Thinking of switching from Windows to Macbook Pro

I've been contemplating a Mac, too. I recently bought an HP HDX18t, and I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or get a Macbook Pro 17). The thing that's holding me back is that for essentially the same price as a Macbook Pro with 4 gb of RAm, I have 8gb RAM, a 160gb Intel SSD plus a 500gb hard drive, 18.4" high def monitor that is in the 16x9 format (I can have two IE windows open with no overlap), a Blu Ray burner, QX9300 Quad processors. I also love the full numeric keypad on the keyboard.

My first 3 computers were Macs (SE, IIsi, and Quadra 840AV), and I switched to PC when Windows 95 came out because I was tired of incompatibilities between my Mac and work and college computers. I was also tired of cool apps for the PC not being available for the Mac. Honestly, Windows has never given me any significant problems. Sure, I've had crashes and performance slowdowns, but I had those on my Macs, too. I've never had a virus on Windows. I've really never regretted switching to Windows.

On the other hand, I still have a soft spot for the Mac, and I'm kind of itching for something different. I love the design of the new Macbook Pro, and since they run Windows, I'm tempted to switch back to the Mac. If the Macbook Pro had a 16x9 instead of 16x10 screen, a Blu Ray burner, and a built in numeric keypad, I'd probably buy one today. Oops, I just configured a 17 Macbook Pro similar to my HP, and the Macbook Pro would be $4,449 compared to my HP which was about $2,600 (HP had a 30% off coupon). Yikes.

I do understand why people love the Mac, and I may come back into the fold. I wish that Costco would sell these so that I could have a decent period to evaluate the Mac: two weeks isn't a lot of time to get a good feel for whether this machine is right for me. I'd probably just be getting over the learning curve of switching from Windows.

I think that I just need some prompting. I've read through some of the threads including the Mac switcher's guide. I think that I'd be willing to go with less RAM and the smaller HD to get the price down to the $3K mark on the Macbook Pro. Maybe I should just wait until the Mac gets a blu ray burner and a 16x9 screen.

Sorry for the rambling post. I'm not sure if there's any more to be said than what I've read here already.

 

I don't know. If you can appreciate ultra-powered hardware in a notebook, you might be better served by Sager / Clevo or something.

The mac is a slick machine, but I would avoid paying 4.5k for it. Maybe get a more portable 13" for 1.2k and also a dominating desktop?

 

I didn't know MacBook Pro had quadcore Processor option.

 

It doesn't. I forgot about that, but it's not a deal breaker.

 

If you want 17" macbook pro,just get refurbished one- base one costs 1950 and most expensive one 2.9k,with 256GB ssd and 4gb ddr3 ram

 

What a good deal, only 3 thousand dollars for a refurbished 17" laptop with a fairly good but not top of the line CPU and a medicore GPU.

 

Well,

1)it is basically new
2)actually,2nd top of the line CPU
3)normal GPU
4)256GB SSD
5)8 hours of battery
6)excellent display
7)lightest 17" on the market
8)apple,where you pay for brand and design

and,just 2850-considerably cheaper then 3000

 

Upgrade the RAM and HDD yourself. Apple over charges a lot for those upgrades.

Once again, the selling point of macs is not in pure hardware power. A Macbook has excellent build, incredibly long battery, highly impressive aesthetic design, very helpful support, and the ability to run OS X. If all you want is a machine that is able to crunch numbers faster than your friends huge new Dell, Macs aren't for you.

 

Well, no, I'm not looking to crunch numbers faster than my friends' computers: if I were, I doubt that I'd have asked about anything here. Power, speed, storage space, etc effects the entire user experience, not just "number crunching".

Forget I asked. I'll look elsewhere.

 

what begins with 't' and rhymes with roll?

don't get yourself in a bunch, just make a decision!

you asked us to glorify the mac for you a little bit, and instead you got the truth. the mac is not the best platform to optimize your computer power, speed, and storage space... and is especially not the platform to optimize these things per the dollar. instead, your mac dollars go into: aesthetics, design, build quality, and OS X.

judging from your original post, you a specs-man. so get a clevo and max it out. there is nothing wrong with that, especially for the amount of money you want to spend, i just don't think a mac makes sense - because most of that money is going down the drain for a few % of increased performance. you could spend 2.7k on a mac and end up with a very similar machine to the 4.5k mac.\

that is just the general recommendation. but, of course, if you really want a mac and really want to spend 4.5k on it, don't let us stop you. it will still be really powerful machine and it will be sleek and run OS X.

 

Well as a recent switchers from Windows, and I like me beastly machines!! But I think I've made a choice that best suites me, I don't play games as much as I used to on Windows and even if I get time its on the PS3 or Xbox, so I would with that aside, the new 17" is a gorgeous build, stunning display, as mentioned has a great battery life.

If you can do without the quads and the graphics its a perfect switch IMO, and before my MBP 17" I had an Alienware M17, fully kitted out, 4000€, it was defective on some parts and I got a refund, don't miss it at all.

