Considering a MBP

manic111

manic111

manic111

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Hi all, having moved flats seven times in the last two years, I'm beginning to think that lugging around my desktop, monitor, keyboard, mouse etc is not really worth the hassle, and am therefore thinking of a laptop. The build quality on MBPs is second to none, and I've always wanted to get a Mac.

However, is the price really justifiable? I'm honestly not saying this to knock Macs - they are premium products, I just want to know why I should spend the extra cash on one of these over a Windows laptop. For those of you who own them, what made you do it?
 
apeZ said:
Yes. 100 times yes.

I was prepared to pay more (base 13" MBP 2010) for:

- Outstanding build quality.
- Fantastic screen.
- Fantastic keyboard.
- OSX - Much, much better than Windows or Linux in my opinion. It's cliché, but it really does just 'work'.
- Big trackpad with multi-touch.
- Warranty and tech support; any problems and I just pop down to the Applestore and get it fixed there and then.

I was looking around for a new laptop for a few months, but I just couldn't settle on anything. I looked at around the £500-700 range, and every model I found sacrificed something, whether it was battery life, graphics power, processing speed, appearance, until I took a closer look at the MBPs. I still haven't found anything about it to criticise, except possibly a matte screen rather than glossy, but that's something I've just got used to.

I find my productivity much, much higher on a MBP too, OSX is very fluid and easy to use. I have less than 30 sec bootup times, and around 10 sec shutdown, and that's with a 5400rpm HDD. The machine oozes quality on the inside and outside and considering that I use it on a daily basis, I think the price is justified :)
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Great post, thanks. This is exactly the "problem" I'm having. In spite of the cost, the MBP just does everything! I have been considering an iMac as mentioned above as well, but don't need the massive screen, and a laptop has benefits such as portability.

Regarding games, I won't be using the Mac too often for them as I've got a PS3 for that. However, for some light gaming, I've heard about Boot Camp. How does this work? Is it similar to using Virtual Box or something?

I'm sorely tempted by one. Hmm....

EDIT: I can guess the answer to this, but the iMac has no input ports does it? I only want to be lugging one screen around with me, and will need something to plug the PS3 into. Regarding the upgraded warranty option they offer for £200, is it worth it? How long is the usual warranty, and what does the upgraded one offer extra?

Raymond, I'd love to move less ;)
 
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theheyes said:
Bootcamp is basically dual booting - you'll need to buy a Windows license for this unless you already have a retail copy.

I wouldn't bother with Applecare I'd rather have the £200.
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Cheers, I've got a retail copy of Win 7, so I'm set there. What does Applecare entail?
 
My brother's at uni, so I may well go through him to get the Applecare, if I end up doing this...

It wouldn't be many games. All that there is on the PC would be the Civ games, and the occasional game of FM, but I know that FM works on Mac anyway. With Steam on the Mac, if I've already got the games for Windows, can they be transferred to Mac, or will I need to buy them again?
 
Good stuff, looks as though I will be able to re-download Valve things. As Raymond says though, gaming is far from the primary reason I'm interested in a Mac...

Does anyone know more about any hacks to plug a PS3 into an iMac?

EDIT: It looks as though some sort of USB peripheral would be needed, which sounds like a bit of a messy hassle.
 
Yup, I'm thinking of picking up an MBP and decent monitor...pretty much where I stand at the moment! Will need some thinking time though, it's a reasonable sum of money!
 
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