Anyone buy Apple machines just for the build quality?

[spacebar]

I am no fanboy of Apple, and I don't like most people who just buy Apple stuff because its Apple, however I have bought an Apple PC because I like the build quality of Apple, For no other reason. I had to sell it to get a bit of cash back but I am thinking of buying a new one in June when they release the new models.

 

I know you are paying about 35% more just for Apple, but I could not find another PC maker that matches the build quality of Apple. Although why they use standard HDD's in their iMacs I find weird.

 

Is there anyone else of here who agrees?

 

Just to be clear I really tend to dislike fanboys of Apple and don't like going into their shop either because it is full of fanboys.

[elsiegee40]

I buy kit because it does what I need it to do ... and choose the best I can afford. The result may or may not be Apple. Frquently it isn't because it's not what I need.

[synaesthesia]

They're solid machines, that's certain. Doesn't mean much for what's in it though as many are not designed with longevity of the product in mind.

 

For Desktop machines, I'm not sure why it's of that much importance. For laptops it certainly is more important, but these days everything's fairly similar above the £600 mark. Quite a few of the older Lenovo/IBM machines, both desktop and laptop were as rigid, and on desktops, Gateway PC's were both behemoths and near indestructable, awesome build quality. That's going back a good few years though, late P2 era!

[DMcCoy]

No, and with a larger sample size, I found them no more reliable than PCs (sometimes worse) and unless you get AIO computers, with a PC you can just change the part that is faulty.

 

Do you want OS X? I don't get people who buy a mac to run windows on it...

[Chris_Cook]

I got a mac mini because its small and quiet and doesn't take much faffing around. I couldn't see a pc equivalent in that respect.

 

Most of the rest of the apple range seems overpriced to me. The older mac pros were decent, but I would only pay about half the price they were asking for. I don't like the all-in-one concept - screens should outlast computers by quite a few years. And a laptop without a replaceable battery is just stupid.

 

I don't think a lot of the build quality. Yes they might be solid, but they are mostly un-serviceable. The cost of getting parts replaced on a mac is ridiculous compared to most PCs.

 

If the stuff was actually good, then I wouldn't have a problem with it.

[flyinghaggis]

If I wanted a new personal laptop I'd probably consider a MacBook Air/Pro but I think it's the kind of thing you'd need to buy with your heart rather than your head as despite the improved build quality/finish compared to most other brands they don't really justify the extra expense IMO.

 

I think it would be very difficult to make a rational business case for buying them for a school/business unless you needed to run OSX.

[Guest Guest]

Would I buy;

 

Macbook x - Yes, build quality is by far the best.

iMac - No, build quality is terrible IME. Around 25% failure rate compared to 1-2% on Dell.

Mac mini - Yes, there's very little out there that compares in the same form factor.

Mac Pro - No, what's the point unless you are running creativity apps on it? £2500+ is a lot of money to buy build quality.

[Gardinho]

Mac mini - Yes, there's very little out there that compares in the same form factor.

 

Have you had a look at the new Intel NUC? My mates just bought one for home and it's very nice. Only half the price of a mac mini.

 

Mini PC - Intel® NUC

 

That said, I have a mac mini running my media centre and I am pretty happy with it. Mine is a 2011 model.

 

When I eventually replace it I'll be getting an NUC.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Gardinho

[glennda]

In terms of build quality the Lenovo X1 carbon is up there with the Macs - although very sturdy not as strong as the metallic Macbook

[bondbill2k2]

In terms of build quality the Lenovo X1 carbon is up there with the Macs - although very sturdy not as strong as the metallic Macbook

 

Why they decided to remove the caps lock button in place of home and end keys then delegate this to a function combination is extremely odd. The Asus Zenbooks are a good alternative for nice build quality IMO having used one for a short while, the only downside is your limited to 13" but at a lovely 2560 x 1440 resolution

Edited April 9, 2014 by bondbill2k2

[abillybob]

It depends what you are specifically talking about with regards to build quality. If you're talking about the components don't be fooled the components inside a Mac are the same in any PC's for example an Intel Processor in a Mac isn't made any differently than a PC it's still an Intel Processor made by the same company and the two items are identical. If you're talking about the chassis (the aluminium surround) you maybe surprised the macs here are only 1 year old and the metal gets scratched and chipped very easily, the keyboard is the second nicest keyboard I have used but the keys still feel slightly tacky and I don't like how easy it is to accidently pull of a key as the clips are small and break easily. The screen, now retina doesn't mean anything it's a marketing technique so don't let that sway you though I do have to say my friends MacBook Pro's screen is the best I have ever seen and it will display 4k video although the pixels are so small it makes working at that resolution almost impossible so defeats the object in my mind also the glare you get off the glass panel is very annoying especially in daylight.

