Which Macbook Pro?

[NotaSmartMan]

It just irks me when people call PCs garbage just because they cater to the low end market as well as the high end, as opposed to Apple solely catering to the high end market while keeping their machines overpriced.

[Remy]

"I don't buy garbage" directed towards PCs had me up in arms and I almost wrote back with a really biting response, but I'm just not in the mood for that today.

All I can say is, enjoy your new Mac. You're missing out by being close-minded towards PCs, but you're an adult and I suppose that's your prerogative.

[Apple Juice]

Don't mean to derail the thread but I got a apple question. I am going have to buy a new computer soon and I to want to get a mac since I am not a gamer and hate pc's. Is there a good reliable way to buy them 2nd hand or am I am going have to save up? I am thinking of getting a mini mac but love the convince of a laptop.

Save up get a new one. You can get ones cheaper than what Apple sells it for at other stores such as NCIX however you do get a $100 discount at Apple (which basically saves you tax). If you're only using your MacBook for school uses, taking notes, watching Youtube videos, browsing the net, and you're not planning using Photoshop or game on it, then the MacBook Air is for you. For me, I have the 2011 MBP 13 inch and it's still running like brand new, albeit it is a bit slower than when I first turned it on, but none the less it runs just as smooth as if it was new.

He'd do just fine with a $300 PC as well. Must be nice to be a student and get a $1000+ (new) laptop for no other reason than you want one.

Again, I understand he's buying used but I'm sure they don't depreciate that much to make it comparable to buying an inexpensive PC laptop that you can replace in a couple of years with a newer one if your needs change.

Macs last for 3+ years. PC's max life expectancy (for most PC's anyways) is around 2 to 2.5 half years if you take good care of it and dependent on the brand. While it costs you a boatload to get a Mac now, it saves you money in the long term when you inevitably have to replace your PC.

"I don't buy garbage" directed towards PCs had me up in arms and I almost wrote back with a really biting response, but I'm just not in the mood for that today.

All I can say is, enjoy your new Mac. You're missing out by being close-minded towards PCs, but you're an adult and I suppose that's your prerogative.

Most people wanting to get a Mac or already own a Mac used a PC before switching to Mac. We all have our personal opinions on PCs and Mac, but it's not close-minded. If he doesn't want to use a PC anymore, he has his own reasons. I personally dislike PC's because I feel as if I'm somewhat limited by using a PC compared to a Mac. I used a PC before and I've been a Mac user for nearly 3 years. Honestly, if I had to use a PC now, especially with Windows 8 out, I would most likely be lost. I can still use it but not as efficient if I were to use a Mac. I can live with a PC for the rest of my life, but I prefer Mac.

[KoreanHockeyFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJL_c3N9mDc

Interesting at the very least...

Save up get a new one. You can get ones cheaper than what Apple sells it for at other stores such as NCIX however you do get a $100 discount at Apple (which basically saves you tax). If you're only using your MacBook for school uses, taking notes, watching Youtube videos, browsing the net, and you're not planning using Photoshop or game on it, then the MacBook Air is for you. For me, I have the 2011 MBP 13 inch and it's still running like brand new, albeit it is a bit slower than when I first turned it on, but none the less it runs just as smooth as if it was new.

Macs last for 3+ years. PC's max life expectancy (for most PC's anyways) is around 2 to 2.5 half years if you take good care of it and dependent on the brand. While it costs you a boatload to get a Mac now, it saves you money in the long term when you inevitably have to replace your PC.


Most people wanting to get a Mac or already own a Mac used a PC before switching to Mac. We all have our personal opinions on PCs and Mac, but it's not close-minded. If he doesn't want to use a PC anymore, he has his own reasons. I personally dislike PC's because I feel as if I'm somewhat limited by using a PC compared to a Mac. I used a PC before and I've been a Mac user for nearly 3 years. Honestly, if I had to use a PC now, especially with Windows 8 out, I would most likely be lost. I can still use it but not as efficient if I were to use a Mac. I can live with a PC for the rest of my life, but I prefer Mac.

What in the...what kind of PC's are you buying? My PC is well over 5 years old and I've been playing DOTA 2 and SC2 on it without any problems. But yes, Windows 8 is terrible.

