Macbook Opinions???

Revolution36 · 07-09-2008

So my little HP laptop is on its last leg. It's about 5 years old now, almost a lost cause. I was in the Apple store looking at the MacBooks. Everyone I know seems to be really happy with them, just wondering if anyone here at any personal experience.

thanks,
-nick

chevre · 07-09-2008

They're nice machines, though on the expensive side. But, you get what you pay for. I don't own one personally but everyone I know who does somes to love them.

mm3 · 07-09-2008

As a Mac user, I'd honestly say that they are on the expensive side, but as chevvy said, you do get what you paid for. They're excellent for school work, and media-related duties. They perform really well under high stress, even machines as old as my PowerBook.

kite · 07-09-2008

they have a 6 meg cache which is rare to find on pc laptops, but the prices are outrageous. for a $2000 mac you can get a similarly spec'd pc laptop for about $1300 or less. but with the extra cost you get a good performing laptop with rarely any issues and they hold their values too. i'm currently selling my mac powerbook G3 and i can get around $50 to $55 for it still.

stanfordhawks · 07-09-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by kite

they have a 6 meg cache which is rare to find on pc laptops, but the prices are outrageous. for a $2000 mac you can get a similarly spec'd pc laptop for about $1300 or less. but with the extra cost you get a good performing laptop with rarely any issues and they hold their values too. i'm currently selling my mac powerbook G3 and i can get around $50 to $55 for it still.

Still for sale???
*hmm i can use a third mac

*
no but seriously i would love to have it

Which version of G3 is it?
(Wallstreet, Pismo, Kanga)

diapermingus · 07-09-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revolution36

So my little HP laptop is on its last leg. It's about 5 years old now, almost a lost cause. I was in the Apple store looking at the MacBooks. Everyone I know seems to be really happy with them, just wondering if anyone here at any personal experience.

thanks,
-nick

I <3 my Macbook. Never had problems with it. I upgraded my memory, b/c I got mine fairly early in the run when the base model (which I have) still had only 512 mb of memory. Only issue was when I screwed up upgrading the memory and went up to 2GB, but installed it wrong--my computer up and died four days later. All I had to do was click it in and everything was back. The keyboard can get a bit manky looking, b/c it's white, but apparently you can get a new wristplate or something--anyone else here know about that?

Time Machine is terrific for backing your stuff up, and there's nothing quite as functional and simple for PCs, at least to my knowledge.

If you play games, you can install Windows XP or Vista on your Macbook and dual boot. In theory you get native or close to native speed. In practice, Macbooks don't have dedicated video cards, so some games could be problematic. I play Civ IV, which requires a video card--I get a warning every time I open it, but I can still get full game play experience. YMMV, though, especially with first person shooters. (I don't dualboot, btw, but my girlfriend does, and she plays Sims on her laptop--I have Civ IV for Mac.)

Anyway, Macbooks are great computers--my girlfriend just got one, and she's really happy, too. There is a bit of a learning curve with switching from Windows, but MacOS is a more intuitive OS in a lot of ways. And, it's much less prone to viruses and spyware than PCs (although less so than it used to be), and really doesn't freeze up.

The only downside is the somewhat hefty price tag, but you get reliability for it, and the ability to really use it out of the box (the only thing I installed was Office).

Kams · 11-09-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by kite

they have a 6 meg cache which is rare to find on pc laptops, but the prices are outrageous. for a $2000 mac you can get a similarly spec'd pc laptop for about $1300 or less.

True, but I don't mind paying extra $$ for Mac OS X

MacBooks=win
MacBook Pros=epic win

stillsilent · 11-09-2008

I don't own a Macbook, but for a general use computer I don't see any reason not to get a Mac. They generally offer a good value for the money versus PCs, despite not competing with sub $1000 PCs, and the OS and hardware integration is nothing to downplay. Mac OS generally "just works" and you can spend more time using your computer than maintaining it compared to Windows. The machine you buy is likely to last many years with only the most basic of upgrades (RAM mostly), too.

Point Blanch · 11-09-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by stillsilent

Mac OS generally "just works" and you can spend more time using your computer than maintaining it compared to Windows. The machine you buy is likely to last many years with only the most basic of upgrades (RAM mostly), too.

*grinds teeth*

Macs are nice computers. A few of my friends have them and I really can't tell the difference between them and my home PC which I made myself, besides the obvious. I haven't really "field-tested" any Macs but I'd say if you want to get a Mac go for it.

spacemanBEN · 11-09-2008

OK, I love my MacBook. It wasn't cheap, but it kicks the crap out of any PCs I've tried that were a similar price. And leopard and OS-X are far superior to Vista in my opinion. And if you're going to school and or doing music/movie production, you can't beat it, except for a MacBook pro.

07-09-2008	#1 (permalink)
Revolution36 Regular Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mass, USA Age: 21 Posts: 317 Threads: 14 Gallery Uploads: 2 Reputation: 0	Macbook Opinions??? So my little HP laptop is on its last leg. It's about 5 years old now, almost a lost cause. I was in the Apple store looking at the MacBooks. Everyone I know seems to be really happy with them, just wondering if anyone here at any personal experience. thanks, -nick

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07-09-2008	#2 (permalink)
chevre Not your typical kid Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: US Age: 24 Posts: 941 Threads: 25 Wiki Edits: 37	They're nice machines, though on the expensive side. But, you get what you pay for. I don't own one personally but everyone I know who does somes to love them.

07-09-2008	#3 (permalink)
mm3 Metal Militia Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New York Age: 17 Posts: 1,011 Threads: 62 Gallery Uploads: 3 Wiki Edits: 3	As a Mac user, I'd honestly say that they are on the expensive side, but as chevvy said, you do get what you paid for. They're excellent for school work, and media-related duties. They perform really well under high stress, even machines as old as my PowerBook.

07-09-2008	#4 (permalink)
kite VIP Historical Donor Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Massachusetts Age: 25 Posts: 998 Threads: 76 Gallery Uploads: 13 Wiki Edits: 2 Blog Entries: 11	they have a 6 meg cache which is rare to find on pc laptops, but the prices are outrageous. for a $2000 mac you can get a similarly spec'd pc laptop for about $1300 or less. but with the extra cost you get a good performing laptop with rarely any issues and they hold their values too. i'm currently selling my mac powerbook G3 and i can get around $50 to $55 for it still.

11-09-2008	#8 (permalink)
stillsilent Regular Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colorado, USA Age: 25 Posts: 27 Threads: 1 Reputation: 0	I don't own a Macbook, but for a general use computer I don't see any reason not to get a Mac. They generally offer a good value for the money versus PCs, despite not competing with sub $1000 PCs, and the OS and hardware integration is nothing to downplay. Mac OS generally "just works" and you can spend more time using your computer than maintaining it compared to Windows. The machine you buy is likely to last many years with only the most basic of upgrades (RAM mostly), too.

11-09-2008	#10 (permalink)
spacemanBEN VIP Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: British Columbia, Canada Age: 17 Posts: 639 Threads: 22	OK, I love my MacBook. It wasn't cheap, but it kicks the crap out of any PCs I've tried that were a similar price. And leopard and OS-X are far superior to Vista in my opinion. And if you're going to school and or doing music/movie production, you can't beat it, except for a MacBook pro.