Mac or Pc for University?

NVIDIA GeForce 310M, so is less powerful than the GPU in my MBP (only by a bit, but when you are talking about low end GPU's like that, the little bits matter).
Battery life is 6.5 hours as you say. Less than the 8 hour or so I get in my MBP.
Around a cm thicker.
1 year warranty compared to the free 3 year one I have with my MBP.
Try again.

Mac Pros are overpriced though (as are upgrades to macs from apple - which is why you just buy the bits yourself). I'm not arguing that.

If you're going to be pedantic, the processor on the one I linked is better (2.66GHz vs 2.3GHz).

I also want to know, from the PC people, how many of you have actually used a Mac. I dont' mean just in a store, but actually used one as your main PC for a week or so? If you haven't, you can't really tell us why a PC is better now can you?

I spent a good year using a MBP at work to develop iPhone apps. I found the experience to be no different to using a standard windows laptop. As a result, the fact that people are willing to spend so much more money on a Mac just doesn't make sense to me. Getting a MB/MBP instead of a Windows laptop isn't half as bad as getting a Mac Pro or iMac instead of a desktop Windows PC though. The price difference between the latter is truly shocking.

It is still pretty shocking to see the pricing differences between MBPs and Windows laptops also though; especially the higher specced ones.

I personally have a desktop and a £150 netbook (with 9 hour battery). Desktop is used for proper work, netbook is used at uni or for facebook and stuff when chilling in the living room. When I go home I chuck my little netbook in my bag and go, desktop stays at uni.

Macbook Pro's are very reliable machines as they rarely recieve a virus, battery life is excellent, don't stutter/freeze.

if you're worried about the cost, Apple offer discount to students.. as well as a ''finance'' plan where you can pay in installments (not sure exactly how, have a look online or ask instore).

i used to play the sims 3, stopped now because it is addictive but i would play it on a 2-3 year old outdated budget laptop and it worked perfectly.. games/software are widely available for Windows OS but not as much for Mac OS.

However! you can run both windows and mac os on a macbook pro without any problems through software called 'Bootcamp' .. its provided by Apple with their macbook pros.
so if you are worried about whether the OS is something you'd become familiar with, you can just use windows on a macbook pro.

it really comes down to whether you can afford to spend as much monies on a laptop, when you would be living on a budget for university

I'd second the Toshiba, that looks like a good deal. If it breaks after two years (which I'm not saying it will) who cares, you can just buy another and still be in profit.

Honestly if you don't care about the OS don't bother switching. The main reason to get a Mac is because of iOS...

Regarding desktop vs laptop, I'd always suggest laptop if you're not a heavy user. Most people need some sort of device for when they go home so the only solution is a desktop + netbook, which while cheaper than buying an expensive gaming laptop isn't really worth it for someone who'd be fine with a £300-400 machine.

~15% Uni Discount on any new Mac, look here: http://store.apple.com/uk_edu_5000841 for pricing

Personally i'd recommend a mac.

I've got a HP Pavillion laptop, which is about 3 years old and it's still better than the majority of laptops on the market (4gb Ram, 320gb hard drive, blu-ray, AMD graphics card etc) it's a great laptop and at time I paid around £700 (I worked at currys and got discount) but then paying an extra £30-40 a year on virus protection, plus the battery died after a year which HP didn't want to hear about, a HP replacement was £60, and now the charger is giving away which is going to cost around £80 to replace from HP.

My Mac in comparison has 4GB Ram, 250GB storage, no blu-ray, graphics card are comparatively similar, no virus protection and I paid just over £1000 for it. Yes rather more expensive, but it's so much more easy to use, its turned on and ready to use within 30 seconds, it doesn't over heat, the battery just lasts all day whenever i'm at uni. The battery even though I use it all day every day is still as good as new, and even then getting a replacement under Applecare (Which I paid £43 for 3 years for) would be free. Plus the trackpad is engineering genius, small things just make having a laptop that much better.
I can't even remember the last time I used my HP.

If we went on specs and price alone - the HP on paper beats it, as do most Window's laptops, on paper.
But a laptop is more than the specs, ultimately it's about the user-experience.

I disagree with the article. It's very subjective, and laptop use differs greatly between individuals. Personally in qualitative lectures I would use a laptop, for instance, because I'm a rapid typer. I also travel home during breaks, and it's really convenient to be able to do work on the train and in the airport. With the intention of just doing work, watching movies and playing low spec games such as the Sims 3, really it isn't much cheaper to get a desktop. Indeed, some may find that their laptop is confined to their desk most of the time as I do. But there are also times when it is convenient to have a laptop in university, for instance when you're studying in the quiet section where there are no computers, where it's more convenient to have a laptop with internet access to have multiple files of lecture notes opened at once.

You will find that a desktop has many limits. For what the OP is looking for, really a laptop will do absolutely anything that a desktop can do, and more. It's only a little bit more expensive, but it's really worth it if you're going to invest in something to last for 3 years.

OP: IMO, don't get a mac if budget is an issue. Ordinary laptops will suffice. As long as you're responsible and look after it, it shouldn't have any major issues throughout the duration of your course.

Lenovo ThinkPad E520. i5 2410M.HD6690.320gb 7200rpm hdd. 4GB RAM. £<£570 if you use quidco.

Almost doubles any performance/price ratio of any macbook pro and if you dual boot with linux, you can get many alternatives to Mac OSX programs for free.

