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Laptop Computers, Mac or PC ?

Rock-On!!

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My son is starting his sophomore year in college and the desktop PC he has been using crapped out on him. It can be salvaged, but it is an older computer and needs to be updated anyway.

He is wanting to buy a laptop and was wondering if it would be best to stick with a PC based model or opt for something in the Mac line. I know my way around the PC, but haven’t worked Macintosh since the my work place phased them out in the early 90s.

What are you guys using?
Pros and cons of both, advantages, disadvantages, etc...
 

martinman

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Well, it depends. What will his major uses be - Paper writing, programming, art? I've been a PC guy for the last 20+ years, and have finally converted to a Mac Mini. I can say without reservation that I will never ever go back to a PC. They're just way to prone to virus', things not working properly, <insert other issue where rebooting is the only answer>.

Seriously though, if he's doing anything more than paper writing, internet research, email, get a mac. You'll have less problems in the long run. Probably the biggest disadvantage is software availability on the Mac. Although there is a huge open source / free software following, so whatever he needs, I'm sure it's out there. Maybe another disadvantage is the mouse interface on the mac. I had a 17" power book for a week, and sent it back. I'm use to IBM thinkpads (with Linux installed) -- they have that center 'nub' that allows you to keep you fingers on the home keys.

Besides - Apple makes a software program called bootcamp that allows you to dual boot intel mac's (mac book pro, mini, etc.). So, really you have the best of both worlds. Plus, next year, apple will introduce a software program that will virtually boot up a windows OS inside an OSX window - no need for rebooting. I have a few friends to have boot camp installed, and they are able to play games on it!
 

john1954

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Both are good. I'm a lifelong pc guy, but I don't discount macs.
I think feature for feature macs are a little more $, but since there are less variables they are less crash -prone.
Software is an issue. You could use some of your old programs, but may have to buy new mac ones.
Most mac-types love their macs.
Check with the school. Sometimes they have deals for students only.
 

jwalker

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Get a Mac. The new Intel chipped Mac's can work as a PC or a Mac equally well. I even had a PC tech support guy tell me he bought a Mac as it was the best gaming computer he could get. Coming from a PC tech guy that says quite a bit about the current Macs.
 

Chlsmo

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I LOVE MY POWERBOOK! Never crashes and no viruses exist (yet). I dont think there is a need to boot windows, they have MS Office for MAC and it works great. What is his major? If its music it should be a Mac hands down! Im in college now (still) and this thing rocks!
 

Rock-On!!

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Thanks for the replies guys.
It appears that the Mac has it hands down. As a student he does qualify for a discount, it’s only $100.00 , but that still helps.

He is a biology major this year, who knows what next year will bring. Music is a big part of his life. He started playing at14 and in the last 5 years has surpassed my playing abilities, which wasn’t too hard, so that should be considered.

In pricing the new MacBooks there is a big gap from the entry level 12" model to the 15" and 17" models.

Here are some of the specs for the entry level; Cost; $1000.00
13.3-inch widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo1
512MB memory (2x256MB SODIMMs)
60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive2
Combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW)



Here is the middle of the road specs; Cost $2000.00
15.4-inch widescreen display
1440x900 resolution
2.0GHz Intel Core Duo(1)
512MB (single SODIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
4x SuperDrive
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory
One FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports


I don’t know a lot about laptops, but that seems like quite a big jump in price. Is it really worth it to get a larger screen, or is the second option that much better equipped?
The largest is the 17", but it is off the radar at $2800.00:bug


Here is a link to the Apple web store if anyone cares to take a gander and help sort out what would be the best bang for the buck.
 

martinman

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Well, besides screen size, you're getting a DVD burner , faster processor (by just a bit), and a bigger HDD. Is it worth the 1k? Probably not. The pro's might be a bit more durable as they are encased in aluminum (I think the 'regular' mac books are enclosed in a plastic housing). This could be good or bad -- aluminum transfers heat very well... With means the bottom gets very hot. Not sure about the plastic version.

So, I think best bang for the buck is a Mac Book with upgraded memory. Go with 1GB. Do not skimp on this like I did. Hard drive space, DVD burner can all be bought as external devices down the road if he wants them. The memory upgrade is something that isn't easily done if you're a non techie person.

The educational discount is roughly 10% - plus, all students get a free iPod Nano with every mac purchase.
 

john1954

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Have you looked at a tabletpc?
Where it can be used as a normal lap, yet the screens pivots and lays flat.
You can write on it like a sheet of paper.

One issue about a bigger, heavier lap is that he may have to carry it around a lot, and heavy can be bad.

Macs are lousy for gaming ( above mentioned pc tech is nuts) for the same reason they are less prone to viruses. Nobody writes games/viruses (viri?) for them. At least new ones.
But then perhaps a gaming machine is not what you want to get, anyway.
 

Chlsmo

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martinman said:
So, I think best bang for the buck is a Mac Book with upgraded memory. Go with 1GB. Do not skimp on this like I did. Hard drive space, DVD burner can all be bought as external devices down the road if he wants them. The memory upgrade is something that isn't easily done if you're a non techie person.

This is also my recommendation!

P.S. I never have had a need for a DVD burner. (Flash memory is where its at!)
 

PixelBurst

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Rock-On!! said:
He is a biology major this year, who knows what next year will bring. Music is a big part of his life. He started playing at14 and in the last 5 years has surpassed my playing abilities, which wasn’t too hard, so that should be considered.

The only real advantage other than screen size on the MacBook Pro vs the MacBook is the dedicated video card with it's own memory. The top of the line MacBook is a nice machine, but because of the integrated video card it's not going to have amazing 3D graphics performance. If your son is going to be doing a lot of 3D visualization (which a lot of science majors do) he's going to need a machine from the MacBook Pro line.
 

john1954

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Or perhaps one of the evil pc types.
I just got my son a toshiba tecra m4 tablet pc.
14 inch screen, 2 gigs ram, speed is around 1.8 ghz or so. It has a separate graphcs card and a wacom digitizer built in, which let's him draw/write notes ( the handwriting recognition is pretty good actually), and use wacom pens.weighs about 6 pounds and change.

Apple doesn't make any tablet pc's, yet.

also, the tecra m7's just came out. They have duo core chips.
 

Rock-On!!

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Thanks for all your input guys.:salude
Looks like he is going to go with option one; the 13" MacBook
Cost; $1000.00
13.3-inch widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo1
512MB memory (2x256MB SODIMMs)
60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive2
Combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW)

With a couple of upgrades.
80GB drive
1GB of memory (two 512MB modules)
Total Cost; $1149.00

That should be plenty, don’t ya think?:hmm
 

PixelBurst

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Nice score. Should be good enough!

I prefer to max out the RAM on all my machines, but I rely on my Mac to bring home the bacon.
 

martinman

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Yep looks good. Although the extra 20GB bump is probably not needed unless he's got (or will have) a ton of music. I have a 60 on my mini and it works great (even with 25+ gb of music. I have an external HDD specifically for backup.

Also (this is very important).. GET THE APPLECARE! For students it's very cheap (I think $50). It's well worth it. If anything happens just bring it to an apple store and they'll fix it.
 

Rock-On!!

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Thanks for the tip on the "APPLECARE". That is a great deal for students. :applaude
I know the extra money for the HD space my be overkill, but I think he has over 5000 music files already so the space may come in handy.
 
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