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Macbook Pro 15" vs HP HDX18 Premium
- Thread starter nyteshaid
- Start date
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kockgunner: It's not that I don't care which OS I use, I believe OS X and it's multi-touch gestures top Vista any day. Sometimes sacrifices are made, I haven't made one just yet. I agree the prices after conversion are ridiculous.
macrem: I believe that is the discontinued HP HDX 20 aka "Dragon". That setup looks mighty inconvenient. Laughable almost! It's quite obvious that PC laptops are generally plastic, or similar. Also, my 'machine' is not to take back to the US, it will eventually return with me to Australia. Across the globe.
liquidtrend: Perhaps it is too much. I don't know. I've always grown up with the foundations that price is nothing, and in the past price has never been an issue with anything else; I guess it just matters more because I'm in a foreign country and thinking differently etc *shrugz* or not.
eXan: I already know how nice the new unidbody MBP's feel. Definitely a much more solid build. And quite similar to the most current iMac that I was using back in Australia..in terms of keyboard, screen design (glass with black rim), and aluminium finish. Very classy and elegant
The deal is..I currently fall short of $4,500 AUD (Australian Dollars) saved up for that which includes, living expenses for the first month or so here in Canada, and a laptop for serious design work. Keeping in mind that once converted the MBP is $4,249.44 AUD and the HDX18 is $2,493.16 AUD, you can see how different items would give a substantially different outcome.
I went into Future Shop today, and had a look at the MBP & HDX18. Then noticed a direct competitor to the MBP, a Sony VAIO found here, quite the piece. 7200RPM and Blu-Ray burner standard also. (Same cost as HP).
.... I guess I'll eventually come to some decision *sigh*....
macrem: I believe that is the discontinued HP HDX 20 aka "Dragon". That setup looks mighty inconvenient. Laughable almost! It's quite obvious that PC laptops are generally plastic, or similar. Also, my 'machine' is not to take back to the US, it will eventually return with me to Australia. Across the globe.
liquidtrend: Perhaps it is too much. I don't know. I've always grown up with the foundations that price is nothing, and in the past price has never been an issue with anything else; I guess it just matters more because I'm in a foreign country and thinking differently etc *shrugz* or not.
eXan: I already know how nice the new unidbody MBP's feel. Definitely a much more solid build. And quite similar to the most current iMac that I was using back in Australia..in terms of keyboard, screen design (glass with black rim), and aluminium finish. Very classy and elegant
The deal is..I currently fall short of $4,500 AUD (Australian Dollars) saved up for that which includes, living expenses for the first month or so here in Canada, and a laptop for serious design work. Keeping in mind that once converted the MBP is $4,249.44 AUD and the HDX18 is $2,493.16 AUD, you can see how different items would give a substantially different outcome.
I went into Future Shop today, and had a look at the MBP & HDX18. Then noticed a direct competitor to the MBP, a Sony VAIO found here, quite the piece. 7200RPM and Blu-Ray burner standard also. (Same cost as HP).
.... I guess I'll eventually come to some decision *sigh*....
nyteshaid: how is your search coming?
you still seem to be examining many different possibilities for your next laptop, and yeah..there are a handful.
honestly, i havent touched a vaio since 2001, when i threw my old vaio out my top story window. the machine was wretched and i had now pulled me away from any possibility of giving sony another chance. no matter how pretty they can get.
the HP model youre looking at is sick (in a good way). but as ive said in the previous post... 18" is huge. ive got a 17" mbp which i love and paid top dollar for (even though i have a discount with hp) and i would never imagine what a life with vista would be like. youve got some great options with the HP model, but youre still looking at apples and oranges. do you want to work with vista? do you want to use a windows machine for design work? today, almost every company ive come across when it comes to design works with apple.
take a look at your standard graphic programs like adobe creative suite.
you can find out anywhere, that yes, you pay a premium for a mac. yes, people love their macs, and yes, software just works on a mac. and yes, the majority of users dislike their vista machines. this is why microsoft has jumped in a paid a huuuuge price to try and turn the vista name around via mojave experiment and seinfield.
keep us updated and let us know of your decision.
best of luck.
you still seem to be examining many different possibilities for your next laptop, and yeah..there are a handful.
honestly, i havent touched a vaio since 2001, when i threw my old vaio out my top story window. the machine was wretched and i had now pulled me away from any possibility of giving sony another chance. no matter how pretty they can get.
the HP model youre looking at is sick (in a good way). but as ive said in the previous post... 18" is huge. ive got a 17" mbp which i love and paid top dollar for (even though i have a discount with hp) and i would never imagine what a life with vista would be like. youve got some great options with the HP model, but youre still looking at apples and oranges. do you want to work with vista? do you want to use a windows machine for design work? today, almost every company ive come across when it comes to design works with apple.
take a look at your standard graphic programs like adobe creative suite.
