Going to need a new laptop soon - need advice

oxrageous

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I usually get 3 to 4 years out of a laptop before it either breaks or becomes so slow I have to upgrade it (my previous laptop died an early death by being thrown to my tile floor in a fit of rage). For years I've wondered if spending quadruple the price for a Mac would be worth it. Anybody have any thoughts on that?

All I've used for the past 15 years or so are 17" laptops. I like the bigger screen.

Discuss.
 

Gatordiddy

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I usually get 3 to 4 years out of a laptop before it either breaks or becomes so slow I have to upgrade it (my previous laptop died an early death by being thrown to my tile floor in a fit of rage). For years I've wondered if spending quadruple the price for a Mac would be worth it. Anybody have any thoughts on that?

All I've used for the past 15 years or so are 17" laptops. I like the bigger screen.

Discuss.

For years I was on a standard PC laptop with Windows 7 Pro. Early last year I was given a Mac to use for a couple of months.
I never could get used to the mouse and function keys ...just an uncomfortable transition overall, so I went back to a regular laptop and it was a relief.
To be fair - I had no one to help me so I was kind of winging it.
I think it comes down to what you plan on using it for. A friend of mine does music production in Nashville and he lives and dies by his Mac due to the application(s) he has to run.
If you're just running standard MS Office Apps and doing most of your work in a browser, I don't see why you would spend the money going with a Mac.
Some folks have iPhones and a Mac and those two play well together... but that's essentially joining a cult in some people's minds.
Personal preference for me having used both is a Windows based laptop is just easier and much less expensive.
I also have an iPhone and it works just fine when connected to the laptop for iTunes type stuff.
 

TheDouglas78

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Get more power and reliability for less cash going PC. If you are going into the arts, then MAC might be a more logical option.
 

GatorTAG

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I'm kind of the opposite in that I prefer portability as opposed to a large laptop. If I could get a phone with about an 8" screen running Windows 10 that's all I'd own.

I had the first gen. MS Surface and hated it. Mostly because it ran Windows 8 RT which was basically a phone operating system. I sold it and got an inexpensive 13" Dell laptop with touchscreen. After having a tablet and going back to a laptop I was frustrated with the attached keyboard and the huge power cable with the brick. The Surface keyboard could be removed and the power cable was USB. Laying in bed surfing the Web at night with the laptop was a pain and I don't use it for that anymore. I stay on the phone instead and use the laptop strictly for work. If I had it to do over I would get either a 2 n 1, convertible, or a newer Surface. The new Surface runs Windows 10 and you can load software on it. I use CADD and the old surface wouldn't run it. The new ones are much more powerful but they are pricey. The new Surface Book would be ideal but the price is ridiculous.

As far as laptops and chips etc... get something that is running the Intel i7 6700HQ or 6700K chip. They are quad core and will last you a while. These are usually reserved for gaming laptops but you can get these with excellent graphics cards for $800 and it will do anything you want. Be aware there are i7 chips that are dual core so not all i7's chips are created equal.

My wife has used Mac laptops for years. I don't think you can get a MacBook with a touchscreen and I'm not even sure the track pad is touch/tap. Apple has some dumb antiquated things like that that make you scratch your head. But editing videos and pictures is a breeze. And they are pretty reliable.
 

grengadgy

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For years I was on a standard PC laptop with Windows 7 Pro. Early last year I was given a Mac to use for a couple of months.
I never could get used to the mouse and function keys ...just an uncomfortable transition overall, so I went back to a regular laptop and it was a relief.
To be fair - I had no one to help me so I was kind of winging it.
I think it comes down to what you plan on using it for. A friend of mine does music production in Nashville and he lives and dies by his Mac due to the application(s) he has to run.
If you're just running standard MS Office Apps and doing most of your work in a browser, I don't see why you would spend the money going with a Mac.
Some folks have iPhones and a Mac and those two play well together... but that's essentially joining a cult in some people's minds.
Personal preference for me having used both is a Windows based laptop is just easier and much less expensive.
I also have an iPhone and it works just fine when connected to the laptop for iTunes type stuff.
Good post Diddy.

My daughter, is into real estate and has a Mac and PC. She like the Mac but has to use the PC for MS Office. Yes she has tried the Mac MS Office but it won't do the things that she needs to do for her legal real estate documents. I don't know which she uses for web designing.
 

g8tr72

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I've been a Mac user for the past 7 years, previously only a PC user. I have had a Early 2011 15" MacBook Pro for several years and I've never had a single issue and I use it extensively. I love the security of the Mac OSX and I never have any issues at all with Malware or Viruses.

That said, I think that the newer Apple products simply aren't of the quality that the older Apple products were (which is true across all platforms IMO) but the price hasn't decreased. The tech support for the Apple products has been tremendous in my experience. When they do need out of warranty repair though, it aint cheap.

If money is not an option, I'd recommend the Mac laptop. If cost of acquisition is one of your main factors in deciding, then I'd buy the cheapest PC laptop that'd perform what you do and throw it away when it has a problem.

Hope this helps
 

grengadgy

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I've been a Mac user for the past 7 years, previously only a PC user. I have had a Early 2011 15" MacBook Pro for several years and I've never had a single issue and I use it extensively. I love the security of the Mac OSX and I never have any issues at all with Malware or Viruses.

That said, I think that the newer Apple products simply aren't of the quality that the older Apple products were (which is true across all platforms IMO) but the price hasn't decreased. The tech support for the Apple products has been tremendous in my experience. When they do need out of warranty repair though, it aint cheap.

If money is not an option, I'd recommend the Mac laptop. If cost of acquisition is one of your main factors in deciding, then I'd buy the cheapest PC laptop that'd perform what you do and throw it away when it has a problem.

Hope this helps
What application do you use your Mac for?
 

GatorJ

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I bought a Lenovo Y50-70 touch with a Core i7 processor about 6 months ago. Fantastic PC. I hate Windows 10 update process though
 

Swamp Queen

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I've had my MacBook since Jan 2009. It's definitely much slower but still serves its purpose, which is internet browsing and occasionally using photoshop. Definitely got my money's worth!
 

g8tr72

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I've had my MacBook since Jan 2009. It's definitely much slower but still serves its purpose, which is internet browsing and occasionally using photoshop. Definitely got my money's worth!

Is it the white Macbook or the aluminum Macbook?

Also, if it doesn't have the Solid State Drive, don't upgrade to Yosemite or higher. The 10.10 OS and higher is optimized for a SSD and will make a laptop with a standard HD run very slow.
 

Swamp Queen

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Is it the white Macbook or the aluminum Macbook?

Also, if it doesn't have the Solid State Drive, don't upgrade to Yosemite or higher. The 10.10 OS and higher is optimized for a SSD and will make a laptop with a standard HD run very slow.
It's the aluminum one.
 

Swamp Queen

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A friend of mine had that same model. Pretty durable laptop.
Oh it's crazy durable! Had it in a neoprene sleeve and dropped it in a parking lot 3 times in a row while unloading my car, dented the corner but that's it! That was about 3 years ago.
 

ufgator812

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dfb852c2f1c9abcd06b179b37546c1e7.jpg
 

grengadgy

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Oh it's crazy durable! Had it in a neoprene sleeve and dropped it in a parking lot 3 times in a row while unloading my car, dented the corner but that's it! That was about 3 years ago.
Groundhog Day? :)
 

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