Buying a Laptop

PaPa

PaPa

Major Contributor
Hey guys. Im battling the eternal fight of what to get.

Macbook or pc laptop?

I have been going over this with my brother who is a computer genius in every sense of the word, and were trying to figure out what the best bang for the buck is.

basically, i have been using a PC my entire life. I edit and CC my stuff in premier pro 1.5. DVX footage ( hoping to move TO HD or realstreem in the future )

We have been trying to figure out, Is it really worth it to put in the extra cash and get a macbook pro?

In canadian terms, i have 1500 bucks to spend on a laptop, so if you come up with any suggestions, give or take 200 dollars at the most.

I want something that will be good for what most do on a laptop. Video editing, photoshop, and maybe get a bit into maya once i have time to learn the thing.

The biggest concern of mine is figuring out where to place my vote.

On one hand, i have found some nicelaptop PC's around the 1499 such as these:

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_class.asp?CatIds=88,89,90&name=CA_CL_Notebook+Laptops+English

some more specifically :

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=88,89,90,4512&webid=654700&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=88,89,90,4512&webid=652828&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=88,89,90,4512&webid=652847&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=88,89,90,4512&webid=652259&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=88,89,90,4512&webid=652367&affixedcode=WW

http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=88,89,90,4512&webid=652246&affixedcode=WW





THEN, on the site, there are also some nice macs. But what im REALLY wondering is this:

I understand that macs are designed with this style of work in mind, but when were talking about almost a thousand dollars in difference for similar specs, I just dont know or trust myself to make a decision. Is there SUCH A HUGE difference between the two brands of computer?

Will i wait 2 minutes instead of 2 hours rendering on a mac? What are the significant differences, and if possible, can someone please explain if the difference in price is significant enough that one should invest in a mac instead?

Thank you very much.

-Jon
 
You have to have more than the machine in mind. If you have software for a PC already then that might be the clincher. When I switched to Mac i didn't have any major investment in PC editing software so that didn't factor in. Without starting a war here, I personally wanted to move to FCP so I made the switch. But you are using premier so you can go either way and get fine performance. PC notebooks can run just as good as Macbook Pros. Having used PCs forever I'm a full on convert, love the macs now. I got a G5 and a macbook pro. But PC is definately a less expensive route. There are great options either way you choose.
 
im not soo much worried about the software as im a student, and not making any money off of the programs, i just get shared copies.

Its just more a question of ratio of price compared to quality difference.

is it worth all that more money for osmething that is Somewhat different?
 
That's a good point, you can't run mac/win on any pc. But with bootcamp you can run osx/winxp on a macbook...
 
but still guys, price difference and using premier pro. Is it worth that jump in price? I'm willing to wait a few minutes longer in rendering for 1 - 2 minutes of footage on SD.
 
Get a PC - either Toshiba or HP. They rank the highest in all tests and even beat Macs both on price, stability and useability.

just make sure it's based on the Intel Core 2 Duo chipset and that it has at least 1gb of ram and 100gb harddrive.

there are some excellent reviews and price comparisons here: http://reviews.cnet.com/Notebooks/2001-3121_7-0.html?tag=img.lt


And to answer your questions regarding quality: No, the price does not in any way reflect performance. Macs are more expensive. getting a macbook with approx the same stats as a PC you will see about the same time spent/wasted on rendering etc. The major reason for getting/not getting a mac is the user interface and software. if you like the mac system, go with a mac. if you like the pc system, go with a pc. Don't buy into the "best of both worlds" crap that the mac people are pushing because it just ends up costing you tons of money extra (double up on software etc etc etc).

The price really boils down to branding and design. notice how the price of MacBooks compare very closely to the price of Sony Vaios? it's all in the brand name and design. but side by side a $2300 Sony Vaio and a $1400 Toshiba Sattelite with the same stats perform the same. It's the same with the mac. your money goes into the design and the proprietory software.

on another note (and I just KNOW all the mac people will go ballistic on this one but it doesn't make it any less true): Mac's customer service is less than stellar. there are countless examples of dissatisfied customers with macbooks who have encountered problems and not gotten any help from the mac people on the web. it's actually gone so far that several european countries are considering law suits against the company because they refuse to replace machines and equipment that fails due to manufacturing errors and bad hardware.

mor10
 
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so, a Intel Core 2 duo.... How much do those babys go for? Is it the new generation of duo core?

gunna look it up
 
morten said:
The major reason for getting/not getting a mac is the user interface and software. if you like the mac system, go with a mac. if you like the pc system, go with a pc.
Click to expand...

Coming from a die hard mac person, and I really don't like to admit it, but I think Morten's got a good point. I started out on a PC like a lot of other people, and it never really made sense to me. By nature, I'm not a "computer person", and the PC always seemed geared toward those tech people, like my brother.

I've always been very strong on the creative side, though, and when I finally started taking some college courses, they were on a mac. It made more sense to me instantly, and soon I was surprised to see that I was actually becoming a "computer person"... or at least a "mac person".

Now I'll admit that there aren't a huge amount of differences in a PC vs. a mac, but it's those small details (that may go unnoticed by many) that make a world of a difference to me as a creative, not technical, person.

-brown
 
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so whats the consensus?

how much can i get a nice Core 2 Duo laptop for? is it available around the 1500 dollar range?
 