-adobe.com
you can find out anywhere, that yes, you pay a premium for a mac. yes, people love their macs, and yes, software just works on a mac. and yes, the majority of users dislike their vista machines. this is why microsoft has jumped in a paid a huuuuge price to try and turn the vista name around via mojave experiment and seinfield.
keep us updated and let us know of your decision.
best of luck.
liquidtrend: Thanks for the reply. I was beginning to think noone would.
My search has not yet come to a satisfying finish, but rather continous through the dreaded hours of the morning. You're right in that I have still been examining different possibilities. Small handful yet largely different. Gosh..your Vaio certainly must have gone wrong somewhere to get that deathly attention. I couldn't imagine throwing a laptop out the window, unless of course it caused 'that much' tention. Guess I'll leave the Sony out..I think. Yeah?
The 18" is pretty big, but I'm not one that is worried too much about the practicality of it. Especially when it will be mostly stationary, desk or lap @ home. Couple local travels a year perhaps. I'm not extremely bothered on which OS I use to design. At my previous studio I had both Mac and PC so would switch between the two depending on the compatibilty and original creation of a document. Ultimately OS X provides a much smoother workflow (Exposé), I know that first hand, and I'd prefer to use OS X for that reason. I haven't yet tried CS3/4 in Vista. But on XP it didn't make a massive difference.
The HP does have it's advantages as pointed out previously (even upgradable to a working 8GB). But perhaps I am comparing Apples and Oranges. I'm just picky I guess. I won't disagree with you either, the few number of design studios that I've entered into have all ben Macs also. I even studied / learnt on the Mac.
I wasn't aware of that little bit. Gees, guess it's Mac then.
I actually sat down last night and browsed through numerous posts on macrumors along with many different reviews (New MBP vs Old MBP). I more or less 75% convinced myself that I should get the Macbook Pro because it's what I've always wanted, and the fact that if anything major (or minor) ever goes wrong AppleCare will take care of it. Only downfall of succombing to the purchase of a Macbook Pro, is that I will have extremely little $$'s to do much this 1st Canadian Winter of mine (which is where the 15% is still sitting that could change).
Even with the MBP as the final choice, I still have a couple decisions to make. All $$'s below are converted from Apple Store Canada after tax.
New MBP 15": 2.53GHz, 4GB, 320GB @7200, Apple Remote, AppleCare = $4,337 AUD (w/ 250GB @7200 = $4,196 AUD)
"New" MBP 17": 2.5GHz, 4GB, 320GB @7200, Apple Remote, AppleCare= $4,748 AUD (w/ 320GB @7200 = $4,664 AUD)
Refurbished Last Gen MBP 17": 2.6GHz, 2GB, 200GB @7200, AppleCare, 8600M GT 512 = $4,079 AUD (1x2GB/1x4GB $434 AUD = $4,513 AUD / 2x2GB $85 = $4,164 AUD)
Even though I want the largest screen, I put 15" on there purely for the fact that a 24" LED could be gotten further down the track to extend screen real estate. My budget has now declined to $4,500 AUD max (since rent). $4,718 for the NEW MBP 17" would be my ABSOLUTE MAX! I need to find a job here in Canada now that I have my SIN..I won't have any money left!!
[HP HDX18 320GB = $2,183 AUD. 640GB = $2,512 AUD. SORRY! Had to add that in]
My search has not yet come to a satisfying finish, but rather continous through the dreaded hours of the morning. You're right in that I have still been examining different possibilities. Small handful yet largely different. Gosh..your Vaio certainly must have gone wrong somewhere to get that deathly attention. I couldn't imagine throwing a laptop out the window, unless of course it caused 'that much' tention. Guess I'll leave the Sony out..I think. Yeah?
