Apple Macbook vs Dell Notebook

[Axel2010]

Soooo yea, yesterday afternoon, my laptop decided to crash on me. I updated itunes and it said I had to restart it, so I did not thinking anything about it. Well when it came back on it got to the screen where you sign into my account or my parents/brothers account. It logged in, but about 5 secs after i get the blue screen then it restarts itself. So I try logging into their account yet again a blue screen and shuts off and tries to restart. Just my luck, it crashed. Its a Dell Inspiron 1501. Had it for about a year and a half. It should have lasted longer but with 4 people using it and it being carried around the house, ya know it wears and tears. We gotta be really careful with the new one(s) though. haha We are looking to get another laptop (or 2). I personally really really want a Macbook. I have heard AMAZING things about them, and everybody says if you get one you will never want to get any other kind. We have Dell computers at school, but my Multimedia Publications teacher says if she had the choice we would have Mac's instead. SO, if you guys could pick, which would tiy get, the Macbook or a Dell/HP notebook? I know Macbooks are a small bit more expensive, but it seems worth it in my opinion.

[fisher1095]

I concur with the people that you've heard great things about them from. They are simply amazing, aside from a few bugs here and there. I used to have Dell as well, and it does take a few weeks to get used to Apple's format and Safari, but once you do, you ain't gonna be going back!

[cycamps]

Get the MacBook!!!!! Apple blows any Windows OS out of the water.

[HCLcoasters]

Don't ever ever get a dell. They SUCK! Go get yourself a nice reliable Macbook.

 

As someone who has used both, I have to say the Macbook is far superior.

[kumba830]

My mom has a Mac book... I have a PC... I often find myself using her lappy instead of mine just because I get sick of the increasing slowness of mine.

 

 

 

Words of advice: Get a Mac!

[Axel2010]

Thats what I was thinking. Haha. I was hoping I would get the Macbook vote from you guys. NOW all I have to do is convince my parents go get me one.

[VegasCoaster]

I'll go against the grain and say go with the Dell. The computer I use right now is 5 years old and still works. The main thing with Dell is the warranties are worth their weight in gold. I think aside from the plastic shell and the screen that I have an entirely new computer. I've had some bad luck with computers so I've had hard drives die, but that happens with laptops and a few of them were due to someone walking across the power cord and ripping the thing off my lap which killed it. The warranty I had was a 4 year warranty and you could run over the laptop with a truck and they'd replace it no questions asked.

[jjeerr]

The question is, which mac to get?

 

$999 buys you a computer with more then enough power for non-gaming use, with enough ram/HD space to live with. (something apple, hell most computer companies fail with most of the time.)

 

Though for the new hotness, the slightly faster and much better feeling/looking 13in MacBook Pro is $1199.

 

Keep in mind that it's easier to upgrade (ram and HD only though) the plastic MacBook's then the newer MBP's, because of the removable battery. All "unibody" apple laptops have non-removable batteries, though they get about 1-1.5X the life.

 

Trackpad: I love the new "buttonless" trackpad on the new MPBs, though you should go to an apple store and mess around with them. And all systems have firewire again, someone got fired for leaving it out of the first gen "unibody" macbooks.

 

If you don't feel confident putting more ram in you're computer, I'd put in 4GB at the factory, even with the extra $100 apple will charge over doing it yourself.

 

And if you are on the cheap (well, slightly less expensive), think about getting a refurbished mac. You can get a last-gen unibody macbook (the one without firewire) for about $899, and last-gen 15in MPB's for about $1299.

[Wes]

This is not a knock on you or your question, but it's sort of open ended. It's like coming on here and asking "Which car should I get, a Civic or a BMW?" The BMW is the nicer, more luxurious car, but it really depends on YOUR needs what is the best car/laptop/anything for you.

So with that...

- How much are you looking to spend maximum?

