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Alternatives to Macbook Pro?

Hi all,

First of all, I am a huge fan of Apple products and own a Macbook pro purchased in 2007. I've never even imagined using a computer that is not made by Apple despite the fact that I use Windows quite a lot because of all the architecture softwares (D*mn it, you Autodesk!) . Here I am, looking for an alternative laptop to a Macbook pro. My belief has been that there's no alternative to the Macbook pro, so I didn't know where to start. After surfing around dell, sony, etc, I thought it would be fool of me not to ask you guys who may know well both Mac and other laptops.

My beloved macbook pro's battery said goodbye to me, but I didn't want to buy an one-hundred-dollar new battery because I've been thinking I need a more powerful laptop anyway. The new unibody Macbook pro 17" looked really good, but I found out that it has a built-in battery, and that Apple doesn't even sell a battery separately. I'll have to bring the laptop to the apple store and let them change the battery. (Mr.jobs, I can do the job. Please let me do it myself, saving some dollars. By the time the battery's depleted, the warranty is expired anyway!) Also, Apple is so closed that I can't trust any third party products for Apple.

After buying a $3000 laptop, the customer has to pay $200 every two-so year without any legitimate option? What is this, am I a drug addict, and they are the only drug dealer in the town? I feel like they think that their customers are all moronic zealots. (yeah, I was actually.)

Please let me hear what you guys think. Any word will be appreciated. You can give me some other options to purchase, or you can call me an idiot who doesn't know anything about the laptop and tell me to stick to the macbook pro--please don't forget to give me a reason to stick around the apple store besides calling me an idiot, though.

Macbook Pro, Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 8, 2010 2:09 PM

Best reply

Travis A.

Level 6

14,985 points

Posted on Jan 8, 2010 2:23 PM

So, am I right in thinking that your major (only) issue with the MBP is the battery? If so, then consider the following:

1) The new batteries are rated for 1000 charge cycles. 3 times the length of the old ones such as the one in your machine. So, instead of replacing the battery in 2 years, you'd have approximately 6 years before the same level of wear appears. I think most people replace their machines after 6 years.

2) Even if you don't want to replace the machine after 6 years, a battery replacement will still be approximately the same price. So, instead of paying $150 (that is much closer than $200) every 2 years, you'd be paying $150 every 6 years. On a PC, you'll be paying for annual anti-malware software that could cost $100 every year.

3) Batteries in notebook PCs are noticeably inferior to what is in a MBP now. Most of them won't get half the battery life that a MBP would get. If they do, they have a bulky 9-cell battery that often increases their thickness and weight substantially. Not as portable. And you'll run into the same issue with a PC that you did with your older MBP. Their batteries don't have a longer lifespan, and are very similar in cost to a MBP battery. Yet, the new MBPs have batteries that last longer on a charge and have longer lifespan.

Also, Apple is so closed that I can't trust any third party products for Apple.

Why do you say this? I use multiple third-party products with my MBP, from a video adaptor to multiple external hard disks. There are reputable and trustworthy companies selling third-party batteries for older MBPs too.

I think you'd be an idiot (your own words) to switch to a PC based on these concerns. But, you did ask for opinions. 🙂 If you need any clarification, just ask.

--Travis

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21 replies

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jan 9, 2010 5:05 PM in response to GoodmorningNightmare

Do you actually mean the HP dv8t Quad, Nightmare?

I don't think Dell make a model with this name.

A couple of preliminary observations.

It weighs in at nearly 9 lbs (4 kgs), of course, which is a bit of lump to cart about with you, when compared to the 6.6lbs for the 17" MBP. More of a "luggable" than a "notebook, really.

But the real clincher for anyone like you who says that they are worried about serviceability etc is surely that it also unfortunately comes with *HP's legendary reputation for consumer dissatisfaction and unreliability* - compared to Apple "top of the tables" performance in this area year after year. see http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352798,00.asp .

To quote from the above article:

+"Are you sick of seeing Apple as the PCMag Readers' Choice vendor for notebooks year after year? Tough. Jobs & Co. are back on top again, with the same significantly better than average (SBA) score of 9.2 out of 10 that the company received had last year (albeit based on 29 percent fewer responses than last year). Apple's scores in the All Notebooks category were almost identical to 2008, though the percentage of equipment needing repair went up slightly from 15 percent to 16 percent.+

.....

