I'm very interested in the mbp 15 (i7) , mbp 13 and of course the Envy 14.
I've done quite some googling and asking around my macbook pro friends (they mainly used the 2008 or older generations) but I still have some questions that are keeping me away from buying a Macbook pro.
I'm mainly looking at the i7 Macbook pro 15 because of its power.
*and ps. I have read through some of the big threads here already.
You're experiences and insights with OSX and Macbook Pro's would be great.
*For background, I am a college student who will want (in order of importance):
1. Convenience (ease and slickness of use, like gestures to make life faster and easier on the laptop)
2. Game Power (ability to run most games on medium/high settings...like crysis and oblivion)
3. Stability (as a student I can't have the comp crashing especially if papers are due and etc.)..............
3 defective MBPs and a MB that seemed to be fine but came with a loose latch that isn't sturdy at all, a physical dot on my screen, not a dead pixel and is now also making that weird clicking noise I had on 1-2 or two of my MBPs, I don't feel in the mood of getting it exchanged too, wasted too much time waiting by going through that procedure before without result anyways, I got a warantee and if it breaks down I'll just get it exchanged then.
The build quality of the unibody macbook/pros are really great, the first time I laid my hands on the MBP was a moment of joy, in comparison to the several other notebooks we have and had in my family, this kind of build quality is just unparalleled. The Macbook does not lack anything in build quality in comparison to the MBP, I even feel it may be more sturdy due to its size.
Both of the unibody models feel really portable, I never had any trouble taking them out with me to a friends house or anywhere generally. Though the 0,5kg and the size difference between the two makes the Macbook feel a tad bit more portable. Personally I'd go for the MBP if I needed the performance, and because the screen on the Macbook is just a joke in my point of view.
Performance wise both models perform pretty good, the MBP which is based on the 15" high end configuration obviously feels a lot snappier in graphics intensive applications, processor intensive applications such as fusion and multitasking when you got a great deal of applications running. Though during normal usage, where you use a word processor, listen to music, surf the web, I couldn't really notice much of a difference if at all. You don't really feel much boundaries when using the unibody models........
To start I should remind everyone that i'm not a mac user. I have never owned a mac or used OSX properly before today. As such, my opinions should be taken as coming from someone who has much knowledge and experience as far as PC's are concerned, but who is a total mac n00b.
First Impressions
When I first walked over to the Macbooks I was quite taken aback. The build quality is out of this world. In fact, I immediately walked over to the latest PC laptops to compare and immediately thought "manufacturing FAIL". Really, the Macbooks are italian sports cars, and PC's are 30 year old farm tractors to use the typical "car analogy".
The Macbook
I really only had any interest in the Macbook when I first went to the Apple stand, but came away with the intention of buying a MacBook Pro. Let me explain:
The MacBook's build quality is awesome. It's solid, no creaking plastic or flexable build, completely and utterly solid. Awesome.............
I have been speculating over this prospect giving the direction that Apple took with the starting price of the 24" iMac (upgrade everything else and downgrade the VRAM).
I mean, this is something I would like to see, but I wonder if it is a smart move on Apple's part given how much they make off the current MBP's with the so called Apple Tax.
And, if they made this move, one has to wonder if it still would be considered a Pro.
This is going to be my very first Mac. I'm really excited about it, but I don't know which one I should go for... I narrowed it down to these two models. Which one should I go for and why?
I bought a black macbook this summer and every night when I'm in bed trying to do work I can barely see which keys is which. Obviously this wouldn't be a cheap fix but is there a way or is it possible to install the new light up keys of the new macbooks onto a pre-remodel macbook?
I downloaded this updated for my unibody Macbook Pro, and I think it's pretty vital. However, it gave me this error when I tried to install it: "You cannot install Macbook, Macbook Pro software update on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or newer." Now don't tell me that I have selected the wrong partition to install the update, or that I need to update my OS to 10.5.5 because I already have 10.5.6 and I chose the Macintosh HD partition to install the update.
So I'm definitely getting a 13" Macbook or Macbook Pro. Apple has some great prices on refurbs so that's probably the route I'll be going however I'm having trouble discerning the difference between the 13" Aluminum Unibody standard macbook and the 13" Unibody Macbook Pro. From what I've read they both have the upgraded screen, they're obviously both unibody, both have the large button-less trackpad, and both have the 9400m. They even have the same dimensions and the only difference I can see between the images is a slightly different case bevel (also the firewire and sd card ports, both are useless to me).
Unfortunately, none of the Apple stores or BestBuys in the area have a non-pro unibody 13" Macbook for me to actually handle and compare. So, basically, what makes the pro version with the slower cpu and smaller hard drive at the same price point worth it?
If I make an image of my hdd from my white macbook with disk utility onto a hard drive I take out of a unibody macbook pro will it work and boot properly?
