Justifying MBP Purchase

[ademuth93]

So, heading off to college this fall I feel the need to purchase a laptop. I've been a long time Apple user, and am looking for a mid-high end laptop, mostly because I want it to last 4 years without being too outdated.

However, I've been shopping around and there are plenty of Windows based laptops similarly spec'd to the MPB 15" high end, for example, that cost at least $800 dollars less.

The HP dv6t Quad is really appealing to me in that respect. I'll post the specs and price of these two options.

HP:

• 2.0 GHz Sandy Bridge i7
• 8 GB RAM
• 1GB 6770M graphics (& HD 3000)
• Blu-Ray Writer
• MS Office & Photoshop & Premiere Elements
• $1542.99 (edit: found coupon code. Now, $1269.74)

MBP:

• 2.2 GHz Sandy Bridge i7
• 8 GB RAM
• 1GB 6750M graphics (& HD 3000)
• MS Office & iPhoto & iMovie
• $2388.95

The HP costs about $800 less and the feature set is about equal. The thing it has going for it is the price. The Macbook Pro has a sweet trackpad, Mac OS, and superior build quality and battery life going for it.

I'm having a hard time justifying shelling out $800 dollars for these (awesome) features. That said, I can handily afford both machines.

There are probably 1 479 205 455 threads on this already, but my situation is unique... blah... blah... blah. (not) So, forum-goers: justify the Macbook Pro before you lose an avid Mac fan.

 

[KwanMan]

So, heading off to college this fall I feel the need to purchase a laptop. I've been a long time Apple user, and am looking for a mid-high end laptop, mostly because I want it to last 4 years without being too outdated.

However, I've been shopping around and there are plenty of Windows based laptops similarly spec'd to the MPB 15" high end, for example, that cost at least $800 dollars less.

The HP dv6t Quad is really appealing to me in that respect. I'll post the specs and price of these two options.

HP:

• 2.0 GHz Sandy Bridge i7
• 8 GB RAM
• 1GB 6770M graphics (& HD 3000)
• Blu-Ray Writer
• MS Office & Photoshop & Premiere Elements
• $1542.99 (edit: found coupon code. Now, $1269.74)

MBP:

• 2.2 GHz Sandy Bridge i7
• 8 GB RAM
• 1GB 6750M graphics (& HD 3000)
• MS Office & iPhoto & iMovie
• $2388.95

The HP costs about $800 less and the feature set is about equal. The thing it has going for it is the price. The Macbook Pro has a sweet trackpad, Mac OS, and superior build quality and battery life going for it.

I'm having a hard time justifying shelling out $800 dollars for these (awesome) features. That said, I can handily afford both machines.

There are probably 1 479 205 455 threads on this already, but my situation is unique... blah... blah... blah. (not) So, forum-goers: justify the Macbook Pro before you lose an avid Mac fan.

Do u have a link for the HP?

 

[mike2732]

So, heading off to college this fall I feel the need to purchase a laptop. I've been a long time Apple user, and am looking for a mid-high end laptop, mostly because I want it to last 4 years without being too outdated.

However, I've been shopping around and there are plenty of Windows based laptops similarly spec'd to the MPB 15" high end, for example, that cost at least $800 dollars less.

The HP dv6t Quad is really appealing to me in that respect. I'll post the specs and price of these two options.

HP:

• 2.0 GHz Sandy Bridge i7
• 8 GB RAM
• 1GB 6770M graphics (& HD 3000)
• Blu-Ray Writer
• MS Office & Photoshop & Premiere Elements
• $1542.99 (edit: found coupon code. Now, $1269.74)

MBP:

• 2.2 GHz Sandy Bridge i7
• 8 GB RAM
• 1GB 6750M graphics (& HD 3000)
• MS Office & iPhoto & iMovie
• $2388.95

The HP costs about $800 less and the feature set is about equal. The thing it has going for it is the price. The Macbook Pro has a sweet trackpad, Mac OS, and superior build quality and battery life going for it.

I'm having a hard time justifying shelling out $800 dollars for these (awesome) features. That said, I can handily afford both machines.

There are probably 1 479 205 455 threads on this already, but my situation is unique... blah... blah... blah. (not) So, forum-goers: justify the Macbook Pro before you lose an avid Mac fan.

If you can easily afford the MBP, go for it because it is much better in terms of build quality, appearance, portability, battery life, user experience, etc.. In terms of performance I'd say the MBP is better, 6770m is not much better than the 6750m at all, and the CPU clearly wins. Some advice: don't get the 8GB of ram from Apple, just get the default 4GB then upgrade from third parties.

 

[ademuth93]

Do u have a link for the HP?

It's a BTO, but the base model is here.

 

[ademuth93]

If you can easily afford the MBP, go for it because it is much better in terms of build quality, appearance, portability, battery life, user experience, etc.. In terms of performance I'd say the MBP is better, 6770m is not much better than the 6750m at all, and the CPU clearly wins. Some advice: don't get the 8GB of ram from Apple, just get the default 4GB then upgrade from third parties.

