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MacBook pro vs HP elitebook 8460p

S

sdb53

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2011
22
0
Hi,

Next year for college I have the choice between a 13 inch MacBook pro with an i5 processor and a 14 inch HP Elitebook 8460p with an i7 processor. They are both aluminum although the Mac has the unibody and better touchpad please look at them a little online and tell me which one is better. O and they will both cost the same so price doesn't matter
 
The elitebook appears to have discrete graphics, a higher resolution display and a 160G SSD if you're looking at the same model as me. It appears to be in an entirely different class than the 13" MBP, so it depends on what and how much you're asking of it. I'm going to assume games aren't too important to you and say the 13" will probably be sufficient if weight and formfactor are essential.

However to be quite frank, if I'm wrong, I'd strongly recommend the high end 15" MBP over the 8460p if you don't mind going an inch (diagonally) bigger. The 128GB SSD upgrade is only 100 dollars, so by trading a little space, you get a higher resolution, an even better graphics card and a quad core processor that can go up to 3.4(?)ghz in turboboost for $70 less.
 
Well the Mac runs OS X and the HP runs Microsoft's latest mediocrity of an OS. If I was going to buy a Windows PC it would be an HP business class laptop as they are better made than most others. Bheir quality control is still not as good as Apples as you will find poorly fitted cases keyboards etc. But I never understand why people would compare the two when they run different OS'
 
pretty similar machines...but the MBP will offer better battery performance.

I'd say the MBP.
 
I got my first mac in 2005 because I hated Windows. I instantly fell in love with OSX.

I swore I'd never buy a laptop because I hated trackpads. The multitouch trackpad that was introduced in the 2008 macbooks looked intriguing so I tried it out. Today I have two computers, both Apple laptops. So, there ya go.

But honestly, you're posting on a forum specifically for Apple enthusiasts; what do you expect us to say!?! Get the Mac!
 
As usual, it really depends on what is most important to you:

CPU / GPU power - go with the HP but you will pay quite a bit more for it.

Battery life / price / style - go with the MBP.

Gaming will be much better on the HP as well...

R
 
sdb53 said:
Hi,

Next year for college I have the choice between a 13 inch MacBook pro with an i5 processor and a 14 inch HP Elitebook 8460p with an i7 processor. They are both aluminum although the Mac has the unibody and better touchpad please look at them a little online and tell me which one is better. O and they will both cost the same so price doesn't matter
Click to expand...

You lost me at "HP". They make good printers but I've had plenty of negative experiences with their laptops and desktops. Slow, Loaded with bloatware, Proprietary hardware and drivers that can be a pain to deal with. I've had several times when I just wanted to wipe out the drive and install Windows from a standard install disk, and it would fail. I still have a few in my family that I have to deal with and I hate them.
 
What will you be using the computers for? Word processing/email/facebook or more intensive tasks such as CAD/simulation?
 
sdb53 said:
Hi,

Next year for college I have the choice between a 13 inch MacBook pro with an i5 processor and a 14 inch HP Elitebook 8460p with an i7 processor. They are both aluminum although the Mac has the unibody and better touchpad please look at them a little online and tell me which one is better. O and they will both cost the same so price doesn't matter
Click to expand...

Well, if price is not a factor, I'd suggest you upgrade to a MacBook Pro 15" model. It will be faster in every respect, will have OS X, and will have Apple build quality.

I owned an HP desktop and it was a reasonable performer and had reasonable build quality. However, it came with a ton of bloatware and was basically not upgradable as a result of a ton of finely tuned custom hardware components. You're dealing with a laptop, though, so you'll only need to worry about the bloatware.

In all seriousness-- get the 15" MBP ad if you want to use windows, run Parallels or install Windows 7 for bootcamp. I'm assuming you'd want windows for games, because almost all other software you will ever need is going to have a native Mac version, or be cloud based.
 
Depending on what you would be using it for, but I would say get the MacBook

Better battery life
With Bootcamp, can run Windows if needed
OS-X is better than Windows in my opinion and I use both
 
phpmaven said:
You lost me at "HP". They make good printers but I've had plenty of negative experiences with their laptops and desktops. Slow, Loaded with bloatware, Proprietary hardware and drivers that can be a pain to deal with. I've had several times when I just wanted to wipe out the drive and install Windows from a standard install disk, and it would fail. I still have a few in my family that I have to deal with and I hate them.
Click to expand...

yeah, in my experience all the hp laptops i or others i know have owned in the past have had a ton of problems and are a pain in the butt to deal with.

never had any major problems on any apple hardware I have owned.

Also, you need to realize that asking this question on a mac forum is going to lead to heavily biased answers for getting the mac over the hp.

your best bet would be to go to best buy and try playing around with both and decide based on what you like the best and what best fits your needs according to what you plan on doing with the laptop.
 