I will do this by taking the 250gb hdd out of the unibody macbook pro and putting it into a sata external usb hdd enclosure, then making an image of my current 120gb white macbook and writing the image onto the 250gb. After, I plan to put the 250gb hdd back into the macbook pro and boot it up normally as if everything from my white macbook was just copied onto the macbook pro.
I have stuck it out with the RC 7100 RC. Got burned out by all the builds,although it was a hell of a lot of fun! I am looking to hear from fellow 1640 users experiences thus far with 7600.
I purchased a few 7's via pre order and am Debating just running the rc until Oct. 22. On the other hand I am very curious to have a go @ the RTM. Let me know how it is going for you.
My Studio 1555 is being replaced because of an overheating issue.I would be glad if someone could post any experience with Dell India regarding replacement.Are they efficient and do they make sure that the new one is problem free?
Also,I read on some other forums about them offering freebies with replacements...like an extended complete cover n stuff...now,now I'm not being greedy but the way I got a screwed up laptop from Dell,it wouldn't hurt to strike a good bargain the second time around
I have had my M1330 (yes the one with the NVIDIA 8400M chip) have had no major problems to date. However, two days ago I had some touchpad issues i.e. a sluggish, unresponsive touchpad so I decided to contact Dell. The experience was really good I go an agent by the name of Mr. Abdul Aleem who was really friendly and provided me with a form to transfer my ownership and then he fixed the issue.
Now earlier this year I contacted Dell about another machine and this wacko was telling me that since I bought the laptop at Best Buy I should go to Best Buy to deal with warranty issues despite the laptop having 1 year basic warranty from Dell.
So I was very pleased with the interaction with Mr. Aleem.
So this a thread to share your experiences with Dell's Customer Care.
I am thinking of buying a Vostro 1220 because I now need a portable computer to carry around with me all the time. However, I have only found one review and that wasn't very detailed.
I am particularly concerned about fan noise - I have a 17" Inspiron 9400 at the moment and it doesn't make any noise until it has been on for a long time, but I imagine that a smaller computer may have small heat sinks and therefore need to have the fan running at a higher speed all the time
I think it would be nice for us M1730 owners to share information as to wich dirvers you've tried, with what games and what your experiences have been with them?
I'm having a pretty bad headache getting a driver that runs all my games just as well. I'm playing DiRT, Gird, Race07, UT3, BioShock, CS: Source, Quake4, Quake Wars and so far I've tried 173.13's and 167.51's from DELL, 174.82, 174.90 and 177.35 from www.laptopvideo2go.com and I've had mixed results. Sometimes I'm getting games reset SLI mid-game and then reverting to low-power clocks without it returning back unless I either restart the machine or enable/disable SLI or one of the cards in device manager.
But when it's running a game smoothly its FRIGGIN AWESOME! I just want it to be stable.
For the recrod I always uinsintall drivers, install Standard VGA Adapter drivers, boot into safe mode and use driver sweaper to remove all traces of the previous driver before trying the next one.
So whats it gonna be? Anyone else sharing my driver pain?
I'm in the market for a new laptop with a 13-14" display. I've looked at some others (Dell XPS 13, HP DV3510nr, Macbook) but have not been too impressed either with features, aesthetics, or build quality. The XPS 13 has the features, but build quality seems so, so; and it seems that there is some concern over how hot it runs. So, I've now been looking at the Vaio SR. Specifically, an SR 290 refurb. It wasn't quite clear to me what the advantages of ordering the SR390 would be.
So a couple of questions:
1. How are the general experiences with the Sony Outlet Refurbs?
2. SR 290 vs SR 390? I'm not a gamer. Biggest processing challenge will most likely be running photoshop CS3.
3. Any other recommendations based on the specs below?
4. From reading multiple pages of this thread, it seems people are pretty pleased with this notebook.
She has a white macbook with leopard I think, and has a separate partition in which she has boot camp, she uses specialized software that can only run in windows (doesnt run in vm). She got a new macbook air but wants to keep everything intact.
Do programs like duper clone drives with all files intact, including partitions? Keep in mind that the windows side is more important, installation of this software can only be done remotely from Russia, so it's a bit of a hassle if we screw up, we have to contact IT at a specific time and get them to do it.
Would I have to take the drive of the macbook air out? Or can i just clone to an external hard drive and then move that to the mba hard drive, in target disc mode or something.
I really love the black color of MB404, but is it good? does it crack easily?(is it plastic?)
Hows screen quality?
What do you think? which one should i buy?
I really wanted to buy Alu one before i hear about slanted keys and loose battery covers(i know %99 of them don't have that, but it's hard to risk when there's no way to fix it in here), because there's no Mac center in my country and i'm SO picky.
