Should i get a MacBook Pro for uni?

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It will last you through uni nicely for certain. I'm still rocking a 6 year old polycarbonate macbook which is still more reliable than most of my mates' half-a-year-old windows efforts. :P

Reply 101

Intriguing Alias

Original post by JAlexander91

Get the dell xps 15z. Similar build quality. Ebay has new ones for 1000. Better specs.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my GT-I9100

Loooool @ similar build quality. Judging by reviews it has the worst build quality of any laptop in existence. Plus, £1000? That's a fair bit more than an entry-level macbook pro (if you include student discount) and as far as I'm aware that's more than Dell sell it directly. I'm not by any means saying get a macbook but I'd buy a macbook before a 15z any day of the week.

Reply 102

Joseppea

Original post by Tim Kelly

It will last you through uni nicely for certain. I'm still rocking a 6 year old polycarbonate macbook which is still more reliable than most of my mates' half-a-year-old windows efforts. :P

This was one of the main reasons for buying mine! So many windows PC I've experienced have an abysmal build quality (well, except my old Fujitsu Siemens one my mum now uses, which is about 6000 years old). :rofl:

Reply 103

alexs2602

Original post by Joseppea

Pssh, just felt the need to make my point :L
Nah it doesn't have a(n) SSD, they're pretty awesome but I'm satisfied with my archaic little spinning disk. :P when I do end up getting a new laptop in many years time (after saving up again!) then SSDs will be even more advanced and I'll definitely get a laptop containing one, whether that's an apple one or not...

It annoys me how much people care about it though, ultimately - windows, mac, Linux - they're laptops, they all do the same thing, providing you're not wasting insane amounts of money on something -just- for the brand then I have no qualms about what people buy. People who don't research and buy MacBooks for silly money annoy me, equally as much as those who claim PCs are the best and only option. :P

An SSD is definitely on my list. Prices are falling quite a bit now and I may end up getting one for my OS within the next couple of years. There may be one potential reason to get a mbp over a laptop but there's still the issue of the price. And it's still only one reason.

That's a fair point. Largely if you don't care about bending the rules a bit the OS becomes a bit irrelevant in choosing a computer. I guess it depends what you mean by PCs. I wouldn't buy a prebuilt PC so in that sense you're right. In regards to building your own then a laptop/macbook/netbook has the benefit of portability, and for me that's it. But I'm not fussed about being able to carry a computer around with me.

Edited.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 104

Intriguing Alias

Original post by alexs2602

A(n) SSD is definitely on my list. Prices are falling quite a bit now and I may end up getting one for my OS within the next couple of years. There may be one potential reason to get a mbp over a laptop but for there's still the issue of the price. And it's still only one reason.

That's a fair point. Largely if you don't care about bending the rules a bit the OS becomes a bit irrelevant in choosing a computer. I guess it depends what you mean by PCs. I wouldn't buy a prebuilt PC so in that sense you're right. In regards to building your own then a laptop/macbook/netbook has the benefit of portability, and for me that's it. But I'm not fussed about being able to carry a computer around with me.

I have absolutely nothing to add to this conversation, but please just write an, not a(n) :tongue:

Reply 105

alexs2602

Original post by hassi94

I have absolutely nothing to add to this conversation, but please just write an, not a(n) :tongue:

Lol, but technically you shouldn't add an 'an' but it feels like one of those words you should.

Reply 106

JAlexander91

Original post by hassi94

You go by your reviews, i'll go by my experience with both having owned both. 1000 is for an 8gb DDR3 256gb SSD 1080p with a far superior graphics card. A comparable MacBook retails for around 1700+.

Reply 107

ohirome

Oh gawd, the typical anti-apple brigade are here in full force once again it seems. I will never understand why hardcore Windows fanatics feel so threatened by someone wanting to use a mac. You enjoy your mind bending specs and ability to run Warcraft at its highest settings and we'll enjoy being mindless sheep who clearly know absolutely nothing about anything ever.

Reply 108

Intriguing Alias

Original post by alexs2602

Lol, but technically you shouldn't add an 'an' but it feels like one of those words you should.

Technically, you should. If it starts with a vowel sound (which is does - ess) then put an 'an'.

Reply 109

Joseppea

Original post by hassi94

I have absolutely nothing to add to this conversation, but please just write an, not a(n) :tongue:

Well it reads as 'an SSD' but grammatically it should be 'a SSD' so it gives the reader the option to choose between pedantic grammar or pleasurable pronunciation. :rofl:

Reply 110

Intriguing Alias

Original post by JAlexander91

You go by your reviews, i'll go by my experience with both having owned both. 1000 is for an 8gb DDR3 256gb SSD 1080p with a far superior graphics card. A comparable MacBook retails for around 1700+.