 

I do like however the look of the unit but even to feel the metal it feels a bit like plastic to me and the fact when it's doing hard tasks the Mac isn't capable of dispersing the heat away from the track pad or where your hands sit on the corners while typing they can get hot! They look pretty but really not worth the money in my opinion and due to the lack of upgradability I don't think they are as robust and reliable as people think, if a GPU goes in a Dell it can be replaced with any other PCI-E 16x card with a Mac it has to be OEM which cost a lot more money and have high sale value and it has to be a GPU that the Mac OS will be able to use and the best GPU the Mac OS it compatible with (laptop wise) is a 750m GT which is really unsuperior now the 880m has been released.

 

Just to put it in perspective my Alienware cost £1499 this included and SSD, 1080p none glare screen, i7 Processor, 32GB DDR3 RAM, Nvidia 780m GPU, Intel 4600 HD GPU, Blu-Ray Re-Writer. It has some cool features too like you can use the laptop screen as an input device and connect a phone up to the screen or use it as an extra monitor there are more but can't be bothered to list them. To come anywhere near the spec of my unit it would cost you nearly £2600 for a MacPro that's double the cost for a device that isn't half as capable hardware wise although they do this as they want to make their devices look small and thin where as Alienware don't care about that.

 

Really do your research when looking into things and don't just go by what everyone else thinks your opinion could completely differ to mine, I realise this is about Macs but I would say the same for a LOT of windows laptops out there. If you have the kind of money to buy a MacPro consider the Alienware machines this is the nicest device for build quality I have ever owned and will at least last me around 5 years, every key on the keyboard is wrapped in a rubbery effect to stop your fingers slipping when using the keys they have even gone as far to put a steel plate underneath the keyboard so no matter how hard you push on it, it won't ever bend try this with a Mac keyboard and you'll see it bend! I CBA to list them all but do look at the Alienware 14 or 17 if you're in that kind of money you won't ever think you have made a bad purchase when it arrives through the door 100% best device I've ever owned and yes I have owned a Mac Pro!

Edited April 9, 2014 by abillybob

[detjo]

I got a mac mini because its small and quiet and doesn't take much faffing around. I couldn't see a pc equivalent in that respect.

That's the reason i got a Mac mini. Have since put a SSD in it tho

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Loads of very valid points here, but I have to say, my 2009 17" macbook pro is the nicest laptop I have ever owned.

 

It still runs like a dream, coping fine with Mavericks even though it's running a Core 2 Duo CPU.

 

The glossy screen has never bothered me, its much much more vivid than a matte one and at 1920 x 1200 the resolution is great!

I'm still getting 3-4 hours battery life even five years down the line and the combination 9400mGT and 9600mGT nVidia graphics have been great.

Oh and the trackpad is a magical thing of wonder and beauty, other multi-touch trackpads haven't come close.

 

It was a sizable investment back then but all things considered I'd say totally worth it!

 

Oh and it's pretty easy to get into and tweak too. Taking the back off to get access to the ram, hdd, and battery is no problem. I've popped 8GB RAM in since I bought it and opened the case to blow out the dust a couple of times, but that's all the attention it's needed.

[Trapper]

My Alienware M14xR2 is also of fantastic build quality, and costs LESS than a decent Mac Book Pro - it doesn't mean I'm replacing all the staff laptops with them!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

My Alienware M14xR2 is also of fantastic build quality, and costs LESS than a decent Mac Book Pro - it doesn't mean I'm replacing all the staff laptops with them!

 

Too right, give staff robust Thinkpads that don't cost an arm and a leg when they finally do break

[glennda]

Why they decided to remove the caps lock button in place of home and end keys then delegate this to a function combination is extremely odd. The Asus Zenbooks are a good alternative for nice build quality IMO having used one for a short while, the only downside is your limited to 13" but at a lovely 2560 x 1440 resolution

 

I agree they do tend to do strange things with a Keyboard - but i am now used to how the keyboard is layed out and it doesn't bother me.

[flyinghaggis]

I considered an alienware m14 but it's slightly bulky and heavy for my liking. I like the look of some of the slimmed down laptops from MSI and Razer though. They seem to pack plenty of power and aren't too heavy (<2kg).

