uh oh Apple has just entered the fight

So I was really leaning towards the new asus g1s becuase of the pure power behind it but then I found out today that Apple just released their mac book pros with new led backlit screens, 2.4ghz processors standard, and get this, 8600 gt gpus...

So here is my question, what is better, Asus g1s with windows vista, or a apple macbook pro (its o so sexy silver self) with mac osx and windows vista dual booted? I dunno the new apples sound pretty sexy right now (this coming from an artist/gamer so either laptop would work for me)

I'd just like to see everyones opinions.

 

Graphics Options: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (Dedicated)


Im confused where did you see them have an 8600GT?

 

haha um did you see the price tho???

It may be a equal or slightly better notebook when it comes to quality or performance. But apple has never been one to fight anybody in the price vs performance category.

Thats why its mostly run by a fan based market, somebody neutral would go for the better buy.

 

ah they just updated the apple store go check it out (frogutr)

yea ill agree the price is a lil pricey but im about to go off to college and im majoring in the arts so the discounts are pretty good and should put them on equal lvls in terms of price if not make the apple a lil lower

 

Wow I stand corrected. If you go to apple's store for 2499.99 you can get a 2.4 gigz processor and everything else the same as the asus g1s in 15 inch screen display.

I'm completely unaware of mac os's. Do they play games at all?

 

OSX is not for gaming, but you can run Windows on an Intel Mac thanks to Bootcamp.

 

In terms of hardware specs, from the looks of it, the MBP wins by far

You'd have to deal with the OS and bootcamp though...if that's worth it.
The port selection it offers isn't outstanding either.

 

Ugh. My mac friend won't let me forget this since my main point of attack was the video card avantages vs the macbook. Now they've got the same hardware...oh well. I'm sure Ill be happy with my Asus.

 

yey, the only fight i see is having to reach in your bank acct and fight back having to spend $500+ more for the mac

And dont forget... you have to spend even more to buy Vista or XP OS once you buy the mac

 

true about spending money but student discounts and fine arts majoring discounts should help alleviate it just a bit anywase im still not sure yet asus has an amazing laptop our right now as does apple... im still split on both

 

**** 500 USD, that's even more for me (abit not much more with our dollar so high these days) However I want Vista anywas so your right.

 

Well, there's another Mac OS upgrade in 4 months? and then you'd need to buy vista for bootcamp too wouldn't you?

 

If you want to game dont go apple. even tho you can emulate windows the performance is killed in the process.

If you are using it for other stuff it can probably fit your needs just fine.

 

really is gaming performance wise destroyed by dual booting?

 

not so sure, I know know about the emulation of windows. the mac guys talk about it on my other forum sometime, they say about 20% decrease vs native windows.

never heard them mention dual boot or boot camp for that matter. so maybe its something totally different.

But I think its one in the same and they just never went into detials.

 

Boot camp supposedly allows you to run Windows natively on the system...so it's not really emulation or virtualization? I'd like to know if there's any performance loss running Boot Camp as well.

 

I'll find out tonight for you if nobody says before then.

 

Dual boot does not lower performance at all. Bootcamp allow windows to run natively as you press Alt key and select the windows or OSX on bootup. The Drivers for all the hardware are provided you will see the same performance as other laptop with windows preinstalled. The problem will getting a good overclock as Mac do get hold when you run in performance mode a longer than 20min.

The emulation only occurs when using VMware or Parallels. Parallels can do 3d graphics but performs loss is 80 percent as it is still being worked. They just released a new version recently to provide 3d support in virtual mode.

 

dont forget what a lot of people overlook that bootcamp and vista will take up approx 25gigs of HD space + the space required for OS-X.
So much HD space needed just for 2 operating systems. blahh

 

True. However much OS Leopard will cost in Oct. + $300+ for Vista, plus possibly needing to buy a larger HD...ouch.

 

I asked myself the same question for the 17", but I'll still buy the G2s cuz of the lower price.

 

i'd probably go with the MBP
just for the LED screen
it's going to be amazing.
if you were debating getting a much cheaper laptop, i'd say maybe get that (like the $1500 asus 14" A8Js
but the G1s is gonna cost around the same price as an MBP, and won't have the build quality

 

Another vote for the MBP, my dad has one and absolutely loves it! I kind'a like OSX for feel and use. But sadly my main hobby is gaming + i didn't have the extra money to get the 256meg version at my time of purchase (no way i'm gonna game on a 128meg video card).

Best of luck in deciding, neither should disappoint. You end up getting the MBP make sure and write us a nice review.

 

If you aren't going to carry it around much or mind attaching an external mouse for virtual right-clicking in osx or a windows os, don't mind the maximum resolution on the 15.4" is 1400x900, and/or is absolutely in love with the illuminated keyboard or Apple logo. Go for it.

