Need a new Laptop.Should I choose a Mac?

Robgmun

reconditioned does not = refurbished

reconditioned is second hand

refurbished is more akin to getting the showroom/demo car, the pc's are normally never been used, if at all

Scrilla

Robgmun wrote: »

I did get luckly, and if you keep checking the website a great deal does come out now and again.

Thank you for being forthcoming. As BillScarab and others have implied, it is hardly fair if you are to compare a refurbished Dell to a stock price Mac. Without the additional details you have provided, the conclusion would undoubtably be a Windows PC is far far cheaper than a Mac when in fact your purchase was the exception rather than the rule.

If my calculations and the prices from 2007 I've found are correct, a similarly specced Mac (as close as possible with the same graphics cards and hard drive, but differing processor due to Apple's own offerings) would be about £300 more expensive than the £3500 of the XPS, retail pricing. Given the amount of money spent, the 'Apple Tax' would be acceptable for me if I were to spend that much on a computer. This would be where our dear Mac friend Marty J would cite things like the Mac Pro software package and construction to be the areas which justify the cost (to which I would partly agree). And this is where I would add to it the lower power consumption, hardware-to-software stability and the look of the machine as reasons.

(Construction: it matters. I have worked on so many computers where the ports are broken due to repeated flash drive usage as an example. A Magsafe matters to me as I have once almost destroyed a laptop tripping over it's charging cable. I almost did the same whilst being carelessly quick to move a laptop and the plastic casing cracked on my desk - I've done the same to my Aluminium MacBook Pro and the desk lost . Well, sad face because I had to repair the desk.
Look: I like my possessions to be on display to add to the decor at home. A scratch matters to me for example. However, I also look for bargains: the MacBook Pro I use was purchased using Education discount - I work in Education. My previous Mac was a refurb model.
Hardware-software integration: Mac software is written to work on a restricted set of hardware. This helps Apple ensure maximum compatibility with the hardware as opposed to trying to support everything under the technological sun. The argument is of course less choice, but Apple wouldn't be the successful company it is if there wasn't enough choice to satisfy consumers.)

I'm not going to debate refurb pricing as they vary so much in price and quality with seemingly low consistency from one to the next, it's difficult to judge. I am, however, very pleased for your purchase and I think board members here can learn from your savvy shopping

Robgmun wrote: »

RAM bottleneck is not really a major thing. As long as there plenty of ram then the speeds don't really make a heck of a difference. Should watch out more for CPU and GFX card bottlenecks.

My friends were after a machine for 3D work as well as gaming and I believe this was the reason why the RAM bottleneck became a cause for concern. I'm not going to pretend I know about this as neither the Dell nor the Alienware they bought (X51 or something?) are machines I know well with regard to gaming and graphics work.

Marty_J

Robgmun wrote: »

reconditioned does not = refurbished

reconditioned is second hand

refurbished is more akin to getting the showroom/demo car, the pc's are normally never been used, if at all

My apologies; I selected the wrong word in haste, and have amended my original post accordingly.

My point still stands though.

Robgmun

Scrilla wrote: »

I'm not going to debate refurb pricing as they vary so much in price and quality with seemingly low consistency from one to the next, it's difficult to judge. I am, however, very pleased for your purchase and I think board members here can learn from your savvy shopping

Indeed, that's what i was trying to get across, you really do not need to pay top wack for a high end PC (or MAC) when you can get the same PC for less than half the price. In most of the cases you wouldn't of even known it was a refurbished PC if you wern't told as they come with the original boxes and manuals as if it as brand new (that's why i admire there honesty and trust them)

My friends were after a machine for 3D work as well as gaming and I believe this was the reason why the RAM bottleneck became a cause for concern. I'm not going to pretend I know about this as neither the Dell nor the Alienware they bought (X51 or something?) are machines I know well with regard to gaming and graphics work.

Trust me, when it comes to ram it's a lot more to do with the amount rather the speed. The difference between DDR2 800Mhz and DD3 1066Mhz is less than 1%

asininity

Marty_J wrote: »

But the issue of whether or not it is morally right to murder is a separate issue from him being a priest. Think about all of the things a priest is likely to believe. I'm sure there are a great many you would agree with.

I'm sure there is but for different reasons, those reasons matter.

Refutation of something like creationism was done through scientific enquiry. If we just dismissed it because "that's what you would say", we'd still be in the Dark Ages. Say I owned a company that invented a cure for cancer, and so I stood to make million if not billions. You couldn't say that it didn't work by pointing that I would say it cures cancer because I was going to make lots of money. Perhaps you'd be right to be cautious (after all, I do have a vested interest in it being a success), but to show it doesn't work, you'd need to look at the evidence.

