G1S vs Macbook pro

Going to college in August and need a new laptop.
I'm either going to go with the G1S through newegg or the MBP through apple.

Is there going to be a huge difference between the two? The G1S comes with a 256mb video card correct? I was told that so far that card would be at least a third faster than the 128mb card in the macbook. While some might say to get the $2500 macbook I don't think the extra $500 is worth it.

The thing pushing me towards the macbook is that I can get it for $100 cheaper and I get a $200 rebate of an ipod(all of this because of the student discount).

So I just want to know whether there will be a noticable difference between the two laptops and if so is the extra $100 for the G1S worth it? If it helps I have no need for an MP3 player since I currently own a zen.

Thank you,
Juan

 

What will you be doing with the two? If you are going to buy the Mac and put windows on it, don't bother as you would be better off with a true PC. You would probably be better off with the G1S as you really don't need the Nano.

 

G1S all the way,

the Video card is AT LEAST 1/3 faster, even close to 1/2 faster...

I would predict you will need Windows... so add another 150 or more, to macbook's price...

 

I wanted to do some gaming so the asus is looking better. You guys are right though because it would probably cost more in the long run once I bout windows.

I want to use the computer for writing papers, listening to music, surfing the web, and occasionally playing games.

Also I want to be a Biology major if that makes a difference.

One quick question, ive heard macs turn into furnaces(sp). What about the g1s, how hot does it get?

 

hum... something else to consider is the portability... the G1S is like way thicker and weighs an 1.2 pounds more than the MacBook, plus the MBP has a much better battery life... but graphically speaking, the G1S is better.

 

Battery life on a MBP with windows pretty much sucks. If you want to game, go with the G1s. I would personally go with the MBP with the LED screen! If this is really long term and you would use it for gaming but also use Mac OSX, then I suggest you spend another 500$ and go with the 2.4 MBP with the 256MB video card. I mean have you seen the review! That is an excellent machine with an excellent screen and it scored superbly on 3DMark!

I don't think you will go wrong with either one, they are both excellent notebooks. Good luck!

 

The ASUS G1S weighs 1.4 lbs more than the MacBook Pro and lacks a LED backlit display. But, the MacBook Pro runs hotter and has WXGA+ resolution, which is inadequate for a 15.4" laptop. Both laptops have their strengths and weaknesses, but I do not like small displays. WXGA+ resolution monitors are not appropriate for 15.4" laptops.

 

the results posted doesn't show that much of a difference between g1s and mbp, where did u get 33%-50% better from?

 

Yeah not too sure where people are pulling those numbers from. The 128MB card will only be outperformed by the 256MB version in games requiring a large amount of textures. For most use, the two will be relatively close, assuming the same clock speeds.

To be honest, I'd much rather a MBP than the G1S. If your main goal isn't gaming, I'd have no qualms with recommending the MBP.

 

yeah I am really considering the new MBP also, 1 inch thick 5.4 pound notebook, 3 hours of battery life comparable to Asus G1S in gaming + free ipod & Printer, what more could you ask for.

now i am just waiting for the drivers to get ironed out. windows drivers that is...

 

Once again I don't feel the extra $500 is worth the update. I could easily get the same specs(with a different OS) for an extra $100. Affording this laptop is already going to be hard for me, I don't think I(along with some members of my family) can take on the extra burden.

I just wanted to know if there was going to be a performance difference between the cards and it seems there will(at least in games). Also when I realized I would have to buy some form of windows down the road, the MBP would come out more expensive then the G1s.

Then again I could sell my free Ipod for vista money and get a free printer. Damn I still can't choose.

 

You don't need a laptop for college, desktop will just be fine...a $2000 desktop will be superior gaming rig

unless you really do want to carry your laptop around to classes and such, then MBP is definitely the better choice...

 

The screen on the G1s is really good compared to the LED on MB Pro. It might not be as bright.... But its a really good panel.

 

The reason I wanted to laptop instead of a desktop was because I fly for free so traveling during the weekends might happen alot as I visit family and friends. Also I would like to be able to take my computer to the library or something and work there instead of writing things down and than heading back to my room.

 

Go with the MBP for college!

1. Time spent gaming is inversely proportional to time spent studying, sleeping, etc...all that stuff you probably hate but really should do.
2. Time spent studying and sleeping is directly proportional to your grades!
3. MBP lowers incentive for you to game - you'd have to reboot into Vista, make sure the game even works, get the right drivers, and probably get lower performance than the G1S.
4. Therefore, investing in the MBP will result in a proportional increase in your grades, with diminishing returns!