To me, Macs are the quick and safe purchase for the average consumer. With some more research, I'm sure you could get a way better deal on a PC with similar specs at a much better price, but for those who don't want to go through that "lengthy" process, I can understand why many go with Macs in the end. Not to mention, they're probably the most aesthetically pleasing laptops, so that automatically catches the eyes of many.

But despite all that...PC FTW.

[drummer4now]

Im surprised no has mentioned this yet, but its also possible to run OSX on PC's because of Hackintosh. I remember the early days it was long and difficult process to run Mac on a PC, but now its become very simplified. I wont post any links to websites because of legality of the whole process even though Apple seems to be ok with it? This method has been alive since Apple switched to intel based chips. With this you can also run OSX on Windows based laptops.

[elvis15]

...

Macs last for 3+ years. PC's max life expectancy (for most PC's anyways) is around 2 to 2.5 half years if you take good care of it and dependent on the brand. While it costs you a boatload to get a Mac now, it saves you money in the long term when you inevitably have to replace your PC.

...

When you can buy 3-4 PCs for the price of one Mac, even at the lifespans you suggest you'd still only get 3+ years out of a Mac, where you'd get 6-10 out of PCs before the purchase cost evened out.

[drummer4now]

When you can buy 3-4 PCs for the price of one Mac, even at the lifespans you suggest you'd still only get 3+ years out of a Mac, where you'd get 6-10 out of PCs before the purchase cost evened out.

Macs can last longer than that. I have a Mac from 2006 and its alive and running. Apple doesn't abandon older models so quickly unlike Microsoft which changes the spec requirements for every new version of Windows. Also if you look at baseline Apple models they still have 4 gigs. Compared to PC computers thats barely enough for a stable system. I just like quality of Apple products. Plus the customer support is the best in the business..

They literally give you a brand new iPhone or iPod touch with no hassles if theres a slight issue within the 1 year warranty period.

[KoreanHockeyFan]

Macs can last longer than that. I have a Mac from 2006 and its alive and running. Apple doesn't abandon older models so quickly unlike Microsoft which changes the spec requirements for every new version of Windows. Also if you look at baseline Apple models they still have 4 gigs. Compared to PC computers thats barely enough for a stable system. I just like quality of Apple products. Plus the customer support is the best in the business..

They literally give you a brand new iPhone or iPod touch with no hassles if theres a slight issue within the 1 year warranty period.

4GB is plenty for PC systems right now. It has been for a while.

[OgS.MVP]

I don't know, for me its not only the hardware part.

Since now there all of the operating systems are free, I do not need to go through hassle of finding out which one Home, Business, Ultimate or whatever else I should get to meet my needs. I want one operating system that is just free and there. I dont want to go through thousands of configurations, just get a computer that is well designed and built out of premium materials.

Yes, you pay premium for quality, I'm ok with that.

When you buy a Burberry coat, for instance, yes I can purchase several coats from no-name brands, but the coat from Burberry will have better materials and quality and last longer.

[CB007]

When you can buy 3-4 PCs for the price of one Mac, even at the lifespans you suggest you'd still only get 3+ years out of a Mac, where you'd get 6-10 out of PCs before the purchase cost evened out.

All hardware specs equal, you cannot even buy 2 PC's for the price of 1 Mac, nevermind the generally superior softwares and OS, superior customer service, superior design, superior built in virus protection, all of which lead to superior overall user experience.

I have calculated that a consumer would have to pay about 20% to 25% premium for a Mac for these benefits. Compare the prices of a HP Envy vs an iMac for a quick reference.

[OgS.MVP]

All hardware specs equal, you cannot even buy 2 PC's for the price of 1 Mac, nevermind the generally superior softwares and OS, superior customer service, superior design, superior built in virus protection, all of which lead to superior overall user experience.

I have calculated that a consumer would have to pay about 20% to 25% premium for a Mac for these benefits. Compare the prices of a HP Envy vs an iMac for a quick reference.

This

[elvis15]

Macs can last longer than that. I have a Mac from 2006 and its alive and running. Apple doesn't abandon older models so quickly unlike Microsoft which changes the spec requirements for every new version of Windows. Also if you look at baseline Apple models they still have 4 gigs. Compared to PC computers thats barely enough for a stable system. I just like quality of Apple products. Plus the customer support is the best in the business..