It can be refuted by something I like to call common sense too. Your cancer example is not the same as the example in the link you posted.

Similarly, someone can't refute my opinion that Apple make very high quality products that are worth the money just by saying that I'm a fanboy so I would say that. My enthusiasm for Apple has no bearing on Apple's products, their quality, or their value.

But you would say that, its subjective so your opinion is subjective not objective. Theres nothing wrong with refuting your claim by saying that. Its up to you to prove your opinion right not me.

For example, one of the things I like about Macs is that they come with iLife, which I think is a fantastic suite of applications. Someone who simply says I'm a brainwashed mactard, so my opinion has no validity is totally missing the point. They need to deal with the quality of the software, how easy it is to use, what you can do with it, how comparable it is to other similar software, what software you get with other computers, etc.

Its all opinion. Subjective. For example iLife means nothing to me I wouldn't use it so the fact that a mac comes with it is missing the point.

I'm flattered that some people think I can change reality just by thinking about it, but the truth is that my opinions have absolutely no effect on any of those things.

Disagree with the above. Your reality is different to mine.

asininity

Sorry for the double post but this is a bit unfair you people are always recommending reconditions macs over brand new PCs all the time with no problem and now its suddenly a problem when someone does it the other way round *confused*

BillScarab

But when the refurb PC supplier was first mentioned there was nothing in the post to suggest it was a refurb. Which could be construed as misleading.

There's nothing worng with recommending refurb kit but you need to be upfront about it.

RainbowShooter

Forgive me if you disagree but what many of you don't seem to understand is you're not just buying the hardware. So comparing pure specs/cost really doesn't give a true comparison of the end experience.

I've been a PC/Windows user for years, and recently I bought a MBP. I've not had a single problem or bad experience, everything has been a breeze and if anything, it's been a pleasure just using it.

I'm not going to tell the OP to BUY A MAC NOW, because not everyone will like the same thing. All these threads turn into the same crap, people on both sides getting abuse about a damn computer.

My advice, have a go with a mac for a few days if possible, I'd be very surprised if you don't enjoy the experience, my investment was well worth it IMO

spider31

adamski911 wrote: »

Generally I use alot of non microsoft applications eg I use video converting software to watch movies via streaming through my ps3.
Will this run faster on a Mac with them having duo processors?
The only other main microsoft applications I use is Excel but I suppose I could get an equivalent to this?

for streaming, I presume you are using windows built in uPNP software.
see http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=upnp+software+for+mac&meta=&aq=1&oq=upnp+soft&fp=a73fa2ac306dd28e
Macs may also have something built in.

For converting, http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&safe=off&ei=i2RxS9_1Fqi80gSvzOmeCw&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CAsQBSgA&q=mkv+to+divx+converter+mac&spell=1&fp=4ea42b1d61769dbd
My GUT says you will have more options with a PC

As for speed, PCs can have dual core to and quad core. Win 7 is very good and runs fast. The speed of the OS will not affect things like video converting but the speed of HW will. So.. fast MAC vs slow PC MAC will win.. The OS can make a difference to performance for more general use (Compare Vista to Win7) but not for very intense stuff like video encoding / decoding. The quality of the encoding software can make a difference.

You can open excel books on a MAC, you can get MS office for the Mac. http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/Excel2008/default.mspx


Some like Macs some Like PCs. Some Like both, some don’t care I like tech

Marty_J

asininity wrote: »

I'm sure there is but for different reasons, those reasons matter.

Which is the very thing I'm trying to get across; it's the argument that matters, not what job the person has.

It can be refuted by something I like to call common sense too. Your cancer example is not the same as the example in the link you posted.

Of course it is. Person A makes a claim, and Person B tries to refute it without dealing with it.

But you would say that, its subjective so your opinion is subjective not objective. Theres nothing wrong with refuting your claim by saying that. Its up to you to prove your opinion right not me.

It's totally wrong. I'm not saying that my opinion isn't subjective. But you can't prove that whatever I say about Apple is wrong by pointing out that I like Apple. It's irrelevant.

Its all opinion. Subjective. For example iLife means nothing to me I wouldn't use it so the fact that a mac comes with it is missing the point.

You not using it or not being interested in it isn't enough to show that it's no good, just as me being interested in it isn't enough to show that it is good.

Disagree with the above. Your reality is different to mine.

You think I can change reality just by thinking about it?