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Pros and cons of Mbps over pc ultrabooks
- Thread starter Samtb
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But a lot of the competition is getting better now with many ultrabooks claiming long battery life, speed etc.
Well...what really makes the rMBP different from all the others is the retina display, OS X and the sexy design.
Many ultrabooks now also have high resolution displays and good designs now though.
But they don't have OS X. And that's what differentiates the rMBP from them.
OS X integrates with other Apple devices and services too, like iCloud, Handoff, Continuity, etc...
The test comes with time. Perfect example, my wife had the latest and greatest Windows Laptop with an i7 quad core, mine was a 13" MacBook i7 with dual core.
Within 6 months, pressing Windows update for her took 45 minutes if I did it once a month, my Mac? 5 minutes if there was an update. Within a year, my Mac was just as fast as the day I bought it. Hers? Definitely slower. 3 years later, her Windows was on its last leg, simple tasks lagged, updates took over an hour. Mac? No noticeable lag. She's since upgraded to a Mac, I did too, not because of performance, but for retina. I feel Windows are a lot more disposable.
Within 6 months, pressing Windows update for her took 45 minutes if I did it once a month, my Mac? 5 minutes if there was an update. Within a year, my Mac was just as fast as the day I bought it. Hers? Definitely slower. 3 years later, her Windows was on its last leg, simple tasks lagged, updates took over an hour. Mac? No noticeable lag. She's since upgraded to a Mac, I did too, not because of performance, but for retina. I feel Windows are a lot more disposable.
I think that's really it. I've owned and used Apple and Mac computers as well as DOS and Windows computers, and still use both Mac and Windows. I've also owned quite a few Android phones and tablets.
On the computer side, the integration of phone, tablet, Apple TV, laptop and desktop is what puts it all together in a way that makes my digital life easier.
OS X, construction, the track pad, that everything is built by Apple and is NOT fragmented is a huge plus.
Definitely not going back to a windows PC (even though I already have one..)
Definitely not going back to a windows PC (even though I already have one..)
You can read all you want but the best way to answer your question is to use both and decide for yourself. One solution isn't the best fit for everyone which is why the options exist and why people use both. There are countless prior threads on this as well if you really just want to collect opinions.
Magsafe charger
good construction, keyboard, mouse, display
osx-only features that integrate well with an iPhone/ipad
3x3 802.11ac WiFi (rare in pcs)
I don't favor osx or windows 8.1; they're both good OS. But, apple makes great hardware. High end PCs have good hardware too, but they often seem to have some compromise that, to me, keeps the macbook pro on top.
good construction, keyboard, mouse, display
osx-only features that integrate well with an iPhone/ipad
3x3 802.11ac WiFi (rare in pcs)
I don't favor osx or windows 8.1; they're both good OS. But, apple makes great hardware. High end PCs have good hardware too, but they often seem to have some compromise that, to me, keeps the macbook pro on top.
The one thing I love most about my Macbook is that it's not a Window's computer. I've been using Windows for most of my life before I moved over to Apple and I can assure you that I will never go back to a Windows computer again. My rMBP has been very reliable throughout the 13 months that I've had her. I've had a Windows laptop prior to this and it barely lasted me two months before something was wrong with it. There's something that just works with a Mac that Windows takes a long time to fix before it gets to work perfectly. Not to mention that Windows could hardly make a computer look as beautiful as Apple makes theirs. Plus, I love Apple's OS way better than Windows, it's prettier, works better, and it's simple! This is just my two cents on why I prefer Apple as opposed to Windows.
Okay, first of all, the Macbook Pros aren't ultrabooks, especially the 15" models. A Macbook Air is more of an Ultrabook. This topic is more geared the Macbook Air forum.
Ultrabooks are thin, light, usually have the MBA's wedge shape(though that's not a verbatim requirement though), are usually 13" or less, and have ULV processors. Macbook Pros use standard processors with the 15" having quad core processors. The line understandably blurs with the 13" retina Macbook Pro, but it also uses standard dual core mobile processors with higher performance graphics.
Point is, they are entirely different markets in the first place. It is important to know the difference otherwise you are going to make yourself look like an idiot trying to compare the battery life and performance of a 15" Macbook Pro to a 13" ULV powered PC ultrabook.
In terms purely Mac vs PC, others have already covered.
Well
The Main pro is OSX I love their software it is simple, intuitive and easy to learn. I also prefer the apps available on macs.
Main con is that there are a lot of things available only for PC, and a lot more choice of hardware to get the exact specs you need.
