MacBook Pro 17" vs HP Envy 15" or perhaps something completely different?

I've been so lucky that I actually managed to "borrow" myself a MacBook Pro 17" specced with glossy screen, Intel Core i7-620M and GT330M graphics solution.


I'm in the market for replacing my faulty Lenovo ThinkPad T400s (Intel P9400 + Intel GMA 4500 HD) with something more aimed towards multimedia usage!

But I didn't own a ThinkPad for no reason, I love machines having premium built quality to them, I've always loved ThinkPads for this, they simply feels awesome and rock solid, there is no flashy "bling, bling" and other yucky parts covered with fingerprints and gods know what within no time! My T400s looks about exactly the same now over eight months after I first got it!


The major downer with the ThinkPad series is their complete lack of decent multimedia display options, I tend to watch lots of movies and series on my notebook and no matter what you have to say in the whole "glossy vs matte" debate, you have to agree that ThinkPads often, if not always comes with horrible display for multimedia usage, they might not be much affected by light at all, they might have somewhat accurate colours, but the contrast ratio is simply non-existent and watching movies / series on my T400s just feels wrong compared to the MacBook Pro 17" glossy display, it's not just because of the glossy panel, it's also a combination of ThinkPads often being delivered with not just matte screens, but also somewhat low-contrast, not intended for multimedia usage at all display solutions! Can't really blame them as ThinkPad is all about business and nothing about multimedia, but it's a sad defeat for people like my loving the ThinkPad build quality and feel, the trackpoint and wants to use if at home for multimedia usage!



That's why I for the first time in decades have decided to go for something other than ThinkPad for once, I was looking that the new W510 series but guess what, it seems to come with a low contrast matte screen!



This is where the MacBook Pro comes to mind, as it's supposedly one of the better notebooks out there when it comes to build quality, might not be a ThinkPad but it should still be far premium to most other notebooks available, right?

And compared to my ThinkPad T400s a MacBook Pro should be the opposite when it comes to multimedia, spotting a huge glorious 17" glossy 1920x1200 display it just blows the screen on my T400s miles away!

I've been having a real blast dealing with the MacBook Pros display, even though I find the darker parts of some movies somewhat washed out it's still quite impressive with what I'm used to on notebooks!


I was also afraid of 17" and 3kg being too massive compared to my 14" slimline T400s at 1.8kg, but it hasn't really been that much of a hassle really. But you can forget getting something bigger or heavier than this MacBook Pro 17"!



But there are some clear downsides to the MacBook Pro, first of all Mac OSX didn't really cut it for me at all, I'm to dependent upon Windows only applications, making me simply boot Windows7 in bootcamp all the time, making the whole OSX argument pointless for me.

And even though I find the build quality to feel solid, I can't ignore that even after just a few days of "soft" use I start to see scratches in the aluminium body? And that's just awful in my opinion!


I also note that the keyboard is at times some struggle in Windows7 because of it's layout, and the touchpad just seems to have bad Windows drivers? At times it's over sensitive, at other times it might be hard to actually left / right click, and sometimes it left clicks even though I didn't intend to at all?


Another thing that impressed me quite a bit with this MacBook Pro 17" is it's speakers, they are very loud and clear, at least compared to what my ThinkPad T400s delivers!




So I'm in the boat where I have to decide if I want this baby permanent or not, or if I want to go for something else like the HP Envy 15"?

I can't ignore the fact that I feel the MacBook Pro 17" cost a bit more than what I feel I'm getting, the aluminium body gets scratch a tiny bit too easy, and the overall Windows7 feeling is awesome at times, but the touchpad is dragging it down, along with bad webcam drivers making it look far worse when it comes to image quality than the webcam in my T400s.



Might there be better options out there, especially since I will be running Windows7 24 / 7 anyway?

It's damn hard when you feel a notebook is superior at some points, but lacks it at other points, especially at this price range!



