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NS computer geeks. I need a laptop...

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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
So I am looking at replacing my laptop pretty soon here. I will be using it for school so I want it to be very commutable. I want it to be a little bit larger than my old one (probably in the 14"-15" range.)

my question is is there really anything better than the 15" MBP? I am talking about hardware only here, I know you pay more for OSX. When I say hardware here though, I also don't just mean the raw specs, I know I can go to the store and but a shitty plastic dell that is faster than a MBP.

Really the large touchpad, the durability (all metal), and the the thickness of the macbook, plus the light up keyboard, are all great features that I cannot seem to find in other computers at the store.

Basically what I am asking is if you know of any "clones" of the MBP that are cheaper that you would reccomend. It just seems to be a waste to spend $2500 on a laptop when I will probably never run OSX. I just refuse to buy a shitty, ugly, plastic laptop.
May 22 2012 3:25PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
http://1saleaday.com/flash/

Cheap computers up there for the day. I ordered a mouse from this site, works great. I would look for a comptuer that is NEW not Factory Refurbished. Atleast on that site.

I have no idea which you want because I did not read what you said you needed. But here are some cheap laptops for you to choose from.
May 22 2012 3:27PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
lol, perfect NSG response. +k
May 22 2012 3:28PM
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Forcillo
Posts: 3801 - Karma: 3,580
There are no clones for Macs cause everything else are PCs
May 22 2012 4:01PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
If you're dropping $2.5k on a laptop, get the MBP.  Any high end PC laptops would be great for you, but MacBooks are a much more solid investment.  You could easily squeeze 4 years out of one, and the unibody design and high quality components will make a difference. 
May 22 2012 4:03PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Here's an alternative, however.  It's not solid aluminum, but the case is aluminum.  Nice form factor too, HP has been really stepping it up in the laptop market.  I found a nice, solid one for my mom, you just have to use CCleaner to pluck out the weeds.

 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740 600003988&IsNodeId=1&name=Intel Core i5&Order=RATING

 
May 22 2012 4:12PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157831
May 22 2012 4:15PM
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howlongcanausern
Posts: 4982 - Karma: 1,737
ugggh, i know this is futile, but my one year old HP dv7 is almost all metal, has backlit keyboard, 17 inch screen and only cost me $1200 after i invested in a SSD. the thing is a tank and very, very quick...being able to launch applications as soon as i see my desktop is handy.

if you want a laptop to last, invest in a SSD. this will pretty much prevent your data being lost due to a fall...also SSDs are much more reliable than conventional HDDs.

ps i'm a systems admin and between myself and another person manage ~200 workstations and 26 servers so get the fuck at me
May 22 2012 4:17PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
well I hope you know what I mean. A mac is built out of the same basic stuff as any other laptop. They just manage to put it together in a nice looking and durable way.

as for the other guy. I would prefer NOT to spend that much on a computer. This is why I ask.
May 22 2012 4:29PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
lol HP

although, there aren't many decent laptop manufacturers, so I guess HP is just as good as the rest.
May 22 2012 4:37PM
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TheClap.
Posts: 21664 - Karma: 4,140
+K
May 22 2012 4:40PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
here is the closest knockoff though, decent specs too

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834158219
May 22 2012 4:44PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
wow that actually looks pretty nice. although it seems to be made of plastic?
May 22 2012 5:14PM
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cwphoto
Posts: 2332 - Karma: 780


macbook air with this and for only $950 new, regular $1500 ish. aside from on 2gb of ram its pretty good

  • 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
  • 2GB RAM
  • 256GB Flash Storage
  • nVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU
  • 13.3" Glossy Widescreen LED Display
  • FaceTime Webcam
  • Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
  • 802.11n AirPort Extreme
  • Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
May 22 2012 5:16PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
read the reviews, and the screen has major issues as well as the keyboard. Surprise surprise!
May 22 2012 5:17PM
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613.
Posts: 827 - Karma: 164
lol
May 22 2012 5:23PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
hmm the screen thing I could deal with, but the keyboard would be a dealbreaker for me.

It's just crazy how many people hate on macs and say you can get just as good of a computer for cheaper, but now that I am trying to do this I literally can't find one.
May 22 2012 5:26PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
inb4 nickski and other windowgarglers hate on apple when very few laptops deliver like a MBP does. Checklist:

all metal housing
keyboard - backlight, aluminum spacing, isn't a plastic sheet like some laptops
processor - fast quad core
decent display with non-integrated GPU
ram - 8gb

With a windows computer, you can pic 3, maybe 4 out of the 5.
May 22 2012 5:30PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
very few windows laptops meet ALL the things I listed above. Desktops wise, it is easy to beat a mac, but you do miss out on the actual OS, applecare warranty, shiny looks.
May 22 2012 5:35PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
that's what It seems like to me right now. The guy at the store was trying to steer me away from the macbook, saying that I was paying more for inferior hardware.

