Is Macbook better than Window-based Notebook/PC?

[Jedi]

Given the hefty price tag of Macbook, is it worth the penny over any brand of Window-based notebook/PC such as Lenovo, HP, etc?

Nowadays, Window-based notebooks/PCs won't last you more than 2-3 years; either your HDD crashed, motherboard spoil, etc. A friend of mine told me that it is better to get the Macbook because it will last longer than those brands on Window-based according to his personal experience. His Macbook Pro is still running smoothly after 3 years.

 

[JacePhoto]

Given the hefty price tag of Macbook, is it worth the penny over any brand of Window-based notebook/PC such as Lenovo, HP, etc? Nowadays, Window-based notebooks/PCs won't last you more than 2-3 years; either your HDD crashed, motherboard spoil, etc. A friend of mine told me that it is better to get the Macbook because it will last longer than those brands on Window-based according to his personal experience. His Macbook Pro is still running smoothly after 3 years.

My macbookpro 2009 model, apart from audio , DVD drive and blue tooth, still works like a horse. I bought another iMac just to be sure.

It's more about its user interface. If u are willing to learn. I have never looked at another PC since.

 

[brapodam]

The question is, can you get used to the interface of a Mac and do all the programs/games you want to use run on Mac OS?

You can get better reliability by buying the business series of laptops from PC manufacturers (Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell Latitude etc)

There are also other attributes of Macbooks that make them more attractive than many Windows laptops as well, like display and keyboard quality; those are things you should consider also

 

[Jedi]

My macbookpro 2009 model, apart from audio , DVD drive and blue tooth, still works like a horse. I bought another iMac just to be sure.

It's more about its user interface. If u are willing to learn. I have never looked at another PC since.

Yes, I agree that it is about the user interface. If I am willing to learn, why not. My primary concern is the reliability and durability of a notebook. My window-based HP notebook just gave way after 2 years. According to HP, the motherboard is a goner.

You are another guy who attests the reliability of Macbook. :thumbsup:

 

[Jedi]

The question is, can you get used to the interface of a Mac and do all the programs/games you want to use run on Mac OS?

You can get better reliability by buying the business series of laptops from PC manufacturers (Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell Latitude etc)

There are also other attributes of Macbooks that make them more attractive than many Windows laptops as well, like display and keyboard quality; those are things you should consider also

If I get the business series, it would cost a bomb too. In that case, might as well as get the Macbook. :think:

According to my friend, I can still run the Window OS in Macbook, so that I can still use all my window-based software, etc.

 

[Kit]

I got my MBP 2 years ago and wonder why would anyone still use Window based product. There is no match.

 

[Jedi]

I got my MBP 2 years ago and wonder why would anyone still use Window based product. There is no match.

It seems that all the Window-based notebooks / PCs will not last pass 2-3 years. No wonder the prices are like dirt cheap or at least very affordable.

 

[edutilos-]

If you pay for a premium priced product it's obviously supposed to last longer. Are you telling me that you would accept Nikon D3 with similar rated shutter life as Nikon D7100... Obviously not.

For the price of MBP you can easily buy 2-3 Windows PC with similar specs. As for which UI, it's up to you.. I used Mac for a while and hated it. I couldn't seem to do anything I really wanted to do in terms of customization; it was like using a P&S camera PC. That's fine for handphones and tabs but not for a computer, at least for me..

Anyways it's up to you. You can try it out for a while and see if it suits your style. Btw, I used an ASUS laptop for 5 plus years when I was studying. It was still working when I switched back to desktop because I was no longer studying and didn't need the mobility of a laptop.

 

[TRicky671]

I dropped my 3 year old asus laptop recently and at first it didnt work, I originally was gonna try out mac and being a window 7 user I didnt like window 8 but if I had to buy a new one and learn anyway, probably best to learn mac. However my friend managed to fix and we installed a SSD drive in. Despite having half the memory now becuase i switch the memory and put into another laptop. the ssd still boots up my laptop within a few second. the sdd hopefully has given me another couple of year before i invest in mac lol. So if you want to do it on cheap I brought a 250gb samsung ssd and a hdd case for 200 sing, I aint no computer whizz and it took an hour to install.

 

[cks2k2]

you can't really compare MBP with your budget laptops.
a fairer comparison would be MBP vs the high end wintel laptops i.e. thinkpads, which are legendary for their reliability.
my (then) high-end fujitsu laptop has been running for 6 years.

now the components in your mac and wintel laptops are exactly the same.
and as someone who previously worked in semicon industry building microprocessors (hint: chipzilla), i can tell u that lower-end chips are purposely designed to last less than 5 years (planned obsolescence).

 

[Jedi]

If you pay for a premium priced product it's obviously supposed to last longer. Are you telling me that you would accept Nikon D3 with similar rated shutter life as Nikon D7100... Obviously not.

Are you saying that if I buy a $3000 notebook from HP, Lenovo, etc, I would expect it to last very long comparing to a Macbook Pro which costs similar price?

 

[SilentSeth]

My 2c:

Correct me if I am wrong, but all failures mentioned are all hardware problem, not software (Windows OS in this case).

Mac products are known, in general, to use high end components.. Means they tolerate higher temps better, provides stable electrical output for processor and RAM, etc, which, in general, will give longer lifespan.