For the sake of argument, I upgraded the CPU on the HP to 2.2 GHz. It now costs $1382.24 post-discount. That places the MBP at $1000 more. Subtract $100 for 3rd party RAM for the MBP and we're at $900 more.

Now, I know how great Apple is. Really. I'm typing this on a 2010 Macbook right now. Are all the positives of Apple really worth $900? I guess that's for me to decide, but at present, I'm leaning towards "no."

NOTE: I could potentially buy an iPad with the savings. Thoughts?

 

[acedickson]

Spec for spec it will always be like this. Personally, I try to use Windows as little as possible and I don't compare Macs to PCs in this way.

As you said, only you can decide.

 

[JamDonut]

honestly, i would only send the extra $800 if i was looking to justify it because i really wanted it. Personally, i absolutely love the OS, the app store, magic trackpad, backlit keyboard, build quality blah blah blah you obviously know the score, so i would get the MBP

Bearing in mind you are aware of all of this and are naturally swaying toward "no" as you stated earlier, and came here looking to be persuaded, i think the HP might just be for you, sorry to blaspheme guys, but its easy to convince people to switch to mac once they have experienced it coming from windoze, but you already have that experience and seem pretty set to me...

i have an iPad 2 which i take to lectures for my notes and library if i've got a lot to carry, plus its a brilliant toy, so that could be an option, still saving $300 roughly and you get two toys, one still apple... sounds like a great idea to me?

but just for laughs, i would still have to get the MBP lol, but if you can stick windows..

 

[Bear]

Add to the price of the HP the cost of annual antivirus updates. Plus the cost of any other software you use on your Mac that you will want on the HP.

Remember the systems come with different base applications. I'm not saying this will make up a several hundred dollar difference, but it might make a noticeable dent in it.

You should factor everything in. Not just the base hardware. Yes I saw you included some software in your initial list but it's probably not everything.

 

[ademuth93]

Good thoughts, Bear!

The HP comes with 3 years antivirus, so meh... But then you mentioned other software. iCal for example. I really appreciate iCal and I don't know how much I care for Windows substitutes.

And I think it boils down to the OS for me, now... Windows or Mac OS?

Your post got me thinking about how much I love Mac OS. I think I might just get a Mac instead.

My two options: MacBook + 32GB iPad

or

MacBook Pro 15" 2.2 GHz and nothing else.

We'll see what the summer holds in store, but I think I'll avoid the Windows side of things.

Sweet.

 

[JamDonut]

And I think it boils down to the OS for me, now... Windows or Mac OS?

hardly a real question? you wouldn't be here if it was. given the spec you were thinking of getting on you MBP, it seems crazy that you are really thinking of getting a MacBook? (if this is what you meant) maybe you are just hungry for more apple??

 

[mikeytwice]

Antivirus software is usually provided for free by universities, so that shouldn't be much of an issue (but look at your college's IT pages to check).

Keep in mind that you're probably eligible for an education discount. You can then get the 2.2 for $1999 (without upgraded ram; can do that aftermarket for $80). Once the back to school promo launches, you can probably shave another $170-190 of that if you sell your iPod Touch, which would bring you down to around $1820. You can do the same thing with a printer, which would shave off another $50, if you're lucky. Still way more expensive than the HP, but not quite as bad...

 

[Bubba Satori]

If you can easily afford the MBP, go for it because it is much better in terms of build quality...

Did you hear about today's big recall on Macbooks?

I'm sorry, the old urban myth about Apple's superior build quality was debunked long ago.
I blame the internet for letting it out.

There are many reason's to get a MBP, "superior build quality" isn't one of them.

Burning magsafe.
Time bomb video cards.
Yellow tinted screens.
Exploding batteries.
Garbage wi-fi performance.
Cracked plastic and dimple aluminium cases.
Ad infinitum.

 

[gmans46]

dont get a macbook and ipad if your gonna do it go all out or get an air and ipad macbooks just are plain outdated.

 

[basesloaded190]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

If you can easily afford the MBP, go for it because it is much better in terms of build quality...

Did you hear about today's big recall on Macbooks?

I'm sorry, the old urban myth about Apple's superior build quality was debunked long ago.
I blame the internet for letting it out.

There are many reason's to get a MBP, "superior build quality" isn't one of them.

Burning magsafe.
Time bomb video cards.
Yellow tinted screens.
Exploding batteries.
Garbage wi-fi performance.
Cracked plastic and dimple aluminium cases.
Ad infinitum.

Dumbest thing I've read in a while

 

[8CoreWhore]

Consider one that you can Hackintosh.

 

[Bear]

Did you hear about today's big recall on Macbooks?
...
There are many reason's to get a MBP, "superior build quality" isn't one of them.

I'm not sure it qualifies as a recall. Also, a MacBook Pro uses a total different type of case. Go troll elsewhere.

Every computer has its incidents. The question is what does each company do about it? And so far, Apple still seems the best there.

 

[daneoni]

Did you hear about today's big recall on Macbooks?

I'm sorry, the old urban myth about Apple's superior build quality was debunked long ago.
I blame the internet for letting it out.

