Would you buy a MBP again ?

[jjahshik32]

Hi,

I guess my situation is not uncommon ... I want to buy a new laptop soon and I want to run OS X and Windows on it.

Now, I love my MBP because it is very well built of quality components and it is the best laptop I ever had ...

BUT

at the same time I hate this thing. It is full of restrictions made by Apple when it comes to other operating systems. EFI, booting, USB, device drivers, etc. It's also fully depending on Apple's lifecycle management and Apple tends to phase out systems from support quite early, some of them in less than 4 years.

Now, would you buy an "Open System" and run OS X somehow without restrictions to other OS's or would you buy an Apple again and try to find a way for your other OS's. I don't know.

Appreciate your feedback.

I have the same sentiments as well. I love the rMBP but since of these restrictions that you've listed as well as the non upgradable RAM, SSD, it has made me think twice. I'm also tired of Microsoft as well so now I'm thinking about getting a more powerful laptop at a cheaper cost and just run Linux and Win 7.

I'd love to do that but every time I see the rMBP (15" model), makes me drool. I bought the 13" rMBP and returned it since I do most of my usages on the iPad and felt the 13" was a weird size and want a full sized laptop. So I may pick up the 15" rMBP or a new iPad Air 2 (after the review comes in of course).

 

[old-wiz]

I would buy an rMBP again with, no question.

We have 3 Macbooks in the house: an MBP, an rMBP, and an MBA. All are good for what we use them for.

Not just apple on support - I have a scanner that will no longer work because the mfgr will not make a new driver for Apple OSx.

 

[Meister]

Yes, I would.

 

[comptr]

Yes I would

 

[cjmillsnun]

Hi,

I guess my situation is not uncommon ... I want to buy a new laptop soon and I want to run OS X and Windows on it.

Now, I love my MBP because it is very well built of quality components and it is the best laptop I ever had ...

BUT

at the same time I hate this thing. It is full of restrictions made by Apple when it comes to other operating systems. EFI, booting, USB, device drivers, etc. It's also fully depending on Apple's lifecycle management and Apple tends to phase out systems from support quite early, some of them in less than 4 years.

Now, would you buy an "Open System" and run OS X somehow without restrictions to other OS's or would you buy an Apple again and try to find a way for your other OS's. I don't know.

Appreciate your feedback.

It has no software restrictions at all.

It emulates BIOS so you can run Windows and Linux just as you can on an ordinary PC.

The hardware restrictions are a little onerous. I don't like the soldered on RAM, however I've been lucky in my recent AppleCare replacement because I have been given a maxed out MBP RAM wise.

As 2008 Macs can run Yosemite and it is now 2014, I am not too worried by the lifecycle, as we're looking at 6 year old computers running the latest OS.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would buy another MBP. I have been very pleased with mine.

 

[ABC5S]

Have a 2014 13 inches now, and my next one will be the rMBP without the video card

 

[Gav Mack]

I love real estate on my big Apple notebook, even more so with an iPad and the late 17 2011 with 1tb SSD and 16gb is the best I can still get. 15 was always too small for me but if the day comes that a 5k retina was put in a larger but same slim chassis, about 17 inches in fact I would serious consider turning into a lunatic and jumping in on the first generation maxed out on launch day - with sanity insurance of AppleCare.

Until then it'll be the reball of the cpu with an BTO i7 cpu I have put aside for if or when the AMD GPU breaks down to have both lead reballed, and larger and faster SATA 3 SSD than the 840 evo.

 

[MacInTO]

If I didn't depend on my MBP for work, I wouldn't buy one. I find it a bit over-priced and, recently, a bit unreliable in terms of quality.

I edit photos and for this, I don't want to have to manage the change-over of thousands of photos to a PC. I also would have to buy PC software and learn how to use that.

I've been using Mac for about 25 years. They all were trouble-free until my last two - a 2011 and 2012 15" MBP. Radeongade hit the 2011 and ghosting on the 2012 screen. The screen has since been replaced and it works as it should.

 

[mcarling]

I love real estate on my big Apple notebook, even more so with an iPad and the late 17 2011 with 1tb SSD and 16gb is the best I can still get. 15 was always too small for me but if the day comes that a 5k retina was put in a larger but same slim chassis, about 17 inches in fact I would serious consider turning into a lunatic and jumping in on the first generation maxed out on launch day - with sanity insurance of AppleCare.

The big jump in Mac sales to 5.5 million for the just ended quarter gives hope to the possibility that Apple might introduce a 17" rMBP. Sadly, it would need a dGPU to drive a 3840x2160 or 4096x2160 display.