- What kind of things will you use the computer for? (and be realistic and practical as to what you will use it for, don't say "I'm gonna be editing HD video" if you really most likely aren't)

- What screen size are you looking for?

- Are there any features the laptop must have?

 

If we get a better idea of what you are looking for, I think people would be able to recommend justifying the added expense of an Apple or getting a cheaper, but potentially better suited Dell.

[Axel2010]

Don't get me wrong I loved my Dell, and I loved Windows Vista, but what I have seen of Mac's I'm the kind of person who would like them.

 

But what you were saying Wes....

 

1)Absolute maximum, and this is probably actually pushing it is $1500. The parents agree that if its worth it, a little more money for a Mac rather than the Dell is worth it. So, I was leaning towards the regular Macbook for starting price of $999, although i would love to have a Macbook Pro, with a 13 inch screen, which would be suitable for me.

 

2)Well, pictures and picture editing, and itunes of course. Internet/safari of course. As for like computer games, really the only things I ever play is The Sims 2, (I would like to have Sims 3), and then Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 and 3. Also, the Mac version of Mircosoft Office. I use Word, and Power Point, and those kinds of things ALL THE TIME. And I read, Apple has a version, or there is a version like Microsoft Office for Mac. Then just homework, research, just

 

3)Screen size really isn't too much of an issue. I could deal with the Macbook screen just fine. Believe me if I was offered a bigger screen i'm not going to turn it down, but screen size is not a massive issue. I'm a big fan of dual monitor, so I would deffinantly consider buying a second monitor in the future and hooking it up to have dual monitor anyways.

 

and...

4)Features? Like as in like built in web cam, no. Reason I say that is because I saw quite a few Dells that had that today. My Inspiron didn't have one. But must haves, just Internet, itunes, picture storage. I mean, basically what Windows/Dell has but in Apple/Mac version suits me. I DESPISE slow computers though, so it cant get to where its one of the "slow as CHRISTmas computers". That drives me up the wall.

 

Hopes this helps guys.

[Wes]

The only issue I could see with getting the Macbook or even the 13" Macbook Pro is that they don't have their own discrete graphics cards, so running graphics heavy games like Sims and RCT 3 will probably not run very well (if at all).

The Macbooks are solid little computers, and if you can spend a little more, the 13" MBP is a better machine. Again, as long as the lack of an actual graphics card doesn't bother you.

 

EDIT: That being said, for the same price as the $1200 MBP you can get a pretty tricked out Dell.

[RCFreak]

^With what you want to do, you can get two dell laptops for around $1500. Would be easier on the family to have more then one computer.

 

I just bought an 16" HP latop for about $900 (including taxes and fees) in March and it runs Photoshop and Adobe Premier just fine. I have RCT3 installed and while I haven't fully messed around with it, it runs fine on my computer (as does No limits and I just got Sims 3 so we'll see how that runs) and I could have got it for about $200 less with more features if I used online coupons (just do a google search for Dell coupons or HP coupons they're always out there) So I think it would kind of be a overkill to go Mac Book Pro. But if that is your perogative then by all means get what you really want if you plan to have this for a while.

 

Also if you do go Dell, Windows 7 comes out on Oct 22 so if you get a new machine before then it will most likely feature a free upgrade.

 

 

Whatever system you get, I recommend Open Office for a very suitable Microsoft Office equvilent. It's free and basically does the same stuff as the paid versions.

[dammie16@vt.edu]

To me it is personal preference but really anything gaming related I always sway people towards PC because the games are made for PC thne moved to Mac.

 

But to each his own.

[mr_teisco_delrey]

I concur with Wes. I love Macs and use them at work and home, but for the money you can get one whale of a PC with a 17" screen to boot. My wife has an HP twith a beautiful 17" screen that came in 250 bucks less than my Macbook.

[ginzo]

It seems that Macs are a lot better at just getting out of your way and letting you do your work. The PC ain't cheaper if it is constantly screwing up on you and hurting your efficiency.

