MBP and hp 8510w

Am deciding between the above two notebooks. Am extremely attracted by the MBP form factor. I constantly work on cad and 3ds max. Is it viable for me to go for the mbp instead of the 8510w? I think the gpu on the mbp is more than sufficient but was just wondering if there're other things i need to be aware of. Does using Bootcamp reduces the effciency of the mbp in any way? Thanks

 

Yes, Boot Camp will allow the MBP to work as well as any other PC with the same specs (note that the graphics drivers ain't the best right now so gaming won't be as great, but that will probably be fixed in the final version of Boot Camp).

Are you interested in using OS X? If you plan to use Windows full-time I'd say go with the 8510W. If you want to use OS X but also want to have Windows functionality, the MBP is the way to go.

 

One great thing about the HP 8510w vs MBP comparison is that both have the supposed "price premium" - just for different things. So at least that's no longer an issue relative to these two machines.

 

is WXGA+ enough resolution for what you do? that's where I'm stuck - i'm still debating between these same two machines right now.

Personally, I'd rather have more resolution, but the HP display quality seems to be average at best... not as bright, uneven backlight, not sure on color accuracy. Meanwhile, the LED on the 15.4" MBP is the best display you can get on a laptop. That's key to me since I'll sometimes edit photos without an external monitor. I think if the MBP were higher resolution I'd have ordered one already.

It doesn't look like I'm going to find an alternative with the same display quality but with higher than WXGA+ resolution. Looks like I'm on the brink of getting my first Apple since the 80's!! LOL

 

Personally I love being able to use both os x and windows. I like the two finger scroll functionality a lot more than using the edge of the trackpad on other laptops. There's no right click button on the mbp but all you have to do is put 2 fingers on the trackpad and click the button. It's really quite easy. And the form factor is great too. I think my only complaints are only having expresscard34 and only 2 usb ports, but I fixed the usb problem with a hub. I don't think I'll need more than 2 usb ports while I'm on the go either. If you do use bootcamp I'd recommend a 160gb hdd so you have plenty of space.

 

wow how much space does bootcamp take? Is it possible to get a 7200 hd for the mbp? Another consideration is the fact that you can get a docking station with the 8510w. The mbp keyboard seems a bit loose too. Not too sure about the 8510w ones though. Argh...decisions, decisions.

 

Yes, you can get a 7200 RPM hard drive for your MacBook Pro. Boot Camp itself doesn't take up a lot of space, but considering you're partitioning the hard drive into 2 partitions sharing that hard drive, you would want more hard drive space for both partitions, wouldn't you?

 

Didn't check the Windows side, but Boot Camp Assistant actually takes ~300MB on the OSX side.

No docking station options with the MBP, although there are a few 3rd party stations via firewire you might look into.

The 8510w keyboard was supposedly worse than the previous generation's nc8430's keyboard according to the review here and nearly as bad as a consumer-level keyboard. Having not used it in person, I can't say if it's true - but the review of the 8510w on this forum finds several dealbreaking faults (for me anyway):
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3862

If you were really interested in the type of laptop that the 8510w is, you might try the Thinkpad T61p instead.

 

I said Boot Camp didn't take up much space because the user went "Holy cow, I need to get a 160 GB HDD for Boot Camp? That's ridiculous!" so I told him that it wasn't a ridiculous space waster in the sense that you'll need a 160 GB HDD for Boot Camp.

 

I wanted to buy 8510p or T61p. But because there was no 1680x1050 resolution for T61p and 8510p suppose to be in September - I bought MBP 2.2
Now I regret it - MBP is HOT, not all Windows drivers are good (for example ACPI, touchpad, and x64 support). Also while playing games - it overheats too much - and only then firmware starts fans at max and drops GPU clock probably - because you can notice how FPS start to go down.
In other words MBP has a very nice screen, looks good, specs are good - but it does not deliver...

 

If you have any key software that requires the video card and is only avail for windows get the HP.

To bad the dell m4300 doesn't have a 570m in it. I have always liked Dell displays and you can get an SXGA+ Glossy.

 

MBP is a mac with the added benifit of running windows natively. It's not really meant for fulltime windows usage. besides, bootcamp's still a beta. I'd guess that it's better when leapord is released.

 

I bought an 8510W from newegg btw. I will post some thoughts on it once I get a chance if you want to wait for that.

