Want to buy macbook pro15 but worried

hi i want to buy macbook pro 15 but im worried that if my making a bad investment...i want a laptop mainly for school im going to do a 2year course on 3d animation and visual effects .....i need a fairly good laptop for all that work and also to for photoshop, moderate gaming and video editing and other stuff......i need the laptop to last for atleast 2.5 years....i dont want it to let me down during my second year......do you guys think it would be a good choice to go for a macbook pro 15 and should i stick with a windows laptop ?

im really apprehensive about buying the mac due to the apple premium ? is it worth it...? cos i could get a equivalent windows notebook for half the price ?
please help me out with my confusion ?....thks guys

 

I was with you until that last line. Slightly concerns me about the true nature of this thread. . Also you never even stated why you want a Mac or even why you think it would let you down during your second year, what's that supposed to mean??

 

Yes Apple needs to outsource some people and throw out Jobs so we can get cheaper computers.

 

STOP right there i have never used a mac so i will have my doubts im not here to start some flame thread.....i want a mac cos of all the good things i heard about the OS X and its design and looks...so i have told my needs so all im asking is u mac users to help me decide if da mac would be good enough for my tasks.....and regarding the 2year comment what i meant was will the current gen macs look dated by then (spec wise) cos if i buy a windows lappy i can configure it with very high specs than the macbook pro but still im willing to go da mac way for the design and OS X.....only thing i want to know is will the macbook pro be good enough for my tasks or should i get a higher speced windows lappy ?

 

None of those are necessary...
Other companies don't seem to have that issue...

The premium Apple charges is because it CAN, not because it needs to.


For the OP, if the classes focus on Mac software, and you are not a technical person capable of finding a suitable alternative or compatible program to give the instructors what they require... you may be better off doing the class in the OS the instuctor bases his software package in.

If the class focuses on PC software, or if you are technically-inclined enough to find a suitable alternative for the apple-based software, I see no reason why you would choose a macbook over your current i7 ENVY. (Unless of course MacOS works better for the way you think.)

As for hardware... the Macbooks do have some quality issues after 2 years.
-From experience our users see macbook batteries start dropping to 30minutes or less of life after 1-1.5 years.
-Hardware failures after 2 years are pretty common. Power couplings, heat issues, and oddly enough a few new ones have screen problems at the lower corners. (I have seen this attributed here to heat, but I am not sure about that.)

For example, the MBP on my desk last week had 15min of battery life the week before and stopped booting all together this week(brick). It was just over 2 years old. No damage on the outside, no indication of foul play... While a little dusty, it wasn't so bad inside. From the user's description, it sounds like it overheated.

 

Gotcha, but when you come here and say that you can get a PC notebook for "half the price" then that can easily be construed as a flame post.

You can buy "anything" for half the price of "anything", but you need to do a fair comparison before making that statement. Specs alone don't make for good computing and once you get into using the Mac and it's OS you'll understand that. You should have no issue getting an i7 15" Macbook Pro and it should easily last you for at least 5 years. The only thing that slows down production on a computer is not the outdated specs, it's the developers updating software that requires higher system requirements so your top spec PC will end up in the same situation.

Battery life, keyboard, trackpad gestures, high contrast screen and build quality are just some of the things that separate the Mac from your common everyday plain jane PC notebook. OS X is the most efficient system on memory management, battery and it's overall a much easier system to use. "IF" absolutely necessary you can buy a Windows 7 license and install it on a separate partition on the Mac's hard drive and boot into Windows for when you need it.

Macs are about being an All in One system. Out of the box you can view Microsoft Office files without any additional software and it connects to Exchange Server. None of this is available on a Windows machine. If "up front" cash is all you're concerned about then get a Windows machine. BTW, what's wrong with your current HP i7 Envy as a suitable machine for school?

 

thanks for the post..the main reason i want to replace my envy 15 is im fed up with its problems it recently developed a cooling fan problem and gets excessively hot and 45 min battery life on 6cell.....the classes will be mainly be using MAYA ,Photoshop and Nuke which i think are available for mac....

 

the main reason i want to replace my envy 15 is im fed up with its problems it recently developed a cooling fan problem and gets excessively hot and 45 min battery life on 6cell.....hey are anyone using da macbook pro for MAYA and and other 3d modelling tools....how does it stack up ?

 

I don't think you would be putting your MBP on your lap if that is what you are asking with the heat.

Not true as far as Office starter 2010 is concerned. People go with linux and are happy when it is much worse to customize with lower driver support compared to windows.

 

Well, first and lastly, Office Starter 2010 is bundled software that comes on select PC's. I'm talking about straight clean OS's of Windows and OS X. Out of the box Windows can't view MS Office docs without any additional software, OS X can, and you certainly cannot connect to Exchange Server on Windows without Outlook and it's not included with Office Starter 2010. And Office Starter 2010? R U serious even using that argument? It's ad based.

