[metro2610]

Basically, my Vaio's started acting up

After three years of service, I think it's finally on its way out. The battery's dire (replaceable, I know) and it's started to get really slow, even when performing simple tasks. It's been defragged countless times and it's not getting any better. I'm thinking that I should buy a new laptop with my savings instead of spending another couple of hundred quid sorting this one out (money which could go towards a new one)...

The thing is, I don't want to buy a laptop which is going to just start lagging after another three years. I want to buy a decent one this time.

I'm thinking of buying a Macbook with 15% student discount as I feel it'd perform well and also, wouldn't lose its value as quickly as your everyday laptop - a bit of an investment, like.
My only concern is: Am I just spending a lot of money on a brand? I've never bought into the point of the iPad or iPhone and am kind of in the mind frame that many people would spend £200 on a piece of **** if it had the Apple logo on it...
Is this misguided though? Are Macbooks genuinely sound bits of kit?

Thoughts TSR?

[Elwyn]

The age old question.

If you can afford it then why not. You can get a better spec machine for a similar price but I think that's not the point of a mac. You get a stylish laptop with lots of functionality and above all that it is very reliable. I'm thinking of getting one too but to get the student discount you need to be signed in to a uni pc so I'll have to wait until september. I think you can phone them up though not sure.

[frankieboy]

Not thought of backing up your data, reinstalling the OS and software on the Sony Vaio, and buying a new battery?

This way, you end up with the Vaio the original speed as when you bought it, and spending 70 quid (I'm guessing) on a new battery and a grand to spend on something else?

[Gofre]

You will find the majority of Mac owners are more than happy to have paid what they did for their Macs, I personally think mine was one of the best purchases I've ever made. You are definitely not going to be getting the best spec'd machine for the money when compared to Windows alternatives (With the exception of the MacBook Air line when compared to other ultrabooks, which is a category they are excellent value in), but if they're sufficiently powerful for your needs and you can afford to pay the premium, you would be highly unlikely to regret it.

Bare in mind that Apple also have an excellent returns policy which essentially gives you a two week window to trial it. If you are unimpressed for the price you've been charged then you won't have any issues getting your money back.

[frankieboy]

(Original post by metro2610)
instead of spending another couple of hundred quid sorting this one out (money which could go towards a new one)...

Do new Sony Vaio batteries cost a couple of hundred quid?

[frankieboy]

Personally I think the Apple is worth buying if you want to convert to the world of Apple, which is fair enough.

If however you just need a laptop and don't care whether it's Sony or Apple, then I think you'd be mad to go and buy a Macbook instead of simply fixing the Vaio which you could do yourself cheaply and easily. That's only my opinion though.

Edit - christ, I just looked up the price of vaio batteries, yeah they're not cheap are they?

[onda]

i honestly believe you can get a very powerful windows based laptop for the equivalent price

I just think it is not worth it in my opinion, because as a student you want something beter for you buck

you're a student why spend a GRAND on something ridiculous as the MAC?

[Gofre]

(Original post by frankieboy)
Do new Sony Vaio batteries cost a couple of hundred quid?

(Original post by frankieboy)
Edit - christ, I just looked up the price of vaio batteries, yeah they're not cheap are they?

If they're anything like they were when I had mine, definitely not. Sony had some of the most ridiculous pricing on parts/repairs I've ever come across.

[1/137]

Oh god, I bet by tomorrow this will have turned into another 10000 post apple vs. pc debate. But OK. Firstly, defrag makes almost **** all difference on modern machines. If it starts getting slow try reformatting first. If you've been using it for three years without ever having done this, it will make a big difference. Failing that, go for a new HDD if you have money to spare. And yes, get a new battery.

(Original post by metro2610)
The thing is, I don't want to buy a laptop which is going to just start lagging after another three years. I want to buy a decent one this time.

Next thing: No matter what you buy or how much money you spend on it, 3 years is OLD and things will just begin to lag after that amount of time especially under heavy use.

On a different note, by all accounts Macbooks are good pieces of hardware, though I have had little first hand experience with them (I'm a PC), but my brother owns one and loves it. Since he works with computers for a living, I think his opinion carries some weight. Reliability is apparently very good. Personally I think they are a bit overpriced and you'll get more power for the same money from other machines, but some people aren't too fussed about that.

You will have to get used to Mac OS. This is why I never bothered. But if you think its the right thing to buy then by all means go ahead its a decent bit of kit.

[Joe911]

(Original post by metro2610)
My only concern is: Am I just spending a lot of money on a brand? I've never bought into the point of the iPad or iPhone and am kind of in the mind frame that many people would spend £200 on a piece of **** if it had the Apple logo on it...
Is this misguided though? Are Macbooks genuinely sound bits of kit?

Thoughts TSR?

I'd say it boils down to what you use your laptop for? If you're a light user and would only use it for a bit of surfing, then it's probably not worth the money, however, if you plan on spending long periods of time with it, then investing in something decent is definitely worth it.

Personally, I think they're reallly overpriced for what they are. You can easily pickup something decent, reliable and stylish from £300+

[metro2610]

(Original post by frankieboy)
christ, I just looked up the price of vaio batteries, yeah they're not cheap are they?

Haha, not at all! I was pretty surprised myself, I have to say...

(Original post by onda)
I just think it is not worth it in my opinion, because as a student you want something beter for you buck

you're a student why spend a GRAND on something ridiculous as the MAC?