Before I posted a reply to this with a link I can't upgrade those are the two I have to pick from and I will use if for word processing surfing the Internet and music downloads any maybe video editing but that would be random just for fun not intensive video editing (basically everything you use it for in college)
Here is the link again to the laptops
http://www.winona.edu/it/laptopmodels.asp
 
The Mac is a MUCH better built computer. Like someone said b4, it it more than just the sum of its parts. I think of it as, would you rather have a new v8 Camaro or 3 series BMW? Sure the Camaro would be faster, but the build quality is *****. I'll take the smooth ride and better handling. Oh, and the non plastic dash.
 
I bought an HP laptop back in 2007 and after the hard drive failing 3 times under warranty and then once a month out of warranty, I vowed I would never again purchase an HP laptop.

I would urge you to reconsider, HP is abysmal and their technical support is barely intelligible. Furthermore, their after sales care is non-existent. They'll do the bare minimum to satisfy their T&Cs.

Buy the Macbook, or as poster #2 said the 15" MBP. Assuming you don't have heat issues it's sure to last you throughout your academic career unless quantum computing takes off and becomes affordable lol
 
edifyingGerbil said:
I bought an HP laptop back in 2007 and after the hard drive failing 3 times under warranty and then once a month out of warranty, I vowed I would never again purchase an HP laptop.

I would urge you to reconsider, HP is abysmal and their technical support is barely intelligible. Furthermore, their after sales care is non-existent. They'll do the bare minimum to satisfy their T&Cs.

Buy the Macbook, or as poster #2 said the 15" MBP. Assuming you don't have heat issues it's sure to last you throughout your academic career unless quantum computing takes off and becomes affordable lol
Click to expand...

1.) HP cannot be blamed for HDD failures unless they're putting their own firmware on the drives. the fault there lies squarely with the HDD manufacturer. You could blame HP for selecting said HDD manufacturer...but really, there are only so many HDD manufacturers, and they all offer roughly the same reliability (though I'd say Seagate and WD are a step behind Hitachi and Samsung). No laptop company makes its own hard drives outside of Samsung...and any laptop could come with a bad drive.

2.) The ownership experience of an Elitebook is vastly different from purchasing a regular HP laptop. Elitebook buyers get business-class treatment, short hold-times, and people who speak english. You even get to interact directly with the engineers, depending on what your problem is. This doesn't mean you'll be happier if the machine never works properly...but chances are good you'll have a good experience.

I still recommend the MBP because of the hassle-free ownership experience (generally), but that doesn't mean I'll stand idly by and watch incorrect information presented about the Elitebook line and ownership experience. I have a MBP and an Elitebook Tablet. That tablet is a tank.
 
adrian1480 said:
1.) HP cannot be blamed for HDD failures unless they're putting their own firmware on the drives. the fault there lies squarely with the HDD manufacturer. You could blame HP for selecting said HDD manufacturer...but really, there are only so many HDD manufacturers, and they all offer roughly the same reliability (though I'd say Seagate and WD are a step behind Hitachi and Samsung). No laptop company makes its own hard drives outside of Samsung...and any laptop could come with a bad drive.

2.) The ownership experience of an Elitebook is vastly different from purchasing a regular HP laptop. Elitebook buyers get business-class treatment, short hold-times, and people who speak english. You even get to interact directly with the engineers, depending on what your problem is. This doesn't mean you'll be happier if the machine never works properly...but chances are good you'll have a good experience.

I still recommend the MBP because of the hassle-free ownership experience (generally), but that doesn't mean I'll stand idly by and watch incorrect information presented about the Elitebook line and ownership experience. I have a MBP and an Elitebook Tablet. That tablet is a tank.
Click to expand...

If you would deign to read my post more carefully you would see I am critical of HP, I don't criticise the Elitebook, I couldn't care less about the Elitebook, what concerns me is HP are a load of wankers.

You say HP is not to blame for the HDD failures yet I never moved my laptop, I left it in my home on a desk and I only used it on the desk. So, if HP isn't to blame for designing a crap laptop that somehow eats HDD are you saying I'm to blame for having the temerity to turn on my laptop and use it?

I never presented any incorrect information about the Elitebook, you need either glasses or reading comprehension lessons.
 
Flip a coin. Seriously.

You either want a mac or you don't. If you believed all the cheerleaders here extolling the virtues of "machood" there wouldn't even be such a thing as a PC but there is. (A lot of them as a matter of fact). And amazingly... people actually survive and the world goes on.

The best overall argument so far is the mac will run both OS's but my best argument for a mac is durability. Throw in a reasonably priced, hassle free AppleCare program and you are set.
 
Al Coholic said:
Flip a coin. Seriously.

You either want a mac or you don't. If you believed all the cheerleaders here extolling the virtues of "machood" there wouldn't even be such a thing as a PC but there is. (A lot of them as a matter of fact). And amazingly... people actually survive and the world goes on.

The best overall argument so far is the mac will run both OS's but my best argument for a mac is durability. Throw in a reasonably priced, hassle free AppleCare program and you are set.
Click to expand...

The thing that converted me after owning PCs for the last 14 years was the durability and AppleCare which I only paid ~£50 for (student discount is very generous here in the UK) so I have to agree with you there.

I think I use W7 about as much as I use OS X so the OS wasn't really an issue for me, I wanted something that wasn't going to fry in a year and I'd be left stranded.
 
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