Which laptop is better for watching you tube, surfing net, watching movies?

[thejadedmonkey]

And this video uses 5% on a windows PC?

(I'm at work right now, so I can't do any type of testing right now)

Also - I partly blame all of this on Celine Dion.

Heh, it nearly killed me when I realized I was searching for Celine Dion, nevermind having to listen to that noise coming out in 5.1 surround

Anyway, I played it in Firefox, and Task Manager was reporting around 24%, with spikes as high as 35%. Once I minimized the window and opened MS Paint, it dropped down to 11%.

You freaking rock dude. Thats amazing how you did what you just did simply amazing.

It's Apple+Shift+3 and saves the picture on your desktop. If you're using a PC, just hit the "Print Screen" button, open MS Paint, and hit Ctrl+V, then save it.

I see you own a macbook pro, do you also own an iphone?

Nahh, I'm a bad Apple (fanboi) I use a mac because it's good for video editing, and so I always have a computer I know will turn on (I like to tinker with Windows, it's a flaw of mine!), and I think the dock is cool... sometimes. Other times I use my PC. I have a sony-ericsson w300i phone and a few iPods.

 

[gixxerredliner]

thejadedmonkey

So in your opinion which would be best for my intended use? Mac Alum, Mac White or HP Laptop? Just trying to get the most for my money thanks

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Should I go with the entry level MACbook ALum or the New entry level non ALum Macbook? for what im going to use it for?

Thanks

The white one is going to be older tech. If you can afford the extra $300, I think the aluminum one is worth it, plus it just looks cooler.

If you throw the HP laptop into the mix, here's what I get.

Apple:

• Thinner, Lighter
• OS X
• Better screen
• bluetooth

HP

• Better video card
• larger hard drive
• Cheaper
• Better speakers
• more ports

(However, if you own a camcorder that plugs into the computer using a firewire port, the aluminum macbook doesn't have one, and you'll need to get the white one or a macbook pro. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, ignore this.)

 

[gixxerredliner]

thejadedmonkey

I know exactly what you are talking about lol but i dont use a firewire port or anything else most ppl are mad at apple for removing with the latest release of thier macbooks. I do watch a ton of youtube though lol and i use my computer to write a few papers here and there but mainly its used to surf and i use itunes alot with my iphone.

I havnt had any of the issues most ppl talk about when they say "vista sucks" i used to own a hp dv 6000 and loved it but sold it because i wanted a macbook well because hmmmm its a macbook lol but got held up when i saw that new HP HDX laptop offering so much more for a fraction of the cost. and Windows 7 looks really good to what do you think?

 

[PeterQC]

I can only get spyware and viruses if i download illegal music like from lymewire right? if im using itunes only i cant get viruses right?

Browsing on the web is enough to get virus. You don't even need to browse anyway to get Virus. A friend of yours can just send you an infected files over MSN and it's done.

 

[NT1440]

i seem to remember reading in engadget that the new macbooks use VASTLY less processing power compared to before when it comes to video play back....

it had something to do with hidden gpu tasking that isnt officially in the retail verson of leopard yet (probably with 10.5.6, is that what its on now?).

 

[cellocello]

i seem to remember reading in engadget that the new macbooks use VASTLY less processing power compared to before when it comes to video play back....

it had something to do with hidden gpu tasking that isnt officially in the retail verson of leopard yet (probably with 10.5.6, is that what its on now?).

Yeah - but this isn't true for Flash.

YouTube isn't so much "video playback" as it is simply "Flash playback".

 

[NT1440]

Yeah - but this isn't true for Flash.

YouTube isn't so much "video playback" as it is simply "Flash playback".

such a shame we are stuck with that POS cycle hog isnt it. When are we going to move on ?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

gixxerredliner

when I look at getting a computer, I look at what it offers me compared to what I need. It sounds like you need a computer that won't crash or get viruses for school, and to goof off on. It also sounds like you want a mac.

The mac works for school and goofing off on, and to be honest, unless you plan on keeping the HP for 4 or 5 years (or putting a lot of videos on it), you'll probably get enjoy the better screen and lightness of the mac and never need all that hard drive space of the HP. And since it sounds like you really want a mac, go get it. You can always upgrade the RAM and hard drive (it's really easy actually) and the video card isn't something I'd worry about- Unless you buy a super high end laptop, it's not really meant for gaming.

I don't think that Vista is horrible, and I'm going to be one of the few who goes out and gets Windows 7 the day it's released, but you sound like you want a mac...

i seem to remember reading in engadget that the new macbooks use VASTLY less processing power compared to before when it comes to video play back....

it had something to do with hidden gpu tasking that isnt officially in the retail verson of leopard yet (probably with 10.5.6, is that what its on now?).

I hope so, Flash in general on OS X drive me crazy!

 

[NT1440]

why am i quoted there?

EDIT: nvm.

Blame adobe for that one.

 

[cellocello]

such a shame we are stuck with that POS cycle hog isnt it. When are we going to move on ?

Yeah. Flash 10 seems to be a big improvement so far though, and given the rise of the iPhone (and other 'lite' platforms that will want to use flash), here's to hoping that Adobe focuses on performance for the next revision or two.