The 18" is pretty big, but I'm not one that is worried too much about the practicality of it. Especially when it will be mostly stationary, desk or lap @ home. Couple local travels a year perhaps. I'm not extremely bothered on which OS I use to design. At my previous studio I had both Mac and PC so would switch between the two depending on the compatibilty and original creation of a document. Ultimately OS X provides a much smoother workflow (Exposé), I know that first hand, and I'd prefer to use OS X for that reason. I haven't yet tried CS3/4 in Vista. But on XP it didn't make a massive difference.
The HP does have it's advantages as pointed out previously (even upgradable to a working 8GB). But perhaps I am comparing Apples and Oranges. I'm just picky I guess. I won't disagree with you either, the few number of design studios that I've entered into have all ben Macs also. I even studied / learnt on the Mac.
I wasn't aware of that little bit. Gees, guess it's Mac then.
I actually sat down last night and browsed through numerous posts on macrumors along with many different reviews (New MBP vs Old MBP). I more or less 75% convinced myself that I should get the Macbook Pro because it's what I've always wanted, and the fact that if anything major (or minor) ever goes wrong AppleCare will take care of it. Only downfall of succombing to the purchase of a Macbook Pro, is that I will have extremely little $$'s to do much this 1st Canadian Winter of mine (which is where the 15% is still sitting that could change).
Even with the MBP as the final choice, I still have a couple decisions to make. All $$'s below are converted from Apple Store Canada after tax.
New MBP 15": 2.53GHz, 4GB, 320GB @7200, Apple Remote, AppleCare = $4,337 AUD (w/ 250GB @7200 = $4,196 AUD)
"New" MBP 17": 2.5GHz, 4GB, 320GB @7200, Apple Remote, AppleCare= $4,748 AUD (w/ 320GB @7200 = $4,664 AUD)
Refurbished Last Gen MBP 17": 2.6GHz, 2GB, 200GB @7200, AppleCare, 8600M GT 512 = $4,079 AUD (1x2GB/1x4GB $434 AUD = $4,513 AUD / 2x2GB $85 = $4,164 AUD)
Even though I want the largest screen, I put 15" on there purely for the fact that a 24" LED could be gotten further down the track to extend screen real estate. My budget has now declined to $4,500 AUD max (since rent). $4,718 for the NEW MBP 17" would be my ABSOLUTE MAX! I need to find a job here in Canada now that I have my SIN..I won't have any money left!!
[HP HDX18 320GB = $2,183 AUD. 640GB = $2,512 AUD. SORRY!
Had to add that in]
Get Applecare anytime from a year after your Macbook Pro purchase. You don't have to buy it right away. That way you will still have some money left for your stay in Canada!
In my experience Vista's got a far worse reputation than it should. In its current SP1 version it works just as fast as XP on my system, with no problems whatsoever. It had some big bumps when it was released: bugs, bad driver support, it was pre-installed on machines that were not fit to run it and so on. None of these seem to be a problem anymore. In many ways I do prefer Vista to XP, there are little improvements here and there.
I used to run "hackintosh" OSX Leopard on my PC and the speed was very much the same as Vista - fast and stable. I eventually went back to Vista because it was too much work to switch between operating systems. Windows has the upper edge in games, audio and video players definitely. In my work I could use either OS, I mostly use Adobe stuff and text editors for coding and the Adobe programs are the same for both operating systems (down to the ghastly installers...) and there are fine text editors for both too.
Now, if OSX would run everything I use then yeah, I'd gladly only use that. It's got more uniformity to it, the installation paradigm is miles better etc. It has its flaws though, I don't like Finder much, the Home/End key behavior sucks and resizing windows is pretty inconvenient.
To the OP I'd suggest going with the HP if it costs nearly half what the Macbooks do. Windows 7 is only about 6 months away and that will bring many improvements in speed and UI too. You can get Expose for Vista as well via a 3rd party app called Switcher.
Still, I don't know if a 18" screen is a good idea. It's pretty huge for a laptop, in fact so big that it's no longer a laptop but a "movable computer" as they call the 19-20" laptops in stores around here. How about something with a 13-15" screen and a 20-24" external monitor with the money saved over the bigger screen laptop? This way you'd take the nice and portable laptop with you when needed and would still have the big screen at home.