 

That said, I'm hoping that Windows 7 works better than Vista because I really don't want to shell out the money for a decent Mac.

[ParkTrips]

I vote HP even if it wasn't an option. Probably the best windows hardware devices without paying Mac prices. Smugness is extra though.

[ginzo]

^I have a brand new HP laptop that runs unacceptably slow with Vista. I'm told it has more to do with Vista having unreasonable hardware requirements to run properly though. And supposedly Windows 7 will run better on non-top-of-the-line machines.

 

Anyway, I've got my fingers crossed. Buying a $2,000 MacBook Pro isn't something I want to do any time soon.

[Corkscrew]

Go for the Dell. I'm typing on one right now that's over five years old and still working well.

 

You can get a PC with the same specs as a Mac for half the price. That's really all that needs to be said.

 

Just whatever you do, don't buy an HP Laptop. I had so many hardware problems with mine that it was pretty much wasted money.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Just picked up a Dell Inspiron 1545 this past week. Good machine for $500, but the only gripe with it is the video card. It's only 32 meg of dedicated video RAM and it shares the rest of the system memory for the remainder. If you're not running too many games, this is fine, but half the reason I bought the machine was to run Oblivion. That didn't work out so well. Needless to say, the video RAM specs weren't shown in the Best Buy ad nor on the side of the box. Thankfully, World of Warcraft had lower requirements and runs great.

 

Back to topic, the Dell is a good machine. If you're replacing a computer, it's a good value. It also seems to be qualified for a free Windows 7 upgrade but check into it.

 

Hope this helps you and good luck!

[jjeerr]

For laptop screens, get an LED backlight one. You might need to pay an extra $50-$100 for it, but it's worth it for color/battery life.

 

For non-mac laptops, I'd get a dell studio 15, with the cheaper i7 CPU, 4GB ram (4GB DDR3 laptop ram chips are about $300 each, so 4GB is best to get now), 1920x1080 LED screen, for about $1100.

[piggy4891]

I have the full version of Windows 7 and it works great. At least 2 times faster than Vista, so much so that it is noticeably faster. Trust me, I have the full version (perks of knowing people at a university). Everybody will like it and Microsoft has a winner.

[Calaway Park]

I have a 13" MacBook in aluminum before it was placed into the Pro line and I can guarantee you that RCT 3 and the Sims both run fine on it!

[MG]

This is weird since this is exactly the same dilemma I'm going through at the moment.

A couple of years ago we bought a Dell XPS M1330. Yes, it was a beautiful machine, and very powerful. However it had one disastrous failing. That would be Windows Vista my children. I have wasted so many hours waiting for Vista to do something, anything even, that I have basically decided to switch to Mac for Uni, but have Windows 7 on it as well in Bootcamp. Dam you Microsoft and that heap of bloated rubbish called Vista. (Vista is so bad it is almost like the bastard child of Norton and AOL combined)

[Drew-B]

Definitely the MacBook, I have an aluminum MacBook Pro 15" and I love every minute i have with it. No problems, Snow Leopard runs flawlessly, and for a machine that has no problems and will probably stay fast for years, it really isn't that expensive. Especially considering all of the incredible software that comes on it.

[Satchboogie3]

Definitely go with the Dell. I have a Macbook Pro... and I hate it. It's so incredibly overpriced, it's insane. I HATE the operating system too, I just want more freedom and quite frankly, most software is made for PC, NOT Mac. To me, Mac are all about the looks, not about substance.

 

Save yourself some money and buy the dell. Easier to upgrade, more freedom of use, and far more fun. Ignore all those "Oh, but they go slow, and VIRUSES!!!". As long as you take care of your computer, you won't have any problems.

 

Don't get Vista, either. Go with Windows XP Pro.

 

(Nothing pisses me off more than Mac charging $60 bucks for a 4 year old game that sells for $10 on PC. Their prices are beyond absurd.)