Hi, I am currently thinking about trading my Alienware M17X R4 for a 2012 Macbook Pro 15". The specs of each are as follows:
Alienware M17X R4
Intel i7 3720QM
16GB DDR3
256GB SSD
500GB HDD
ATI 7970M 2GB
17.3" Full HD 1920x1080
No Warranty
Macbook Pro 15 (Current)
Intel i7 2.6Ghz
8GB DDR3
128GB SSD
1TB HDD
Nvidia 650M 1GB
15.4" Anti-Glare 1680x1050
Applecare - 2 Years Remaining
I am also throwing in an additional $200 on top of my Alienware. Does this look like a fair trade? Something tells me that I may be getting the short end of the stick.
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Macbook Pros are going to be updated within a week or so... so that will not be very "current" very long.
the Mac is smaller, slimmer... and probably will get better battery life with OSX.
Your alienware has a better GPU and more ram (you can always upgrade the ram in that Macbook Pro to 16GB if you choose though).
Wether or not its a good deal... comes down to what you are doing with the machine. If you mainly need Windows or play games, its a bad trade. If you really need OSX for something and cannot just outright buy a Mac that works, it may be a good deal for you... but its not looking like that impressive of a deal really, I'm not sure its something I'd do, especially with new models coming out in about 5 days... meaning the resale "value" of that Mac will go down slightly. -
saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate
I would say it's a pretty lousy trade even if new MBP's weren't imminent. OP, what are you going to be doing with the Mac? Is it going to be your only computer? If you simply want to try OS X and won't be doing anything more than surfing, word processing, etc, you can pick up a refurbished or used MacBook Pro or Air for a decent price and still be able to keep your Alienware for games. Before you do this, wait until the new MBPs are made available as prices for older machines will drop.
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Chappy trade. The mac is miles slower then your 17
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2 -
pathfindercod Notebook Virtuoso
I think more information about what you plan to do with it would help people make a better assessment. I am assuming you dont game or will not do any gaming. I switched to Mac's back when Vista came out and honestly gaming just sucks on a Mac, period. They run to hot, dont have the horsepower and just very limited. If your going for the email, web surfing, video editing, photo editing then they are great...
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Macs are great for web browsing , typing papers , and checking email. -
Hey guys, I went ahead and did the trade. I'm pretty happy with it and was glad that I could help someone out (he really needed a powerful Windows laptop). I did some research prior and found that both computers are similar in resale value. I also didn't have to add any cash on top so that was nice.
I don't play games anymore so the AW was sitting in the corner. Not to mention, even if I did, I would do so on my desktop. The AW14 that I have is next on the chopping list.
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kornchild2002 Notebook Deity
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I was partially kidding. The fact is that even high end TN panels don't match professional quality screens (e.g. DreamColor screens).
Macs are overrated for photoediting.
Why doesn't Apple use DreamColor screens? I guess because they would have to use a professional GPU and a good deal of battery life would be lost. Even the latest Intel GPU can still only drive 8 Bit panels (e.g. MacBook Pro Retina display).
You know do that your MBP maxes at out 16 GB of RAM , right? 32 GB is normally the max for most gaming and workstation laptops.
Workstation GPUs are great for CAD work and certain simulation programs but not for games.
I've seen many gaming laptops with faster GPUs and CPUs and even more RAM than any MBP.
The Alienware M17X R4 supports 32 GB of RAM unlike your MBP.
For VM work and certain image manipulations , more then 16 GB of RAM still makes a difference.
I find that even gaming laptops are more suitable for heavy workloads than MBPs are.
How many Mac laptops have a GTX 680M ?
How many Mac laptops have 32 GB of RAM?
How many Mac laptops support the fastest mobile quad core Intel CPUs on the market? -
Your AW could have taken 32 GB of RAM and had a much faster GPU.
Not to mention that the AW had a higher res screen.
You also lost the dedicated num pad (which I find very useful).
I also think that your AW is one of the few laptops that has an HDMI in (correct me if I'm wrong).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kbFICW4S68w#t=22
IMHO , your AW is a much more interesting machine. -
kornchild2002 Notebook Deity
saturnotaku likes this. -
My whole point in discussing mobile workstations was to compare how similar they are to gaming laptops.
Macs are further away due to their slower and less upgradable hardware.
Macs are general use machines but of course they can still have decent CPUs.
A MacBook "Pro" isn't a professional class machine. The "Pro" name is just for marketing.
If Apple didn't call any of their laptops "Pro" , then I couldn't say that Apple was falsely advertising. -
kornchild2002 Notebook Deity
Ugh, I'm done. Ridicule the MBP lines all you want, it doesn't change what they are. Apple has never once said that the "Pro" in the MacBook Pro name signified a professional workstation. Anyone who draws such nonsense similarities is just looking for something to nitpick at. The "Pro" moniker was always used to distinguish between their entry-level systems and their higher end models. Back in the day, Apple offered up a plastic MacBook configuration. They had a 13" plastic MacBook, 13" MacBook Pro (similar hardware but built using aluminum and having a glass display), the 15" MacBook Pro, etc. The "Pro" was used in order to label the difference between their lower end offering and their higher end models. It is absolutely no different than Dell using the "Inspiron" label and the "XPS" label or HP with their "Pavilion" and "Envy" lines. What is wrong with Apple using "Pro" to differentiate between those models and the MBA models? Besides, the MBP lines are in fact higher end consumer notebooks. They feature glass displays, aluminum construction, glass covered trackpads, etc. Dell slaps their XPS logo on their notebooks with the same feature yet I don't see you complaining that they don't have gamer level hardware or can't compete with a $3000 workstation.
You are just nitpicking Macs at this point in time as absolutely everything you have said can also apply to every single line of systems from every single other manufacturer. So what's the point? You keep bringing up workstations and gaming notebooks while comparing them to Macs when the same conclusion can be made when comparing them to Dell XPS systems, HP Envy labeled systems, Asus notebooks, Acer notebooks, models from Lenovo, etc. You are coming to the conclusion that a gaming notebook is going to be more powerful than most Macs just as a workstation is going to be more powerful than most Macs. OK, yeah, no one is going to argue that. It's like saying that the color black is in fact black in color. Who cares? You can say that an Alienware with maxed out specs is going to be more powerful than a mid-level XPS. Duh. -
The OP basically got a downgrade.
That's the last thing I'm going to say. -
saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate
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The problem with the 2012 & 2013 retina macBook Pro's is their lack of upgradeability, ram choices are 8 or 16GB and ram chips are soldered to the motherboard, this choice must be made at time of purchase. The SSD is upgradable but it's expensive, proprietary and limited to the 512GB and 768GB model offered by Apple. Even though I despise all things Alienware, it is a better choice when it comes to having a faster processor, more ram and larger HDD's or SSD's. Only downside is they're butt ugly and weigh a ton, the 14" is like 6-7 lbs, even more when you include the power brick. I'm no Apple fan boy, I also own the 14" Razer Blade and the 17" Razer Blade R2.
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saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate
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Is OWC the only company making the SSDs for the Ivy Bridge Retinas? -
Wowza, didn't know that people were still posting in this thread.
I guess a small update. The Macbook was sold this past weekend. It was a great computer for the few weeks that I had it but I'm going back to my roots and picking up a Lenovo Y580 later today.
And boom goes the can of worms... -
saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate
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. At the price that I'm getting it for, I'll be able to play with it for a year or so and sell it for what I bought it for.
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This is most definitely not a fair trade!
Alienware for Macbook Pro?
Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by StockDC2, Oct 16, 2013.