Dell vs Macbook vs Sony vs Thinkpad

The last few weeks i've been worrying about which laptop to buy: Dell m1530 or a Macbook Pro or a Sony Vaio or maybe an IBM Thinkpad or something else.

I wanted high quality and i wanted the machine to be able to run everything fast and smooth in Windows Vista (i install and support Windows servers at work) and because i'm an amateur photographer, i was a little curious towards OS/X Leopard. I wanted a silent machine (no fan noise) and obviously a fast machine with lots of RAM. Also, the screen had to be high quality since i often use Photoshop. And battery life should be better than the Asus A7 i have, as well as the weight (the A7 is too heavy). Gaming was not important because i do that on the Playstation3 now.

After much research, emailing, consulting the forums here and comparing, i decided to bite the bullet and get me a ...... Macbook Pro 17" with a high resolution (1900x1200) matte and 4GB ram.

So far, it's been the best decision of my life! The hardware is unbelievable (performance, silent, cool features, leds, etc) and OS/X is simply amazing. It took me about two or three days using OS/X to get to a reasonably comfortable level and now i love it a lot. Of course, Windows Vista SP1 is installed too and runs smooth as hell.

I was a little concerned about the Mac keyboard being difficult to use with Vista but it's just a non-issue. The keyboard works perfectly both under os/x and Vista.

I read a lot about heat issues with the Macbook Pro, but temperatures have been normal so far. No heat, no noise, i almost can't believe it.

The high resolution 1900x1200 is high for a 17" screen, but the screen in so amazingly sharp, i wouldn't ever want to change back to a lower res tft.

And last but not least: after 20 years of using Windows, i was shocked to see how great Leopard and the OS/x apps really are and how easy it is to switch from Windows to OS/X!

There's actually only one reason i can think of for not buying this Macbook, and that's gaming. If you want to use the laptop for a lot of gaming, i'm sure there are better machines out there for you.

Conclusion: the Macbook Pro 17" makes me very happy and i'm sure i couldn't have made a better decision.

 

Now all you have to do is write a nice long review about it. There is currently a deficit in high end 17" Peryn MBP reviews.

 

Good to hear you're enjoying your Mac, kvdv!

Any mini-reviews of any sort for us?

 

congrats for ur new MBP
waiting for some pics n review

 

i went originally with a 1530 maxxed out. it was an OK machine. the screen was the 1680x1050, and the main reason it went back. They sent me the craptastic screen with the "dust effect" it was unbearable.

Still a decent machine. Not a MBP by any means. i now have a MBP 2.4 Penny, and im 100% happy. Something i couldnt say about the dell.

 

I also hade the M1530 with the 1680x1050 screen and the dust effect... sent it back, and tomorrow im getting my MBP =) 2.4 ghz penry, cant wait =)

 

Dell's hardware handles heat a lot better than Apple's. If you do anything that needs to push it, it will get LOUD (at least the systems with 65nm CPUs). (I've yet to find anyone who Folds on a 45nm Macbook Pro though, so I don't really know if it does better or not.)

Similar hardware to the XPS 1530...the other negative is the difficult to replace hard drive, but on the other hand it has a FANTASTIC screen that's both matte and LED backlit. The XPS 1530 is stuck with a glossy, florecent, UV-spewing, mercury-containing screen.

 

You could do a color coded review. Colors indicating items that switchers would be interested in

I've read a lot of reviews of the actual hardware/software. What is missing is a review style comparison of a new switcher's perspective. There's a lot of information out there chopped up in forums, blogs, etc.

Just a thought....

 

I wouldn't mind writing a review about the new Macbook Pro. I found so much info here before my purchase, so i'd like to give something back , it's just... i don't know where to start. Are there any guidelines for this? And what's a color coded review?


Oh and btw, thanks a lot Sam for the fantastic(!) switcher guides you wrote.
I've read them several times now


-Kris

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/writeReview/

 

okay i'll get to work this weekend then...