I've been using Mac for about 25 years. They all were trouble-free until my last two - a 2011 and 2012 15" MBP. Radeongade hit the 2011 and ghosting on the 2012 screen. The screen has since been replaced and it works as it should.

Switching back and forth automatically between iGPU and dGPU has been much less reliable than had been expected. Along with cost, it's one of the reasons why Apple are phasing out dGPUs as fast as iGPUs are becoming fast enough.

 

[Gav Mack]

The big jump in Mac sales to 5.5 million for the just ended quarter gives hope to the possibility that Apple might introduce a 17" rMBP. Sadly, it would need a dGPU to drive a 3840x2160 or 4096x2160 display.


Switching back and forth automatically between iGPU and dGPU has been much less reliable than had been expected. Along with cost, it's one of the reasons why Apple are phasing out dGPUs as fast as iGPUs are becoming fast enough.

It's all down to the panel manufacturers making one then Apple deciding whether to design a chassis around it. The retina iMac LCD isn't exclusive to Apple as Dell are launching a 5k monitor with an identical panel inside it so I have my fingers crossed that a 17" 5k panel is on the drawing board somewhere in Samsung or LG design office right now..

 

[miguueeel]

Yas

 

[NICKXXXXXX]

I wont buy MBP again. Not that i'm not happy with it I love it, but I don't really need the portability/performance it gives me. Maybe in 3 years i'll sell it and buy the current iMac and an iPad Pro. I just need apple to release an iPad like the Surface tablets.

 

[bruinsrme]

will not purchase another MBP.
my phone, tablet and desktop have a touch screen.
what doesn't? the MBP.

 

[mcarling]

It's all down to the panel manufacturers making one then Apple deciding whether to design a chassis around it.

That's how it works for small computer companies. The panel manufacturers produce large sheets and then cut them to size. Apple are large enough that they can specify any size they want from any of the pixel densities manufactured. As panel sizes and pixel densities go up, yields go down, resulting in a practical limit on reasonably priced displays.

The retina iMac LCD isn't exclusive to Apple as Dell are launching a 5k monitor with an identical panel inside it so I have my fingers crossed that a 17" 5k panel is on the drawing board somewhere in Samsung or LG design office right now.

Apple will not be using a 17" 5K display any time in the next several years -- unless they transition from HiDPI pixel doubling to true resolution independence (which they abandoned). Using HiDPI, any 5K display smaller than about 24" will display icons and text too small for many users.

 

[Gav Mack]

That's how it works for small computer companies. The panel manufacturers produce large sheets and then cut them to size. Apple are large enough that they can specify any size they want from any of the pixel densities manufactured. As panel sizes and pixel densities go up, yields go down, resulting in a practical limit on reasonably priced displays.


Apple will not be using a 17" 5K display any time in the next several years -- unless they transition from HiDPI pixel doubling to true resolution independence (which they abandoned). Using HiDPI, any 5K display smaller than about 24" will display icons and text too small for many users.

Dell are probably second only to Apple in terms of size and volume wanting these 5k panels - hence why Dell announced their 5k shortly before Apple announced the iMac but as its due to ship before Xmas Apple no doubt have first dibs on the production run.

Due to Dell's first class next business day warranty and pixel promise, with that marbled not so glossy coating plus ever since Apple dropped matte options I prefer a Dell panel to look at than an ACD/TBD. Cients too choosing the U2713H over the TBD for the finish and better colour gamut. They look austere and functional but its what you see that counts.

I know you're right about the 5k 17 but I can but dream of a new Big Apple notebook on the shelves again

 

[nilk]

Is running Windows in a virtual machine not an option? I'm going to be using MacBook Pros for software development for the foreseeable future, and I find running OS X native and Windows in a VM to work quite well.

 

[macenied]

Is running Windows in a virtual machine not an option? I'm going to be using MacBook Pros for software development for the foreseeable future, and I find running OS X native and Windows in a VM to work quite well.

It is a very good option, IMO. Most people install BootCamp because they want full GPU performance.

 

[cjmillsnun]

Oh I forgot to answer the question.

At the moment, yes I would buy another MBP.

 

[yegon]

Been a computer nerd since the Sinclair ZX81. Being from the UK, Apple stuff wasn't really a thing like in the US, it was all about Sinclair, Commodore and, to a lesser extent, Atari when I was a kid. Progressed to PC's with a 286, largely for games. Prior to gainful employment I could only ever justify one pricey computer at a time, so the idea of getting a Mac was an impossibility since it just didn't compare to a PC for games, which has always been 80% the reason I had a PC. All I'd heard about Macs was they were **** for gaming so I never even considered buying one.