They literally give you a brand new iPhone or iPod touch with no hassles if theres a slight issue within the 1 year warranty period.

No wonder they're so expensive then. "Here's a free $500+ phone. Sorry you had a problem with your wifi card."

But my wife had her previous laptop for 4-5 years, so PCs can last longer too. I kept one of my first computers (an old P3 under 1GHz, Windows ME) as a secondary computer/Linux machine/Windows beta test bed for years. I had it running XP and Vista, Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. I didn't have to upgrade it really apart from a new hard drive and it worked fine for browsing and office apps.

If someone has an older PC like that (well, maybe not that old, more XP era at least) they don't have to continually upgrade OS'es. If it's old enough that Windows has stopped supporting the OS it came with (as they have with XP), I think you've gotten your value out of it.

4GB is plenty for PC systems right now. It has been for a while.

Absolutely - again, especially if you're just streaming video, browsing the internet and using Word. We aren't talking about a power user here.

All hardware specs equal, you cannot even buy 2 PC's for the price of 1 Mac, nevermind the generally superior softwares and OS, superior customer service, superior design, superior built in virus protection, all of which lead to superior overall user experience.

I have calculated that a consumer would have to pay about 20% to 25% premium for a Mac for these benefits. Compare the prices of a HP Envy vs an iMac for a quick reference.

But we aren't talking about hardware specs being equal. You would never buy an HP Envy or any other ultrabook if all you wanted to do was stream videos and use MS Office. Even then, the regular line of HP Envy laptops start at $500 - at least half the price of the cheapest Macbook. An all-in-one desktop PC with touch screen is still half what an iMac costs as well.

Superior anything is relative as well, but that's another discussion.

If you have high end requirements then the cost variance between a PC and a Mac becomes more muddy, but generally the PC still has an advantage.

[elvis15]

My point is this: I had a tenant once who had a Macbook and wanted to upgrade to a newer one (used, like the OP). She was a student and must have saved to pay the difference I guess, but money was still tight for her. So tight that when she decided to move home to the island and gave me a week's notice, she asked to be forgiven the penalty in the lease even though I didn't have time to find a new tenant to cover her next rent payment and not be out on my end.

She wasn't a power user, graphics designer, etc. that would benefit specifically from a higher end Macbook, just someone using it for basic school stuff. It didn't make sense to put the extra money into a computer she didn't really need when she could use it elsewhere.

If money isn't an issue, however, go nuts. People buy thing they don't really need all the time, but so long as you realize you're really only paying more because you want to then you can spend it how you like it.

[CB007]

My point is this: I had a tenant once who had a Macbook and wanted to upgrade to a newer one (used, like the OP). She was a student and must have saved to pay the difference I guess, but money was still tight for her. So tight that when she decided to move home to the island and gave me a week's notice, she asked to be forgiven the penalty in the lease even though I didn't have time to find a new tenant to cover her next rent payment and not be out on my end.

She wasn't a power user, graphics designer, etc. that would benefit specifically from a higher end Macbook, just someone using it for basic school stuff. It didn't make sense to put the extra money into a computer she didn't really need when she could use it elsewhere.

If money isn't an issue, however, go nuts. People buy thing they don't really need all the time, but so long as you realize you're really only paying more because you want to then you can spend it how you like it.

Yeah true enough. Someone who would change her lifestyle so she would have enough money for a fancy computer.... crazy!

I'm a freelance videographer. I need the best I can afford, generally. The cost of having an unreliable machine is far higher than the premium one pays for a Mac.

[Caboose]

Lol this thread.

If you spent the same on a PC that you spent on a mac it would last 7+ years and be upgradeable.

A Mac is the worst investment in technology, there is no way to upgrade it.

[elvis15]

Yeah true enough. Someone who would change her lifestyle so she would have enough money for a fancy computer.... crazy!

I'm a freelance videographer. I need the best I can afford, generally. The cost of having an unreliable machine is far higher than the premium one pays for a Mac.

Absolutely. I considered graphic design as a career when I was younger and Mac was almost the de facto computer for that. There are absolutely situations where paying more makes sense, or is even a necessity, but I'd wager that's not the majority of Mac users now that they've become more popular.

