Apple Laptop vs PC laptop

[David Bailey]

Alternatively, buy a Mac laptop for reading email and browsing the web from your sofa or in bed.

I'd like to, I'm still looking at laptops, but they're just so flippin' expensive - twice as much as Windows laptops, it looks like. I can't justify spending a grand on a Mac when I can get a decent Windows laptop for £500...

[ducasi]

I'd like to, I'm still looking at laptops, but they're just so flippin' expensive - twice as much as Windows laptops, it looks like. I can't justify spending a grand on a Mac when I can get a decent Windows laptop for £500...

To a great extent you get what you pay for. The Mac laptop will be a better spec, will look better, will work better and won't have any Microsoft software on it.

That last point is almost worth the extra cost alone.

[Beowulf]

Alternatively, buy a Mac laptop for reading email and browsing the web from your sofa or in bed.

Let me see.. PC in the Living room, one behind the sofa (server.. currently down), a Mandrake Linux box (also down.. awaiting re-installation ). two laptops, Wifi Pocket PC.. I think I have all bases covered..

You can always find my flat in Aberdeen.. it's the one with the white hot glowing power cables going into it..

I'd like to, I'm still looking at laptops, but they're just so flippin' expensive - twice as much as Windows laptops, it looks like. I can't justify spending a grand on a Mac when I can get a decent Windows laptop for £500...

and sorry Ducasi.. i respect your opinion but to David.

[David Bailey]

To a great extent you get what you pay for.

Hmmm, I think you're still paying a premium for the "It's a Mac" thing.

Just briefly looking at PC World:

The 15" MacBook pro is a lovely machine:

• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.33GHz
• 667 MHz
• 4 MB Cache
• 2 GB RAM
• 120 GB Hard Drive
• SuperDrive (DVD ReWriter Drive)
• 15.4" Widescreen Display
• MAC OS X v10.4 TIGER
• 256MB ATi X1600 dedicated graphics

But it costs £1,668.00

Whereas I could get a Toshiba with:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 Processor 2GHz
• 667MHz FSB
• 4MB Cache
• 2048MB RAM
• 200GB Hard Drive
• Dual Layer DVD ReWriter MultiDrive
• 17" Widescreen TruBrite Display
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
• 512MB NVidia GeForce Go 7900 Graphics

For a mere (!) £1,499.99.

So that's a bigger screen, and generally a better spec, for £160 less.

More to the point, at the price range I'm looking at (£500 - £600-ish), there simply aren't any Macs available.

[Dreadful Scathe]

To a great extent you get what you pay for. The Mac laptop will be a better spec, will look better, will work better and won't have any Microsoft software on it.

I think you are exaggerating slightly - the MAC may be a slightly better spec , but at the price difference it should be (decent spec ACER laptops start at £300). It will generally "look better" as although there are many attractive PC laptops , they cost a lot more too , bringing down the price difference. "Will work better" is true from a user friendly point of view, but for actual tasks - game playing, creating documents, playing music etc... there will be little difference that isnt due to the machine spec itself. I agree the no-MS software is a bonus but there are a lot of Windows applications that won't run on a MAC that people may want to use.

So although you can say you get what you pay for, ultimately you pay a bit more for a MAC for the same ability simply because its a MAC. If you are happy with that, fine I admit , bargains aside, its generally not quite "twice the price".

[killingtime]

game playing, creating documents, playing music etc... there will be little difference that isnt due to the machine spec itself.

I have to say that game playing keeps me tied to Windows more than any other reason. It isn't that the mac doesn't get games, it does and the likes of Blizzard are a fine example of people who release games cross-platform. I could always dual boot my (Mac) system, I know, using Bootcamp but the MiniMac for all its fabbiness doesn't really have the graphics performance I'm looking at. So I stick with Windows, for now. I haven't tried running games under WINE on my Ubuntu box. Since it can't really do Direct3D then I can't move a chunk of my game lib...

I'm rambling, aren't it?

[Lee Bartholomew]

I've always thought of macs as over priced. I think of macs as the Nike thing You pay for a trend. (same with iPods).

DJ try this laptop from ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/123116

£500 and a brilliant spec. Try getting a mac of that spec for that price!!!!

And don't bother with a 1 gig shuffle at £60 when you can get a decent 2 gig mp4 player for £5 less !!!! http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110161

and ok doesn't have a touch screen but throw a £7 1 gig card in it and for £13 odd you have an original (but larger capacity) iPod copy lol http://www.ebuyer.com/product/110667...rb/25096270851

[Feelingpink]

... the price range I'm looking at (£500 - £600-ish), there simply aren't any Macs available.

Not even the macbook for £750? Not too many things sexier ... go on - buy yourself one for Valentine's Day

[Dreadful Scathe]

Not even the macbook for £750? Not too many things sexier ... go on - buy yourself one for Valentine's Day

hmm budget is £500 - £600ish and you suggest a £750 macbook. If £150 qualifies for "ish". i'll be asking DavidJames to lend me £1-ish !

