HP Elitebook x360. It's not perfect but for a Windows device, it works really well. The main draw for me is the keyboard, really nice. Much like the surface keyboard but a bit firmer. To be honest, really enjoying it.

The issue is you are spoiled for choice, everyone has their own opinion. Definitely steer towards the higher end devices though.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for this. I will definitely take a look at the higher end models.
 
I would also throw the current Razer Blade 14 or 15 in the ring for consideration.

I have last years 15" model, and it's a really good machine and competitive to the (Intel) MBPs in most aspects: great performance, very similar size and weight (the current Razer Blade 14 is only a bit more than a millimeter thicker than the 2021 14" MBP), excellent screen (especially the OLED ones), good keyboard and trackpad.

Of course they run hotter (especially when the dGPU is taxed) and have less battery life than the M1 MBPs, but I guess that was taken for granted.
 
Asus Rog Zephyrus g14.
It's portable, decent screen, decent battery life, rather powerful.

MBP14 has great battery life, great screen and great performance due to M1 Pro/Max chips. I'm afraid you're gonna have to sacrifice something when choosing Windows based laptop in this day and age.
 
the dell xps 9380 is excellent!
sturdy
can multi graphic design without heat or fan noise.
there are more pluses you can find on line,
even linus tech tips regards the dell as a great laptop
 
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DMG35 said:
If that happens I will have the choice of purchasing my own laptop
Click to expand...
Doesn't your work supply you with a computer? I would go to them and ask for the tools you need in order to get your job instead of spending your own money.
 
maflynn said:
Doesn't your work supply you with a computer? I would go to them and ask for the tools you need in order to get your job instead of spending your own money.
Click to expand...

Yes they do supply it. I purchase it and then I can expense the device for reimbursement. There is a limit ($1500) that I can expense and once I do it I don't have the option of expensing another one for several years. I don't mind paying a little more out of pocket for a laptop that will last me. Its just been so long since I've used a dedicated Windows maching I'm a little lost.

I've read around in here and tons of other places and I think I'm narrowing it down to either Dell or Lenovo. MY IT department also just said to make sure it had some basic specs regarding processor, memory, and drive space but weren't really specific beyond that.
 
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Flint Ironstag said:
VPN is VPN. Have you verified with your IT department that it's not Mac compatible?
Click to expand...

Does it matter? The OP stated that his employer is not going to support MacOS anymore. It does not matter what the reason is, be it VPN or whatever other reason. If they decide not to support it anymore there is not much the OP can do.
 
Flint Ironstag said:
VPN is VPN. Have you verified with your IT department that it's not Mac compatible?
Click to expand...

Yeah its not the VPN it just has to do with compatibility of other software we are running. I misspoke when I said that. I thought that's what they had said but it didn't have anything to do with that.
 
I’ll throw my vote in for Razor as well. I have the 15” i7 3070 GPU. It’s fast, had a metal body, form keyboard, and prob one of the nicest trackpads on a windows machine.
Windows sucks though and running pretty much anything kicks off the fans.
 
Flint Ironstag said:
VPN is VPN. Have you verified with your IT department that it's not Mac compatible?
Click to expand...
VPN is not VPN if the VPN company does not offers a Mac client.

clarencek said:
I’ll throw my vote in for Razor as well
Click to expand...
My 2019 Razer Blade Advanced has been excellent, except for one thing - battery life. Great build quality, great design, very good keyboard and display. I'll be looking to upgrade possibly next year with an Alder Lake based model - once that comes out
 
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I'd add the "almost an XPS" Dell Inspiron 16 Plus to the list of devices to consider. The display is roughly 3k and 100% sRGB. Ports include one USB4/Thunderbolt 4.
 
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Dell is offering a decked out VOSTRO with an 8 core CPU incase any is interested.
as far as Customer Support, they are horrible and the website is useless, just as everyone else in 2020's
not that i needed their help.
 
TechRunner said:
That actually made my short list. Seems like a nice machine.
Click to expand...
I've worked in a mix Mac & Windows environment for the last 1/4 century and recently replaced my aging desktop box (Dell XPS 8700) with the 16 Plus and a Dell WD19s dock driving two external monitors. I'm quite happy with the machine. Recently between work and home, I've been using the 16 Plus, a Surface Laptop 3, a Surface Go, two 27" iMacs, a MacMini, and an aging MacBook Pro 17 (replacement MBP 16 is on order). The 16 Plus mixes in well and has a better screen than the iMac 27 2015 does at this point.
 
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dwig said:
I've worked in a mix Mac & Windows environment for the last 1/4 century and recently replaced my aging desktop box (Dell XPS 8700) with the 16 Plus and a Dell WD19s dock driving two external monitors. I'm quite happy with the machine. Recently between work and home, I've been using the 16 Plus, a Surface Laptop 3, a Surface Go, two 27" iMacs, a MacMini, and an aging MacBook Pro 17 (replacement MBP 16 is on order). The 16 Plus mixes in well and has a better screen than the iMac 27 2015 does at this point.
Click to expand...
Wow, you have a lot of options! I considered a Surface Laptop, too. Let's just say I do a ton of research before I buy, which drives my wife pretty nuts ;)
 
TechRunner said:
Wow, you have a lot of options! I considered a Surface Laptop, too. Let's just say I do a ton of research before I buy, which drives my wife pretty nuts ;)
Click to expand...
she should be happy you did your ton of research picking a wife.
the Surface line is what my internet company CEO would only chose if he could.
 
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