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MacBook Pro Alternative

S

samwich

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 5, 2007
183
0
So I was planning on getting the new MacBook Pro this week, but now after seeing it and probably being succumbed into thinking this sucks by all the people that want a matte display/firewire etc., I wanted to look at similar options from other providers. I looked at HP and Dell, and for the most part found about a $400-500 difference between an apple and the other brands. (Not factoring in ports, operating system, or size).

By the way, I didn't really see any options on any other BTO options for a matte screen on the other brands, all were glossy.

Just wondering what people would look at as an alternative to MBP.

(This may not go over well at an Apple forum, but I'll give it a shot)
 
Well i think the first question you should ask yourself is what exactly you will be using your computer for, and followed with how much you would like to spend. And then go from there. Apple just reduced the price of their entry level macbook to $999 so that is certainly something to think about. I will say that for the price of the $2500 MBP I'm about to buy, I could get a pretty bitchin' laptop from many other carriers, its just whether or not you would like to see many innovative features with Apple products, and the pure spectacle of owning a mac...at least I see a lot of owning a mac is how damn cool they look and some of the other features (glass trackpad).
 
READ CAREFULLY! (scroll down a bit)

The MBP does have a FireWire port.

And remember: Apple has Bootcamp, that allows you to run a dual-boot config with the Windows of your choice. (Two computers for the price of one!) Just buy a REAL (not upgrade) version of XP-SP2 or Vista and you won't go wrong.
 
i hate to say this, but being a heavy mac user and mac lover myself, these new macbook/pro range are products to boost the wank factor.

Apple have gone and answered to the masses (which is totally their prerogative to make more mulla), but it leaves professional mac users wanting.

as an alternative to a MBP, it depends on what you're using a laptop for...?
gaming - Alienware/Dell XPS laptops
general word processing, surfing the net, watching movies - Acer/Toshiba/Asus/Thinkpad etc
 
Yea I work for a design company and use photoshop, illustrator, 3D modeling programs (cinema 4d), pro audio w/ external audio interfaces, etc. so there's no question that I would like something as powerful as I could get. (and I'm not one of those users who upgrades to 4 gigs of ram so they can run word and safari "faster") I may as well end up getting a MBP. If I weren't still in college I would spring for a desktop, but I also like portability.

To reiterate my point, I checked out Dell and HP and they don't offer any options for matte displays, only glossy. I wasn't aware that the competition had also moved to glossy.
 
If you turn the brightness all the way up on a glossy display i dont think you will see a problem...
:S

and the MBP has a firewire port,
:eek:
 
I can't use Windows. It's like switching from Stanford to a mental institution (no offense to mental institutions). A great option is a refurb, or buying used. Almost all the notebooks out there still don't have the quality look/feel that the 6 year old Powerbook/Macbook Pro design.
 
Probably would look at the Dell Precision Line or the HP Elitebooks. The Dells come with Quadros and spec out pretty similarly to the 2.53 MBP for about $400 less. The HP 8530p should be about the same as the Dell by the time you bump up the RAM to 4G. If you step up to the 8530, you can get Bluray, Quadro graphics, and 3 year on site warranty for same money as MBP.

Another thing to note is that the Montevina platform shared by the Dell and HP notebooks supports up to 8GB RAM, if you need it.

Granted all of these machines are a lb or 2 heavier if that makes a difference as well.

Just depends on the software you want to run. I am probably going to buy the MBP, because I want to run Aperture and FCE.
 
Being a firewire 400 glossy hater myself.

I would rather buy a Power Support Matte screen Protector and a firewire express card then ever touch windows again.

The reason people were upset about the firewire and matte, is because those are features pros need and it is called the macbook "pro".


It's a great machine, just us pros were a bit miffed at leaving out these small details that have been in the Apple pro laptops since the Powerbook.
 
Chaos123x said:
Being a firewire 400 glossy hater myself.

I would rather buy a Power Support Matte screen Protector and a firewire express card then ever touch windows again.

The reason people were upset about the firewire and matte, is because those are features pros need and it is called the macbook "pro".


It's a great machine, just us pros were a bit miffed at leaving out these small details that have been in the Apple pro laptops since the Powerbook.
Click to expand...

Very well stated ;)
 
I am also searching for an alternative to the MBP. Most important for me is height (2,4cm), that the notebook is not making noise in idle- and surfmode, that the battery stays for at least 4 hours. That the display is 15 inch minimum at a 1440x900 resolution. I didn't find these features in one other device. Looked and the Dell Studio 15 and configured it a litte. But what stays is 3,7cm height, battery-runtime at under 4 hours, noise in surf-mode...

If any of you guys can tell me an alternative, don't hesitate ;)
 
Apple didn't change the 17" MBP... other than the HDD, RAM and a higher res screen. I'm not completely sure if its glossy too though.
 
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