Personally I do like MACs and am very tempted to get a new MAC desktop after getting rid of the old one.

Best computer and OS i've ever used though is the Amiga, by quite a long way.

[Lee Bartholomew]

I have to say macs are nicely designed. something Apple do really well. Don't think anyone can dispute that.

Then again the Sony Vio's are nice and the alien ware machines are something else (though I just built one online and has come out at £5185.35 (1 gig graphics, 2 gig ddr, raid 0 320gig hd's, Blue ray recorder etc etc) http://www.alienware.co.uk/Configura...de=SKU-DEFAULT

Needless to say, I didn't complete the order

[Dreadful Scathe]

I have to say macs are nicely designed. something Apple do really well. Don't think anyone can dispute that.

Then again the Sony Vio's are nice and the alien ware machines are something else (though I just built one online and has come out at £5185.35 (1 gig graphics, 2 gig ddr, raid 0 320gig hd's, Blue ray recorder etc etc) http://www.alienware.co.uk/Configura...de=SKU-DEFAULT

Needless to say, I didn't complete the order

Yes if we are talking nice looking PCs the VAIOs are lovely. As are Alienwares. ACER and ASUS do Ferrari and Lamborghini badged laptops that are a bit fancier, but not really by much. MACs stand out because they are all nice whereas with PC laptop you pay a bit more for a design, which is handy for your wallet if you dont care what it looks like.

Heres a VAIO picture

[ducasi]

Personally I do like MACs and am very tempted to get a new MAC desktop after getting rid of the old one.

Please DREADFUL SCATHE, can you call the "Macs", not "MACS"!

[Dreadful Scathe]

Please DREADFUL SCATHE, can you call the "Macs", not "MACS"!

Ok Ill call the MACs not MACs, Ill call them "the Franck Computers"

[pmjd]

Try the Apple refurbished store, white macbook for £549 at the moment.

Got a similar one a few months back and quite happy with it, lighter and smaller than a few of my previous PC laptops. The magsafe power cord is a work of genius and the adapter is nice and small compared to some of the old power bricks I used to have to lug about.

[Lee Bartholomew]

Guess it depends on what you want to use the laptop for.

If you want something for Games, useablility, software and support get a pc.

If you want something to conect to your overpriced iPod, iPhone and iShoes (sure it will happen soon) get a mac.

[Mythical]

I have a Mac, becuase neither of the two windows laptops could keep up with me. Admittedly one was a crappy spec anyway (96mb ram, anyone? - I think the cavemen were using more!) The other one had the same ram as the mac I've got now, but from about a week after I bought it, it ran slowly, and random things would decide not to work, and I saw the blue screen of death more times than anyone should in a lifetime. After a year of that it decided it was going to go to sleep permanently, and I took it to be repaired, they quoted me more than I'd actually paid for the laptop in the first place.

I've had the mac (12" powerbook G4) over a year, (so it's an old biddy in computer world!) and it still runs like new, everything just works, and I can have photoshop, dreamweaver, safari, and iTunes open all at once and it just gets on with it as if I was simply browsing the web. Funnily enough the only program that causes problems is MSN Mesenger.

Yes, I bought the machine because it looked good, and it was a bit trendy at the time, but even though it's now out of date, I'm still happy with it. I'd say it was worth the cash!

[Mythical]

Guess it depends on what you want to use the laptop for.

If you want something for Games, useablility, software and support get a pc.

If you want something to conect to your overpriced iPod, iPhone and [B]iShoes (sure it will happen soon)[B/] get a mac.

Actually, it's already happened......remember the nike trainers you could connect to your iPod Nano?

[David Bailey]

Not even the macbook for £750? Not too many things sexier ... go on - buy yourself one for Valentine's Day

A/ As said, that's 50% more than I was thinking of paying.
B/ Screen's too small.

Apart from that...

Try the Apple refurbished store

Well, yeah - similarly, I'm sure I could get a refurbished PC for cheaper than a new one.

Sorry guys, you can't get away from it, Macs are more expensive - I reckon it's at least 50% more, albeit probably not twice as much as I previously thought.

I don't mind paying over-the-odds for an iPod, but that's only a fraction of the price, I'm happy to pay £30 or so more, it's when it gets to an extra £300 that I have problems with paying for style.

What can I say, I'm cheap

[pmjd]

What can I say, I'm cheap

Actually I have seen a few comparisions between mac and pc's that have shown mac to not be as expensive as thought and in one ot two cases cheaper, don't have time to look for them at the moment. In the end of the day pick something that your happy with and suits your needs.

[TurboTomato]

hmm budget is £500 - £600ish and you suggest a £750 macbook. If £150 qualifies for "ish". i'll be asking DavidJames to lend me £1-ish !

And your £750 only gets you 1/2gGb of ram and a 60Gb hard drive.

I've just bought a Toshiba laptop for about the same amount, yet I have a 100Gb hard drive, 2Gb ram and a lovely 17 inch widescreen.