My MBP edged by my brother's budget PC

[Reelknead1]

You my friend are seeing flash at its greatest on a Mac. Flash doesn't like apples one bit. It would much rather be on a PC. Just look at the CPU usage of a 2.4ghz MBP vs a 2.4ghz PC its ridiculous.

My i7 2.66 uses 10-12% cpu while watching hulu

My friends 2.66 c2d uses 60-70% cpu watching the same video.

Until HTML5 is greater you will have to deal with it or get an HP computer for your NFL sites.

 

[maflynn]

My i7 2.66 uses 10-12% cpu while watching hulu

My friends 2.66 c2d uses 60-70% cpu watching the same video.

Isn't that mixing apple and oranges. Clearly the i7 has some serious archecture changes that really improve a programs performance. Not just hyperthreading. The c2d is slower and is an older platform.

To make the case it is flash, you need to run the same flash program on a c2d windows machine as well as a osx.

 

[Blu101]

His test is not crippled on a system level type thinking - Mac OS X vs Windows using the same browser for both OS's.

But using a browser to test overall system speed/power is a poor test, because you're really testing the browser itself more than anything else. Try other tasks, like encoding a ripped DVD or something.

Or re-do the NFL.com test with your brother's pc using Explorer and your Mac using Safari. At least this way each system is using its native browser, so you can argue that this is more of a "(native software) system" level representative test.

Either way, who cares - your Mac will give you a much better experience than his PC can ever dream of. Give him our best wishes with all the freezes and crashes and typical Windows issues.

Just last night my parent's pc froze on a system level with an HP update for their HP printer. I mean seriously, a printer driver update crashed the $%#%&*$% thing...! They lost over an hour for disk repair to do its thing, and at the end it just said it couldn't repair the problem, but the pc booted and worked fine afterwards?!? Call me crazy, but I can't say I miss those days...

 

[milbournosphere]

A Pentium M will obliterate a 50% better clocked Atom ∴ Newer≠Better

While you have a good point, I don't know if that's the best comparison to make. The Atom is a very good chip for what it's made for. The lower power usage (3Watt TDP) really comes in handy in a small netbook (7" eeeeeeeePc, etc.) versus the Pentium M which has a 5-27 watt TDP. Yes, the Atom will get around half the MIPS of a Pentium M at the same clock speed, but to me they're really beasts of a different color. The Pentium M should really be considered for an 11" netbook, but in the smaller 7-8" maschinen, the Atom really shines. I loved my Atom eeePc. It wasn't a performance beast, but you can't beat those 6+ hour battery times. These two chips are brothers, not competitors.

 

[mrsir2009]

Well HTML5 is growing... Mac users should support it by using the HTML5 Beta on YouTube

 

[mark28]

Seriously? Look at the speed benchmarks. The i3 processors are very crippled. The gpu would be seriously compromised to be able to have an i3 in it. This topic has been gone over again and again and again.
Not a fair comparison. What web browser on mac? On windows? Flash plays a big part here... something apple doesn't develop.

If you think the i3 is crippled, how crippled must the C2D be then?

i3 > C2D. Look at the benchmark, the core i3 beats the C2D at the same clock frequency.

The slowest i3 beats the P8600 already, and the P8600 ( the 2.4 ghz C2D in 13" MBP ) is one of the fastest C2D CPU's.

 

[mark28]

that cheap budget laptop has the newest technology
the mbp 13 has 2-3 year old tech

of course the new tech will beat out the old. but of course every apple fan boy will defend apple to their dying breath. I'm not apple hater, in fact I plan on buying a mbp after the refresh. it's a bit ridiculous that apple charges so much for old tech.

Pretty good marketing though, selling old PC's as new. The 13" MBP is Apple's best selling notebook.

I think it's the battery life what sells it.

 

[aimbdd]

If you think the i3 is crippled, how crippled must the C2D be then?

i3 > C2D. Look at the benchmark, the core i3 beats the C2D at the same clock frequency.

The slowest i3 beats the P8600 already, and the P8600 is one of the fastest C2D CPU's.

Yes i3 is better, but not by much. Its crippled compared to the i5s is what i meant

c2d isn't is just fine for what most people do anyway

 

[iMpathetic]

Pretty good marketing though, selling old PC's as new. The 13" MBP is Apple's best selling notebook.

I think it's the battery life what sells it.