 

I seriously doubt he will be using excange server in his course on 3D art stuff. I think a mac is a decent choice, but I will also point out they don't cool very well, which is hard on components, the likely reason for fairly high failure rates in 2+ year time frame.

perhaps get a HP Elitebook or a business machine? they will have as much performance as a MBP, cost similarly but cool well and tend to have 3 year warranties (and the quality to back it up). pretty sure Maya is windows and mac.

Edit: http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTE...IC&CatalogCategoryID=vfoQ7EN5XpgAAAEuPyFCFgH7

1900$, better specs than the MBP 15, has standard 3 year warrenty 1080P screen... just a warning, this machine was certianly be significantly heavier than the MBP.

 

ya i did consider them mainly the dell precision m4600 and thinkpad w520 but they the macbook design , portability and looks are tilting me towards it ...im confused as hell scratching my head to make a decision ?

 

I was making a point so the OP can make an informed decision since he was ASKING what a Mac can offer that a PC can't for the extra money that Apple charges. If you want to go on record discounting functionality of OS X and point out only negatives then you're showing yourself as a PC fanboy and at that point I won't waste my time responding to you any further.
OP, you're going to get a lot of Windows fanboys that feel threatened that you are considering getting a Mac and will sway you with negatives, especially ones saying that after 2 years it's common for Macs to have hardware failures. Not true at all but since I will soon be out-numbered by the Windows fanboys I will remove myself from this discussion so they can further do their brainwashing on you.

 

hmm........just for a second just tell what would u buy if ur in my shoes Macbook pro,Dell M4600,thinkpad W520,alienware m14x ??

 

lol, your killing me AGH! I'm trying to give him useful information, only a fool believes that a Macbook pro has a good cooling system under heavy load (which is the very definition of anything "3D"). and it's also a FACT that higher temp = shorter component life. and yes there are fairly high failure rates. (which PCs have too. but those are mainly because of cheap components or heat issues).

your getting bent out of shape because I recommended to look at a PC in an apple thread? who cares? I go to the windows threads and recommend mac's... and yes I only posted a negative, because the major pro's were already covered.

so now that we've established I'm not a raging PC fanboy. lets get back to the subject of the thread.

yes those Dell's are nice. just a tip the Dell and HP business lines will have much better screens than the W520 from Lenovo, and even better than an normal apple screen.

it's sounds like you for the most part know what you need to know. (of course ask questions if I'm wrong).

but one piece of general advice, try and find an apple store and spend a significant about of time with OS X, it will make your decision easier.

 

I know it's not directed at me, but I'll answer it.

Dell M4600, easy. once your toss the MBP15 into the pickings... it's more difficult... depending on the specs and cost of the M4600... I'd likely still choose that.

 

Macs are computers... they have upsides and downsides and the purpose of this site is to compare and contrast.

Macs DO have long-term issues... but they compare similarly in this way with mainline retailers like Dell. The mac fanboi stance that Macs are infallible and "ultra-high-quality" is somewhere between misleading to just plain false. They do fail and they are NOT much superior in durability to Dell frankly. This does not mean that macs all fall apart immediately or that they are junk. It does mean that "average" is a much better descriptor.

Because the macs are thin and light they made sacrifices in durability and heat and performance. This is expected and the apple sticker on the outside does not exclude them from the laws of physics.

Mac DO have one advantage that no one can deny.
The ability to run MacOS.
Whether this is worth the price tag is up to the user.
Some people really are more productive and much happier in MacOS.
(Some people are not.)

 

ok as a raging tech nerd and in the animation/AV and design industry

1: look at your applictions and how in depth you will be going. I use MAYA alot and for me any laptop without a PRO GPU is instantly out. ( sorry Apple )
render times and driver and thermal crashes are a nightmare if you want to be productive.

2: if you NEED it to last 2.5 years and are like me and do not treat it like a china doll .. go to a business class machine or workstation. trust me 4 year NBD warranties are handy.

3: Some of the MBP's in my sig sit in the corner 300 days of the year. and only come out when I have a business meeting with clients or other designers that will throw a hissy fit if you use Windows for design because somehow it "magically " makes your designs better. If anyone honestly believes that then they should quit designing immediately because they obviously don't understand what design is about they are a tool nothing more, nothing less


4: OSX IS great, but its personal preference and both OS's have advantages and trade offs , stability is NOT one of them as both are extremly stable normally. I have ran OSX since its inception and mac OS 6,7,8 and 9 before that. and have ran windows since windows NT 4.0

Dell 6400 with IPS screen, HP elitebok 8760W, 8560W, 8740W, all available with IPS screens. all available with NBD warranties and all will be better suited, granted most dont have that great of battery life

 

you guys where very helpful........i see only 2 choices with me right now...i will just take my time n make a decision

1) Just get a macbook pro n be happy
2) use my envy 15 as a second laptop and buy the dell precision or hp elitebook.......