There are many reason's to get a MBP, "superior build quality" isn't one of them.

Burning magsafe.
Time bomb video cards.
Yellow tinted screens.
Exploding batteries.
Garbage wi-fi performance.
Cracked plastic and dimple aluminium cases.
Ad infinitum.

My advice to you; more self-education, less posting.

 

[palpatine]

PCs are less expensive. There is really no way around it, especially if you are moving up into the 15" MBP. You can buy a new netbook every year and probably still end up paying less than you would for the three year (?) lifespan of any MBP you buy.

If the build quality, customer service, OS, applications, and Apple "experience," hasn't convinced you that the extra money is worth it, then you'll probably want to give the PC a try.

Personally, I use both PCs and Macs, but for the time and energy I spend computing (most of my day), I want to have the best experience possible, and the Mac (for me) is much more enjoyable. Of course, I am at the low end (13" / 8GB RAM), which is more competitive with PC models in terms of price.

 

[Icy1007]

My justification was this:

I wanted the highest quality laptop available. It just so happens to run Mac OS X.

 

[Glockcubed]

My justification was this:

I wanted the highest quality laptop available. It just so happens to run Mac OS X.

Ditto. I have had my Mac for about 1 1/2 months. It has worked flawlessly and the Apple customer service, well nothing else even comes close. I have several VAIO's in my home. Guess what is being phased out?

 

[palpatine]

Ditto. I have had my Mac for about 1 1/2 months. It has worked flawlessly and the Apple customer service, well nothing else even comes close. I have several VAIO's in my home. Guess what is being phased out?

proof is in the pudding. i am in a similar situation. had to pick a computer to go on a business trip. went with my mac over the netbook, even though it is not as portable. it's just more fun.

 

[Glockcubed]

proof is in the pudding. i am in a similar situation. had to pick a computer to go on a business trip. went with my mac over the netbook, even though it is not as portable. it's just more fun.

palpatine - I am so impressed with my new Apple products. And I am retired from Sony

 

[edifyingGerbil]

Good thoughts, Bear!

The HP comes with 3 years antivirus, so meh... But then you mentioned other software. iCal for example. I really appreciate iCal and I don't know how much I care for Windows substitutes.

And I think it boils down to the OS for me, now... Windows or Mac OS?

Your post got me thinking about how much I love Mac OS. I think I might just get a Mac instead.

My two options: MacBook + 32GB iPad

or

MacBook Pro 15" 2.2 GHz and nothing else.

We'll see what the summer holds in store, but I think I'll avoid the Windows side of things.

Sweet.

Get the 2.2GHz 15", one of the best purchases I've ever made, although when the Ivy Bridge processors come out and if it's true that they use less wattage but have the same power I'll probably sell this and buy one of those. Not that mine gets too hot, but doing anything which taxes the processor and GPU at the same time makes the battery drain even while plugged in!

 

[aznguyen316]

It's hard to justify the price sometimes for me, but in the end I have to go with MBP.

Also I'm not sure if it's available anymore but not to make you sad, but Monday (memorial day) there was a coupon, 1080p + 6770M for $800 + tax ~$900 haha great great price for that HP

 

[iReminisce]

Spec for spec, the MBP will almost always be the most expensive purchase. I'm a brand neutral guy and love Windows, OSX, and Linux all for different reasons, but I bought a 2011 MBP because it suited what I needed for my business and personal use. Truth be told, I was a button click away from buying the new Dell XPS 15, loaded, Blu-Ray, 1080p display, everything...and it came out to less than a slightly upgraded 2.2 15" MBP.
The things that made the difference for me were:

Multi-touch features - being able to swipe four fingers to access Expose, 3 fingers to move through a browser, 2 to scroll up/down/sideways, Pinch to zoom, etc makes my photography processing MUCH more efficient

OSX efficiency - Having Lightroom 3, photoshop CS5, and Final Cut Pro open at the same time, on different desktops (Spaces) and then using swipe to switch apps on the same desktop was a show-stopper for me

Dual-boot with Boot Camp - there is NO WAY I will ever be a pure Mac loyalist, because I still depend on Windows, and sometimes Linux to a much smaller extent. Being able to reboot my machine and have all of my system resources devoted to Windows and hopping into a game of Bad Company 2 or Crysis 2 is win/win

Build quality - Huge to me. I take my MBP pro on the road with me to do on the road processing, or to show clients portfolios, or will have it displaying images from previous sessions at weddings through a projector, or whatever. Call it a gimmick, but having the body made of pure aluminum which is fingerprint resistant, scratch resistant, and hard as a rock is about as good as it gets and gives me a piece of mind.

Local Support - The Apple Store is one of the greatest advertising gimmicks, but one of the best technology local support systems since Gateway used to do it way back in the day. While Dell has the best remote support, walking into an Apple store with your product and either getting it fixed right there or put in a service call with trackable progress is priceless.

These are the things that worked for me, and were worth the additional cost. Your mileage may vary, but look at your laptop as an investment and make the investment that is ideal for you.