Want to buy a MacBook Pro just for PC use. No boot camp and Windows XP possible?

The 8600M GT is at the bottom of the list of mid-range notebook GPUs.

There are notebooks with better GPUs out there for less money.

You forgot to mention that the optical drive is not user replaceable or upgradeable.

And that upgrading the HDD voids your warranty.

 

But you don't get GPU decoding for video playback in Parallels and Fusion. You only get basic 3D gaming.

Which means you still need to install Windows via Boot Camp if you want your DVDs to actually look good.

 

Hey guys just to clear up some issues regarding IPS - I'm a bit of a display fanatic been though literally 20 desktop lcd's and found only NEC s-ips's acceptable, anyhow - i've done a bit of research at the LG site (the only current makers of IPS) and it appears no notebook panel they make sports ips specs e.g. 90 degree viewing angles and 16m colors. I therefore conclude Anand is in error with his conclusions about panel tech inside the MBP. He should have taken it apart or at least looked at firmware before making those claims.
http://www.lgdisplay.com/homeContain/jsp/eng/prd/prd300_j_e.jsp

makes sense as IPS is a power hog like old trinitron tubes power in a LCD - not very useful in notebooks.

Thanks for everyones help - I did order a T61 for fathers day for my dad - I'll get a week with it before i give it to him. i think because of the advice i've been given I'll stick with some PC variant - some dell XPS or the t61 if i find it's matte screen acceptable. I'll also be taking a trip to Bestbuy again and see if anything grabs me. I work a lot at night so the illuminated keyboard is really a must have for me at least.. the aw m15x has illumination but seems to be POS from things I've read so it's out of contention.

Thanks again.

 

I'd say whats rubbish is to assume you know the needs of every computer user.

 

If MBP had a bios it would be mine - again has every feature i want and some you can't all together in a pc. Penryn, Lit keys, decent graphics, light and thin 15".

I guess the XPS's are a 2nd great choice unless you like to work/game in the dark..

Dell is having a superduper deal tomorrow on the 15" XPS - may have to jump on it if it can be configured right.
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/days_of_deals?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

If you want to game better, I suggest you not look at your keyboard in the middle of a firefight.

 

For real, if you still hunt and peck, then backlit keyboard is for you. If you touch type or you have a bright scrren, the backlit keyboard is a moot point. Just like the aluminum BS.