Disclaimer: All of the above = me not being serious.

 

Jebus Christ, let me help you try keep it real.
Forget about the 1/4inch thicker or 1.465323444 lbs heavier or the 5.345 frames per sec faster or slower...who cares!
Buy the one thats most functional with the most functionality for you.

Unless youre totally willing to give up all your Windows software and buy all new equivalent macware then if you buy the mac all you will have is a expensive ipod.
Figure out the nuts and bolts of what you have now. How many usb's devices do you use everyday? Are you a photographer that requires a reader for fast transfers to your HD? Do you have a cellphone that has a SDcard for taking pictures or has mp3s on it? Do you have any expresscard devices yet? No worries if you do cause theres no restrictions on the G1S.
If the answer is yes for all these plus if you need more than 2 usbs then the mac will not be as functional as you would like.
Sure, people will say you can just buy an external usb hub or an external card reader but this is a laptop and laptops are meant to be portable. Who wants to carry external add on devices that you gotta insert and take out, insert and take out while being mobile. And some cheaper divices are wired. Who wants that. Defeats the purpose imo.

Also, are you prepared to buy Vista and lose approx 25gigs of HD space on the mac?
Sure the mac has a led backlite screen but the G1S is no slouch. The G1 is still one of the best 15.4 screens out there without led.
So, ask yourself.... are you willing to totally commit even more money to migrate over? Figure out what are your must have software is.
Examine the connectivity on both machines to see if they fit ur current needs. Either way you have to decide if you want to spend more money or save it. Id say save it and use that extra that you would have spent to buy a ipod that will fit in ur pocket.

 

I would go with the mac, Im a university Student and there is no way I would lug around the G1S, Also its to flashy and gaudy. You can pick up copies of XP very cheaply now. Unless your a hardcore gamer the 8600GT will serve you fine, Keep in mind its only been a few months since the 7900 was king, and this performs nearly as well as that did. So you will be able to play all older games with ease, and do you really care if you have to have the res down slightly on the newer games? its a 15.4" monitor, you dont need WUXGA on it .

 

My tastes run similar to matt_h1's...but I'm also not you.

Take mikeymike's advice and reevaluate what's most important to you in a laptop, rank them, and figure out which features or specs you absolutely must have, and which ones you can live without.

Then compare the two machines side by side, and see which one meets your criteria the best without sacrificing what you really need. You might find that certain features you thought you really would've liked aren't as important to you as certain other features one or the other laptop might have.

There really aren't many differences between the two machines.
Offhand:
256 vs 512 MB GDDR3 RAM: G1S has the advantage, but it's probably not noticeable. The bottleneck for the 8600M GT is not in the RAM.

Screen resolution: MBP better for text if you don't like small fonts, G1S better for media and games.

Style: MBP is known for being stylish. G1S is known for being flashy and eye-catching, but in an obvious gaming way. Lights can be turned off, but it's still obvious. Whether that's a pro or con is up to you.

Ports: This is the major one. The G1S has more USB ports, a eSATA, HDMI, 54mm expresscard, and more. The MBP only has 2 USB ports, 1 firewire/400 1 firewire/800, 34mm expresscard, DVI, and...not much else.

Screen: MBP wins, but the G1S isn't bad.

Battery life: MBP wins? Probably.

Size/weight: MBP wins here, but how important is this to you?

Basically, how important is gaming performance to you? G1S is better.
Ports? G1S is better.
Non-gaming features? MBP wins, but this is subjective.

 

I've never been big into PC gaming but purely for the fact that my current computer can't handle a lot of the games out there. I was addicted to Diablo and Starcraft(will be picking up the 2nd one when it comes out) for a while though and play each occasionally.

Ports: The more the better right now lets see mouse, printer, mic, zen usb chord, psp usb chord, etc

Yeah I think im going to go the the G1S. It comes with the backpack so carrying it around shouldnt be that big of a deal(years of hauling heavy ass books through middle and high school have prepared/screwed me up lol). While the mac os is nice, I am used to Windows and it has done everything I needed.

Thanks guys, this seriously helped.

 

I still say, if you're going to be carrying the thing around a lot, you'll be disappointed with the G1S. It's just... large overall. Good luck on your purchase either way.

