Macbook Pro Alternatives

[smeeg128]

1. My computor needsin No Order)
a.Portable(~15inch screen/not too thick)
b.Quick(~2.5gig/4gig ram)
c.Dedicated Graphics Card(256-512meg)
d.Case design that is not gaudy(subjective)
e.OSX or Vista(they both run the programs I need)
f. MUST be able to play 3d games on a regular basis(WoW and random FPS)

2. I am ready to buy the MBP, however it seems that this expensive computer has been having a lot of problems with the graphics card. I Feel that if im going to spend 2k+ on a computor it should not have black screen issues while running 4 year old games like WoW. If apple fixed the problem tommorrow I would have no problem buying the MBP.

3. Big Problem. I have been looking for alternatives, but there seem to be non out there. My biggest problem seems to be that any computer with a decent dedicated graphics card, has some kind of obnoxious case design.

I really like the size and power of the MBP, but I can not bring my self to pull the trigger on something that has known issues.

Can anyone offer up some alternatives to the MBP that suits my needs?

 

[iToaster]

Everything has issues, people complain about them and their complaining makes the issue seem much worse than it is. I can tell you this right now, odds are any MacBook Pro you buy will not have problems, if it does, take it back to Apple and they'll give you a new one.

 

[raymondu999]

Lenovo Thinkpads usually have alright specifications. But the case design.... uggh.... Or perhaps you could look at Dell XPS models?

 

[alexbates]

I would suggest a Sony Vaio 15-in Xbrite. You can get one of those pretty cheap. I have always had good experiences with Sony (except for MBP batteries) and would highly suggest one over any other computer running windows.

But, in my opinion nothing beats a MBP. I have had mine for 3 or 4 years and still think of it as brand new. If you don't want to pay $2000 for it, get a cheap used 1st generation that is in good shape.

Good luck hunting!

 

[cg165]

1. My computor needsin No Order)
a.Portable(~15inch screen/not too thick)
b.Quick(~2.5gig/4gig ram)
c.Dedicated Graphics Card(256-512meg)
d.Case design that is not gaudy(subjective)
e.OSX or Vista(they both run the programs I need)
f. MUST be able to play 3d games on a regular basis(WoW and random FPS)

2. I am ready to buy the MBP, however it seems that this expensive computer has been having a lot of problems with the graphics card. I Feel that if im going to spend 2k+ on a computor it should not have black screen issues while running 4 year old games like WoW. If apple fixed the problem tommorrow I would have no problem buying the MBP.

3. Big Problem. I have been looking for alternatives, but there seem to be non out there. My biggest problem seems to be that any computer with a decent dedicated graphics card, has some kind of obnoxious case design.

I really like the size and power of the MBP, but I can not bring my self to pull the trigger on something that has known issues.

Can anyone offer up some alternatives to the MBP that suits my needs?

If you download SMC Fan Control for OSX, set the fan speed to 6,000 RPM then reboot to windows the fans will stay at that speed. You won't get the black screen issue if you do this. Also switch out the bootcamp nvidia drivers that come on the disc with either the new official NVIDIA driver or www.laptopvideo2go.com driver (with the modified inf file).

I haven't had any problems after doing both and I play the orange box (team fortress 2, half life 2 ep1), far cry 2, left 4 dead without any problems.

If you'd like you can go for a dell xps, or lenovo. Anything can have problems of course. If you do have problems (at least with the MBP) you can just keep switching it until you get one that you're happy with. You're covered for a year even if you don't get applecare. I ordered the day it came out and haven't had any issues besides the black screen which has been resolved since I've done this which also doesn't let this thing get hot at all (only warm). Hope I've helped somehow.

I would highly recommend the MBP to be honest

Oh and they've released tons of updates since I got it which have fixed a lot of issues like:

1.) Sleep issue where it wouldn't go to sleep -- Resolved
2.) Trackpad acting funny -- Resolved (both now in windows vista/xp and in osx)
3.) 10.5.6 came out which fixed lots of bugs in leopard itself

There are probably some more that I'm not thinking of, but those helped quite a bit and I'm really happy with this. It's so light and easy to carry around also for the amount of power and when you aren't gaming on it, you really don't even hear it at all.

 

[brentsg]

If you download SMC Fan Control for OSX, set the fan speed to 6,000 RPM then reboot to windows the fans will stay at that speed. You won't get the black screen issue if you do this. Also switch out the bootcamp nvidia drivers that come on the disc with either the new official NVIDIA driver or www.laptopvideo2go.com driver (with the modified inf file).

I haven't had any problems after doing both and I play the orange box (team fortress 2, half life 2 ep1), far cry 2, left 4 dead without any problems.

If you'd like you can go for a dell xps, or lenovo. Anything can have problems of course. If you do have problems (at least with the MBP) you can just keep switching it until you get one that you're happy with. You're covered for a year even if you don't get applecare. I ordered the day it came out and haven't had any issues besides the black screen which has been resolved since I've done this which also doesn't let this thing get hot at all (only warm). Hope I've helped somehow.

I would highly recommend the MBP to be honest

Oh and they've released tons of updates since I got it which have fixed a lot of issues like:

1.) Sleep issue where it wouldn't go to sleep -- Resolved
2.) Trackpad acting funny -- Resolved (both now in windows vista/xp and in osx)
3.) 10.5.6 came out which fixed lots of bugs in leopard itself

There are probably some more that I'm not thinking of, but those helped quite a bit and I'm really happy with this. It's so light and easy to carry around also for the amount of power and when you aren't gaming on it, you really don't even hear it at all.

I have confidence in my MBP as well and if it dies Apple will take care of it. I do some gaming, mostly WoW... I leave it shut while I play on an external display... it gets hot, fans run when they need to... But so far it works fine with no glitches.