 

Razer Blade 14 Review

 

MSI GS60 Ghost Review

 

Thing is I'd want to see one before spending that kind of money on it. None of my local stores would stock the MSI and Razer don't even had an official distributor in the UK as far as I can see which doesn't bode well for support. One advantage the Alienware does have is that it's backed by Dell so support isn't an issue. I just wish that Alienware would bring out some slightly sleeker looking and more portable models.

 

Edit: Those Asus Zenbooks look really nice too actually

Edited April 9, 2014 by flyinghaggis

[AngryTechnician]

I considered it in the past, but have found that Dell's XPS models are superb in terms of build quality, and despite being premium models they still come in a little bit less than Apple. I'd take my XPS 13 Ultrabook over a MacBook Air any day.

 

@flyinghaggis - after the amount of trouble I've had with Razer products recently (and their support), I'd avoid like the plague if I were you. @CAM will back me up on this

[flyinghaggis]

@AngryTechnician - Thanks for the heads up. I keep contemplating whether I could replace my ageing desktop with a laptop then use that as my primary PC with a monitor/keyboard/mouse at home but still be able to carry it around when required.

 

I still haven't seen any laptops that would really fit the bill. The Razer looked good but the support threads I've read and comments about their general reliability scare me!

Edited April 9, 2014 by flyinghaggis

[abillybob]

The Alienware 14 isn't too bad my friend has one and it isn't half as heavy as my 17. MSI have never let me down and I do believe that would be a very good choice of laptop although before making a purchase like this I will always do some extensive research on YouTube of unboxing and reviews!

[Trapper]

The 14" AlienWare isn't that heavy! Yes, it's thick but that is because of the number of good components in there.

 

I find mine is lighter than someone of the big cheap Toshiba 17"s that staff keep bringing in.

[Zoom7000]

Do you want OS X? I don't get people who buy a mac to run windows on it...

 

Personally, I don't get this argument. I have a MacBook Pro and I use OS X as my primary OS for everyday general browsing and bits and bobs. But, I also have VMware Fusion virtual machine on it running Windows 8.1 because sometimes I just need to do something in Windows which you can't do on a Mac. I find Microsoft Office much more feature filled on Windows and I am a heavy user of OneNote. Something I couldn't do on a Mac until last week. I also do a lot of work using Paint.Net and there isn't really an as easy to use alternative on OS X (Not that I know of anyway!)

 

What I'm trying to say is that it's nice that my MacBook can do both. I can run OS X and use the features and apps attributed to it and I can fire up a VM or BootCamp and use Windows when needs be. All in 1 machine. Not something I can do seamlessly on a PC/Laptop (Yes, I know you can do Hackint0sh etc, but it's an awful lot of faffing around whereas it's as easy as pie on a Mac).

 

Essentially, although you are paying a lot more for a MacBook than a Windows laptop, you are getting the flexibility of the best of both worlds, being able to seamlessly run OS X and Windows. And yes, I do feel that the build quality of a MacBook is highly better than most Windows laptops. I've had many laptops in the past, Acer, Toshiba, Samsung and even a Vaio. None of which really came close to the quality feel of my MacBook which is now out of the 3 year AppleCare warranty, but still going strong.

 

Also, who said you can't change the battery on a MacBook? (Sure, it might not be as easy as replacing a standard removable battery, but it's not the hardest thing in the world).

[abillybob]

Personally, I don't get this argument.

 

It wasn't an argument? He was simply stating he doesn't understand why some people buy a Mac and then never end up using the OSX side only using Windows on it. I have to agree with him here we have around 30 Macs and out of all the teachers only 2 in the whole school actually use them on the Mac Side the rest switch straight to Windows. So then what's the point in buying £1000+ Macintosh that has the same spec as some of the Asus laptops here which where £350 to do the exactly the same job.... Unless you have disposable income of course and just want it to try and look cooler.

 

If you're using OSX and Windows equally such as yourself then there's no probhlem in that you're making the most out of the amount of money you have spent but if you just use it for Windows all the time 24/7 then why not go with the Asus?

[CAM]

I considered it in the past, but have found that Dell's XPS models are superb in terms of build quality, and despite being premium models they still come in a little bit less than Apple. I'd take my XPS 13 Ultrabook over a MacBook Air any day.

 

@flyinghaggis - after the amount of trouble I've had with Razer products recently (and their support), I'd avoid like the plague if I were you. @CAM will back me up on this

 

I'm never touching a Razer product again. -.-

[abillybob]

I'm never touching a Razer product again. -.-

 

Really that bad? What happened?