Mac laptops

PuddinPop said:
As always I will give the same laptop recommendation: Lenovo's Thinkpad. It's mostly up to personal decision, but something from ibuypower is going to be heavy and essentially a desktop replacement. Thinkpads can be gaming machines even with the integrated chips (look the info up for what you want specifically). Plus they are rather light, as a laptop should be. Macs are also user friendly and light. So, it's all based on what you want.
Personally, I would grab a Thinkpad x300 for it's size and awesomeness. But then again, I don't use my laptop for gaming.

Edit: I forgot the best part. As a college student you will drop your laptop or hit it with something, and Thinkpads are the most durable laptops I have ever come across.
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Here here!!

I'm currently using a Thinkpad T500, dropped it twice, and stepped on it once *funny story* and absolutely no damage, other than a scuff on almost each corner (except the top right >.>)

At work I use a Dell latitude, works great, but i still like my thinkpad more ^^
 
Personal opinion as a college student. Get the smallest, cheapest, most efficient laptop you can. I also recommend the thinkpad. You don't want to lug a massively powerful desktop replacement laptop to class. Every friend I have that had a desktop replacement laptop ditched it for a smaller model within a year. You may have time to game outside of your room freshmen year because your classes will be easy, but as things progress and your hair starts to fall out from stress, you'll probably be doing your gaming in your room/house anyway.

Use the extra money you don't spend on the large laptop for a gaming desktop. Contrary to popular belief dorm rooms are big enough for a desktop, especially if you have an LCD monitor. I had a CRT and still had room for my desktop in every dorm I lived in. I saw people pimping a lot of $2000 dollar laptops so if that's what you want to spend on computing I would buy a $600-$700 laptop and then spend $1400 on a desktop, which would get you a more powerful system than the desktop replacement laptops. Especially if you built it yourself.

If you get a mac you're paying a premium for the brand name and the image. It's a fashion statement. Whatever real benefits a mac has over a PC is trumped by the higher price tag.

Photoshop on PC? Check
Dreamweaver on PC? Check
Adobe Premier on PC? Check
Microsoft Office or Open Office on PC? Check

I'm not sure how mac run "creative type" software better than PCs considering they're usually less powerful than my PC, but it tends to be the stereotype. Unless you're an art student and need some obscure software that only runs on Mac because the art department demands it then I doubt you'll need anythnig that only runs on Mac. If you're an engineering or math student there might be a chance you'll run into the opposite problem and programs you need won't run on your iMac.

Maybe there is truth to Macs being the "creative computer", but Pixar, even though it is owned by Apple, uses Linux as it's operating system of choice.
 
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Mac FTW It is great for everything i have the macbook pro and i play CS:S, Half-Life 2, The Sims2 , And other "pc only" games using the program Crossover "http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac" You don't even have to install windows to use it. (i have parallels and i run windows sometimes for my phone but, crossover is easier). If you want a good computer that will most likely not get a virus or crash, and will start faster than any pc, then get a mac, especially for school work. If you look at my sig it shows my computer, i got it for $1000 less on craigslist new in the box, and when i had a problem i brought it to the apple store they help me free of charge.


Macs

Run Mac OSX (Fastest Os Ever and requires almost nothing to run at recommended specs 512mb Ram and 1.0 ghz)(Compare that to vistas recommended configuration) Check
Run Windows and therefore any program for windows. Check
Run Windows programs without installing windows with crossover. Check
Run open office or Microsoft office Nativity. Check
Run Photoshop or any other program adobe makes in CS3 or CS4 Nativity (with the exception of encore and in location in cs3) Check
Run Final Cut Pro Studio 2 (the industry standard in movie and video editing (what i do) and a powerful program) Check
Computer starts in a hurry (mine in about 15-20 seconds). Check
8 hours of battery life. Check (15" model gets 4-5 hours)
Comes with everything you need and compatible with pretty much anything without the need to install divers(there included in OSX). Check


I think you get the point.....plus im tired of typing.
 
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Linux is faster then Mac
Dual Booting, VMware, and Bootcamp take up lots of space, and a ton of memory to run
Crossover is not free, nor does it run all applications
Microsoft programs and Adobe programs can be run on PC's
There are instant on functions with some netbooks
 
Vmware and parallels take up no space(other than the program itself ). ( you do not have to partition the drive) it simply just gets bigger and bigger the more you install to it, which if im not mistake happens on windows too(if you install something you have less space free) and i've never ran linux but im sure if you install something it will also take up space.
If you run boot camp you do have to partition the drive but you set it so....