I lifted up the macbook with one hand, no flex. all the plastic shitty computers flexed a ton. I don't see how a macboook is "inferior" hardware.

I would say 95% of the time I am not gonna be even close to maxing out ANY modern laptops computing powers. However a good keyboard, a durable design, a good trackpad. THOSE are the things that I consider good hardware, since they are much more applicable to what I do.

How can all the other manufacturers fuck up THAT bad? There are plenty of good solid "ultrabooks", but when I look for something with a bit more power, they all get bulky and ugly.
May 22 2012 5:40PM
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introvert
Posts: 4718 - Karma: 1,482
No. That computer is fucking old.


I have the same processet that's 4 years old, and it's even 2.6GHZ
2Gigs of ram isn't enough for anything.
Shitty graphics card.
May 22 2012 5:41PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
as for the OS though, I have no intentions on going back to osx. I guess I would probably dual-boot just because I paid so much for a mac.
May 22 2012 5:41PM
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introvert
Posts: 4718 - Karma: 1,482
Also I suggest not getting anything with AMD.... AMD are only good for simple processing. Intel is for high end gaming and uses multicore rendering better than AMD.



May 22 2012 5:43PM
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introvert
Posts: 4718 - Karma: 1,482
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834131264
May 22 2012 5:46PM
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cwphoto
Posts: 2332 - Karma: 780
i know but its cheap. those are the reasons im not getting it myself, im just waiting for the new pros to drop at WWDC.
May 22 2012 5:46PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
What is your profession/what will you be using the laptop for/what programs do you need to run?
May 22 2012 5:48PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
$2500 seems plenty of budget for a well kitted out 15' MacBook Pro.
Get the high-res screen, the anti-glare is an option I should strongly advice, it cuts glare to a minimum and has more accurate colors.

Don't get a memory or HD upgrade via Apple.

Buy an 8GB aftermarket kit, there are kits specifically made for MacBooks.
Also get an 120GB (or larger) SSD and an Optibay/HDcaddy.
Remove the superdrive and instal the SSD, making the SSD your boot drive will speed up things by a ton.
And the 500GB is still there for extra storage.


Beware though a refresh is imminent and that always means a sizable speed increase.


But there is another option!

With $2500 you can also consider getting a 11' MacBook Air with an 27' iMac.
This way you will get a rather quick ultraportable notebook with a beast of a desktop.
May 22 2012 6:25PM
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turducken
Posts: 749 - Karma: 601
Metal housing - I'll give you that, most windows machines are shitty plastic.
Keyboard - The Macbook Pro has a shit keyboard.
Processor - The 13.3 inch comes with a dual core i5, most laptops come with a fast quad now.
Decent display with no iGPU - Wrong, both 13.3 inch models run on HD3000, the other ones are a 512mb 6770m which aren't powerful.
Ram - Macbook pros only come with 4gb

I run OS X and prefer it over windows, but your argument was bad.
May 22 2012 6:33PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
profession is student. any job I have will provide a computer. needs to get me through another couple years of university and then potentially grad school.

The stuff I need to run is pretty standard: graphing software, a TeX editor, some astronomy software (3D), office suite, internet, and media playback.

I find there are programs for every OS that get the job done. So I don't need a gaming PC but I certainly could use more than 2gb of ram and discrete graphics.
May 22 2012 6:39PM
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howlongcanausern
Posts: 4982 - Karma: 1,737
yeah this is an obvious rip-off
May 22 2012 7:00PM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
I don't know how much Apple charges for the extra 8GB in the states but over here it's 200 euros.
Freaking ridiculous when an 8GB - DDR3 - 1333 MHz kit is just 40 euros.

(I do advise to buy an Apple specific kit, they are usually priced the same or a few dollars/euros more but they are tested to specifically work with MacBooks, i've seen non-specific kits from the same manufacturer fail and work but the Apple specific kits always worked.)
May 22 2012 7:07PM
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.ZT.
Posts: 5679 - Karma: 2,792
I fuckin' hate my Mac! It sucks dick. I only use it because I got it for free from my dad. There is no way that they should cost so much more than a PC. I have PC as well that my brother uses as well that is 2 time faster and much better. I would advise you to save your money and buy a PC no matter what. \rant
May 22 2012 7:17PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
We were talking about the 15" model, which has a 1gb GPU, quad core, and 8gb ram...
May 22 2012 7:31PM
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MicroMix
Posts: 297 - Karma: 48
Asus Zenbook maybe? Powerful processor, all metal I'm pretty sure,fast SSD, and Asus has great build quality. However it is a tad undersized (13.3 inches), doesn't have a ton of memory or storage either, no optical drive either. But it is a grand cheaper.