+Last year's second Readers' Choice, Lenovo, didn't make the cut this year. Its score was down only slightly, but Lenovo also fell two confidence levels, going from a SBA 8.1 in 2008 to a 7.9 this year, a score strictly within the average range. Lenovo did score better than average in tech support and repairs, both among all laptops, and with business laptops, where it was second only to Apple.+

+There was little dramatic movement in scores for any of the other major players. Sony did increase its overall score to 8.1, but that's within the average range compared to all notebooks, whereas last year it earned a BA 8.0.+

...

+*At the bottom of the pack this year is HP, with scores that run in tandem with Acer and Gateway. But HP's 7.7 out of 10 is considered significantly worse than average (SWA)*, whereas last year it was within in the average. For more information on how we measure these scores, see the sidebar on methodology.+

+Taking a closer look at the percentage needing repairs reveals changes for almost every vendor; only Acer held steady at 12 percent. Apple worsened slightly in this category, along with HP, but the biggest jumps were for Lenovo, which dropped from 18 percent to 22 percent, and *Dell, which fell from 20 percent to 23 percent (earning it the dubious distinction of highest failure rate of notebooks)*....+

+Notebooks less than a year old, just like desktops of that vintage, always get higher marks. This year is no different, and, in fact, brings us to the highest numbers among computers: Apple's SBA 9.5 overall rating for one-year-old MacBooks. Its youthful laptops received a 9.6 in reliability and likelihood to recommend, too. Asus made another fine showing—after barely making the cut in this part of the survey with only 55 responses—with a SBA 8.9 overall, and a tremendously low percentage of products needing repair: 2 percent. *Apple itself was at 5 percent needing repair*.+

+*And what's with Lenovo and Dell? 16 percent of their new notebooks needed a fix*, according to our readers."+

There are some very good reasons for sticking with Apple if reliability and quality of service provision are important to you.

Cheers

Rod

Message was edited by: Rod Hagen

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jan 9, 2010 10:43 PM in response to Rod Hagen

Ps,
just by the way, the only independent test of battery life on even a close relation to the dv8 HP "boat anchor" (and yes, "boat anchors" have their place, too, I'll warrant you) that I can find suggests that battery charge life might be a real problem for you. Even the 17" version of the same machine gets just 2 hours and five minutes use on a fully charged battery on test - see http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-dv7-3085dx/4505-3121_7-33776108-2.ht ml - using the same 8 cell battery specified for the dv8. I hate to think what figures the same beast with a bigger screen produces!

Given the weight and battery issues most people in the market for something like this would really just be better off getting an 21" iMac, don't you think? Heck, they take up less desktop space, run faster, have a bigger screen, come with a better OS, are just about as portable, come with better software, and cost several hundred dollars less, on top of the far, far better reliability and service record!

Cheers

Rod

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Jan 10, 2010 6:52 AM in response to Rod Hagen

How true! 😉

Jan 10, 2010 8:29 AM in response to GoodmorningNightmare

Thank you all,
Even though I was very impressed by the customized dell laptop, I was reluctant to get one because the idea of buying a pc is just ugly and disgusting. It's so shameful of me to think like that in that it's so shallow.

It's been too long since I didn't want to deal with the pc for me to think of the reason why. (Also, it was because I actually use Bootcamp Windows much more than OS X.) You guys made me realize again what the reason was.

Now I just have to wait until Apple officially supports Windows 7, which is probably the least concern of Mr. Jobs. (The best option is that Autodesk becomes friends with Apple, which is not going to happen unfortunately. Yeah, you can't always get what you want.)

Travis A.

Level 6

14,985 points

Jan 10, 2010 2:33 PM in response to GoodmorningNightmare

The best option is that Autodesk becomes friends with Apple, which is not going to happen unfortunately.

Actually, I recently completed a survey for them on the feasibility of creating an AutoCAD client for Mac OS X. The types of questions that they asked were really encouraging toward the conclusion that they're quite serious about developing an OS X release.

Also, the recent release of Autodesk Smoke seems to indicate to me that they're becoming more serious about OS X development. I realize that they make a lot of different software products, but these developments do seem encouraging to me. If you (or a company you work with or for) is a major user of their products, encouraging further Mac development from them can only benefit you.

--Travis

Jan 10, 2010 9:05 PM in response to Travis A.

I do really hope that Autodesk releases softwares running on OS X soon. I think Rhino already has a beta version for OS X.

Alternatives to Macbook Pro?