Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Talk me into buying a MBP

8

88MVP

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 7, 2008
16
0
I've been coping with my 4.5 year old Inspiron and saving up to buy a new MBP for the past semester, patiently waiting for any announcements at MWSF to make the switch. I know that Apple charges more for hardware, and I was willing to pay the premium to get the shiny new toy I wanted, but I'm starting to have second thoughts after pricing out another PC notebook. For about $700 less (using student discounts) I could get an XPS 1530 with a 1680x1050 screen that's otherwise spec'd out identically to the 2.6 MBP. I could even add the Blu-Ray drive w/ HDMI option and it would still be $200 cheaper...

(aside rant: my 4.5 year old inspiron has a 1680x1050 screen... why the hell does apple still not offer this already in their 15" MBP's?)

I'm not a guy who has any complaints at all with Windows, so I'm starting to have second thoughts about how much extra I'm willing to have to pay to get the "stylish" MBP and a few toys that I wanted to play with like GarageBand. I hope that MWSF sees the addition of higher res displays and maybe even Blu-Ray so that the MBP becomes a better value, but if not, you guys are going to have to talk me into this one. So what are the best reasons that I might not have considered to buy a MBP?
 
You pay for what you get. I am one of the many pc users that has switched to mac. I hate vista for the simple fact that I can. I have now joined the cult like atmosphere of a mac fan boy.

The mac rocks. You are paying for a highly priced excellent working machine. The resale of a mac or macbook is incredible. Unlike a dell that will be outdated the minute after you receive your e-mail confirmation the mac holds its value. I love my mac. IF you are scared of a switch go to an apple store talk to a rep there they will show you everything you ever wanted to know. Ask them a million questions why they think a mac is better than windows.

If you don't go with a mac just please stay away from vista. It will save your local pc guy from coming to your house everyday or the geeksquad from charging you 150$ to drive there vw's out there.

The mac work great no more scanning for spyware, malware, no virus protection, no registry cleaners. None of that. I think they can actually be porned up by your teenage son and still work great.

I would wait a little bit till after jan. 15th when they supposely shows us what is coming out new in apple. (slim macbook) (docking imac, etc.) Just wait a little bit do some more research and please go to a mac store and get hands on with one. :D
 
88MVP said:
I've been coping with my 4.5 year old Inspiron and saving up to buy a new MBP for the past semester, patiently waiting for any announcements at MWSF to make the switch. I know that Apple charges more for hardware, and I was willing to pay the premium to get the shiny new toy I wanted, but I'm starting to have second thoughts after pricing out another PC notebook. For about $700 less (using student discounts) I could get an XPS 1530 with a 1680x1050 screen that's otherwise spec'd out identically to the 2.6 MBP. I could even add the Blu-Ray drive w/ HDMI option and it would still be $200 cheaper...

(aside rant: my 4.5 year old inspiron has a 1680x1050 screen... why the hell does apple still not offer this already in their 15" MBP's?)

I'm not a guy who has any complaints at all with Windows, so I'm starting to have second thoughts about how much extra I'm willing to have to pay to get the "stylish" MBP and a few toys that I wanted to play with like GarageBand. I hope that MWSF sees the addition of higher res displays and maybe even Blu-Ray so that the MBP becomes a better value, but if not, you guys are going to have to talk me into this one. So what are the best reasons that I might not have considered to buy a MBP?
Click to expand...


PCWORLD rates the MacBook Pro as a "BEST BUY" compared to all power user PC Laptops.

I own this exact machine except in a 2.6ghz processor with 4gig ram, and a 200 gig 7200 rpm drive with 1920 x 1280 screen.

Expensive: Yes. Worth every penny for what I do.

And Vista on Bootcamp or in VMWare -- Smokin' fast.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,123729-page,1/article.html

http://www.pcworld.com/product/review/id,30190/apple_macbook_pro.html
 
It's your money so YOU decide what you're going to do with it. Don't let others opinions alter your decision about what YOU want. It's not as simple as asking a bunch of Mac fans to "talk you into buying a MBP". If you want a Mac, get a Mac. If you're happy with Windows and do not see a point in paying extra for a Mac, then get a Windows PC - you will not be sent to hell if you buy a Windows machine.

Anyway, I've been a MBP user for over six month now and it has been the best computer experience I've ever had. I have been recommending a Mac to all of my friends since I've switched. What slightly annoys me is that I have to install Windows on Bootcamp and lose significant amount of HD space in order to play games on my MBP.
 
