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New Laptop

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JamesR
Posts: 3396 - Karma: -12
I'm looking to get a new one in the near future. Is there a good site where I can find objective information? Alternatively, is there a good forum on this topic where the discussion doesn't devolve into a mac vs. pc debate?
Feb 13 2012 11:48AM
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midwestpowhunter
Posts: 2198 - Karma: 189
thought id ruin your thread. MACS ARE BETTER!!!!
Feb 13 2012 11:50AM
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corona
Posts: 12795 - Karma: 32,751
make sure it has a floppy drive, I hear they're all the rage these days.
Feb 13 2012 11:56AM
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JzD.
Posts: 1615 - Karma: 153
No matter what macs own. I was talking to a guy at a local pc store and I asked him what his dream laptop was. He said MacBook pro, and sad thing is that his store only sells pc laptops/desktops
Feb 13 2012 12:07PM
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Hamster.
Posts: 1636 - Karma: 26
Honestly, I have a pretty damn good HP computer for 450, has HDMI adapter, decent battery, and 500 GB HD. The more you pay, the faster the processes the more space it has. Two big things for mac, (well three, one being that they are insanely expensive) if you're really into filming, which I will be majoring in Telecommunications and production (since I already work on the Penn State production crew for athletic events), Macs are simply better, have better software and run faster for those processes, I will be getting one for sure for college as I have been working with them in the offices at PSU. Two, they have a very good base software package, its different than PC, but a lot better with handleing viruses, and overall helps the performance of the computer. All in all Mac=more sophisticated, faster, more towards the media population (more expensive). PC=simpler, cheaper, more towards the gamer as some PC's are super powered with a shit load of shit, thats right, haha I don't know much about those computers though, expect that they are world class but over $5,000.

My .02
Feb 13 2012 12:10PM
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InFlamesWeTrust
Posts: 163 - Karma: 16
A while back I was able to find an HP Envy 15 with an i7-720QM processor, 8GB ddr3 ram, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 GPU, a 625GB hard drive, hdmi out, eSATA, two usb 2.0 ports, and Beats audio for $900 CAD (when this particular one came out it was roughly $1800). I found it on Kijiji (and it works great), so I would suggest looking around and seeing what is on the used market, whether its Windows or OS X, because there will be awesome deals to be had.
Feb 13 2012 1:28PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
Don't listen to anyone just saying OH MACS ARE BETTER or PC'S ARE SO MUCH BETTER!

It all depends what you are doing. What will you use the laptop for? School? Whats your major/job? How old are you?

Its like buying a good ski. You cant just ask "Oh whats the best ski for me?" It all depends on what you do. Post up these things and we can help you.
Feb 13 2012 1:34PM
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Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,846
do they still make regular Macbooks?  or is it just Pros and Airs now?
Feb 13 2012 1:37PM
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JayMeZZy
Posts: 423 - Karma: 510
pros and airs
Feb 13 2012 1:47PM
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Trace.
Posts: 1460 - Karma: 635
Check out tomshardware if you want a forum with a ton of knowledgeable users about computers.
Feb 13 2012 2:08PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
THANK YOU!

everyone has different needs when it come to computers, finding the right tool for you is the important thing, and only you will know if it is right. if a mac is right for you, get it, if a windows machine is (not calling it a PC because a mac is a pc) then get that. Keep in mind you can run windows on a mac though
Feb 13 2012 2:11PM
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pelle_munch
Posts: 4110 - Karma: 503
Yes they are the white plastic ones. Pros and Airs are are aluminum
Feb 13 2012 2:19PM
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JamesR
Posts: 3396 - Karma: -12
Thanks for the responses everyone. The extent to which i'll be using it for school will be using a word processor and checking my email. I am 20 years of age. Now, let's get to what I'll be using it for otherwise: casual internet browsing, watching movies and videos, and I'd like to be able to play games on it; though i'm not trying to run crysis 2 at 5trillion frames per second. Short boot and shutdown times are nice. So satisfying going from off to ready to go in a couple of seconds. Battery life is important as well. My price range tops out at around $1200 so i believe that puts macbook pros out of my range. And it may be a silly preference, but I'd rather buy new than used.
Feb 13 2012 7:20PM
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turducken
Posts: 749 - Karma: 601
Whatever you do, Don't listen to this idiot.
Feb 13 2012 11:59PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
Seriously. You can build a windows-based PC with specs that would blow Mac specs out of the water for 60% of the price.
Feb 14 2012 1:22AM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
actually apple ended those, no reason with the MBA selling so well