Otherwise, stick with the Asus. It won't disappoint.

Anyways, if you plan to stick with OSX then buy the MBP. As others have mentioned, installing Vista (or even XP) to dualboot will tie up resources and finance. Personally, I don't like OSX all that much...maybe I'm just a Windows whore.

 

you need to re-do ur math again

The 15" MBP is still gonna be $500++ more than the G1S

 

Hey G1S build quality isn't that bad is it?

I don't remember the full list now, but the G1S has an awesome array of ports. The same couldn't be said of the MBP.

Besides, even without counting the base price, it's actually cheaper to upgrade the G1S in the configurator than the MBP. ($750 for 4GB of RAM on the MBP... beat that!).

And as previously mentioned, you're limited to a 160GB HD, and if you were looking at the G1S, you were looking to game. That involves a considerable financial investment (the cost of 2 OSes).

That said, if I were choosing between those two, I'd take the MBP too That screeeeeen!

 

Have you seen the g1s screen? It's not too shabby itself.

The MBP is a lot less bang for the buck. The MBP with the similar specs with an educational discount (for college students) is $2300 + $150 for an OEM copy of vista, and you lose a year of warranty that comes standard w/ the g1s (2 years vs 1 for MBP), and you lose the free backpack and mouse (which i think are useful add-ons), and you get a screen w/ only 1440 x 900 resolution, and you get an OS that's going to outdated by October. The g1s can be had for about $1900 w/o all of the issues above. The MBP is more stylish, but it's pretty common so the uniqueness of the g1s may stand out more.

For these reasons, I gotta believe the g1s is the better buy, but if you're willing to deal with all the above, you get a prettier laptop .

 

WHERE ARE ALL OF YOU GETTING THIS $500 MORE FROM.

The Asus G1s is $1900-2000 (Rounging to the nearest $100) depending on where you go.


The MacBook Pro 15" Base Model is $1999 with the same processor (2.2 ghz) and 2gb ram, but only 128mb 8600M GT. However you also get an LED screen w/ 6 HRS battery life. (thats 4 more hours than the G1s)

Yes, it does cost $500 more to get the 256mb 8600 GT as in the Asus G1s.
But you are also seeing an upgrade in the processor to 2.4 ghz

In my opinion the extra $500-600 for upgraded processor, more battery life and LED Screen is worth it.

As a college student the prices are also reduced to $1799 and $2299 for the 2 15" MBP models (respectively)

So lets stop ripping on the new Macs because they do hold their own.


Edit: Yes, it will cost you $300 more for Vista, but you also get Mac OSX. My guess is when the new Mac OSX does come out people who will buy MBP will probably get a major discount if not the new OS when it comes out.

 

Actually the MBP and G1S starts at about $1650-$1799 with discounts. The previous G1 dipped as low as $1650 with discounts. I think the current G1S will start out high, but it should dropped after a few months. So, I estimate the G1S will drop to $1650 and the MBP will drop to $1799.

 

IMO, macbook pro is good.. but it don't have memory card reader, express slot things like that and also i'm sick of their MBP design, they never changed that design since 2003...and i remember the touchpad is sucks!! you have to tab the button to click...

I think G1S is better..

and i don't think apple will drop their price!!

 

If you don't intend on gaming too much, by all means go for the MacBook. It is a great system, if a bit overpriced. It just seems to me that it would be far too much hastle to purchase a seperate OS and install it on a different partition for the ability to play games. For example, if you are intending on doing your work on the OSX partition, you're gonna want an external harddrive or mp3 player to put all your music on. Its the small inconveniences and huge cost difference that really are keeping me away from the MPB.

 

in canadian dollars without worrying about student type discounts the G1s vs the macpro (15" 2.2ghz) is a diff of $200
To buy the MacPro one still needs to buy Vista, bootcamp softwear, external card reader, plus the cost of all the other nice i-softwear.
I have PS CS3 and Office Enterprise 07 so i can always use that within vista and bootcamp and some of my other fav windows software i can migrate over.
But to get a mac functional will cost an approx $500 over a G1 which is ready to run just as is.
And on top of all that ill lose an additional 25gigs when installing Vista on mac

And theres so much more connectivity especially the USBs on the G1 that makes it so much easier to use.
Too many things that just make the mac un-user friendly to me

 

Well, bootcamp is a free beta dl now, and it'll comes with Leopard I believe.

The thing about boot camp is...I'm also worried about driver support. Driver and software computability for Vista 64-bit is shaky as it is...can we expect better from Boot Camp?

