[Darkness]

whatever you do do not get a Dell

Do not get a Dell

check out the Dell XPS series.

... *raises eyebrow*

[Troll]

Ignorance at its best.

[Dragonman]

I'm not thrilled about Dell either, both of my desktops that I've had in the past tanked it big time. For my laptop I'm leaning towards HP, but... now I'm starting to consider macs. And I really don't know enough about computers, so what's the major difference between mac and pc? What I know of is that.. pc is easier to use and compatible with more stuff, but mac is faster and has better virus protection. Am I correct there?

I'm going to start listing some laptops I find online so that you guys can help critique them with me if you want. I want to make the wisest choice possible here. If it helps, I'm majoring in engineering, but I will also definitely be doing art.

[Pureblade]

Mac has recently become compatible with just about everything PC has. What it doesn't have, you probably don't need. And it also has loads of applications available that PC lacks.
The controls take some getting used to, especially the mouse. But once you've got that down it's a great pick. Imagine the benefits of something that doesn't get viruses and wont need virus protection? That alone saves you money.
Mac laptops operate just as well or better than a desktop computer. Especially the new pro's. The only complaint I've found is how expensive they are, but this is a great investment nonetheless.

[Jake]

Mac has recently become compatible with just about everything PC has. What it doesn't have, you probably don't need. And it also has loads of applications available that PC lacks.

Technically... I don't need a computer either but I like playing games, and apparently Darkness does too. I personally like all these programs I have that don't exist on a mac.

The controls take some getting used to, especially the mouse. But once you've got that down it's a great pick. Imagine the benefits of something that doesn't get viruses and wont need virus protection? That alone saves you money.

*leftclick*
Seriously, AVG, zonealarm, spybot. Free virus protection. Also, use firefox and keep the "Noscript" plugin handy. If you still manage to get serious viruses with that, you're probably a moron. and if you pay for virus protection (NOD32), it's still cheaper than a mac.

Mac laptops operate just as well or better than a desktop computer. Especially the new pro's. The only complaint I've found is how expensive they are, but this is a great investment nonetheless.

So, basically... you're saying macs are just as good as PCs, but are much more expensive. I don't get it... Is that the punchline?
They're also from what I heard, da­mn hard to upgrade. All laptops are like that though, so I'll let that slide.

As far as investment goes, when I upgrade my PC, I'll make a $200 profit (maybe more) on the sale of my old machine (I'll replace my $120 PSU with another, cheaper one. As well as replacing my good RAM with an existing 1GB stick I have). That's the cost of the processor I want right there. This brings my previously $700-800 upgrade down to... $500-600? This brings down the total cost of my near top of the line gaming machine down to what? Around $800 maybe? That's a 500GB hd, DVD burner, Intel E8400 (Wolfdale) 3.0GHz, an overclocker's motherboard, new case, 2GB DDR2-800 with CL timings of 4, a quiet and energy efficient 750Watt PSU, and a Radeon HD 4870.

What are you going to spend on your next mac desktop upgrade? Maybe, if your lucky you can get a machine like that for... I dunno. 3x the price?
Wait, sorry. I just checked the Apple Store. You can't buy a machine like that from them. They don't sell that kind of performance.
Let's check one of those nasty PCs shall we? Lets try HP. Apparently they're good.
The closest thing to my PC they had... cost $1,649.99.
Inferior performance, double the price.

Now, lets compare my laptop to its mac equivalent.
Mine: $900
The mac: $1,449.00
OH SHI-
I forgot, My laptop has a 512MB dedicated graphics card (ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, slightly less power than a 8800GT desktop card) and the mac has nothing as far as I can see. Also, my laptop is a 15inch ans the mac is 13inch (matter of preference really)
gg apple...
gg

[Pureblade]

Technically... I don't need a computer either but I like playing games, and apparently Darkness does too. I personally like all these programs I have that don't exist on a mac.

Far as I know, most recent computer games have been compatible with Mac's..

*leftclick*
Seriously, AVG, zonealarm, spybot. Free virus protection. Also, use firefox and keep the "Noscript" plugin handy. If you still manage to get serious viruses with that, you're probably a moron. and if you pay for virus protection (NOD32), it's still cheaper than a mac.