Post uni, got a job, and bought a 2006 white MacBook for no other reason than I wanted something to fiddle with that was different to what I was used to.

Wow, I loved that MacBook. Gaming aside, it was a revelation. Ever since, I've always had a pretty beastly PC 100% purely for games, and a Mac for everything else. Bought a 15" 2009 MBP, was a fantastic laptop that I used constantly till I bought my current 2013 15" rMBP. I honestly can't imagine using any other comp for daily usage, and even now, nearly a year later, I think "oh dear god, this a fantastic computer". It's close to being a perfect laptop for me, the only thing I'd swap it for being a non-existent 17" at 3840x2400, but you can't have everything

Oh yeah, I bought a 2009 & 2012 Mac Mini in there somewhere too! My only Apple related regret was selling the magnificent 24" Cinema Display for some crazy reason (space iirc), which I only truly exorcised when I bought a 27" Thunderbolt display. Sure, it's all about the retina these days, but the TB Display is still a tremendous monitor and the fact I don't sit that close to it means the relatively modest ppi by modern standards doesn't bother me.

Next Mac will probably be a 2017 iMac as I expect to get quite a few more years out this rMBP since I maxed it bar only getting a 512gb SSD.

 

[Adamantoise]

I don't really care for Apple products at all, iPhones and iPads really seem meh to me. (tried them and will never bother with them again).

Only Apple product that I have a reverence for is the Macbook Pro. It is without a doubt the best laptop I have ever used. I tried it once, 4 years ago, and ever since then I've never owned any other brand of laptop. I use Windows sometimes for games.

If my laptop breaks/gets stolen ... I'll walk in to the nearest Apple store and get another 15" Macbook Pro and not regret the fact that I didn't bother to see what else was out there.

I can't say the same about any other device I own.

 

[theSeb]

Hi,



at the same time I hate this thing. It is full of restrictions made by Apple when it comes to other operating systems. EFI, booting, USB, device drivers, etc. It's also fully depending on Apple's lifecycle management and Apple tends to phase out systems from support quite early, some of them in less than 4 years.

Now, would you buy an "Open System" and run OS X somehow without restrictions to other OS's or would you buy an Apple again and try to find a way for your other OS's. I don't know.

Appreciate your feedback.

other operating systems - not sure what you mean here. You can run Linux, Windows and OS X on a Mac very easily

EFI, booting - not following you here

USB, device drivers - not following you here at all. What does Apple do to restrict your enjoyment of USB?

It's also fully depending on Apple's lifecycle management and Apple tends to phase out systems from support quite early, some of them in less than 4 years. - absolutely no idea what you're complaining about here. This is a good thing. Microsoft is still not sure how to get people off Windows XP.

To answer your first question. Yes, I intend to buy many, many more Macs, including Macbooks, in the future.

 

[Badrottie]

I would buy a MBP only if the price is reasonable.

 

[yegon]

Criticism of a mac's useful life boggles my mind. They're easily amongst the most long lasting computers available. My 2009 mbp is still going strong in the hands of my parents. Sure, you wouldn't want to do really heavy stuff on there these days, but for lots of non-crunchy functionality it's not far off being just as effective as my 4 years newer rMBP. Even the battery still lasts about 2+ hours after over a 1000 cycles! Keep threatening to source them a new battery but they don't don't seem fussed as it never leaves a desk.

Please show me a 2009 Windows laptop that still has decent build integrity, looks nice, has a good display, great trackpad, backlit keyboard, a battery that still holds a charge and runs a modern OS pretty well! They likely DO exist, but it'll no doubt be a really good Thinkpad or equivalent, not some £400 chunk of plastic that Mac's of all descriptions inexplicably always get compared to. For the most part, Mac's aren't cheap, but an equivalent high quality (and I'm not purely talking about CPU's or GPU's, I mean the whole package - build quality, display, battery, trackpad) Windows laptop ain't cheap either.

 

[neteng101]

It is full of restrictions made by Apple when it comes to other operating systems.

There's little reason to leave the walled castle of OS X - I've stopped wasting my time with needless tinkering, if I want to run another OS, I'll just fire up VMWare Fusion and be done with it. None of this rebooting to switch OS, partitioning nightmares, etc. Its just not worth wasting my time over.

For Windows, which is the only other OS you might want to natively boot into - just use boot camp and be done with it.

As for longevity, sell and upgrade after 2-3 years, you'll get back more for your used MBP than you would a used 2-3 year old PC laptop, and put it into a new one.