dshiznit1 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I'm doing the college laptop shopping and need some advice. I've never been a mac person. I've always thought OS X was hyped up too much and that macs were way overpriced. But recently the Macbook Pro has seriously caught my attention. The 15" 2.4ghz model is available for $1750 (student discount) and that includes a free iTouch which I can't help but want. Figured I'd throw in another 2 gigs of ram myself since they insist on charging $200, install XP, and it would make a pretty sweet machine that I can do light gaming on. MBP I'm willing to spend up to around $2000 and just want to know if there is something else that I should be looking at. I know Intel just released their new mobile cpus but don't know what to do. I know I don't want anything bigger than 15" and want to be able to do light gaming. Any input is appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 $2000 for a laptop? No thanks. By your age I'm guessing you're just entering college? Don't spend a lot on a laptop. Buy something you won't mind lugging to class every day. Everyone I know that spent a ton on a "high end" laptop coming into college now regrets it. Spend a little on a decent portable and use the rest to fund other stuff (like a desktop or misc. college stuff). That, and you won't have to worry about breaking your expensive laptop taking it to class every day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
p8baller07 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 If you can afford it - its a good choice...for windows you have many choices.. VMware Fusion, Parallels, Dual booting.. They're based off Unix so the UI is very nice and clean. If you wanna get a better feel before you dive in, try Ubuntu. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshiznit1 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 (edited) I agree its a lot of money. Frankly I hadn't planned on spending that much but I've been saving and my mom said she was planning on chipping in so I figured why not. I really don't want to spend more than that price on the macbook. I'm not bringing a desktop. I'm stuck in a triple next year so I don't expect much room. Also, any particular reason those people regretted getting a more expensive laptop? Just curious. Edited July 23, 2008 by dshiznit1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Also, any particular reason those people regretted getting a more expensive laptop? Just curious. Usually it boiled down to a few things: "Light gaming" today is not the same as "light gaming" two years from now. High-end laptops tend to not be small or lightweight. Expensive laptops are just that...expensive. Carrying $2000 to class with you every day leaves a lot of room for things to get stolen or broken. Desktops are extremely cheap (and upgradable). I stayed in dorms my first two years on campus and even in the smallest of dorms there is plenty of space for a full desktop. Most quickly found themselves leaving their laptop in their dorm 99% of the time because it wasn't worth carrying around. At that point you may as well have a desktop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Propane Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I got a 15" mac book pro for my first year of college and have really enjoyed it. The last time I had owned a mac was when they were rolling MacOS 7 so it was a lot different to me, but after a few weeks I really started to enjoy the features and got it set up so I could use it more as a power user. I play World of Warcraft on it on the mac side, and haven't really done anything with windows on my personal one, but have played CS:S on a friends, all at decent quality and resolution (and on the 128Mb video card). I'm also a CpE major, so I had to use stuff to compile code / debug / etc which comes with the mac in the form of gcc, but I also used net beans for a while which worked well as well. I can't say Ive had any bad experiences with it so far. If you can afford it (mine was a graduation present) then Id say its definatly a good choice. By the end of the year, my roomate wished he had one instead of what he got Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Smith Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Personnally, I would rather prefer "small" over "thin"... But that's your choice. Do you plan on taking your course notes on it ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLS2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Usually it boiled down to a few things: "Light gaming" today is not the same as "light gaming" two years from now. All computers are eventually outdated anyways. Plus college doesn't leave much time for gaming, and free time should be spent socializing, not holed up in a dorm. High-end laptops tend to not be small or lightweight. Do you know what the Mac Book Pro is like? It is thin (about 1 inch) and light (6 pounds or less). Expensive laptops are just that...expensive. Carrying $2000 to class with you every day leaves a lot of room for things to get stolen or broken. And that is why you get a laptop lock and LoJack. Then you don't leave it laying around either, keep you eye on it, it's not that hard to do. Desktops are extremely cheap (and upgradable). I stayed in dorms my first two years on campus and even in the smallest of dorms there is plenty of space for a full desktop. I completely agree, but you can't take a desktop with you to the quad and write an essay outside. Most quickly found themselves leaving their laptop in