 

The only real reason you would get an MBP over a G1S is for OSX and Apple software. If you have no interest in OSX then there's no reason to get it, plain and simple.

 

Exactly! But most of these new mac buyers just dont see that. I was speaking with a friend this morning who has a macpro with the ati card that she bought about 7mths ago. She wants to sell it now and get something smaller like 14" or around there.
It was her who told me that her mac is just an oversized ipod. She uses itunes but thats about it. She has no need to buy Macs version of photoshop cause she already had it for windows and she already had Office. She doesnt buy any windows softwear cause her younger brother gets them for free.
She finally figured it for herself that a PC is whats best for her. It only took her 7mths and another sooner than expected trade cycle.

 

I agree if you're only using the MBP to use Vista 100% of the time...but, now that it *can* support both OSes nearly as well, there's no reason not to take advantage of both and combine the advantages of each - i.e. use the version of the software that's simply best, independent of the OS.

E.g. I plan to use Office 2007 with parrallels instead of Office 2008 for Mac simply because the windows version has Access, and I can use the same program regardless of how I boot, whereas I wouldn't be able to use Office 2008 if I happen to be in Vista without a reboot.

 

So a MBP is oversized, but a G1S isn't? Boot camp works and it works well. You can definitely used Windows and windows applications.

If your friend bought a MacBook Pro and now wishes for something smaller, that's definitely not the MacBook's fault. The MacBook Pro is one of the smallest 15.4" laptops, so if she had a problem with its size, she would have had a problem with any 15.4" notebook's size.

 

I would go with the MBP. I own a Dell E1505 15.4 inch and it is fine to keep on my desk, but I really hate having to carry it around to classes sometimes. However, many of friends have the MBP, and trust me, the 1 pound really makes a big difference, especially when you have books and such in your backpack.

Also, I wouldn't worry about buying vista too. Since you don't play a lot of games, OS X should be able to run everything you need. And don't worry about having to learn the new os, if you're smart enough to be in college, I'm sure you'll be able to pick it up.

And although I've never used a G1S, I can say that even the old MBPs are more than fast enough for regular usage.

 

Ive never insinuated that a mac was and is oversized. Its mac people who harp on the minute differences of 1/4" and 1.3 pounds. I say who cares because i have yet to hear anyone say im glad i bought a product thats 1/4" thinner so now i can fit 6 more books in my briefcase or napsack.
These minute differences are voiced like its night and day or miles apart or something like that. pffft

No, i never said it was a fault of the mac whatsoever. I asked her hows she liking her mac. She said she likes it but finds she doesnt use OS-X like she should. All her main programs she uses is Windows based.
She told me at first she used to use macs browser for surfing and switches to windows to do most everything else.
Now she just uses IE7 when shes got windows going and couldnt be bother with Safari.
Shes just a prime example of one thats paid the price for trying to make the mac into a pc.
As my last few posts are trying to convey that if one is not willing to totally migrate into a system and continues to use a subsystem within then they will never fully grasp the purpose.
People who have already invested large sums of money in windows softwear will most likely not get totally comfortable with a mac.
If she never had never spent $1200 on 2 of her main programs she uses all the time (photoshop and Office 2003) then she would have been forced to buy them for the OS-X platform when she bought her mac.
Few people will throw that all away to totally start over. So as i said, she still likes it but the 2 purposes within themselves continuously bump heads and only slows down her productivity.
The only fault here is her inability to totally migrate over. If she had the money to rebuy photoshop then i dont think she'd be looking to sell. Or she would at least be looking for a smaller mac instead of a pc this time around.

 

The only question I would have is why doesn't she buy Windows XP instead of spending another $500 on a mac version of Photoshop? It would be a hell of a lot cheaper.

1.3lbs shaved off a 6.7lb laptop is pushing close to 20%. That's quite a decent amount.

 

She did buy XP pro when she bought her mac. Vista wasnt out yet.
And she doesnt have to spend any money for Photoshop because she already spent her $600 for PS CS a couple yrs ago.
She shouldnt have to re-buy Photoshop for mac just to make mac work for her.
To re-buy it it'll cost her approx $800cdn for CS2 or CS3 vs $250 for her to upgrade right now from her existing CS pc version.
I think the perfect mac buyer is one who has not already invested a large sum of money on pc softwear. Thats the point im trying to get across.