Click for larger image
May 22 2012 7:32PM
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MicroMix
Posts: 297 - Karma: 48
Double post but... disregard this, realized you wanted same thickness and backlit keyboard.
May 22 2012 7:33PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
So no Windows only applications, but I guess most of those would run best on windows (i dont know shit about them but a majority of programs out there in any field are windows based)
May 22 2012 7:57PM
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esotericjive
Posts: 1889 - Karma: 1,445
If you want a cheap macbook, hackintosh something like this:http://www.staples.com/HP-LJ521UT-ProBook-4530s-156-Laptop/product_IM1LC7484?cid=CSE:GoogleBase:Pcs_%2F_Drives_%2F_Accessories:Laptop_Computers:im1LC7484:LJ521UT#ABA

guide http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/12/hackintoshing-sandy-bridge-laptop-hp.html
May 22 2012 8:17PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
laptops aren't that great to hack, as their built in keyboards are windows oriented, and sleep/trackpads/bluetooth/wireless/shutdown kexts are not as reliable as some people say they are.
May 22 2012 8:18PM
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esotericjive
Posts: 1889 - Karma: 1,445
I helped a friend with a 4530s. Took a little doing, but it seems to be working pretty well. You're right about bluetooth though, it's iffy, as is sleep. Other than that though, it was a fun project, which he's enjoying.
May 22 2012 8:21PM
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Poems
Posts: 1041 - Karma: 3
I've got a Dell Inspiron. It is 17', but it not a pain for my backpack. It's got great computing power and it just runs really well. It's good for small-medium sized games as well.
May 22 2012 8:21PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
Desktops on the other hand are fucking rad. Love mine.
May 22 2012 8:23PM
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Lick
Posts: 1927 - Karma: 518
Build a desktop.

or this:

http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.243119900/categoryId.57876700

nuff nuff
May 22 2012 8:26PM
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esotericjive
Posts: 1889 - Karma: 1,445
Click for larger image

my baby
May 22 2012 8:26PM
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Legion
Posts: 1374 - Karma: 29
custom order a sager from xotic. you won't be dissapointed. it even lets you change the keyboard colors
May 22 2012 8:27PM
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1337
Posts: 31054 - Karma: 29,231
i7 960?

Click for larger image

same for me! I'm running a 5770 "batmobile" though
May 22 2012 8:31PM
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esotericjive
Posts: 1889 - Karma: 1,445
I interned at a computer store over the summer, and the boss gave me a 6870, so I use that.
May 22 2012 8:33PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
I dunno if anything runs better on windows. There is only one piece of windows-only software I need to use and it runs fine on wine.
May 22 2012 11:21PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Here's an alternative: build a desktop.  If you game at all, this is your best option.  My $1,500 rig that I built in July of '08 is still running like a champ.  It can handle Crysis at high settings, Skyrim at reasonably high settings, it chews all COD games up, and it laughs at Diablo 3.

AND

You can afford a decent netbook as well.  It's basically a laptop in the smallest practical form factor.  Decent processors, and easily upgradable ram will give you an awesome little machine to take to class.
May 24 2012 12:44AM
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jameskiy
Posts: 396 - Karma: 3
Click for larger image macs are way overpriced for what you get. you have a decent budget, buy a killer computer. If you want mobility, buy a laptop from a distributer that isnt a peice of shit (hp) and if you want massively awesome performance get a desktop.
May 24 2012 5:58AM
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,313
Maybe the Mac Pro is but most other Macs aren't.

The 27 inch iMac is a bloody steal at 1699 dollars.

First of the 27 inch LED IPS display would run you about 1000 dollars (900 for the Dell option.)
Second the form factor, it've seen regular screens fatter then the iMac.



But you forgot the most important thing about Apple i.m.o.

The design, no other manufacturer comes closes to Apple in terms of Industrial design.
And that is easily worth the premium.


For example:

You can buy an Ikea desk lamp for ten bucks.
Or you can buy an Artemide for 300 more bucks.

They will emit the same amount of light and have the same amount of articulation in the stand.
And still people buy the Artemide.

Why?

Because people are prepared to pay extra for a product with an attractive design.
May 24 2012 6:12AM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
I have no need for a desktop. Don't play games. I want one computer that will do it all for me.

basically this is /thread for me. I like the lamp analogy. I want a computer that looks good (not plastic), is durable, and has decent specs. after a week of looking It is becoming clear to me that apple is the only manufacturer that offers that. I have no brand loyalty, and I run linux so the OS debate doesn't matter to me.

If this upsets any PC fans just show me one actual example of a laptop that matches or exceeds a 15" MBP in terms of design and performance.
May 24 2012 6:27AM
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