So basically I'm saying I think the switch is worth waying up what you would lose, even though you have mentioned those loses aren't a big deal.

 

A chef after my own heart

$1.2K desktop
$1.2K MB
$1.3K HDTV
= $3.7k

 

yeah that is exactly the way to do it, now that you mention it.

Invest about $1000 each (a bit more) in laptop, desktop, and HDTV.

You will come out way under budget (4.5k!!!) and way over in value, usability, performance...

 

Well, I switched from Windows to MAC after a long list of problems with Windows Vista and my Alienware systems. First, I purchased a $3,500 (top of the line at the time) desktop from Alienware with Windows Vista on it and had nothing but consistent driver crashes, freezings, etc. Finally after a clean install and using most of my own drivers I was able to dig up, I fixed the horrible desktop problems I was having and finally had a system that worked. I lost all the contents on my HDD around 2 times due Vista compatibility and consistent crashing on my system.

About a month ago I purchased a brand new Alienware m15x (15 inch gaming laptop) for around $3,000 and had nothing but driver crashes and errors the second I took it out of the box. I returned the product the next day and filed a consumer dispute with the merchant Alienware (Dell) and had the full amount credited back onto my credit card and that's why I went with the MBP instead of searching for another Windows machine. I paid WAY less for the MBP than I did for the Alienware (nearly $800 less).

Some of the reasons I chose MAC over a Windows system are as followed:
1. Aesthetically this is one of the most beautiful designed laptops I've seen in a long time. It's super thin and was made from recycled aluminum for crying out loud.
2. Battery life is around ~5-7 hours which is perfect for tasking at work, home, or on campus.
3. A hybrid graphics system which allows you to switch between graphics cards depending on what your doing to consume power.
4. Apple has some of the best warranty and support I've ever seen! I always get someone that is very well trained and polite. I have never had a problem with their service at all. Overall I would rate them at an A+++ every single time I have to deal with them on the phone or in person.
5. Reliability is one of my most important things here because I'm a medical student and need reliability regardless of the cost. I'm sorry but if it costs extra to run up to par then I guess that's what I pay for. I'm just sick of all of the problems Vista caused for me in the past and as soon as I can afford a new MAC Pro I'll probably invest in one of those or if they expand the video card range in the iMac 24" I'll just splurge and get that.

As for the other people here I have to say that they are (for the most part) telling the truth about the hardware inside of a MAC. Sadly, MAC lacks the updated hardware that you will find in some newer PC's at a much cheaper price. Why? I'm not quite sure, but in all honesty it's not really killing their business so what can we conclude from this? People are still buying the product and we can assume that they are (for the most part) happy with the product they purchased. I'm not even quite sure why I own Alienware because I only play WoW lol. On my new MBP I can run WoW on high settings (without shadowing) at ~75-115 FPS and that's right where my 2 year old desktop runs. Good luck with your decision, I would probably upgrade the ram and HDD myself to save some extra cash and go with the MAC.

 

I am dying to try a mac after 25 years of nothing but PC`s , I have not even seen a mac in the flesh and don't even know anybody who owns one.

I will have to totally start for the beginning with a Mac , as i know virtually nothing about them.

 

It's been a great experience so far for me I love my MBP!

 

Ha ha, you don't get out much do you? Aside from Starbucks which seems to be the Windows lovers hangout, I can't count how many coffee houses I frequent that are dominated by Mac notebooks. I might see a PC every now and then.

 

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. Loving every minute with my Mac now and learning more and more as I go.

 

That was my thoughts as well. Just go to any campus, and you should see hundreds of MacBooks. Most universities now have iMacs in their libraries and computer labs.

 

I'm not a troll, just conflicted. I went to the Apple store today, and I really like the Macbook Pro 17. It's a shame that it doesn't have a blu ray burner with that beautiful screen, but I'm sure that Apple will add one before too long. I'm impressed enough with the Mac that I want one, but I don't want to have to add blu ray later, so I'll see if I can wait for it.

Now if I can just decide between glossy and matte (I've read the opinions between these two options online). Since I have a 24" Dell LCD matte monitor, I'll probably go with glossy on the Mac: the black glossy bezel looks cooler anyway, but those reflections are kind of bothersome. The colors do look punchier on the glossy, but the matte without reflections seems to allow more detail (in photographs) to show through.

Here's a quick question that the Apple rep didn't know for sure: is the matte screen the same LED backlit, wider color gamut (than the early 2009 models) as the glossy screen (without, of course, the glossy glass)? Even the tech specs on Apple's website appear to only refer to the glossy screen as LED backlit.

Thanks for the input. And I'm really not a troll. I'm genuinely thinking about switching. I love how thin and light the Macbook Pro is.

 

Can't help you too much on the screen, hopefully someone more knowledgeable here can, however I can say that the display is better than the Dell S2409W I have.

Just wondering why you are thinking of switching?
For me it was music production and no need for a powerful gaming system, so the MBP fit in perfectly.