[Ghostsof1915]

I had PC's for 10 years. Prior to that I had Mac's for 10 years. The past 5 years I've been using a Mac again.

As on my old Toshiba laptop, I was spending more time keeping the PC in tune than I was using it.

In fact I spent less time on maintenance on my Kawasaki than I did my laptop.

It's overpriced to some, but I don't waste time with keeping my mac in working order. That's worth the price point.

Besides I hate Windows 8. I don't want a touchscreen system.

Some folks are ok with a Jeep. You don't see people bashing owners of a Land Rover.

If it works for you, awesome!

I find the same issues in many different categories. Motorcycles, Cars, 4x4's, etc.

People get emotionally attached to their items. If you like a Harley, that's great. You just won't see me owning one.

[nux4lyfe]

I had PC's for 10 years. Prior to that I had Mac's for 10 years. The past 5 years I've been using a Mac again.

As on my old Toshiba laptop, I was spending more time keeping the PC in tune than I was using it.

In fact I spent less time on maintenance on my Kawasaki than I did my laptop.

It's overpriced to some, but I don't waste time with keeping my mac in working order. That's worth the price point.

Besides I hate Windows 8. I don't want a touchscreen system.

Some folks are ok with a Jeep. You don't see people bashing owners of a Land Rover.

If it works for you, awesome!

I find the same issues in many different categories. Motorcycles, Cars, 4x4's, etc.

People get emotionally attached to their items. If you like a Harley, that's great. You just won't see me owning one.

This.

Having said that, I own both Mac and PC. Yes, PC takes a lot more to maintain but Mac is always ready to go..both have their positives and negatives but as a gigging dj I rely on the macbook.

[drummer4now]

No wonder they're so expensive then. "Here's a free $500+ phone. Sorry you had a problem with your wifi card."

But my wife had her previous laptop for 4-5 years, so PCs can last longer too. I kept one of my first computers (an old P3 under 1GHz, Windows ME) as a secondary computer/Linux machine/Windows beta test bed for years. I had it running XP and Vista, Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. I didn't have to upgrade it really apart from a new hard drive and it worked fine for browsing and office apps.

If someone has an older PC like that (well, maybe not that old, more XP era at least) they don't have to continually upgrade OS'es. If it's old enough that Windows has stopped supporting the OS it came with (as they have with XP), I think you've gotten your value out of it.

Absolutely - again, especially if you're just streaming video, browsing the internet and using Word. We aren't talking about a power user here.

But we aren't talking about hardware specs being equal. You would never buy an HP Envy or any other ultrabook if all you wanted to do was stream videos and use MS Office. Even then, the regular line of HP Envy laptops start at $500 - at least half the price of the cheapest Macbook. An all-in-one desktop PC with touch screen is still half what an iMac costs as well.

Superior anything is relative as well, but that's another discussion.

If you have high end requirements then the cost variance between a PC and a Mac becomes more muddy, but generally the PC still has an advantage.

I guess I didn't word my original statement properly. What I meant is if your iPhone or iPod Touch even has a small scratch on it within the 1 year warranty they basically give you a new replacement for free. In the case of MacBooks it takes three times for them to finally give a replacement..

Personally id say more than 50 percent of computers I see at University these days are Apple. Its literally almost become a norm for a university student to have a apple macbook. Every time I go to the library I am bombarded by glowing apple signs.. The odd windows computer is usually an old clunker or some student playing games on it when they should be studying lol.

[CB007]

Lol this thread.

If you spent the same on a PC that you spent on a mac it would last 7+ years and be upgradeable.

A Mac is the worst investment in technology, there is no way to upgrade it.

You can upgrade RAM for all Mac desktops.

With the new Mac Pro, I heard you can upgrade the processor as well but I have to confirm.

As with their laptops, yeah they are not upgradeable at all. And I also think that Apple sets a higher premium for the laptop market than the desktop market. I do have a tough time arguing for a Macbook than say an iMac or a Mac Pro tower.

Having said all that, it costs money to upgrade PC's too. You add up the costs of buying new graphics card, processor, RAM , power supply, monitor, maybe even the motherboard etc etc, it's almost like buying a new computer all together. And what if in the process something goes wrong?