But normally for a lesser budget (say 15-20% cheaper), one can easily build a system that'll last for years as well (not to mention it's also tailored to your needs).

Anw back to Mac OS vs Windows, probably you need to asses your needs. Any particular software you need only available in mac/windows? Are you ok with the learning curve?

 

[sammy888]

It seems that all the Window-based notebooks / PCs will not last pass 2-3 years. No wonder the prices are like dirt cheap or at least very affordable.

I use PC notebooks all my life and have bought and use about 5 all last average of 3-7 years. The 3 years one did not die but I sold it to get something more powerful at that time. And the rest did not die as per say but parts do get worn out and where possible I would change parts in the notebook ( yes that can be done unlike macs which might need to be brought into their service center to make upgrades and repair most times)

So where is your sweeping claim from that PC notebooks don't last as long or has a reputation for breaking down sooner unlike Apple computers? Having fix and build many friends and clients computers for them, most of the time I see and know of people changing due more to vanity then really using the computer. I have also seen people not looking after their notebook properly especially if provided by companies to use so not from their pocket, they pay little care to looking after it well and have even seen some purposely try to break it in order to get a new one. I just hope your search is sincerely real and not just a troll thread to thrash PC notebook. I know of people working in Apple services center and at Sim Lim Sq and they have their fair share of mac breakdown as well. Including new system that are just bought home for less then a month.

 

[sunnycamera]

it depends what you want from the notebook,

it is like Canon vs Nikon, if you want something that other brand not offering, then get that brand,

for reliability, once you get the 3 year warranty, it is safe already, if broken, they will repair for free.

there is always some glitch happens in all brands, like nikon d600's sensor, fuji x100's aperture, etc.. and even top end products have issue, but overall higher price, better product, but it depends on how much you justify it.

My wife's 1st Compaq laptop last for 9 years already still working and good enough to use xp,
My wife's 999 SGD Acer notebook last for 7 years already still working but slow with windows 7,
My 3200 SGD Macbook pro last for 4 years and died because of graphic card fail and out of warranty,
My 2000 SGD dell studio laptop failed 3 times because graphic card in last 3 years, and lucky every time the on-site dell repair make it working within 2 day, and still working fast now. (good part of dell is they come to your home to repair on spot under warranty)

note:
my wife use laptop mainly for email, web, office, and watch drama online
I use laptop mainly for heavy graphics and video design works

 

[armadillo]

I hv dell inspiron 700, still working fine after 8 years.
I'm unable to use Mac yet, as many office applications only work with Windows, so no choice.
I guess if all your application work fine with Mac, and you have the budget, then good to have Mac perhaps.
I'm using newer dell notebook now with SSD hardisk for more than 2 years now.

 

[matthew]

It really comes down to personal preference and price vs size and that sort of thing.

My only worry about some of the newer Macs is the batteries are not replaceable. And given the first thing to go on a laptop generally is the batteries....

I just replaced a 7 year old Dell laptop - mostly cause what I wanted to do with it required more memory than the machine could accept and it's 1.8" IDE hard drive is very slow and drives of that interface are not made any more. The Dell isn't on it's original batteries though, it was replaced at some point, but even then the run time on battery was getting a little short.

Some one who's a hard-core windows user may find the transition to MacOSX a little challenging. Various people at work have tried to make the transition and found it all too hard and they went back to the windows world.

 

[hanzohattori]

I'm posting this from a 2007 lenovo laptop model Y400.. still working like a charm.. although audio wise is light years away from today's devices

 

[SilentSeth]

In short, yes you can always move to Macbooks.

But if you still want to stay with Windows, then normally I'd suggest Asus notebooks. Have more budget? Try Lenovo Thinkpads, Fujitsu, Panasonic Toughbook, Dell Alienware, or probably Razer notebooks. See if you still can say they are "dirt cheap"

You can also install virtual machines such as VMware to run both Window & Mac OS in one platform.

For PC, I usually build myself. I can choose the components I want. Normally they come with at least one year warranty (per component).

 

[huatman]

Sometime depend on luck also. One of my friend posted in facebook that her macbook hdd die off and all data gone. And as not all external disk work with just plug and play on Mac, she did not back up her data often. Some make a switch and like it, some regretted it.
If you use a lot of Microsoft office program, eg words document etc, it may be advisable to stick to window. As heard if you work on Office mean for Mac, the layout/format may look different when open in windows. Especially if you need to pass files around to other user who don't use Mac.

I myself had used a mac but still dun like the interface, maybe just not use to it and been using window for so many years. It also easier to get programs for windows including those freewares etc. So in end still use my older windows laptop more. Feel it easier to get cheaper parts for window laptop/pc too.
There are few ways to run windows on mac, one of them is get Parallel Desktop, which u can switch between Mac and Window without rebooting. But it like running a program to run another program, make sure you have enough RAM for it to run smoothly.

 

[sfoto100]

if your concern is hardware, then i heard that higher end mac uses better hardware.. of course there is good hardware if you decide to go for windows based laptop...

the main dif is the OS.. Mac OS is based on FreeBSD, which is rock solid!

personally i hate Windows! especially Win8, it is hopeless.. the entire Windows series is hopeless.. maybe bcos i have used Linux before and maybe bcos i am a IT professional (hence demands more )...