PC laptop vs MacBookXXX and PC vs MacMini

[Giuanniello]

Well,

it kind of takes a premise, I have been a more or less happy Windows user till end of 2002 when I got my first MacBook, a wonderful Titanium 667, I was proud to show my PC friends how X-Plane could work flawlessly on a laptop whilst on a PC it was a nightmare, the hardware was amazing and Mac OS X, even in its first incarnations, was quite solid.

After the Ti667 experience I took the chance to get the latest PowerPC monster, a dual G4 1.25 and the marvelous 23" Cinema Display, it sure was a little noisy but back then also PCs where really noisy due to the fans but what a machine it was!!! It still is in my storage and works flawlessly, it became obsolete due to G5 and then Intel CPUs but that's how tech works, I upgraded many a times and now use two MBAir, an 11 and a 13, a MBPro late 2011 (still a beast nonetheless the age) and a late 2007 upgraded CPU Mini.

Long story short I am trying to figure it out if it is still worth spending money on Apple, the hardware quality dropped from the Alps (never been up to mount Everest in my opinion) to the Marianne abyss, hardware literally su**s and the OS deviation towards mobile applications (you tell me what Siri's meant to be on a computer please) makes me look towards something else also because a laptop to cost 3K makes me buy 2 Windows ones and get some spare euros for a holiday probably...

So, questions are, is there any PC with a small form factor and low noise like a Mac Mini? And what about laptops, is there any clean design one and good build like MacBookXXX to evaluate?

Grazie

 

[shaunp]

HP make a mini computer that is getting good reviews and as for a light and thin PC laptop, look at the Dell XPS 13 or 15, or even the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. The HP Envy 13 looks okay too, so long as you like the black and gold colour scheme.
[doublepost=1480931739][/doublepost]And don't forget Intel NUC for mini computers. Just buy the base unit and add what you need to it - RAM, SSD, etc.

 

[Zazoh]

Long story short I am trying to figure it out if it is still worth spending money on Apple, the hardware quality dropped from the Alps ...

I had a 2011 15" MBP and now rely on 12" MacBook, I don't think the quality has suffered, but I hope they don't go smaller than this, light and small enough.

To me, regardless of hardware, I'm into Apple for the software. The OS is great for me and I can't envision going back to the Windows platform.

 

[pastrychef]

Their desktops have lagged behind in terms of technology (with the exception of the iMac 5K) but, I haven't noticed any drop in quality. I had a 2010 Mac Pro that ran flawlessly until the day I sold it and I don't know of any PC that's made to that level of quality. Whatever problems any of the more recent Macs have experienced were, as far as I can tell, primarily due to AMD GPUs that ran too hot. Fortunately, AMD seems to addressed the issue of heat in their latest GPUs. This bodes well for and upcoming Macs that will use them.

As I stated, Apple has languished in technology. The lack of updates to the Mac Mini and Mac Pros are inexcusable. There are some nice ITX and STX systems out there now that are similar to the Mac Mini form factor and many can even be hackintoshed... $682 Skylake Mac Mini Hackintosh - Snazzy Labs

In my opinion, Apple makes the best laptops. I really like the newest MacBook Pros. From what I've read, they are compact and run much cooler than previous models.

 

[jg900ss]

Well,

it kind of takes a premise, I have been a more or less happy Windows user till end of 2002 when I got my first MacBook, a wonderful Titanium 667, I was proud to show my PC friends how X-Plane could work flawlessly on a laptop whilst on a PC it was a nightmare, the hardware was amazing and Mac OS X, even in its first incarnations, was quite solid.

After the Ti667 experience I took the chance to get the latest PowerPC monster, a dual G4 1.25 and the marvelous 23" Cinema Display, it sure was a little noisy but back then also PCs where really noisy due to the fans but what a machine it was!!! It still is in my storage and works flawlessly, it became obsolete due to G5 and then Intel CPUs but that's how tech works, I upgraded many a times and now use two MBAir, an 11 and a 13, a MBPro late 2011 (still a beast nonetheless the age) and a late 2007 upgraded CPU Mini.

Long story short I am trying to figure it out if it is still worth spending money on Apple, the hardware quality dropped from the Alps (never been up to mount Everest in my opinion) to the Marianne abyss, hardware literally su**s and the OS deviation towards mobile applications (you tell me what Siri's meant to be on a computer please) makes me look towards something else also because a laptop to cost 3K makes me buy 2 Windows ones and get some spare euros for a holiday probably...

So, questions are, is there any PC with a small form factor and low noise like a Mac Mini? And what about laptops, is there any clean design one and good build like MacBookXXX to evaluate?

Grazie

[doublepost=1481010704][/doublepost]I am still a Mac user and I have moved from regular Macbook upgrades to a MacMini keeper, a 2012 model with a dGPU for better graphics performance. But I also have a Zotac ZBOX CI545 with Win 8.1, and a Zotac CI323 with Ubuntu 16. Both are excellent "mini's" and SILENT. I set up my wife's computer, a Gigabyte Brix model with i3-6100u, with 16gb RAM, an M.2 boot drive, an internal 2.5" SATA drive, and its fast and SILENT. These new barebones/NUC devices are brilliant, fast, and quiet. MSI has the CUBI, and you can check out the new BeeBox-S with a Kabylake i3-7200 that supports Netflix's new requirements. There are even gaming boxes, such as the Zotac EN970 I have with a powerful gaming graphics card. So, yes, you have many options, and the quality is high.

 

[pastrychef]

I have one of the earlier Zotac ZBOX models with Nvidia ION that I used as a media player for about 2 years. While it worked well for the most part, it's quality is nowhere near a Mac Mini's. As time progressed, the fan on the heatsink got increasingly louder. I tried cleaning it and even went so far as to try to oil the bearings. Nothing helped and Zotac wouldn't sell me a replacement. So, I couldn't recommend Zotac.

The Intel NUCs are very nice. I have a friend who has been using one for almost two years and it's quiet and reliable.