Part of my problem is that I don't hate Vista at all, I think it works just fine and it wasn't much of an adjustment from XP. I've built all of my desktop PC's and I don't need anyone to fix problems, let alone the Geek Squad. I'd still be using boot camp and/or parallels to run Windows apps a fair amount.

I've played with my friend's 2.2 MBP, and I like it a lot. I'm just no longer convinced that it's worth the extra money, considering I'm not exactly the type who wants to run screaming from Vista to Mac OS. Actually, I think I'm answering my own question...

Also, since my first post, I've noticed that part of the huge price difference is that Apple only gives a $200 educational discount on the MBP's, while Dell had a $670 educational discount on the XPS M1530. I guess that explains where the bulk of the cost difference lies. Considering that I notice more college-age people using MB's than any other segment of the population, Apple might consider giving some better edu deals to capture more future customers. But I digress.
 
Well, I am another "switcher". Ive had a mac mini for 6 months now, and I just picked up MBP last week. So far, I am very impressed with both computers. The build qaulity is just so much better than the Dells I have owned, the OS is much better in terms of navigation, the display (glossy) is downright stunning, plus they are not getting loaded up with spyware, adware, etc. Plus, the minimalist approach of macs is really pretty cool (no useless software preloaded, the keyboard area is alot less cluttered than on a dell, etc).


Id say if your starved for cash, and need to stretch things as far as they will go, are comfortable with dell products and windows, than go for the dell. But if the extra cost wont hurt you, get the MBP, you wont regret it.

Have you thought about looking for a slightly used or refurbed MBP?
 
88MVP said:
I've played with my friend's 2.2 MBP, and I like it a lot. I'm just no longer convinced that it's worth the extra money, considering I'm not exactly the type who wants to run screaming from Vista to Mac OS. Actually, I think I'm answering my own question...
Click to expand...

I'm in the camp that says Mac OS X is the only real justification for Apple's premium prices on hardware. If there were no OS X, it would be much harder for many people to justify getting a Mac.

The MacBook Pro is an awesome notebook---but if you like Vista and want to save money, there's no real reason for you to buy a MBP. The XPS 1530 is also an awesome notebook.
 
I think that is probably a true statement. One of the only reasons I bought two Macs is because of OS X and the features / ease of use and lack of crashing compared to Windows. The hardware looks nice, but that is an added bonus. I would rather deal with a computer that just works than use Windows. All my friends and family still call me when their computer crashes. My dad had a problem just a few weeks ago where it would not boot. The Windows registry got corrupt and would not even boot into safe mode. Repair disk / check disk did not fix anything. Had to manually go into recovery console, locate the hidden location of the backup registry and find the most recent one and copy it over.

- James
 
The prices on that Dell are sweet. It even looks damn nice.

For me it's all about osx. You have to use it to fall in love with it. You can be so much more productive especially with school stuff on a mac. (So I think)
 
Thanks for all of the thoughts. I think I'm going to try to borrow a friend's older powerbook this week so I can play around with OS X to see if I like it more after some longer exposure.

I haven't really ever followed Apple until the past couple months when I started considering the MBP. If/When the MBPs get an update next week, can we expect the prices to remain at the same points (making the MBP a more reasonable bang-for-the-buck) or will there likely be a price premium for the newest revision?
 
88MVP said:
Thanks for all of the thoughts. I think I'm going to try to borrow a friend's older powerbook this week so I can play around with OS X to see if I like it more after some longer exposure.

I haven't really ever followed Apple until the past couple months when I started considering the MBP. If/When the MBPs get an update next week, can we expect the prices to remain at the same points (making the MBP a more reasonable bang-for-the-buck) or will there likely be a price premium for the newest revision?
Click to expand...

I switched to Mac about 3 months ago. I only have an iMac (best desktop I've ever owned) and am now looking at MBP to complement the desktop.

In OSX, everything is just easier, but you do have to re-learn a lot. If you are completely happy w/Windows, then why would you switch? That makes no sense at all. However, I'm guessing you're not 100% satisfied, otherwise you wouldn't even be looking!

