Why should I get an rMbp, or 15inch cMbp?

[De5]

I am currently building a pc, with a $400 budget to see what I can get. So far my research has been really amazing, bang-4-buck wise.
I had 1 13 inch cMbp, but I gave it away to a family member, and I am getting a new pc. So far my custom build is~
AMD A8 5600k 3.80ghz with 4.2 turbo APU with radeon 7560D 512mb vram
ECS motherboard with usb 3.0, PCI 2.0, 2.1, and 3.0, up to 1866mhz ram 32gb
1TB 7200rpm HDD sata 3
2x8gb Kingston 1866mhz ram
Thermal take case with 1 built in fan and 6 USB ports
500w power supply
Logitech standard mouse/keyboard
19in monitor 1920.1080
All for under $400....

I really like macs and all, but now that I can get a better computer for $400, it leaves me wondering if I should get a macintosh again or not. I don't really need portability, but it's nice if I want to lay down on the couch or something. The only programs I really use on my mac was garageband, safari, itunes, utorrent, and mail.

Garageband can be replaced with FL studio, instead of safari I'd use chrome, itunes is on windows, utorrent is on windows, and I can use mail on windows.
Do you guys think that there is really a reason to buy a macint/osh for my needs? Is there anything that makes up for the price difference?
*Im not hating or anything, of course there is better build quality and OSX, backlight keyboard, etc.*

 

[Ploki]

You're comparing a desktop to a portable?

Really?

Why?

If you wish to get a Mac get a Mac Mini for 600$. Why? It's small, it consumes a lot less electricity and it will be more than fine for your needs, IF you choose to stay Mac.

On the other hand, if you see no benefit to using a Mac, just get a PC.

 

[JeffiJers]

why should you get a macbook? if you want portability & a mac. fairly simple.

 

[xShane]

I am currently building a pc, with a $400 budget to see what I can get. So far my research has been really amazing, bang-4-buck wise.
I had 1 13 inch cMbp, but I gave it away to a family member, and I am getting a new pc. So far my custom build is~
AMD A8 5600k 3.80ghz with 4.2 turbo APU with radeon 7560D 512mb vram
ECS motherboard with usb 3.0, PCI 2.0, 2.1, and 3.0, up to 1866mhz ram 32gb
1TB 7200rpm HDD sata 3
2x8gb Kingston 1866mhz ram
Thermal take case with 1 built in fan and 6 USB ports
500w power supply
Logitech standard mouse/keyboard
19in monitor 1920.1080
All for under $400....

I really like macs and all, but now that I can get a better computer for $400, it leaves me wondering if I should get a macintosh again or not. I don't really need portability, but it's nice if I want to lay down on the couch or something. The only programs I really use on my mac was garageband, safari, itunes, utorrent, and mail.

Garageband can be replaced with FL studio, instead of safari I'd use chrome, itunes is on windows, utorrent is on windows, and I can use mail on windows.
Do you guys think that there is really a reason to buy a macint/osh for my needs? Is there anything that makes up for the price difference?
*Im not hating or anything, of course there is better build quality and OSX, backlight keyboard, etc.*

You're just looking at specs here. Sure, you might be right about specs (although those specs hardly even compare to that of a nice 15" MBP). But the operating system is an entirely different deal here. OSX is the selling point for me. I just absolutely can't stand Windows.

 

[duervo]

I second the Mac mini suggestion. Using PC's only for about 20 years straight, the things I liked most when I got my Mac mini in Jan, 2012, were:

1. It's so small! I don't have two PC towers sitting on the floor anymore (just one). Even the Mini ITX system that I had built a few years ago, using the smallest case I could find at the time, was still bigger than the Mac mini.

2. It's so quiet! I never hear the thing ... that is, I never hear it over the cooling fans of my one remaining PC, which still sits under the desk, on the floor, running 12 or so virtual machines with VMware's ESXi. (You can even run ESXi on a Mac mini, which I might end up doing one of these days, when i demote it to that position (not sure about the ones that came out since I bought mine, though.)) ... and it's also way quieter than the Mini ITX system I had running as a NAS. Most cooling fans for Intel Atom processors (which my particular system had, but not all Mini ITX systems use them) usually have a high-pitched sound coming from them ... very annoying until you get used to it (some people never do.)

One thing I don't like about it:

1. When I get my game on (which, admittedly, doesn't happen as often as it used to these days), I miss the PC. Mac mini, for all its positives, still only uses a mobile graphics processor, so it can be somewhat lacking in that department, especially if you've been used to running the latest games at highest res, and highest quality. However, with that said, no offense, but the graphics processor you spec'd out is going to be relatively pi** poor for a gaming PC. So, if you ever feel the need for gaming speed, you stand a good chance of being disappointed. But! ... it's a PC, so you can add a better graphics card after-the-fact, so all is not lost.

 

[thegreatdivorce]

I can't quite see why you'd build a PC desktop, except for gaming ... and that rig isn't quite up to gaming (I'm not seeing much in the way of GPU there.)

Unless budget is your primary concern (which is totally valid)...

If you just want cheap power, and don't need mobility, and don't much need/want OSX over W7/8, then you're on the right track.