 

Use the report button if you feel the posts are flame baiting / trolling / unneeded, etc.

 

I think Yuio brings up good points about the improved quality, reliability, and robustness of the business-class laptops he recommended. While I wouldn't normally recommend the major PC brands, their business lines tend to be more reliable, of higher quality, and generally built with more robust cooling systems. Examples of these computers include HP's Elitebooks, Dell's Precision line and Lenovo's ThinkPad lineup.

I also agree with KCETech to some extent, especially insofar as OSs are simply tools in a toolbox that each have tradeoffs. However I believe Windows is more versatile in the domain of CAD and graphics design applications since it has a wider market of developers.

 

I can not deny this, I now use windows for about 80% of my photography work, 75% of my video editing and graphics design and 100% of my CAD and rendering

 

guys da prob is if i needed a notebook only for 3d modelling n design the decision would have been easier but i need a laptop both for 3d modelling and gaming i do play lots of games and watch movies.......but quadro cards performance while gaming is very bad............

 

which quadro???, the quadros game the same as their regular desktop counterpart. I have a FirePro in my elitebook .. ( in sig ) and my FP7820 games EXACTLY like its little brother the radeon 5870

 

yes a low end one is slow?? don't worry a elitebook would preform very well in gaming.

 

This probably doesn't matter to the OP, but to clarifty Mac OSX can connect to Exchange server 2007 or newer. Does not work with 2003 or older. At least that has been my experience.

 

While I love my 15" MBP and 21" iMac; my work laptop is a HP Elitebook 6930p which I've been using for the last 5 years and it is a tank (meaning, nothing stops it).

 

I can only really comment on the gaming part of your question and when I got a mac, I ended up regretting it a few months later. Seemed like games always demanded more from macs.

 

+++++++++1

I love the laptop itself, but when it comes to gaming I still regret getting a Macbook Pro.

 

Macs aren't gaming notebooks. They aren't designed to be gaming notebooks. Most of the models don't even exceed 1GB in GPU. However, before you make any decisions, go to BestBuy or some other computer score and play around with a few computers.

Not a Mac advocate, or a PC advocate. Actually, I'm computerless at the moment.

It all comes down to what you want. You can ask all you want on the forums and I'm sure you'll get good advice. But at the end of the day, you're the one spending hundreds, and you're the one who will be using the computer everyday.



P.S. If you're gonna game anything other than Starcraft II, WoW, or CoD, DON'T buy a Mac.

 

I somewhat disagree. As long as you're willing to play in Boot Camp, the MBP 15 with the Radeon HD 6750M should be a fine gaming machine.

 

And remember, these 6750m come equipped with the more capable GDDR5 memory. A 6750m with GDDR5 is very similar in real world performance to a faster 6850m, even the 6770m/555m GT (which are high-end graphics cards) with the slower DDR3.

 

If you are learning 3D animation I would strongly suggest to stay on the Windows platform because the majority of the animation industry (especially game design) is still Windows based. Operating system really doesn't make a difference when running 3Dsmax, Maya or Photoshop. It really comes down to getting the best specs for the price since the faster your computer can run the faster the job will be finished.

 

So, your advice is to do exactly what nearly destroyed Apple in the 90's.

Great plan. Which company do you run, again?

 

+1

/begin sarcasm

Because getting rid of English speaking Apple employees that is a great idea. And so is firing the genius that made Apple what it us today.

/end sarcasm

 

I would say they need to get rid of the paranoia and the tendancey to keep their marketining department incharge of designing computers. im tired of the Pro moniker in some of their equipment as there has no longer anything professional about it in years ecept looks. Apple has gone to making VERY fashionable consumer equipment and completly forgotten about us that use their gear in our livelyhoods. it is now 2011 and for kicks .... a $15K equipped Mac Pro does NOT even have a pro GPU coniguration available. Xserve is gone now... whats next happymeals with macbooks? and would you like to upgrade to a Pro with that??

it also comes to downtime and lost rendering time...... of which your pro grade and business class units really excel, in a production environment, an NBD warranty is practically a necessity.

 

Well, at least we know how you feel? Well you're entitled to your opinion, the rest of us don't have to agree with it, thankfully.

I will say this, the PC world certainly isn't any better. There's really nothing "Elite" about HP's Elite Series notebooks and Dell's "Latitude" monikered line is even more retarded. Below is the definition which doesn't have a thing to do with what's suppose to be considered as a business class notebook from Dell. . Both the HP and the Dell are more in line with the Apple Macbook Pro in terms of build quality and design and screen quality. They certainly aren't above it unless you customize them and make them ridiculously more expensive.