I agree that it's the interface style that are the real differences. From my experience the systems are running about the same speed since Mac is using Intel also. The duo-core thang is awesome. I have a 1 year old Sony laptop and of course it's outdated by the screaming desktop I built with duo-core technology. My desktops kicks my friends 3 new top end Macs butts! We tested Photoshop with different raw files and my PC won every time.
 
guys, its nice to chat here, but the point of this thread is really to get down to the nitty gritty facts. Not to be an arse, but im juggling in my head now what to get and i really need some assitance.
 
That's what I was trying to help with; giving the reasons why I'm on a mac. If you can relate, you may want to go mac... if not, go PC.

Sounds like you've made up your mind on going with the PC. So, based on Morten's advice, here:

http://www.toshibadirect.com:80/td/b2c/clin.to?coid=-26368

Best fit and Budget from HP ($1349.99) =

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...ssionID=&jumpid=re_r2122_advisors/adi/hpsh/nb


a little more from HP (600 over your budget)=

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...ssionID=&jumpid=re_r2122_advisors/adi/hpsh/nb
 
im really leaning more towards the Core 2 Duo instead of a core duo, i read an article comparing it to macbook pro and it actually out did it in performance for rendering in some field. not sure which one.

anyone know hte advantages of going core 2 duo as opposed to core duo?

and why are those so expensive when dell has core 2 duos for 1600?
 
OK, here's some detailed advice:

If you want a system RIGHT NOW you should go with either a Toshiba Satellite like the A, M or P series or an HP. They are in the same price range and are both built by ACER (yes, doesn't make any sense but it's true). They also repeatedly win all the tests when it comes to quality vs. price.

if you can wait about a month I would suggest doing that just so that the Core 2 Duo machines can properly flood the market and the prices can fall..

that said, the Core Duo processors are fast. the Core 2 Duo are faster but not enough to justify the price diff.

Best place to buy a laptop? In my view it's Staples (!!!!) because they don't take comission, give you a no-nonsense sales pitch and they have good warranties. I bough both my toshiba laptops from there and I'm very sattisfied.

if you want to I can narrow your search down for you. what exactly are you looking for (size, price range, battery life, ports, hard drive, ram etc etc etc)?

mor10
 
morten said:
OK, here's some detailed advice:

If you want a system RIGHT NOW you should go with either a Toshiba Satellite like the A, M or P series or an HP. They are in the same price range and are both built by ACER (yes, doesn't make any sense but it's true). They also repeatedly win all the tests when it comes to quality vs. price.

if you can wait about a month I would suggest doing that just so that the Core 2 Duo machines can properly flood the market and the prices can fall..

that said, the Core Duo processors are fast. the Core 2 Duo are faster but not enough to justify the price diff.

Best place to buy a laptop? In my view it's Staples (!!!!) because they don't take comission, give you a no-nonsense sales pitch and they have good warranties. I bough both my toshiba laptops from there and I'm very sattisfied.

if you want to I can narrow your search down for you. what exactly are you looking for (size, price range, battery life, ports, hard drive, ram etc etc etc)?

mor10
Click to expand...

lol i know
i worked there for a year.

hehe our warranties were the only legit ones out there ( not an honest answer ).

but for laptops from 0-999, it was 130 bucks for 3 years service, parts, labor and battery replacements as many as one needs.

but again, i been looking at dell and they have some seriously competitive prices with great machines available now.

17" core 2 duo was decen tspecs was around 1800 bucks canadian. a bit over my budget, but im sure it will drop in no time. once the core 2 duo's start flooding.
 
I'm sceptical about using DELL computers for two reasons:

1. The company started off building computers using discarded parts from IBM. To this day many of the parts used are questionable. thus the price. From what I hear only the top-of-the-line computers are really worth the money (XPS series)

2. DELL is losing money. god knows how that's possible in a market as red hot as this one but they are. And I think it's because of their inferior quality products.

Keep this in mind: DELL primarily makes computers for low-end consumers who want a cheap cheap deal. That's not what you want. you want a computer where when something goes wrong you can go to a store and get it fixed immediately. With DELL you have to call and send it out and so on and so on.

DELL is not a trusted company. Go with someone with a more solid base

just my 2 cents

mor10
 
Just do a lot of research, read every review you can find, find prices at every reputable seller, look for rebates and specials then buy. Everytime I buy something expensive it takes me a couple weeks to make the purchase because I look everywhere and read everything I can find. That's the best advice I can give you at this point.
 
dual core amd kicks intels butt right out look at the reviews and benchmarks. If you want a powerful system that runs way cool go with amd. I have a pc and a laptop. Both amd dualcore 64s i throw anything i want on it and it eats it for breakfast lunch and dinner. Look to www.newegg.com there just one of many that has reviews and all. I build pc for a living and am very knoledgable in it. Its been years already. I used to love intel but i believe that intel will just never get with the program. Amd reaches for the future. Even back down couple of years when intel was asked to release a 64 chip when amd already did intel's answer was it's not needed. Ur dession bro. I agree with the other coment hp/compaq is awesome.
 
Remember to get a laptop with a video card and not onboard video. I like my Sony but sounds like you don't like the price. The screen was the better for me.
Have you looked at Newwegg? www.newegg.com
 
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