???

Profit.

Man this PC vs Mac thing is been going on for ages... To keep it simple:
° Apple made Mac easy and simple to use because they know that people are idiots and don't know how computers actually work, that's why many people find it so "amazing".
° Windows, on the other hand, virus, crashes, blah blah blah, if they happen, it's because you're using it badly, prob downloaded some bad stuff that messed with your OS. People panic here and cry, prob threw their PCs away and buy a Mac. So don't blame PC if you don't know how to use computers.
So for all of you who is asking this question, don't bother doing research, just get a Mac because you probably have no knowledge in computers to actually understand the difference.
PCs are not even that hard to use, all you need to know is how to format your computer, store your data on an external or a separated partition so if something goes wrong and you can't fix it with system restore or even google can't help you, you can format it and get it back, good as new.

I will be purchasing a Macbook Pro 13" in the summer for university by the way.

I've just bought a MacBook Pro 13" 2011 model, and I love it. They say that the battery lasts for 7 hours, however I find that it lasts longer than that for me if I'm just browsing the internet with the screen brightness on fairly dim.

It's the fastest laptop I've ever used, and there are lots of neat things about it.

I've heard people say that they've had their Macbooks for years and years. My auntie has had hers since 2003 and says it's still as fast as the day she bought it, although she chose to buy a new battery last year as it got to the point where it would only last an hour between charges and that wasn't enough for her due to her job.

If you can afford it, I'd recommend it as an investment, unless you're one of those people who gets really bored with their laptops within a year or so.

Honestly, I dont see how this is even a contest.

Get a cheap desktop, and a cheap netbook. I'm about to build myself a desktop because I don't need my laptop anymore and I can get more for my money if I build a Desktop. My laptop sits on my desk in my room 99% of the time - I take my netbook into uni if I need it. Plus netbooks do everything workwise you would ever need. The only reason you would want another computer is to watch films/play games and have a bigger screen, and you definitely don't need a mac for that; especially for what they cost.

The trouble with asking him to find the same 13" laptop though is that not many manufacturers bother to make them, because lets be honest 15" will do the same job as a 13" with extra screen. 15" Laptops are a better deal, frankly.

Okay, lets do a comparison. As a benchmark lets use a standard i5 13" Macbook Pro and compare it to equivalent 15" laptops... so the standard price for a 13" i5 macbook pro is £999, minus student discount of 15% would be £850. That is with 4gb of RAM and Intel graphics.

Here is a 15" laptop for you:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/259336

£515, Core i5, with 6GB of ram. Integrated graphics today will run pretty much everything except heavy games.

That laptop is 1. Better 2. Cheaper. I'm assuming here you wont keel over if asked to carry one.

Why not go overboard? Lets compare 15" i7 Mac, at £1549for the BASIC 2ghz model with 4GB of RAM and Intel graphics. Including discount, thats around £1350.
.

I'd definitely go for the MBP. You're going to need a computer that can do everything you want it to do. With no hassle. No waiting, no confusion, no frustration. I get that with my Mac. I did not get that with a Windows computer. People constantly talk about the price, which is admittedly a big factor when choosing a computer.

People, however, only attribute the price to the specs of the machines and by doing this go straight to Windows. Then say things liek "you don't get viruses if you manage the PC right". No ****. But that isn't what it's about. It's about not having to worry about managing the PC. Not having to get antivirus software because you won't get a virus on the Mac.

Having amazing build quality which is better than 99 percent of the PCs on the market right now, whether custom built OR bought in the store. The OS itself is amazing, very efficient and very simple to use. I've been using windows PCs for years now and I just switched to a Mac about 3 months ago. I love it. As a college student I am so much more productive; opening documents and applications faster than anyone around me during lectures; if I need something, anything, I can have it open from within anywhere on the computer at any time.

The battery life is amazing. I'm using an upgraded MB from 08 so I went and purchased an extra battery to use if I'm ever out and don't have my charger with me (which is hardly ever).

This is a very scattered response because I'm about to step out, however if you think about it, why is it that Mac people always rave about how great Macs are while the PC people reply with arguments either knocking Macs or explaining how PCs are better or equal in some aspects? Why don't the PC people ever state how amazing or exciting it is to own a PC?

You go into a Mac topic and you get 99% positive reviews and experiences, people always talking about how great customer service is or some other positive aspect.I also want to know, from the PC people, how many of you have actually used a Mac. I dont' mean just in a store, but actually used one as your main PC for a week or so? If you haven't, you can't really tell us why a PC is better now can you?

Ah nice, I would probably get that one if I did go for a macbook, although the screen size is one thing I'd worry about- do you find it a bit small for everyday computing? Can you still watch films on it? Yep, my Dad keeps telling me to think of it as an investment for the whole time I'm at Uni, but I'm struggling to part with all of my savings!

To be honest, the screen seems big! Watching films is fine for me, but then again I've never been the type to get kicks from huge screens anyway so I guess I'm the wrong person to ask.. Certainly for everyday stuff it's fine. You should go to an Apple store and ask if you can have a go on it and just try it out properly. I moved from a 17inch Toshiba to a 13 inch Mac and just adapted straight away. It's not the biggest, but it uses the space well.

I bet my Toshiba lost 2 inches off the screen because of the casing, but the MBP doesn't lose that much at all..

It's all down to personal preference though, what's amazing for me might not be for everyone else.

Your Dad seems like a wise man