And give up already on the weight issue because its minute. 20% is a big number when your talkin 100lbs or 200lbs etc but in reality the difference is still 1.3pounds. Big deal!!!

Like im sure glad i bought my 300Z instead of the Toyota Supra which was 150lbs heavier. My better power to weight ratio gives me better tire wear and .0342343 better gas mileage. Best of all my lighter car gets me to my destination 12.345secs faster. blah
*sacrasm at its best*

 

Speaking of cars...here's an old one:
http://www.netscrap.com/netscrap_detail.cfm?scrap_id=689

 

Umm... the weight and battery life issue is in no way, shape or form minute. I am guessing you don't travel with your laptop that often and don't lug it around all day. If you lug this thing in meetings/classes and travel often, the extra 1+ hour of batter life and 1.5+ lbs of weight savings (you do take your power adapter with you as well, right) is a fairly big deal. Also, Parallesys is $79.99 and allows you to run most software fairly well (Photoshop will depend on the size of your images since 1GB of RAM will be reserved for OS and Parallelsys so only 1GB is free).

That said, I don't own MBP and deciding between this very thing, G1S and MBP.

 

yes i have lugged my laptop around all day. Along with my camera and my 20lb manfrotto tripod and head.

Have you ever weighed a 355ml can of pop?? do so!

 

I am in the same debate in my head right now too.
I am not sure what to get the G1S has a better res screen, more vram, and marginally cheaper, but look really really tacky and horrible.
The Mac is way better looking, but has less vram etc... and would have to buy windows which adds to the price of it (and debatably parallels if i don't want to have to reboot into windows all the time).
So its a price vs looks vs functionality thing for me...

 

And Asus wins either way =P

 

Oh btw whats the actual battery time on that?
I saw the the asus was like 2.5 hours, but can only find a real review of the last macbook pro which said 3 hours...

 

From the review here.
I'd like to see a DVD test though.

 

If you are gonna use Windows on your laptop it is only logical to get a windows laptop, Asus G1, and if you plan on using Mac OS you should get a MAC laptop, MBP. MBP is really nice looking but what is the point of getting a MBP to use windows? Asus G1S is $1850 at certain resellers, MBP is $1999 minimum plus tax. Asus G1S will come with a mouse and a backpack, MBP you will have to buy the mouse and backpack. Asus G1S run a little cooler i believe with a better GPU. Asus G1S has a bigger HDD, better resolution, etc.

Dunno i sound a little biased but i was also considering the MBP but i got the Asus instead.

 

I considered the MBP before ultimately getting a G1S. For me the deciding factors for the G1S were:
- 15" MBP has a lower res screen. In addition to moderate gaming, I do a lot of spreadsheet and powerpoint work so for me, the higher the res, the better
- the G1S is a lot cheaper. I got it at buy.com for $1779. A similarly configured MBP (except the screen res) ran $2224. Cost of Vista and MS Office was not an issue as I have those.
- I wasn't going to lug the thing around much
- The looks of the G1S don't bother me much - it's not butt ugly like the G2S IMHO (one of the main reasons I didn't get the G2S!). The first thing I'm gonna do is disable those gaudy lights.
- the G1S has HDMI, card reader and more ports
- I live in NYC and it seems like every poser who hangs out at Starbucks whips out a Mac these days...sheesh
So even tho I'm very curious about the mac OS and can easily dual boot into Vista and have MS Office available at no extra cost, I went with the G1S but that's just me.

 

I just received my g1s and my last laptop was a mbp c2d. For direct comparison the g1s seems a lot bigger(as mentioned by many) while the mbp is very portable. Mbp was cooler(temp), way more quiet than the g1s and has better battery life. The look of the g1s isn't terrible, but I don't like the glowing eye at all. At least the side lights can be disabled. Mbp wins in style category hands down. G1s seems very fast and is a better value. Keyboard is better on g1s in my opinion.

 

I was like so many stuck considering between the MBP or the G1S. I went with the G1S becasue it was cheaper (here in Canada it was about $1000 os so cheaper oncer considering getting a copy of Windows, extended warranty and just higher price for the high end 15" MBP).

So for value I went with the G1S. I also appreciated the fact that the G1S comes with 2 years global warranty, and since I'll be heading over to Australia next year that played a strong role in my decision. Also, the higher screen is nicer as I work with HD content, the HDMI out and the fact that I'm personally bored of the MBP styling. My biggest thing against the G1S was the styling but once I got saw it in person it really isn't that bad. I took some pics of it that you can see here.