 

Oh i see now. I didn't realize you bought one. Why didn't you buy a Clevo?

 

I am working late...I have my HP Nw8440's speakers turned up to the max. Wow sounds really LOUD and GOOD, tiny bit of distortion. Listening to prog rock/metal.

NW8440 speakers > MBP.

And in the refresh you can have the lid closed, right now i have it cracked open just a bit. Old nw8440 model has speakers next to the keyboard not on the front panel.

 

How is the fan noise on the HP? I had one a couple of years ago and the fan noise was a bit annoying.

 

It's quiet when you are not gaming or doing anything intensive. Both laptops, MBP and HP when pushed produce fan noise. It doesn't bother me aslong as it's a nice hum to it, not all broken up and annoying (say if a fan blade was bent). The HP has 1 larger fan where the MBP has 2 in the rear towards the center.

 

One thing also, the MBP gets ALOT hotter than my nw8440, and the 8510W is supposed to be cooler.

 

I finally got a chance to play with my 8510W. I will be posting in the HP forums.

Quick Comparison against MBP.

I got the 2.0 cpu, 2gb of ram. I am using a 200gb hitachi 7200 rpm ( I used the both drive in both laptops which is great as it gives me a good comparison).

++ for HP
+Quiter, less heat.
+ No probs in windows (a given)
+ 800 dollars cheaper
+ More options (battery, hdmi ports, 4 usb, SD, etc)
+ better speakers
+vga port on the back (the apple port with the adapter would hit my lcd (i use the lcd on the right), this just happens to look cleaner, just a preference.
+touchpad is superior and you also have the touch stick, speed and precision.
+ ambient light sensor works well on this one (i probably had a faulty mbp)
+3 year warranty

++for MBP
+ the 2.4 ghz proc really screams, I can really notice a difference when loading up programs and games.
+ matte screen is nicer but the HP is still quite good.
+style of course
+have to say keyboard, I am still not used to this hp keyboard. It's predecessor (nw8440) has a MUCH better keyboard, this hp is still good, but not as good, better than an Asus keyboard though. I am typing on it right now. It's not bad, the older HP keyboard is just awesome to type on, and you speed up and go wow what a sweet keyboard.
+ has N wireless, although it sucked in OSX with my network.

Something to note, I put my marware keyboard cover on the keys, and when I opened the laptop after transporting it, it had shifted. Basically the HP has good clearance between the keys and screen.

At the end of the day the HP gets the job done.

 

Nice, polarlinks. Seems like you really like your new HP. The Mac wasn't right for you, and you found what you wanted. Good luck! (That was not meant to be sarcastic )

 

$800 cheaper? The 8510w starts at $2049 according to http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...owerful&psn=notebooks_tablet_pcs/notebook_pcs

Are you sure you're not looking at another model?... Maybe the 8510p?
I'm amazed HP didn't include N wireless... not that I think it's super-critical, but still.

 

Can you work with the 8510w on the lap or does it heat up too much? Polarlink, can you elaborate a little on the difference between the old keyboard and the newer one? Is it less firm when you press the key? thanks

Am still waiting for the damn 8510w to be available here. It's been launched but not available yet. wtf!?

 

They do include N wireless on the more expensive models. I bought it from newegg that had it cheaper, in stock and I got it FAST.

As for the keyboard, there is less travel on the keys, so you have to touch on it exta light to type fast. The old keyboard let your fingers perform a more natural flex and press, felt like you were using your fingers better. With the new one it's just not the same. My left hand even started to hurt a bit, maybe im not as used to it but I remember with my nw8440 I was blown away with the quality and how quickly I could type on it. Everytime I use the nw8440 keyboard I even think im my head, wow , what a sweet keyboard.

The nw8440's keys are harder where the 8510w has a soft feel to them, like a soft touch button. So the older keyboard is louder and clicks more, whatever, it is such a pleasure to type on. Reminds me of the first time I used an irix workstation and the keyboard was so much better than anything else I had used.

I haven't used it yet on my lap but I would think it gets a little hotter than on my stand since you are going to block the main intake of the fan. Check out my post on the HP forum for more details.

8510P? I am not ever going to buy an ATI card aslong as I have a choice for the nVidia.

 

I worked on it while on my lap and it stayed really cool. I started playing a game and only then did it slightly warm up. I am really impressed with how cool this laptop is. I even checked the CPU to make sure it was running at full power since it was suspiciously cool.