Aye, this is true. A grand's a LOT of money for me and could be well spent on other things. I've saved my money up since I first started working though. Just kind of feel it'd be nice to spend it on something for myself instead of rent or something as mundane...

I definitely see your point though

(Original post by 1/137)
Oh god, I bet by tomorrow this will have turned into another 10000 post apple vs. pc debate. But OK. Firstly, defrag makes almost **** all difference on modern machines. If it starts getting slow try reformatting first. If you've been using it for three years without ever having done this, it will make a big difference. Failing that, go for a new HDD if you have money to spare. And yes, get a new battery.



Next thing: No matter what you buy or how much money you spend on it, 3 years is OLD and things will just begin to lag after that amount of time especially under heavy use.

On a different note, by all accounts Macbooks are good pieces of hardware, though I have had little first hand experience with them (I'm a PC), but my brother owns one and loves it. Since he works with computers for a living, I think his opinion carries some weight. Reliability is apparently very good. Personally I think they are a bit overpriced and you'll get more power for the same money from other machines, but some people aren't too fussed about that.

You will have to get used to Mac OS. This is why I never bothered. But if you think its the right thing to buy then by all means go ahead its a decent bit of kit.

Cheers for the insight and advice! I'm a big fan of my Vaio, I have to admit... I'll give these things a try and see where I get to

(Original post by Gofre)
Bare in mind that Apple also have an excellent returns policy which essentially gives you a two week window to trial it. If you are unimpressed for the price you've been charged then you won't have any issues getting your money back.

I didn't know this! I'll see if I can fix anything with this one and see where I feel like going from there... I could always buy one first and then sell my Vaio after the two week period if I'm liking it I guess! I know that mine would be of a lower spec but I really don't mind too much Cheers!

(Original post by Elwyn)
The age old question.

If you can afford it then why not. You can get a better spec machine for a similar price but I think that's not the point of a mac. You get a stylish laptop with lots of functionality and above all that it is very reliable. I'm thinking of getting one too but to get the student discount you need to be signed in to a uni pc so I'll have to wait until september. I think you can phone them up though not sure.

Yeah, you can phone them up. If you go on the education discounts then you'll get the number. The reliability is a big attraction, I have to say. I've had issues with all of my Windows powered laptops (self-shutdown etc) and it does get annoying after a while... Macbooks do look stylish as hell too

Cheers for all of your advice so far TSR! Keep it coming!

[CJKay]

Personally, no.

I have a Dell XPS L501X that has so far proven very reliable (except a busted hard drive after I dropped it some distance). I would say it worked great as a Mac alternative of the year, and was massively cheaper at the time. In fact, I could probably turn it into a Hackintosh fairly easily as well if I could fit the damn ISO on a disc.

[metro2610]

(Original post by Joe911)
I'd say it boils down to what you use your laptop for? If you're a light user and would only use it for a bit of surfing, then it's probably not worth the money, however, if you plan on spending long periods of time with it, then investing in something decent is definitely worth it.

Personally, I think they're reallly overpriced for what they are. You can easily pickup something decent, reliable and stylish from £300+

One thing I should've really mentioned in my first post is that I've recently starting playing around with editing suites, creating my own music. I've got a long way to go but it's something I'd like to persue and experiment with a bit more.
Apart from that it would just be surfing and writing up coursework really.

Reckon a Macbook would be a good move in this respect though when that's taken into account?

[Gofre]

(Original post by metro2610)
Reckon a Macbook would be a good move in this respect though when that's taken into account?

With regards to simple student fare, it's a hell of a pricey thing to buy as has been said above, it's just a case of whether or not you're willing to give your wallet a proverbial lynching for a "luxury" product. In terms of music production, there is a larger range of software available (Most notably Logic) for macs, but for the most part the big name programs like FL and Cubase are cross-platform.

[Anetata]

Biggest waste of money ever.

[frankieboy]

I always like the Toshiba Satellites myself as a good reliable mid-range solution. Pretty nicely priced and not bad quality. Obviously not in the same league as the Vaio but even so, good bang for the buck. Nice keyboards, nice screens.

[Sammydemon]

(Original post by Anetata)
Biggest waste of money ever.

Can you justify how buying a very good computer with an amount of money is the "biggest waste" ever?

[Joe911]

(Original post by metro2610)
One thing I should've really mentioned in my first post is that I've recently starting playing around with editing suites, creating my own music. I've got a long way to go but it's something I'd like to persue and experiment with a bit more.
Apart from that it would just be surfing and writing up coursework really.

Reckon a Macbook would be a good move in this respect though when that's taken into account?

Unless you'll be using mac specific music software, and are REEALLY into persuing music making, then I don't think it's worth the money. You could get a laptop with better specs for half the price, and if the macOS is vital to you, you could always dual boot

[markisanark]

In short, it is worth every penny. Defragging is a thing of the past.

[Gofre]

(Original post by Joe911)
Unless you'll be using mac specific music software, and are REEALLY into persuing music making, then I don't think it's worth the money. You could get a laptop with better specs for half the price, and if the macOS is vital to you, you could always dual boot

It's virtually impossible to find a Windows machine that you can get OS X to run on, this is something that people need to build desktops from the ground up around. Saying you can match the specs for half the price is a hell of an exaggeration too.