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Macbook, Macbook Pro or Dell Lattitude??????

Planner Dude said:
the macbook pro cost more than I want to pay plus will only have a 512 Ram and 80gb hard drive. Additionally it is not user upgradeable.
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This bit confuses me. In what way is the MBP not user upgradeable? Anyone can easily add more RAM or a larger HD (and possibily more video RAM) or are you talking about other upgrades (CPU, GPU, etc)? Few if any laptops are able to be upgraded aside from RAM and HD, and anyone can perform those upgrades.

TEG
 
TEG said:
This bit confuses me. In what way is the MBP not user upgradeable? Anyone can easily add more RAM or a larger HD (and possibily more video RAM) or are you talking about other upgrades (CPU, GPU, etc)? Few if any laptops are able to be upgraded aside from RAM and HD, and anyone can perform those upgrades.

TEG
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From the macguides, I believe, it says that it is harder to replace the RAM & HD in the MBP and is not advised by apple as opposed to the MB where you just undo the battery and a few screws and you're there!
 
You should also factor in the cost of windows on top of what you would pay for any of the Mac options listed.

Plus, if you already run Windows you no doubt have software which you may wish to replace with Mac alternatives (if you want to avoid a lot of dual booting).

Apple make great computers, and it's all I have ever properly used, but it may not be the best option for you at this particular stage.

That said, if you think you will regret not switching in a few months… I can see it is quite a predicament. And buying a new computer should be fun. Good Luck!
 
TheBrazilianGuy said:
Getting an integrated graphics card
is something awful no matter what other people says.

S.
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I couldn't disagree with you more. I've been very happy with my Macbook purchase. I run both windows and mac, and I use a nifty virtual desktop app to switch between the two. As far as the graphics, nothing ever stutters, pauses, hangs, or anything of that nature. Unless you are going to do some gaming, most people will be more than happy with the Macbook graphics.
 
OP needs engineering and design apps to work. The Quadros in the Latitudes are certified with those apps. The Inspirons are of an inferior build to the D620, and support is different. I would definitely recommend a Latitude over an Inspiron.
 
Sesshi said:
OP needs engineering and design apps to work. The Quadros in the Latitudes are certified with those apps. The Inspirons are of an inferior build to the D620, and support is different. I would definitely recommend a Latitude over an Inspiron.
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Are the Quadros better GPUs than what the Macbook Pro gives?
 
iW00t said:
Are the Quadros better GPUs than what the Macbook Pro gives?
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For engineering purposes (with Windows of course), yes I'd say so. For gaming, certainly not.

There's tradeoffs with anything. The D620 is a more portable machine for sure, but you give up some screen real estate. It's better built, but uglier. Unlike the Macbook Pro, it is genuinely for a hard professional life and comes with the build and support that such usage requires. But of course it runs Windows which of course on this forum makes it suck heinously :rolleyes:

The D620 is more versatile as a all-round computer: you can buy a port replicator for it which is excellent. You can even get a dual-monitor setup going with the lid closed. You can also buy a docking station which gives you dual drive capability (I run mine with an additional DVD-ROM) and a PCI slot in addition to what the port replicator does. If you want a machine that's very portable and is a very decent desktop as well, a D620 with docking station is an excellent choice - a choice not available in the Mac world.
 
Sesshi said:
OP needs engineering and design apps to work. The Quadros in the Latitudes are certified with those apps.
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Glad someone finally got around to that all-important point. For what your requesting (Autocad, ArcGIS etc.) the GPU in the Latitude will run circles around the others and is certified to work with those applications. That should carry a ton of weight in your decision making process.

I do all the information technology purchasing for my company (thousands of employees) and overall I've been very very satisfied with the performance and support we've received from Dell. We've had our issues like we would have had with any other piece of technology but the important thing to consider is the support behind that equipment.

I have a Latitude D600 and 4 other Optiplex desktops next to me and they have all been admirable performers. That being said, they are not even close to being anywhere as sexy as the MacBook Pro. :D
 
FWIW, I use a Latitude D620 every day at work and have been since June of 2006. I have only had one problem with it and that was the DVD Burner went bad. I called Dell and the NEXT DAY I had a brand new DVD Burner that I just slid into the hot swappable bay. It travels with me all the time and still looks good as new. It has been a good laptop to me. It does have the whine issue on battery power but that has been resolved with the C2D processor models (mine is CoreDuo). If you really want a solid windows machine, look at the Thinkpad line. They are light, durable, and they even make a wide-screen model T series now. Best of luck in whatever you do!
 
I really don't want a windows machine

it's just that the premium for a GPU from apple is so high!!!
 
Planner Dude said:
it's just that the premium for a GPU from apple is so high!!!
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Actually I think the premium is for the entire system's design (thin alu case, all the electronics, the OS and the apps). Taking out the dedicated GPU is just an excuse to make a cheaper system without much financial risk, because everybody still wants the normal-priced dedicated GPU system.
 
dpaanlka said:
Actually I think the premium is for the entire system's design (thin alu case, all the electronics, the OS and the apps). Taking out the dedicated GPU is just an excuse to make a cheaper system without much financial risk, because everybody still wants the normal-priced dedicated GPU system.
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I realize that there's more to the design....but you can't include the os and apps as a premium when comparing the macbook with the macbook pro.

I am fine with paying more for a thoughtful design (the design & os is why I am considering apple over pc)

What I am getting at is that I can't get what I need....something between the macbook and macbook pro?

I am forced to purchase the premium machine (practically double the price) for a dedicated GPU.
 
eww please don't get a dell.

I have one and it's been nothing but problems since I got it. Incompatible drivers, random blue screens, and dell support has done nothing to try to fix it.
All they tell me to do is run diagnostics.

Oh yeah, and you have to run windows :/
 
ready2switch said:
Only until next week. If you have no real hurry about buying one, I'm fairly confident that more CD MBP will be available online with the next refresh.
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Do the MBP. You can do the applecare anytiume in the first year. I bought the applecare for my iBook for $10 off eBay. I would pay to upgrade the memory, though. There are plenty of third party places to buy ram. I also do a lot of video editing with a Powerbook, and I would much rather use a faster external hard drive for that as opposed to the internal apple hd. Buy the mbp, upgrade the ram, and as you can afford to do so (Christmas? Birthday?) get applecare and an external hard drive (bought a 250 gb off of mac mall for $99)
 
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