I often compare it to the HP Envy 15", as it seems to be MacBooks Windows sibling, but will it have the same quality feel? Less scratches? Might it have a worse screen? (as I love the screen on MacBook Pro). Weaker and less clear speakers?



I feel like I really want to keep the MacBook Pro, but at the same time I want something better for this amount of money, if that makes any scense at all?

 

Let me get this straight ... You want build quality and are considering an ENVY? Lol?

I was in the same boat, I thought because of its metal chassis, the ENVY reeked of build quality ... This however is not the case. Sure it can withstand some nicks and what not, but just take a trip over to the HP boards and see first hand the class of problems people are having with that computer.

ENVY is a consumer line notebook with premium artwork, if you want build quality get an Elitebook if it has to be a PC ... I don't get how two very different products (quality wise) can come from the same manufacturer.

Apple is the only manufacturer I would ever buy a consumer line notebook from. From my experience with Dell, HP etc ... I only buy business line notebooks now. There's a world of difference.

The MBP is a great machine, but it really is expensive ... That being said, so is the Elitebook/Probook if you customize it from HP. If you've made up your mind to return the MBP, you should seriously consider checking out the Elitebook or the Dell Precision M4500.

 

^ really, if all he's looking for is the ability to watch movies better, any PC with a discrete graphics chip will do. no real need to point him towards workstation computers.

I believe the Studio XPS 16 has a superior display to the MBP and a good enough GPU to take care of movies in its sleep.

the question for the TC at this point is how much battery life does he really need. If he needs less than 5 hours, there are a bunch of computers that he should be looking at. But we need that info first.

that's because the glossy screen has too much contrast. it crushes blacks, consequently causing the "washed out darker parts of some movies".

get the version with the matte finish. much better display. the lack of gloss on the reflection is just icing on the cake.

 

This is coming from a Mac user and recent owner of the refreshed 15" Macbook Pro:

Don't get a Mac if you don't want to run OS X. Its a waste. Sure, you CAN boot into Windows, but as a primary OS, as you have found, there are trade offs.

Incidentally, I totally agree about the Thinkpads. I own one and find it to be a the perfect "beater" computer. I would never trust its display for work related things (at least in graphic design), but find the rest of the machine to be bulletproof.

Look into the Asus line of notebooks. There are some great options in the consumer realm for these machines.

 

In my experience that immediately excludes consumer line notebooks ... In my opinion anyway.

You won't find a consumer line notebook that has a better quality screen than a workstation ... And that's just inherently due to their target audience.

 

I agree to some extent...but...well......yea.

I guess it depends on how much he "loves" it. there are some solidly-built computers in the PC realm that aren't workstation computers. suggesting otherwise is simply inaccurate.

While getting a workstation machine is a sure-fire bet for quality, it's not the ONLY bet.

I'd just as fast recommend a Vaio F or Dell XPS series. And he didn't say he needed a world-class 10-bit, billion-color display...only a good one. if he thought the glossy MBP screen was "really good", there are plenty of screens around that quality level that aren't sitting in workstation computers.

you'll find them in consumer-grade Dell's and Sony's for sure. Other brands as well, I'm sure.

this conversation really can't go forward until he let's us know how much battery life he's looking to get out of his laptop, and how important that is to him. if he needs 5 hours of battery life and less than 7lbs, the MBP will be his only option. if he doesn't need that kind of time, the filed is rather broad for his needs. and if he plan was to run Win7, he'll probably want to cross the MBP off his list after we're done with him.

 

hopefully that means something different than the way its written. Typically writing borrow as "borrow" means stole.

If you stole one, why not just steal all the ones you want... then you can have them all.

if you didn't mean steal, then what did you mean?

 

By borrow, I meant our supplier at work let me loan one for a week so I could try out Mac OSX and feel the quality for myself before I decided if I would make the move and buy one for my own.


When it comes to battery life I'm okay with everything 3hours+ when surfing, but something weighting in above 3.0kgs is not an option.

 

I'll comprise a list later, but you have a lot of good options available to you, including the MBP.