their dorm 99% of the time because it wasn't worth carrying around. At that point you may as well have a desktop. The Mac Book Pro is extremely portable. My friend has a 17 inch that he just bought and he won't leave it alone. They're so small and light that it's hardly an inconvience at all. The benefits of having a laptop far outweigh the negatives. Personnally, I would rather prefer "small" over "thin"... But that's your choice. Do you plan on taking your course notes on it ? The Mac Book Pro is both small (for 15 inches, some people just can't stand a 13 inch or less) and thin. I would HIGHLY recommend the Mac Book Pro. My friend has the 17 inch version and I love it. I have a Dell XPS M1730 and actually wish I had the Mac Book Pro. It is about an inch thick and about 6 pounds for the 17 inch. Probably only 4.5 to 5 pounds for the 15 inch. The battery life is simply amazing. My friend gets 5 hours surfing the net with wireless on! The charger is so compact and light, it puts any other laptop charger I've seen to shame. Only one cord, the box plugs into the wall. The features the Mac OS X has are great. It's so intuitive. I strongly encourage you to get the Mac Book Pro and install Windows in a dual-boot configuration. Use VM Ware Fusion and you can run Windows from within Mac OS X. Just put LoJack on it for security and always lock it down with a lock. Get the Mac Book Pro! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Propane Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 The Mac Book Pro is both small (for 15 inches, some people just can't stand a 13 inch or less) and thin. I would HIGHLY recommend the Mac Book Pro. My friend has the 17 inch version and I love it. I have a Dell XPS M1730 and actually wish I had the Mac Book Pro. It is about an inch thick and about 6 pounds for the 17 inch. Probably only 4.5 to 5 pounds for the 15 inch. The battery life is simply amazing. My friend gets 5 hours surfing the net with wireless on! The charger is so compact and light, it puts any other laptop charger I've seen to shame. Only one cord, the box plugs into the wall. The features the Mac OS X has are great. It's so intuitive. I strongly encourage you to get the Mac Book Pro and install Windows in a dual-boot configuration. Use VM Ware Fusion and you can run Windows from within Mac OS X. Just put LoJack on it for security and always lock it down with a lock. Get the Mac Book Pro! Only thing Id like to add to this is that while the 17" is portable, if you plan on taking your laptop to class, to group projects, and other places, I would encourage you to get the 15" as it will fit nicer in most backpacks and won't take up all the room on your desk. Plus the resolution isnt a MAJOR improvement unless you go to the 1920x1200 screen (which is niiiiice) so you won't really gain a whole lot in the "what you can put on the screen at once". In the end, it probablly really wont make a huge difference, but from my experience, its nice to have something thats not quite THAT big, but not as small as an eeePC as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 All computers are eventually outdated anyways. Plus college doesn't leave much time for gaming, and free time should be spent socializing, not holed up in a dorm. Laptops are outdated, especially for gaming, far faster than any desktop. Also - there's plenty of time for gaming and socializing in college. I've managed. Do you know what the Mac Book Pro is like? It is thin (about 1 inch) and light (6 pounds or less). Thin is not the same thing as small. I wouldn't call 6 pounds lightweight either. And that is why you get a laptop lock and LoJack. Then you don't leave it laying around either, keep you eye on it, it's not that hard to do. Accidental damage still happens as does the occasional time when you take your eyes away for a few seconds...that's all it takes. I completely agree, but you can't take a desktop with you to the quad and write an essay outside. Thus why he should get a small portable laptop. The Mac Book Pro is extremely portable. My friend has a 17 inch that he just bought and he won't leave it alone. They're so small and light that it's hardly an inconvience at all. The benefits of having a laptop far outweigh the negatives. No 17" laptop is small. Thin? Maybe. Small? Ehhh... I never suggested that he not get a laptop...just that he get a cheap/portable one that he won't be worried about. Anyway, I was just relaying my experiences and others through my last 4 years of college. Personally if I were going to do it all again I'd get a 10" sub-notebook and a decent desktop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingdingeling Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Thin is not the same thing as small. I wouldn't call 6 pounds lightweight either. I have a 12.1" Samsung Q45 Notebook and it weighs roughly 3.5 pounds, now THAT'S small and light! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshiznit1 Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I'm not going to get the 17" version cause it seems too big. However, the 15" doesn't seem like it would be a pain at all to carry around and it only weighs 5.4 lbs. I do plan on taking course notes on it. My choice also isn't anywhere close to being set in stone. I'm still shopping around and open to other choices (I've been looking at some of the Sony VAIOs and Thinkpads). I just wanted to see what other people thought and appreciate all the input. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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