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Macbook Pro Alternatives !

Bluethree

Bluethree

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2010
102
1
Heracy I hear you cry ! Burn him at the stake I hear you clamour ! :p BUT....what if we are left without a significantly upgraded MBP in the weeks ahead and as a product it remains outclassed and poor value; what are the alternatives everybody would consider ? Be brave I dare you and give us your thoughts no matter how much it hurts :rolleyes: ....

My option

HP Envy 15-1100 (UK Model) weighing in at £1500 (incl Tax) (thats around $2416 of your Yankee Dollars :D) with the following features:

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor i7-720QM
1.6 GHz
6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery
Intel 802.11 a/b/g/n; Bluetooth® wireless networking
2.35 kg
38 cm (L) x 24.4 cm (W) x 2.65 cm (H)

Full spec........

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06a/321957-321957-3329744-3995710-3995710-4075902.html
 
Bluethree said:
Heracy I hear you cry ! Burn him at the stake I hear you clamour ! :p BUT....what if we are left without a significantly upgraded MBP in the weeks ahead and as a product it remains outclassed and poor value; what are the alternatives everybody would consider ? Be brave I dare you and give us your thoughts no matter how much it hurts :rolleyes: ....

My option

HP Envy 15-1100 (UK Model) weighing in at £1500 (incl Tax) (thats around $2416 of your Yankee Dollars :D) with the following features:

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor i7-720QM
1.6 GHz
6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery
Intel 802.11 a/b/g/n; Bluetooth® wireless networking
2.35 kg
38 cm (L) x 24.4 cm (W) x 2.65 cm (H)

Full spec........

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06a/321957-321957-3329744-3995710-3995710-4075902.html
Click to expand...

I'd get this one
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666059659

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...alogId=10551&langId=-1&cmsId=zseries#overview

Sony Vaio VPC-Z11DGX/SJ

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Intel Core i5-540M 2.53Ghz
4Gb RAM
13.1" 1600x900 or 1920x1080 Z-Bright (compromise between glossy and matte, without stupid glass in front of the screen)
192Gb Raid 0 SSD (up to 512Gb Quad Raid 0 SSD)
Intel 5700MHD + nVidia GT330M (1024Mb GDDR3) with on-the-fly switching
3xUSB, DVD-RW (or BluRay), ExpressCard/34, HDMI, SD/MMC
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Ethernet, 3G WWAN, GPS
12.4"(W) x 1.0-1.3"(H) x 8.3"(D)
Unibody Aluminum top + Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic bottom
Backlight keyboard + multitouch trackpad
Up to 7.5 hours with standard battery
1.38kg
 
Good thread!

I'm currently using a Vaio with a similar design to the one posted there and it's a decent machine. Just doesn't feed as well built as my mates macbook pros though... Wonder what that one feels like.
 
Bluethree said:
Heracy I hear you cry ! Burn him at the stake I hear you clamour ! :p BUT....what if we are left without a significantly upgraded MBP in the weeks ahead and as a product it remains outclassed and poor value; what are the alternatives everybody would consider ? Be brave I dare you and give us your thoughts no matter how much it hurts :rolleyes: ....

My option

HP Envy 15-1100 (UK Model) weighing in at £1500 (incl Tax) (thats around $2416 of your Yankee Dollars :D) with the following features:

Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor i7-720QM
1.6 GHz
6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery
Intel 802.11 a/b/g/n; Bluetooth® wireless networking
2.35 kg
38 cm (L) x 24.4 cm (W) x 2.65 cm (H)

Full spec........

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06a/321957-321957-3329744-3995710-3995710-4075902.html
Click to expand...

Coming from a PC my whole life, this iMac is my alternative. A high priced alternative at that.
 
The downside of alternatives is that you're stuck with windows. Perhaps not a huge deal unless you have a lot of $$ invested in OSX software.
 
Dell Vostro 1700
The Vostro 1700 is a business-inspired desktop replacement. It is not as pricey as Dell’s Precision M6300 mobile workstation or built for gaming like the XPS M1730, but it can still pack a punch. It is available with discrete or integrated graphics and can be upgraded to WUXGA if you need the extra screen real estate. Like many other MBP alternatives, it’s got a cheaper starting point but it is heavier and not nearly as portable. Starting weight is 7.71 lbs. but expect it to go up from there.

Pro: Highly configurable, available with XP or Vista, dual hard drive option
Con: Upgrades get expensive as they accumulate, not very flashy, somewhat boring
 
Since I just switched (a few months actually)... and I loooveeee my MBP... I will not change it for anything in the next 2-3 years at least!