I don't think the MBP is a bad choice by any means, and if the G1S wasn't on them arket to add to my confusion I'd probably be typing this on a MBP. But for me the G1S was a better choice.

 

Hi,

I just wanted to add that you might be able to get a copy of XP *and* Vista (in case you don't like Vista) for free through your university and MSDN Academic Alliance... I could sign up for free through my univeristy, took about a week to get the licenses.

Doesn't mean much if you are getting a laptop with Vista preinstalled, but reduces extra costs in case you go with an MBP, desktop or other system where Windows isn't included.

 

Macbook Pro.
Better Battery
Smaller
Lighter
OSX
More Portable (About the size of a 14" Asus)
G1.
More Mem(Never usable because of 128-bit interface)
worse battery
Flashy.

Go for MBP.

Actually get a cheaper laptop and a Desktop. Desktops have more gaming longevity. Just get a decent GFX laptop and a Great desktop,.

 

I'm doubting between the same laptops. MBP or G1S. I'm not a hardcore gamer but play the occasional FSx for my job. I do quite a bit of graphical design and like to be able to play some good games since the wife won't let me buy another playstation or xbox after they broke.

I do need to be able to run 2 windows programs. Is the current bootcamp version and tiger os a good combo to run xp? or would I be better of waiting for the leopard?

 

They forgot to advertise to you that MBP has horrible battery life in XP. If you use Windows for most of the time, then don't bother with MBP.

 

I have both Macbook pro (MBP) and G1S, let me give you some key areas to consider.

Screen: yes G1S has higher resolution, but the brightness really disappointed me. MBP is definitely better.

Hardware performance: They are about the same, cant really tell big difference.

Appearence: The MBP wins.

Battery: MBP wins

I have all windows software installed and so far I have never had any problems with my MBP (Window mode)

To me, LCD quality and appearence are the most important factors for me to shop a notebook computer, so I am selling my Asus G1S to my brother and keeping the new MBP!

 

benzman, compared to the G1S's lcd, how does the contrast and viewing angles of the MBP compare? and if it is possible, can you take few pictures with the MBP and G1S side to side? thanks

 

Well, I have a G1S, and I have to go to the lobby of the hotel I'm in right now to connect to the internet. I ran into a guy who was playing WoW on his MBP. I must say, the screen is really bright, and I like matte better than glossy (personal preference).

I almost went with a MBP myself when I was deciding a few weeks back. I went with the G1S because everything I have is Windows based. So, if I'd have gotten the MBP, I would have had to spend another $100 some odd dollars for a full version of Vista. I MAY have actually gotten the MBP if Apple didn't charge tax.
The G1s is around $1800-ish. The MBP with a student or government discount is roughly $1800 for the base model. Add tax, and it gets pushed up to right around $2000. Of course, the next model with the 256mb graphics card is another couple on top of that. Plus Vista or Parallels, that's another 80-150. Since I do play the occasional game and all of my current programs are Windows based, I got the G1S.

As far as weight is concerned, I've lugged a 7lb Dell around the world on various deployments with the military, and the G1S is actually ligher than my old Dell Inspiron 8600. I get around 2:30 of battery life sitting here surfing the web and doing various word processing.

The firewire/express card stuff doesn't affect me, as I don't have anything that goes in either of those (nor do I expect to). HDMI? Meh....good on home theater, but I'm not going to run my theater off of this laptop, and I'm not going to do HDMI to DVI to connect to a monitor, so that doesn't affect me.
e-SATA? Again, don't see myself using it.
Card reader? Yes, I use it.
4 USB ports? Yes, thank you.

So, for ME, the G1S is the better choice.
More battery is always better, but 2:30 for me is fine for what I do.
$500 less is better for me.
The G1S screen is very good. Not AS good, but still very good.
I really like the G1S look. It's better in person. I turned off the flashing side lights, but really, it's not gaudy like some people have said. I actually thought the MBP was pretty plain looking in person. It's just white with an Apple on it. Big deal. The G1 has a nice carbon fiber look and some handy quick buttons (like touchpad on/off).

Anyway, take it as you will. Good luck with whatever decision you make. They're both nice.

 

what model of the MBP do you have?

 

You know, my dell laptop crashes less than the new macbooks at my school.