Just ordered an M6600 to replace my Macbook Pro.

Hello.

Just to give a little background, I have lurked on the forums here off and on but never really posted much. I am a Sys Admin and I am currently using a Macbook Pro 13". I was a hardcore PC guy back in the day then switched over to Macs for almost 8 years now. I decided I wanted a better machine for my money and to do some PC gaming again.

I just ordered a Dell Precision M6600 and thinking of going back to the PC world.
One of my main reasons is that I want to do some gaming again and to get a Mac that can run newer games well enough you need to spend a lot more than what I can get the PC equivalent for. Apple's machines have a lot more style than substance IMO. I do love the way they look and I do enjoy using OSX however they seem to typically lack in the power department.

My current specs are on the Macbook Pro 13":

Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz
NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256MB
8GB memory.

This thing can really only run older games, newer stuff it just can't handle whether it's in OSX or Bootcamp under Windows, I usually end up running it on low graphics settings.

The specs of the M6600 I ordered are as follows:

Precision Mobile Workstation M6600 Laptop
Internal Swipe Fingerprint Reader and contactless Smartcard Reader
Internal Backlit Keyboard - English
Integrated webcam with single digital microphone
9 Cell Primary Battery
Certified Refurbished
Full HD+ LCD Cover
Genuine Windows 7 Professional
INTEL VPRO TECHNOLOGY ADV MGMT FEATURES
750 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
64BIT Operating System
Processor: Intel Core i7-2720M Quad Core Processor (2.20GHz, 6M cache)
Intel 6300 Wireless-N (2x2) Half Mini-Card
AMD FirePro M8900 Mobility Pro Graphics with 2GB GDDR5
8X Slot Load DVD+/-RW Drive
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Module
17.3 Inch UltraSharp FHD(1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit with Premium Panel

I ordered it as a Refurb for $999, which I think was a really good deal.

I think it will be quite the upgrade from my Macbook Pro. There will be some things I will miss using in OSX but it's not a big deal. I just really want more bang for my buck and Apple just can't give me that, they put anemic graphics cards in all but their most high end desktops which are big $.

A while back I did go through this same dilemma, I had a Macbook and ordered a Dell M4500, and I loved the M4500 it was a great machine for me, but I ended up going back to a lower performing Macbook Pro again. Why I'm not sure, I think I get caught up in Apple Fanboy-ism. I think this time I am ready to go back for good, I think the M6600 is awesome and everything I really need.


Do you guys think I got a good deal on the Dell?
Has anyone else switched from Mac and regretted it, or not?
How do you guys like your M6600's?

Thanks for reading all that I hope to become a more active in the community here.

 

I love my M6600 but looking at your specs I presume you will be manually adding more RAM? The lack of a SSD may worry some as it would help speed things up. US$ 999 seems like a very, very good deal.

 

Thanks, I will be adding more RAM right away. I plan on an SSD shortly after because it makes such a huge difference.

I configured the machine I ordered brand new on Dells site and it goes for $2,357 so I guess I did get a good deal then. lol