I have recently had no choice but to load windows 8.1 on my mac for study and it is a nightmare... I have yet to shut it down without at least 5 minutes of updates, installing anything is a long wided nightmare, I find the scaling a bit wierd in it too. More imporatantly I find it a dog to navigate and find anything, the tiles start screen is a pointless mess and I dislike using it so much it ruin s productivity...
The Main pro is OSX I love their software it is simple, intuitive and easy to learn. I also prefer the apps available on macs.
Main con is that there are a lot of things available only for PC, and a lot more choice of hardware to get the exact specs you need.
I have recently had no choice but to load windows 8.1 on my mac for study and it is a nightmare... I have yet to shut it down without at least 5 minutes of updates, installing anything is a long wided nightmare, I find the scaling a bit wierd in it too. More imporatantly I find it a dog to navigate and find anything, the tiles start screen is a pointless mess and I dislike using it so much it ruin s productivity...
You have to treat the MacBook Pro as a premium notebook and compare with premium Ultrabooks, not $500 pieces of junk.
I think the biggest advantage the Macs have is the hardware which is exceptional, as it should be for the price we pay for them! Premium Ultrabooks have gone up a level over the last 6 months or so and are almost on par with the quality of Macs. I think the user experience of Ultrabooks will improve further with Windows 10 later this year.
I've always been a Vaio fan and was sad to see Sony sell the brand but this is the first notebook from the 'new' Vaio company/owners:
http://vaio.com/products/z/13-3/design.html
I'll be all over that if they release it outside of Japan. My 2010 Vaio Z is still going strong and this would be the update I had been waiting for. I'm happy to keep using my MacBook Pro of course, but Apple are going to have to work harder to make me want to purchase another one. Not so much the hardware, but with OS X. Windows 8.1/10 is so much better, it's not even funny.
I'd have to say at this point, OS X. Hardware is hit or miss. Some makers have good laptops others do not.
Apple is not immune to problems, just look at the dGPU debacle. So I don't think you can say completely that its hardware. I do think think MBPs/MBA are wonderfully designed using good parts but they typically do not use the fastest parts, never did. Apple has also moved towards a locked down design, i.e., soldered ram and propriety SSD modules. This in of itself is also a knock
OS X is the difference maker imo.
I'm posting this on a Hackintosh and I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, this has been much more stable than any Windows 7 PC I have ever built, even when I dual boot into Windows 7!
I think custom made machines allow the builder to pick the best components, which is one of the advantages people here have been citing for apple, though I'm not entire sold that apple's hardware given the dGPU failures that I posted about.
OS X can be very stable on a hackintosh. I had mixed results, SL was very stable for me, Lion was problematic. Since then I've moved away from a hackintosh.
I'd just like to point out that this just tells the reader that your skills in choosing and assembling the components for your computers have improved (or that you were lucky this time); it says nothing of the difference between a MacBook Pro and a Windows based ultrabook.
@Op:
Perhaps a rehash, but here are my $.02:
Cons:
- An MBP isn't ultraportable. It is very low profile and portable for its capability, though.
- You'll be able to find similarly specced (when it comes to amount of RAM, size of disk, speed of CPU) ultrabooks at lower prices than an MBP. This is because an ultrabook can usually be specced to fit a lower price point if you don't care about screen quality, disk I/O, Thunderbolt capability, RAM speed, quality of components, quality of the casing, or the speed of your integrated GPU. An MBP can only be specced upward from the base model, and the base model isn't bad in terms of premium-grade component content.
- You'll have to purchase a separate Windows license if you need to run it on your MBP. Most PCs already have that cost baked into their retail price. This is a moot point if you don't need to run Windows.
Neutral:
- If you spec an ultrabook to the same level as an MBP, you'll pay just about the same amount of money for it, give or take some: At the start of a product cycle, they're pretty good value for the money. At the end of one, you might not really have to struggle to find better equipped Windows PCs at the same price points.
Pros:
- You'll be running a UNIX-derived operating system without having to care about most of the negative sides that usually are associated with running UNIX-like systems on an end-user computer. For example, in such an OS, there's no inherent reason for why your computer should get bogged down over time.
- The operating system was written with your hardware in mind, and your hardware was chosen with the operating system in mind. Someone took the time to make sure that the components work together as seamlessly as possible (at least given the schedule available).
- Unless you happen to get a lemon (which you risk getting with any manufacturer), you'll own a beautiful computer with excellent longevity (partly because of the previous point).
- If you've already committed to the iOS ecosystem, the integration with the OS X environment is convenient.
The main disadvantage of PC ultrabooks - Windows 8.1....period. It's "Let'sCallItModernNotMetro" interface is a mess. Windows 10 looks promising, but then again...it's still Windows.