and to the person above me, how many people are actually able to build their own computer? how many will be able to fix problems? apple is successful because of the closed environment, by controlling the hardware and software they have made products that people know will just work with no fuss unlike their windows counterparts. I have never had to worry about driver issues or computability issues with any of my macs, deff can not say that about my friend's with windows machines. Why do you see so many people switching to OSX from windows, but almost none going the other direction? If you game, then a windows machine is the tool for you, but for pretty much everything else, a mac will work just fine, if not better for the vast majority of people.

different tools for different people, there is no sense in hating on one or the other
Feb 14 2012 1:29AM
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.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
I hate to burst your bubble, but no, they don't make regular MacBooks anymore. Just Pros and Airs.
Feb 14 2012 1:32AM
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lill_sominsomin
Posts: 131 - Karma: 319
hackintosh if you can. i havent done it but seems simple enough. just have to be careful what you do but you can get the power of the pc with the flow of the mac
Feb 14 2012 1:33AM
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icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
Cool on a laptop what will those extra specs do for you? Having nice specs is only useful for gaming, and if your actually into computer gaming than you would buy a desktop instead of a laptop for obvious reasons.

In my mind when your dealing with a laptop, I take size, battery life, weight, style, and quality way more than what has the fast CPU/GPU for my buck. Your laptop is a portable device that is gonna be on your lap, backpack, etc. you don't want to be hauling around some clunky ass machine. That's why I chose a mac because imo it does those things best. And 3 years after owning one I am very happy with my purchase, and would't of gotten anything else.

If you can afford it get a mac, you won't be disappointed.
Feb 14 2012 1:33AM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
If you read what i posted earlier, i never said one computer is "the best". It all depends on the person. For you a Mac is perfect. And thats fine.

Me? I download a lot of movies and music and watch a lot. So something that can handle large HQ video files, with extra storage, extended battery life and a larger screen and is business friendly. In my case, I ended up customizing a Dell Latitude. It all just depends on the person. I think the OP would be perfectly happy with a Mac if he can afford one.
Feb 14 2012 1:54AM
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Ko-Pain
Posts: 202 - Karma: 17
NEWEGG.COM OR TIGERDIRECT.COM
Feb 14 2012 1:57AM
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EasyEast
Posts: 1983 - Karma: 118
So i had been using a pc for the longest time and recently decided to upgrade my laptop to a mac book pro considering it a big invested need less to say i am not disappointed. My mac is simply amazing it runs extremely fast and is super easy to use it basically blows any lower level pc out of the water. I don't know how much money your looking to spend but if you can muster up $1,100 dollars get a mac book pro.
Feb 14 2012 8:31AM
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bdarb207
Posts: 3057 - Karma: 438
No doubt macs are nice. They're operating system and hardware are all on point but if you're looking for something like me for instance for work or something based in windows then pc's are the way to go. Windows 7 professional is pretty dope and there are a wide range of computers to choose from. Get a Mac and its closed you can only deal with Mac. I got a new vaio s series and it's sick it mad an aluminum magnesium case like the MacBook pro and you can get ssd in them too. Also it has a killer battery life and a 1080 hidef screen. Check Sony.com they make. Some ill stuff and you can get this thing called fresh start so your cp only comes with basic programs one of the proprietary demos and garbage. Plus it comes with the adobe package (reader the the new premiere video editing software and photoshop ) for free. Absolutely worth checking out I live mine.
Feb 14 2012 1:36PM
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MNS
Posts: 5386 - Karma: 3,241
what do you want to do with your computer?

honestly if you're going off to school i'd get a mac. i've had mac and pc and mac is just way better for school. my MBA has a great battery life, is super fast, super light, and boots up really fast for those times you need to open up your computer again real quick and just have it all ready and good to go.

i find i never need the disk drive it doesn't have and if i ever do i can just use remote disk which is on all mac anyways.
Feb 14 2012 2:51PM
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plaplapla
Posts: 435 - Karma: 70
pc = suck
mac = good
Feb 14 2012 2:55PM
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Sophistication.
Posts: 665 - Karma: 352
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Feb 14 2012 2:58PM
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