I've just read so many complaints from people saying the laptop almost literally crumbled after anywhere from a week to 6 months of usage. Far too many to put trust in the laptop.

Reply 111

axhdn

You guys are all failing to consider the fundamental purpose of a mac, the software. The reason Apple is now the second wealthiest company in the world is because they make beautiful hardware, that works right out of the box, and flawless software.
I have a macbook pro, 13inch, the basic model. I also built my own windows pc last year. The specs of the windows PC include a core i7 930 (8 logical cores) and a radeon 6950. In total they came to around the same price.
Other than gaming, which I do rarely now, whenever I fire up my windows desktop, despite the far superior specs, its like taking a step back in time. The whole OS is so clunky and horrible to use, and when browsing websites, i rely way too much on the scroll wheel of the mouse, which is a really unnatural movement. In comparison, on a macbook, you navigate webpages and apps with two finger swipes in different directions. It just works so well. Its the software that makes a mac worthwhile. Realistically no consumer is going to notice whether their computer has an i5 or an i7, or 4gb or 8gb of ram, it makes no difference to most people. The experience on macs is simply so much more advanced. Apple are very protective over their software, the software especially for the trackpad is locked down and totally closed sourced, but it works so well that I dont have any complaints. The other point you have to realise is that, there is a reason why microsoft has stagnated as a company over the last 10 years and apple has grown to be the second most valuable company in the world. What other explanation can there be other than that they make really great stuff?

Reply 112

ohirome

Original post by hassi94

I've just read so many complaints from people saying the laptop almost literally crumbled after anywhere from a week to 6 months of usage. Far too many to put trust in the laptop.

And if you ask the average longterm MBP user, you'll find that they tend to find their purchase works the same as it did on the day of purchase.

Reply 113

JAlexander91

Original post by ohirome

And if you ask the average longterm MBP user, you'll find that they tend to find their purchase works the same as it did on the day of purchase.

Maybe i've just abused mine or the fact its been on every day attended and unattended for 18 months but its slowed to a halt and is laggy. No doubt about the superior build quality hence the reason for the recent upgrade.

Reply 114

Joseppea

Original post by hassi94

Technically, you should. If it starts with a vowel sound (which is does - ess) then put an 'an'.

There's still the people who might read 'SSD' as 'solid state drive' where a straight 'an' would be inappropriate. :tongue:

(I'm not sure how this has become an argument xD)

Edit: but yea, I shouldn't have used a(n) in the first place :rofl:

)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 115

Fat-Love

I remember seeing this chart a while back for breakdown rate over 3 years (the standard uni course length).
http://www.major-appliance-pro.com/images/laptop-reliability-chart.jpg

It seems asus is the most reliable laptop but at the same time the range is around 15-25% for breakdown rate throughout all the brands so i'd mark off that criteria off your list since it's roughly the same for all brands.

(edited 11 years ago)

laptop-reliability-chart.jpg58.3KB

Reply 116

MrBez

Not reading it all, but my MBP is coming up to three years old in 2 months.

Not once have I had to reformat it.

Battery life is still around 4 hours off a full charge, as opposed to the 7 advertised (Which it was for around 12 months), but this isn't an issue for me. I believe £70 for a new battery which I will probably do at some point.

It still turns on within 5 seconds, as if brand new.

For me, the initial outlay is higher, but it definitely lasts longer.

Reply 117

alexs2602

Original post by hassi94

Technically, you should. If it starts with a vowel sound (which is does - ess) then put an 'an'.

Haha, fair argument. Sssssss-olid state drive. That's weird then - the acronym needs an an when the errr... full term doesn't.

Reply 118

Intriguing Alias

Original post by ohirome

And if you ask the average longterm MBP user, you'll find that they tend to find their purchase works the same as it did on the day of purchase.

I'm not really getting into the Mac vs PC debate here. Just specifically the XPS 15z is said to be completely woeful in terms of build quality so I thought I should warn.

Personally I'm a desktop-kinda guy for anything real. I enjoy the touchscreen experience on tablets/phones for smaller things and relaxing while browsing (tablets more than phones here as it can be a little uncomfortable on a phone).

If I ever do buy a laptop (though at the rate things are going it'll probably be a tablet/laptop combo or something) I'll probably opt for a Macbook, partly because I want extremely high quality which narrows down laptops to either Macbooks or Thinkpads - and I may as well try something new :tongue:

Reply 119

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