Anyway, my top choice is still undoubtedly the V1 refresh, even with its battery problems. If that doesn't come out before summer's end, then I'll look at alternate options again. Someone write to Asus and make them include an LED screen for the V1 please

 

The drivers for the latest version of Bootcamp suck big time. IMO, Apple tried to do too much at once. My system kept crashing so I finally removed it and am now looking for an ultraportable XP machine. I can't imagine running Vista on Bootcamp (I'm not sure it will) until they get the driver issues fixed. I lovr my MBP and OSX for surfing, iPhoto and iTunes. Office for Mac sucks on the Intel machines and forget even trying to run Acrobat or Indesign unless you fork out big bucks for the Universal versions. As much as I enjoy my illuminated keyboard, the MBP just doesn't cut it when you need Windows, be it for gaming or business apps. JMO...

 

as usual I guess it all comes down in the end to what you personally need not what other consumers need. bang for buck the MBP fits my needs more than the G1s...also i'm sticking with XP rather than vista so that saves me money (i wouldn't even consider buying vista until SP1 is out) and i have no need for an external card reader. but if those are things you do need than I can see the G1s being your best bet

Heres a list of US resellers and their prices on the forums: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=128138

The cheapest I found is $1830 from Xotic PC

I can't see the MBP having a drop in price because Apple doesn't usually do that with any of its products. The G1s being new probably won't see a drop in price any time in the near future. Maybe in the long term a $100 or so drop, but how long are you willing to wait to see that is the question, the G1p is around $1700 now that the G1s is out

 

is the base 1999$ model a led lit screen? Those are generally VERY expensive for any brand (not just apple ) I would think the cost to be much higher for led backlight.

Thing is nowhere on the apple site does it say its LED, and I would think that would be clearly displayed if it were true.

 

It's hidden in one of those pages that's filled with unnecessary words advertising the system instead of listing the useful specs in a nice list
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/graphics.html

 

Pretty smooth move, I say these are the best price/performance macs ever and look pretty nice too.

Thats alot comming from me

 

Just curious, what's so special about apple's look? Seriously, I'm not trying to be biased or offend anyone, but the plain silver design just seems ordinary. In fact, I think G1 looks better. While macbook pro looks good still, does it really deserve that much attention? After all, it's just plain silver and ordinary design. Don't get me wrong, I like OSX but I'm just very curious about the popularity behind macbook. It just doesn't seen all that special.

 

yes both 15" macs have the led backlight. But like all other CCFL screens, LEDs are not gonna be all the same. There will be slight variants from AUO to a Samsung to a ChiMei etc etc.

 

its all about just one word.... "minimalist"

As in the 80's and 90's where most manufacturers where adding more buttons and knobs and switches to products, some unsavy consumers were just inadated with techno jargon that they didnt understand so some manufacturers kept their products to a minimal for cleanliness and a perceived sleeker look.
The grand daddy of minimalist design is B&O ( Bang and Olufsen) which won award after award for its simplicity in design.

Well, the mac computer takes after what B&O strives for. But sometimes being minimalistic comes at a cost for functionality.
Being minimal is most likely why theres not a whole lot of connectivity on the mac's like extra usb's and internal card readers etc

 

hmm... I just find it interesting that many people are minimalistic. I tend to like fancy stuff. Well, I guess it's just me.

 

I like fancy, but I dont like "over the top" to me the flashing lights and stuff on the G1S/G2S is abit over the top

I can deal with the side lights, I would just turn them off, but the rows or red ones on the G2S really bother me.

I wouldnt mind it at home, but in a public place people would look at me kinda strange being a full grown man with all these lights on my laptop.

I dont like really plane eather tho. the G1S is perfect to me, I love the black finish and the sleek design/look. the C90 that I will end up getting is kinda too plane for my taste and I dont like the small click buttons or the location of the fingerprint scanner.

 

Alright, I'm gonna jump in here since I've debated over MBP's as well. I've tried to like OSX but I can't. Windows has been the OS that I grew up with. Personally I can get more done and faster on a Windows machine because I know the OS. I've used OSX before and its not the same, i'd be starting from scratch.

Hardware wise, the g1s and mbp are (for the most part) the exact same machines with different candy toppings. ...Give or take a few ports. With Apple, your obviously flat out just paying for what they have to offer that differs from other manufactureres. (OS, software, pretty mac logo)

Basically what all debators need to look at is what software do YOU need to run. What are YOU most comfortable with. Both Windows and OSX are good Operating Systems. Both will however get viruses if your not careful, both will also crash. Believe me, I have seen a Mac crash (gasp!) If your going to game, why buy an OSX machine to have it run Windows 95% of the time?

Just know why you need your laptop and get it for those reasons alone.