They may have virus protection, but this completely eliminates any threat of ever getting a virus. They also don't malfunction every other day like PC's. Yours might be an exception, but just about everyone I know has had serious hardware or software failings with PC multiple times. Mac's require almost 0 maintenance throughout their lifetime.

So, basically... you're saying macs are just as good as PCs, but are much more expensive.
I don't get it... Is that the punchline?

I meant that the Mac laptops perform just as well as desktop computers. Not necessarily PC's. But yeah, that pretty much is the punchline. Not many laptops out there can say even close to as much. These things can run circles around the competition, and many of the features are really convenient. As I said before- once you get the controls down, you're set.

[Pureblade]

Here's my real advice, all advertising aside. (;

Go to a computer store and talk to an expert. Preferably an unbiased one. Ask him the pro's and con's, straight up. And then try them out. If you're worried about the Mac's features, try it. Then ask about performance long-term.

My vote is still with the Mac, but it's better for you to get a hands-on feel and see if you can get used to the different layout.

[Atilla]

One more strike against Mac: if you do have a severe problem, you have to send it in to Apple. No questions asked. Plenty of people around to fix PCs; Apple doesn't work that way.

[Dragonman]

@Jake: Your laptop seems pretty nice looking at it compared to what I was looking for.. would you recommend it over what I linked to earlier? (this).

I've been looking at HP's site, and they have the whole "customize your own computer" setup, so that leads me to another question: would I be better off buying one elsewhere already set up, or customize my own? The customizing seems expensive, but I don;t know if it actually is moreso that buying one already made or not.

[Atilla]

@Jake: Your laptop seems pretty nice looking at it compared to what I was looking for.. would you recommend it over what I linked to earlier? (this).

I've been looking at HP's site, and they have the whole "customize your own computer" setup, so that leads me to another question: would I be better off buying one elsewhere already set up, or customize my own? The customizing seems expensive, but I don;t know if it actually is moreso that buying one already made or not.

The first rule of computer buying is never buy from the manufacturer. It's always the most expensive deal you can get.

As for customization, it's a toss-up really. It's more expensive to customize your own instead of just searching for one that fits what you need. The good deals are on pre-built computers.

EDIT: Also, goodlord. That one from newegg is more than good enough to get you through college. 2MB L2 cache? -Drool.-

EDIT2: The only setback is the 1 year limited warranty. Just purchase one from newegg; they run about an extra $100 or so.

[Troll]

Pureblade gtfo with your Mac fan boy posts.




Macs don't get Viruses? BULL{expletive hax0rd by Cspace}, all you need is AVG and a brain on a PC.


Macs are overpriced for what you get.


I haven't had a problem with my PC for one year, how long have I had it, one year. I have a brain and know how a computer works.


My final advice, get a Mac if you don't really want to play games and just want editing software and software like that, get a good Windows laptop if you want to play games and still do what you want that you could of done on a Mac.


Although I must also say, a Mac is handy to have.

[Dragonman]

A mac would be handy to have, but so would a lot of other things. I'm pretty set now on getting a PC, and what I'm liking most so far is the artist edition for the HP laptop (the one I linked to). But whether or not to buy from the site.. if it's more money to buy it from the manufacturer, then what would be a good choice without thoughts of cost? (or simply the difference?)

[Dragonman]

Okay, I have just hit an obstacle. I am now drooling over this Toshiba:

http://explore.toshi...io/G50/G55-Q802

Need. Help.

O_O

[Troll]

Okay, I have just hit an obstacle. I am now drooling over this Toshiba:

http://explore.toshi...io/G50/G55-Q802

Need. Help.

O_O

That does look nice, and would be able to play nearly any game thrown at it.

[Dragonman]

I looked at a bunch of comments on one site, and most people were saying how Toshiba Qosmios don't last very long before frying out... bad fan I guess?

I still haven't seen anything bad about the HP Pavilion DV2800t Artist Edition, though. But I'm still welcoming anyone to push me in any other direction, I want to look at any option available before deciding.