 

[MacbookAlum1536]

I jumped over to youtube, clicked a video and opened up Activity Monitor. I have a 2.16 Core 2 Duo with 3 gigs of ram, and Safari is using between 55% and 70% of my CPU power. If I have the tab hidden, it still uses around 20%.

Thats weird running a HD video on youtube i'm using 35% cpu power and SD it is 20% on a 2.4 GHz Macbook Alu 2 Gb ram

 

[gixxerredliner]

thejadedmonkey

You are correct lol, thanks for helping me figure this out. Now that i have officially decided to get a mac i need a bit more help lol. Would you mind breaking down the benefits or disavantages of owning the 2.0 new alum macbook vs the 2.4 alum macbook? I've heard that the extra .4 processing speed really doesnt matter is this true? also what other features does the 2.4 have? the apple site doesnt clearly state it.

Thanks once again

 

[FieryFurnace]

No... you can get viruses all over the damn place.
I have managed to go through 6 PCs before finally crying and just coming to terms with NEEDING A MAC. This mac has lasted almost 4 years now, and it still runs slower than my PCs did brand new, out of the box... nevermind how they ran ONCE THEY GOT BOGGED DOWN WITH CRAP!!!
I just find that you don't have to do nearly the same amount of MAINTENANCE on a mac to get it to work as you do with a PC. For this reason, I'd go with the mac every time... no matter how much faster the PC may or may not be.

I'm using windows since Win3.11 and I never had any real virus.
My AntiVirus caught some (in spam mail or bad torrent) from time to time, but my pc never got infected.
I really don't know what some people do to get viruses/trojans all the time,...

And if you don't mess up your windows with crap, it won't slow down over time that much - I still reinstall windows each year just to get a new clean system from time to time and to try out some other widows versions.

It is true that Macs don't need as much maintance as WinPCs - that's a fact.
But as long as you know what you are doing, Windows is not as bad as some people want it to be.
I'm also a Linux user - I would consider that OS to be the most challenging from all three.

to answer the original question:
I think you are better off with the MacBook, you don't seem to need Windows or the better performance the HP has to offer.

 

[NT1440]

You are correct lol, thanks for helping me figure this out. Now that i have officially decided to get a mac i need a bit more help lol. Would you mind breaking down the benefits or disavantages of owning the 2.0 new alum macbook vs the 2.4 alum macbook? I've heard that the extra .4 processing speed really doesnt matter is this true? also what other features does the 2.4 have? the apple site doesnt clearly state it.

Thanks once again

For what your doing, the 0.4 isnt gonna be much of a difference.

Basically, how much is a backlit keyboard worth to you?

 

[gixxerredliner]

cellocello

Why is that? Why cant the iphone support flash websites? i cant go on some of my favorite sites like

www.bbcicecream.com on my iphone because of that

 

[NT1440]

Yeah. Flash 10 seems to be a big improvement so far though, and given the rise of the iPhone (and other 'lite' platforms that will want to use flash), here's to hoping that Adobe focuses on performance for the next revision or two.

I honestly hope that flash just dies and we can move onto something new thats better and more light weight.

Even microsoft is sick of flash, as evidenced by their silverlight project.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

For what your doing, the 0.4 isnt gonna be much of a difference.

Basically, how much is a backlit keyboard worth to you?

What he said^^^^

 

[NT1440]

Why is that? Why cant the iphone support flash websites? i cant go on some of my favorite sites like

www.bbcicecream.com on my iphone because of that

because flash is a bloated POS that would continually crash the phone due to its massive tax on the cpu. There are "lite" versions but well, its light for a reason.

 

[gixxerredliner]

Nt1440

So true LOL

 

[NT1440]

Good luck with the new glassbook man, im jealous.

I wont get my first mac until well into the spring

 

[gixxerredliner]

Nt1440

Which version will you be going with?

 

[NT1440]

Which version will you be going with?

Id love to have the backlit keyboard as I will be holding onto the computer for at least 4 years and have fallen in love with the convienance of backlighting in a dark room.

Due to funds it will probably be the 2.0 ghz version which i will look into ordering the backlit keyboard as a "replacement" and install it myself at some point.

 

[silverblack]

Now that i have officially decided to get a mac i need a bit more help lol. Would you mind breaking down the benefits or disavantages of owning the 2.0 new alum macbook vs the 2.4 alum macbook? I've heard that the extra .4 processing speed really doesnt matter is this true? also what other features does the 2.4 have? the apple site doesnt clearly state it.

Faster CPU, bigger HDD, backlit keyboard and that's it.

There is another thread currently going on this topic.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/613500/

Don't forget to check on the sales over at MacConnection and MacMall.

 

[VSMacOne]

Id love to have the backlit keyboard as I will be holding onto the computer for at least 4 years and have fallen in love with the convienance of backlighting in a dark room.

Due to funds it will probably be the 2.0 ghz version which i will look into ordering the backlit keyboard as a "replacement" and install it myself at some point.

It looks like a NO CAN DO on that keyboard... The way they are built it looks like it's impossible to switch them out like that. That's why I went with the 2.4 ... the idea of the backlit keys sounded great and i'm gonna keep this for a while... and i was right the lit keys are amazing!!