13" Macbook Pro Alternatives

ChrissyT88 · 23 May 2014 at 23:58

Hi all,

Apologies in advance - I know this question gets asked all the time!

Currently looking to buy a 13" Ultrabook. I'm looking for something with a good quality screen, good keyboard + trackpad and enough grunt to run a couple of VMs for testing (decent processor and 8Gb+ RAM). Graphics performance isn't really and issue, as long as it can play HD video etc (and perhaps some old RTS / indie games now and then).

The hardware in the rMBP looks good on paper, and I can currently get a student discount which makes the price a bit more competitive. However, I'm not really fussed about OSX, and would rather dual boot Windows and Linux. Whilst I could pick up a rMBP, it doesn't seem worth forking out for Apple kit if there is a decent alternative.

From what I have seen, it looks like the alternatives (that aren't significantly more expensive) are:

Dell XPS 13
HP Spectre 13t-3000
Lenovo Yoga Pro 2 - looks really good on paper, but seems to be sold out in a lot of places - is a replacement due soon?
Lenovo T440s
ASUS Zenbook UX301 (a bit old now?)

Does anyone have any experience with any of the above, and is there anything else I should be looking at?

Caged · 24 May 2014 at 00:17

Don't discount the quality of the rMBPs display - it's incredible. You need to try setting the DPI on your current Windows install to something other than 100% and see how many apps break, as your alternatives are to either have tiny UI elements or pick a laptop with a low resolution display.

If you're considering putting Linux on a system then I'd give Mac OS a go, it's very similar in a lot of ways. If you really don't want Mac OS then don't buy a Mac though, there is little to no driver support for any of the hardware in a different OS.

daz · 24 May 2014 at 11:30

Vaio Pro is worth a look, and the Macbook Air as well (you won't have any scaling problems with the latter like with the rMBP screen).

The thing about OSX is its effect on battery life. You'll get substantially longer on OSX than running Windows or Linux on the same system in my experience.

Hxc · 24 May 2014 at 11:53

Remember you get 3 years warranty with the student discount *if* you buy online as an advantage of the MBP

I just got my Macbook air battery replaced for free after 2 years and 10 months, and 800 loadcycles. I have had 2 new chargers for free in that time period too.

Not a huge deal, but a nice bonus.