I did not know about this Dell Outlet until I signed up here. The prices seem to be much lower than buying a new unit. I have my eye on a Dell M6400 unit..
So my question is, what are your experiences with a refurbished unit? By refurbished, are these units that have been rented out to businesses and returned? Will I be buying a 100% used unit? or does Dell replaces parts inside before selling them etc? Am I taking chances on these units or am I safe in terms of dependability?
I've been looking at basicly two models, both got almost the exact same price tag here in Norway, so I'm not sure which one to go for.
The first ones is a MacBook Pro 15" with High-resolution 1650x1080 glossy screen, featuring the top of the line Intel Core i7-620M CPU the other is a MacBook Pro 17" with even higher resolution (1920x1200) glossy screen, featuring the slightly slower Intel Core i5-540M.
I don't list the other specifications as I don't really care about them, I already got a pair of 4GB 1600MHz CL7 (2x2GB) DIM's and a Intel X25-M 80GB SSD that I'll be using anyway.
There will be lots of movies and series played on my MacBook Pro, that's why I don't really considering paying a premium for the anti-glare screen, even though I love anti-glare and tend to struggle with glossy screens I don't see the point in actually paying more for it. And when watching movies and series, in often very dark rooms the glossy screen actually have some advantages.
The hard thing to decide here is slicker and lighter, with smaller screen and lower resolution, but better CPU versus the bigger, more heavy but featuring bigger screen and Full-HD+ resolution but slower CPU.....................
1-a 13" MacBook Pro, primary use will be Internet and e-mail and manipulating music files. Will my husband really notice a difference/benefit between the basic 2.26 and the 2.53GHZ (and is it worth about $250 more)? If he uses it for video downloading will that make a difference?
2- a 15" MacBook Pro- here I'm debating between the 2.66 and 2.8. My daughter uses it for Office apps, PhotoShop, music, Internet and e-mail. Again, would video downloading make a difference?
I am currently returning a dell studio xps 16" as its so sooo much hassle to deal with dell and the fact that i got 3 messsed up replacements in a row. i am looking to get a macbook or macbook pro. i would prefer a macbook pro (lowest model) although the cheapest method i can find is £1163 from the higher education store. is there any other way or place that sells it for less? apple seem to charge crazy prices for a low spec. een £100 would be expensive but maybe afordable. only discounts i found for the macbook/macbook pro are 14% higher education (the one i am looking to use) and 6% EPP and school discount. iv looked at the macbook but im going to use the laptop for movies, work and internet. movies on a 13.3" arnt exactly enjoyable to watch so thats why im looking for a macbook pro.
I finally decided that i am going to take my desktop HTPC from home to grad school for movies/TV and playing demanding games.
So now I cannot decide upon which notebook to get - the base Macbook Pro 2.4 or the base Macbook Air 1.6
I am going to be mainly doing work: taking notes, photo editing, and also some light gaming (2d games and old 3d games (red orchestra, combat mission) when away from apartment) on the notebook.
So I was wondering which is a better choice for me.
The macbook pro has a faster core 2 duo cpu, but the FSB and RAM are all the same speed. Obviously the 9600mGT is 2.5x faster than the 9400M, but I am not going to need it for intensive gaming.
Also the macbook pro has a larger screen.
But the Air is so much lighter and thinner, and would be a good thing to take to libraries. And it is 200 cheaper....................
A friend of mine is debating which model. I noticed some small differences, but for 200 bucks it almost seems worth getting the pro model. It seems as if it's a higher quality build, firewire, backlit keyboard, is the screen the same? What do you guys think? Can the Macbooks without the dedicated video card run a game like Sims 3?
I want to buy the Macbook Pro 15 inc Unibody, there are 2 models
Model 1 Model 2 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHZ 2GB Memory 250GB hard drive1 NVIDIA GeForce 9400M+ 9600M GT with 256MB
Model 2 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHZ 4GB Memory 320GB hard drive GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
A difference of £343. My reason for Macbook Pro over any Windows laptop is simpy becuase OSX and that the laptop fits my needs, its not too big like the 17 inch and not too small like the 13 inch, also it has an express card slot 34 which I can then add a memory card reader. I will be editing/converting a lot of photos and videos and looking forward to buying Final Cut Studio 2.0................
I'm buying one or the other. My next computer will run OSX, that is the only thing I have set in stone.
13" MBP over 13" MB:
SD Card reader (This would be nice, but I can do without. I only use the reader on my current laptop like once every 2 months)
FireWire 800 (Absolutely no need for this)
Backlit Keyboard (Absolutely no need for this, people look at their keyboard while typing?)
Screen Color Gamut (60% more than that of MB I heard ... I know this applies to the older MB but not sure about the late 2009 MB. Can anyone comment on the difference?)...................