Crossover may not be free but, and it may not run every program but i play CS:S and Hlf2 on it, and installed and played tf2 on it..so what other games do you want to play (none of the programs i just listed are "crossover supported" but they still work fine just like on windows.... I can say with confidence that a mac can run all Games eGO supports with or without windows installed...(especially COD4 since they make it for mac Nativity)
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxgames/
 
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Oh don't get me wrong. Macs are excellent computers, and certainly do some things even better than a Windows PC. Yet there are many advantages a Windows PC has over Macs as well. In the end a lot of people like to pretend that Macs have some mystical advantage over a Windows PC that simply doesn't exist. When everything is said and done and you're comparing a high quality Windows PC to a Mac, they're about equal. Sure a Mac may open photoshop 1-2 seconds faster, but PCs have better hardware selection and cheaper upgrades. Not to mention a broader software selection. One does have to buy Windows in order to run it on their Mac.

Anyway. I believe I'm off topic and am about to get slapped down by a moderator. I'll be quiet now.
 
I say that both have there advantages and disadvantages...but i like macs better, its an opinion, some people like windows, other linux and even some like ubanto(i think thats what its called) its basically a preference. I will most likely never get anyone here to run out and buy a mac( even though they can run anything a pc can) nor will anyone here(or anywhere for that matter) make me switch to a pc, for college i say buy a mac because its fast user friendly and will be great for school work. If you want to be a hard core gamer..then buy a pc it honestly eaiser, if you want to be creative macs all the way, if you simply don't have the money or are just cheap then get a pc, And if you want to build your own i suggest making a pc seeing how it will be very hard and expensive to build a mac...or even find compatible parts for that matter. If you want excellent customer service and to be able to go to a store and get your mac taken care of in front of you and not you don't want to speak to "john" in India then a mac is For you. As i said before both have their advantages and disadvantages but for now i say MAC FTW....(its your opinion though)
 
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reason i buy pc, cheap and easy to upgrade if a part isn't up to snuff anymore or goes out.
 
St3wie the Saint said:
Before I go to college in the fall, I am getting a lap top to take instead of hauling my desktop. How good are mac laptops in terms of gaming and how powerful do they need to be? I got a flyer from the college that gives me special offers and discounts on some laptops and am curious if its a good deal or if I should just try to get one off newegg.
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I hope I can add my to cents without getting into the mac/pc flamewar.

Consider a few things.

1. Weight - After 6 years of lugging my massive dell 15in laptop around, I can tell you. Its a pain. Look at the specifications of the computers. I have not researched myself, but I think macs (15in) are pretty light.

2. Your major - Believe it or not, you will eventually use the computer for school. My buddy uses a mac, and he had to buy Vista and some dual boot software to run the programs we use in our major. (Engineering)

3. Mac's have student discounts if you know where to look. They usually shave about 2-300 dollars off the price.

Personally, I would love to have the machine, but I'm not a fan of the OS. Its not bad, In fact, is better than Windows in many ways. I just enjoy the comfort of the familiar.

EDIT: I found this for you!
 
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deimos said:
+ great customer service
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Macs customer service is U.S. Based not to mention you can bring it to an apple store anytime to get help, unlike major windows-based companies who's support is outsourced to places like India.
 
I would definitely have to agree with the cheap laptop, decent desktop deal. Considering both laptop and desktop cost me a decent total of ~2k, it's more than worth it for both portability and gaming. If you're not so sure about getting the desktop, you could go with a mid-range laptop, but laptops are prone to overheating, which leads to bsods and raging (not a good combo), so it's not truly recommended.

Although it is a pain to take your desktop home, it's a bigger pain to suffer through sub-par gaming on a laptop that's not built for it. Even my Alienware laptop (myth: they're good for something) is junk for gaming and weighs about 10 pounds, which is why my mother uses it as her desktop replacement.

Let me catch my breath here...

Basically my recommendation is: cheap laptop, decent desktop. Get a small laptop, small as you can, because when you're carrying the thing around campus you don't want your back to start aching. Biggest thing you should be using the laptop for is solitaire and word processing, if you get a "gaming" laptop it will be bulky and uncomfortable.
 
Oprah said:
Macs customer service is U.S. Based not to mention you can bring it to an apple store anytime to get help, unlike major windows-based companies who's support is outsourced to places like India.
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Thats a great point, except that Apple's warranty's are terrible.

Example: Macbook Pro

90 days of free customer support
1 year limited warranty (if something breaks during normal use, your fine. Anything else has a big price tag)

Now, for Apple Protection plan it costs $350 (if your still in the 1 year time period)
 
Macs are really user friendly, have good looks on them, and they have been around longer. They also have 100x better customer service than PC/Windows. They can also play COD4, Spore, and other games without modding it. You can play Steam, and other games with a simple modification. But, they are more expensive. You never have to reformat them, and they last a long long time and don't clog up the registry like windows does.
 
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