Though the Sony with 13" 1080p screen is a beast! Apple should take some notes and create a really pro machine!
 
DivineEvil said:
Since I just switched (a few months actually)... and I loooveeee my MBP... I will not change it for anything in the next 2-3 years at least!

Though the Sony with 13" 1080p screen is a beast! Apple should take some notes and create a really pro machine!
Click to expand...
I doubt anything can match Vaio Z, and Apple certainly won't even come close. Don't forget that Z has same weight as Macbook Air with battery life, performance and features superior to highest-end 15" MBP.
 
maratus said:
I doubt anything can match Vaio Z, and Apple certainly won't even come close. Don't forget that Z has same weight as Macbook Air with battery life, performance and features superior to highest-end 15" MBP.
Click to expand...
F u c k the weight of the MBA... a 13" MBP with similar specs to the Vaio and a little heavier that the Vaio will be perfect! I'll toss my current MBP and get that one in an instant (or when I have the lizards)...
 
sarashah said:
Dell Vostro 1700
The Vostro 1700 is a business-inspired desktop replacement. It is not as pricey as Dell’s Precision M6300 mobile workstation or built for gaming like the XPS M1730, but it can still pack a punch. It is available with discrete or integrated graphics and can be upgraded to WUXGA if you need the extra screen real estate. Like many other MBP alternatives, it’s got a cheaper starting point but it is heavier and not nearly as portable. Starting weight is 7.71 lbs. but expect it to go up from there.

Pro: Highly configurable, available with XP or Vista, dual hard drive option
Con: Upgrades get expensive as they accumulate, not very flashy, somewhat boring
Click to expand...

The Vostro series are ENTRY level notebook. Marketed at business-people who doesn't want to pay up for the real models (lattitude in this segment). It's not in anyway an atlernative to a MBP og thinkpak T series.

The specs might be ok, but the build quality is far from the above mentioned.
 
Honestly, I often wonder if people would use all the power of an i5/i7. I'd much prefer using a Core 2 Duo with OSX then an i7 with Windows. That's just me. I got my Macbook Pro 13" in September, so I'm glad I'm not caught up in this.
 
melman101 said:
Honestly, I often wonder if people would use all the power of an i5/i7. I'd much prefer using a Core 2 Duo with OSX then an i7 with Windows. That's just me. I got my Macbook Pro 13" in September, so I'm glad I'm not caught up in this.
Click to expand...

The thing is, people will always be able to use all of the power available in a CPU. Until everything occurs instantly, or even before you think to do it, there will always be a need for a faster computer. Most users simply don't know how fast machines can be until they experience one. Just like most users don't know the speed that an SSD provides until they switch from spinning platters. The bottom line is that there was always be a bottleneck, and I'm glad it's no longer the CPU.
 
maflynn said:
The downside of alternatives is that you're stuck with windows. Perhaps not a huge deal unless you have a lot of $$ invested in OSX software.
Click to expand...

There is linux too. Many flavors of it actually. Especially for IT professionals it might be an even better platform than OSX and Windows.

sarashah said:
Dell Vostro 1700
The Vostro 1700 is a business-inspired desktop replacement. It is not as pricey as Dell’s Precision M6300 mobile workstation or built for gaming like the XPS M1730, but it can still pack a punch. It is available with discrete or integrated graphics and can be upgraded to WUXGA if you need the extra screen real estate. Like many other MBP alternatives, it’s got a cheaper starting point but it is heavier and not nearly as portable. Starting weight is 7.71 lbs. but expect it to go up from there.

Pro: Highly configurable, available with XP or Vista, dual hard drive option
Con: Upgrades get expensive as they accumulate, not very flashy, somewhat boring
Click to expand...

I've faithfully used XP from SP1 to the day. It's too old anymore.

maratus said:
I doubt anything can match Vaio Z, and Apple certainly won't even come close. Don't forget that Z has same weight as Macbook Air with battery life, performance and features superior to highest-end 15" MBP.
Click to expand...

I just love carbon fiber. It's a great machine.
 
dell studio 15" isn't so bad and it's ~$1360 with 4 gigs of ram, core i5, 500 gb 7200 rpm, 1920x1200 led, radeon 4570 + 512 mb vram, bluetooth, backlit keyboard and weighs about the same as the mbp - 5.54 lbs. Now they just need to get it to run osx =\...though win 7 isn't so bad these days..
 
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