My recommendation is visit the closeout pricing on www.macmall.com, or look at the refurbed on store.apple.com (a bunch of $1499 15" just cleared through there this morning) or do Craigslist. That's what I did with my desktop. Paid $550 for my iMac (17" Core Duo). I keep thinking about a larger screen/new hardware, but with 2GB, I really have no reason to move (other than screen real estate). The CoreDuo 17" 2GB machine is absolutely humming along, and my work laptop (new Dell) gives me fits.

Try this on Windows -- In 3 months, I've only had to once "reboot" because of a software update. I think I do that every other week on my Dell.

Any rate, OSX is a great working environment, Apple HW holds it's value better, and there are some avenues for cheaper starter sets you might want to explore.
 
88MVP said:
Thanks for all of the thoughts. I think I'm going to try to borrow a friend's older powerbook this week so I can play around with OS X to see if I like it more after some longer exposure.

I haven't really ever followed Apple until the past couple months when I started considering the MBP. If/When the MBPs get an update next week, can we expect the prices to remain at the same points (making the MBP a more reasonable bang-for-the-buck) or will there likely be a price premium for the newest revision?
Click to expand...


Read the whole thread. I agree with the fact that Apple is being stingy. Making you pay for a 250GB HDD and a "high resolution" upgrade is insane in 2008 for a $2,700 MBP. That leaves a bitter taste any time I buy from them: they are pushing the envelope (why? because they can!).

For me (I use Mac OS X, Vista and XP SP2 every day), I prefer the details and considerate design of Mac OS X with its stability and the design of the MacBook Pro to any other laptop model out there: with the exception of the Sony TZ laptops line, everything - I repeat everything- is fulgy.
I am willing to pay extra for the OS and the design itself (XPS laptops are better looking than past models but are not actually good looking btw).




More to the point in regards with your question:
They tend to leave the prices untouched while adding in specs, although this wasn't always true in the past.

Check this site for specs and prices all the Mac computers ever made:
EveryMac.com
 
If you have to ask, us to recommend and convince you then I would simply suggest you stick to your Windows machine.
 
RichardF said:
More to the point in regards with your question:
They tend to leave the prices untouched while adding in specs, although this wasn't always true in the past.
Click to expand...

That's useful to know. If they get a significant performance boost and maybe a blu-ray option while staying at the same price points, then I think I would probably stick with my original inclination to switch over to a mac with my laptop. I guess I won't know until next week.
 
88MVP said:
That's useful to know. If they get a significant performance boost and maybe a blu-ray option while staying at the same price points, then I think I would probably stick with my original inclination to switch over to a mac with my laptop. I guess I won't know until next week.
Click to expand...

If you really can borrow your friend's PowerBook and play around with OS X, it's worth doing. When I switched two years ago, I figured I would keep the Windows box around to do all my work and just play around on the Mac. That lasted a few days, the Windows box went in the closet, and I haven't seen it since.
 
no offense, but i'm seeing more and more threads like, "i'm a long time win user, convince me to buy/talk me into buying/why should i buy an apple _____." personally, i think apple's products speak for themselves. seeing these folks posting on MR, i can only assume that they have already done their research. if you still don't think apple is good enough for you, or it simply doesn't meet your needs, you should definitely spend your money on whatever makes you happy. why the need for others' validations?
 
seems you already made up your mind when you mentioned the 700 price difference and saying you dont' have a problem with windows. Why do you need of us to convince you, or talk you into buying a MBP?

To me(and everyone else here) it doesn't seem the MBP is right for you. Save your money and get your dell.

as a previous poster said, apple users don't need to talk anyone into going mac. It's a personal decision and if you can't see the advantages to owning a mac, don't get one.

good luck.
 
It's not that I don't see benefits to OS X, I'm just not intimately familiar with it. The perspective I think I was originally looking for was from people who have switched over from Windows not because they really disliked it, but because they decided they just liked OS X better. I know I'd love to get my hands on iLife applications, but what are some other things you really enjoyed about the switch from Windows that might not have been entirely obvious at the time?

And no, there's no wife controlling the budget. :p I'm a graduate student on a somewhat limited budget, and while part of me really wants the MBP, after seeing that price difference I came here trying to find a little extra justification for deepening my collection of debts :eek:
 
I started out last spring with a XPS M1710 and my wife bought me a MBP for my birthday. It was the best gift I ever had, since then I have sold my Dell and will never go back to a PC. I now have 2 macs and am looking to pick up a 3rd ultra portable. Beware its very addictive!!! ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back