So your rant about Apple being out of line in how they are labeling their computers is quite outdated.

latitude |ˈlatəˌt(y)o͞od|
noun
1 the angular distance of a place north or south of the earth's equator, or of a celestial object north or south of the celestial equator, usually expressed in degrees and minutes:
latitude 1
at a latitude of 51° N | lines of latitude.

 

Dear sir ... when was the last time you actually were hands on with a higher end workstation unit? I cant say much about the Latitudes as I have never actually had one in my hands nor spend a couple hundred hours ON one. I actualy have been working on a windows laptop in a full prduction environment for LESS than 2 years. cost ... strange please look in my sig. once you pull the ram out of my elitebook 8740W ( 32 down to 8 ) and remove the SSDs from both my MBP 17" and my EB the EB with the DC2 screen was actually $117.00 cdn LESS. so your coment on cost does not float for me.

build quality, I will cede it is subjective but durablility is not.
but out of date hardware I stick with. in my production environment my previous gen hardware is giving me a roughly 60% boost in productivity over my 2011 17" and as I said before im a noob at the windows OS.

after 20 years in graphics design and AV work, Apple HAS left us high and dry in a professional production environment to make better money in their consumer goods and itunes/app stores. Look at the new Final cut for example strip it to basics and not upgrade the whole Final Cut Studio .... then make it work more like iVideo for home users and forget any of the advancements made in Avid, Premier and Lightworks heck lightworks is FREE , supports ALL formats including R3D, and is as good of an NLE as FCP from what I have seen of it.

 

Dear Sir.... , I have no idea why you even wasted 2 words of writing that post. I was replying to your rant about the moniker branding on the Apple Macbooks. They call them Pro, HP calls them Elite and Dell calls them Latitude (for what reason I'll never know), but there is nothing about the HP's or the Dell's that exude their monikered branding so your point about the PRO on the Macbooks is moot. The Elite HP's and the Dell Latitudes are the only lines of their products that are truly comparable to the Macbook Pro line.

 

The point was... macbooks aren't professional in any way shape or form anymore.
-They do not last
-They carry mediocre hardware
-They are losing professional software support

I know this doesn't really matter to a fanatic, but you didn't address any of those things.

We have a number of Latitudes at work... while the ones we have do not exceed macbook hardware (roughly equal) their durability and reliability are much higher than macbooks.
We have more show-stopper failed macbooks (all pro fyi) than any other brand in 2011. Apple makes up less than 10% of our laptops so this is really sad.

They really oughta replace the "pro" with "fashion barbie".

 

Dell has Precision and Vostro lines as well. IBM has Thinkpad. Toshiba has Tecra. I'm probably missing other brands, but point stands.

Also, Samsung laptops are high quality. And is there a more sought after PC right now than the LG P330?

But in the end, when compared to these lines of PC notebooks, Apple is decently competitive in pricing.

 

Thank you much, but I don't think you were reading the earlier posts. The poster I was replying to was ranting that Apple calls their upper scale Macbooks "PRO" and he goes on to rant that there's nothing PRO about them. I was just saying that many manufacturer's use a moniker that may not tell the true story of their PC, like some of the names that you mentioned.

I get tired of people ranting about the PRO in the Macbook PRO while conveniently ignoring the other manufacturers using special buzz words to make their computers sound better than what they are just so the argument works out in their favor. Now, my rant is done.

 

I quoted too much. This was a response to: "The Elite HP's and the Dell Latitudes are the only lines of their products that are truly comparable to the Macbook Pro line. "

Which I don't think is true. All of the aforementioned "lines" are comparable. Nothing about moniker/semantics, just quality, which is what you're getting at, isn't it?

 

Totally agree.

 

Wasn't the overheating problem part of Nvidia's line of defective 8600m GT chips? Or do MBPs have a history of breaking down after 2 years, because that's a terrible record by any stretch of the imagination.

http://www.slashgear.com/apple-exte...arranty-for-overheating-macbook-pros-0145488/

 

No, that's not what I was getting at. I merely pulled the HP Elite and Dell Latitude lines out of thin air as an example. You are correct, there are other models of HP's and Dell's that are comparable.

Back to my original post that for some reason you and that other poster want to ignore. I was merely making a point about monikers used to sell products. The previous poster said there's nothing PRO about the MBP, I said there's nothing ELITE about the HP Elite. Now, can we please stay on that topic and move away from the parts of my post that you chose to respond to when it really wasn't the topic of my post? I'm sure you could see that.

 

thanks a lot guys for all ur suggestions and fights ...i have decided to get the dell precision m6600