I think it's the fact that it's a Mac that sells it. Unfortunately, that pretty much gives Apple free rein to do whatever they want hardware-wise.

BTW, calling the i3 "crippled" compared to the C2D with discrete graphics is absolutely ridiculous. There are i3 laptops with discrete graphics, and GPU is completely irrelevant anyway. As a CPU, is the i3 better? Of course!

 

[DVD9]

Yes i3 is better, but not by much. Its crippled compared to the i5s is what i meant

And for $1,200 the 13" MBP should have a high end i5 processor.

Next summer all the Windows laptops are supposed to have touchpads that scroll and click like an Apple. When that happens Apple will either have to offer real hardware in their laptops and at a lower price or they will take a big hit.

I saw an offer a couple weeks ago for an Envy 14 with an i5 560 processor and 6GB RAM for $849. With an Apple functioning touchpad that would melt the 15" MBP since the Apple is almost twice the cost. Not the regular price for the Envy, but a legit offer that stood for several days and no doubt will pop up again.

And OSX? Windows 7 has the same advantage with it's taskbar over the OSX Dock and Genie nonsense that Apple currently has with their touchpads.

 

[vant]

You're still here DVD? I'd think you'd buy a windows pc by now with all the praise you give them.

The fact is, people are willing to pay a premium for quality. Just watch Japanese MBA dissembly videos if you don't believe me. Japanese engineers that build laptops for a career are asking "why did apple do that? Must of been very complex to make and very expensive" comes up a lot (the amount of screws used in the MBA for example, and the custom batteries).

This quality isn't found in other laptops, only attempts. The envy14 doesn't have an apple trackpad, merely an attempt at one. The multitouch capabilities of the envy are limited and hard to use. The button system is not even close to apple's, it just feels like a poor Chinese imitation.

If you don't want to pay for the quality then just leave. Apple has never been at the top of the specs game and they never will be. They are at the top of the user experience department, and that's where they will remain. It's working well for them so far, with more MacBook sales than ever before. Ever wonder why HP made the copycat envy in the first place?

If you want to support imitation without innovation, then go ahead. I personally avoid giving money to the knockoffs.

 

[DVD9]

The envy14 doesn't have an apple trackpad, merely an attempt at one. The multitouch capabilities of the envy are limited and hard to use. The button system is not even close to apple's, it just feels like a poor Chinese imitation.

If you don't want to pay for the quality then just leave. Apple has never been at the top of the specs game and they never will be. They are at the top of the user experience department, and that's where they will remain. It's working well for them so far, with more MacBook sales than ever before. Ever wonder why HP made the copycat envy in the first place?

If you want to support imitation without innovation, then go ahead. I personally avoid giving money to the knockoffs.

You seem not to have read my post. By next summer it seems what you wrote about the Envy will no longer be true as it is now.

I don't mind supporting innovation when it serves the public. By definition such innovation is not priced out of the reach of 90% of the American people. Why does Apple have less than 2% of the world operating system market share after you subtract the US? People in India, China and Eastern Europe can't afford any laptop that Apple has manufactured for them by sweat shop laborers making $240 a month in China.

And other wealthy areas of the world do not buy at the US rate because they are not subjected to the massive propaganda campaign that Americans are to buy Apple. European films and TV shows don't have all their actors using Apple laptops as is the rule in America. How exactly does that happen anyway?
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[davidcmc]

Why does Apple have less than 2% of the world operating system market share after you subtract the US? People in India, China and Eastern Europe can't afford any laptop that Apple has manufactured for them by sweat shop laborers making $240 a month in China.

And other wealthy areas of the world do not buy at the US rate because they are not subjected to the massive propaganda campaign that Americans are to buy Apple. European films and TV shows don't have all their actors using Apple laptops as is the rule in America. How exactly does that happen anyway?
--

Well, I must agree that the truth has been said here.
Apple should start to improve it's hardware soon.
To be honest, the only reason that made me buy a MacBook Pro 13" instead of a PC notebook was the 10 hours battery autonomy.
I like Mac OS X, in fact I really like it and enjoy using it every day, but there's nothing on it that would avoid me from using Windows 7.

Both systems are OK to me and I have no specific preference over them.
For notebooks, I think the hardware (not only performance, but all other factors like trackpad, battery, display, size, chassi etc.) is much more important than the software.