Anyone buy Apple machines just for the build quality?

[ICTDirect_Dave]

It's worth noting that business class laptops normally retail for the same price as a mbp. For example lenovo thinkpads usually retail brand new for close to a grand and spec wise they're very similar. But whilst incredibly robust I wouldn't say that very got the same solid seamless feel as a mbp. For example I love the T420 bit it's both bigger than an mbp and doesn't feel as well put together (although we all know it'll be indestructible) and special wise at launch it had no higher areas than the current mac.

[Bananas]

Yeah but buying a lenovo instead means you're not assimilated into the Apple collective

[abillybob]

Show me an example:bs: They might be close, but they do not match the level, unless there is a device that I have not seen.

 

Just to let you know if you actually read the posts you will have seen I owned a Mac and my school have 100 of the things! Have you ever owned an Alienware laptop? Unlikely, these things are the same price as a Mac with around 10x the spec and I have my Alienware and a MacBook here and there's no denying it my Alienware is better designed, has nicer use of materials and is more rugged with additional add ons like an MSATA SSD and a 2.5" SSD, it would already beat the Macs 2.5" HDD in reliability because SSD's are more rugged than mechanical HDD, there is something in my computer called a freefall sensor so the computer known when it's been dropped and powers itself down before it hits the ground thus saving all my work and not corrupting the hard drive like the Mac most likely would.

Please tell me how a piece of hardware in a Mac differs to the same hardware in a PC? How an intel processor such as the i5 is somehow better in a Mac then a PC? It's not same hardware same reliability.

 

As said before because you obviously didn't bother reading the post the only + I can see is the screen which could do 4k, but put 4k resolution on a 15" screen and it defeats the object the pixels are too small and therefore the screen is far to small to work on. Though you are obviously just stating things for the hell of it you haven't backed up your argument on why you think Apple products are more reliable, if the hardware is no different and the only difference about it is that it has some metal around the outside for a case then I'm sorry you have been tricked into something Apple do very well at..... Marketing.

 

The only thing that is of better build quality is Mac OSX and that is because it's a *nix based OS and is less likely to have problems or crash. Though if you know how to maintain it properly neither will Windows.

[featured_spectre]

I prefer apple but that's just personal preference

Not sure I could have guessed with your username

 

1) At least the solid base unit enclosure for the laptop range using a solid aluminium block instead of plastic which if lent on with some weight or if taken apart wrongly gives way / snaps / breaks etc

This I agree with, it does feel more solid, however, the aluminium isn't a solid block, as if it was they'd have customs issues sending MBPs with precious metals in. Best way to describe the aluminium block is that it has half of the centre missing.

 

2) I prefer the back lit keyboard that you get with it as standard

I've had this on various laptops, whilst not standard, it isn't a mac thing, I also have this on my PC. Point is moot however considering Acer, Lenovo and Dell offer these options at no extra cost on their custom builds.

 

3) High res screen - not looked at alternative laptops so can't comment on this point to be fair

Many laptops I deal with at work, have screens that can go to 2560x1440, and even a small handful which can go to 3840x2160 (New toshiba ones reserved for Partners).

 

4) I do to some extent think gpu's on the laptop range should be better for what you pay

Yup, though the GPUs are getting better. They'll never rival a desktop graphics card however, but they are definitely getting better.

 

I know the newer mbp's have items glued in place so am not keen on the newer ones for this as makes repairs a total PITA

Hasn't this been the case since 2011? I remember opening one in a school I worked at and a lot of the components were glued in which meant I couldn't do the repair.

 

If however you are referring to the new mac pro then I would say its value for money ( @Arthur posted a link on this as the dual graphics cards would normally equate to a lot of ££££ and thats without the xeon cpu's, ram etc etc

With the dual GPU option, you are paying a LOT more than you would for a single GPU, I think they tacked on nearly £200 on the Apple configurator last time I looked.

 

I enjoy apple devices more as a home user as

 

1) They work and if I have any issues I can book to go into an apple store and they sort issues out ( have not had to do that often )

Yes that is a bonus, but you absolutely must pay for apple care for them to look at anything older than 1 year. And if you don't buy at purchase of the device, its usually a higher cost.

 

2) I don't have to deal with issues that I generally have to deal with on windows machines at work ranging from driver issues / hard drive or ram going faulty / having to use free tools to get rid of malware due to the current AV solution being either mis-configured or generally rubbish / DNS Issues / windows BSOD's etc

Have you dealt with Windows 7 or 8(.1)? Driver issues have been non-existent to me since Windows 7. Hard drive/Ram faults can happen to anyone. Malware can happen to Mac users too, and when it does, it means usually a full reinstall rather than running a program, and cleaning. DNS issue is not OS specific, and can happen to Macs, as well as Unix/Linux and Windows. And I've not had a BSOD in a long time, infact I cannot genuinely remember the last BSOD I had since leaving college.

 

3) In comparison to linux I don't have to know a lot or do stuff on the command line. Install and go pretty much. That's not to say I don't want to learn but when its at home I just want to power it on and it work and not be greeted by errors on linux or windows etc that I then have to google and spend time on as I use it as a media and internet browsing device. I would much rather use a separate laptop for learning linux or other things in a vm so if it does go wrong then it's not an issue

Windows is plug and play, picks up drivers and off you go, much the same as a Mac (though granted, Mac is usually quicker - but only because you can only use Mac approved hardware, which is quite limiting). Linux and Windows can be done on any machine, so I am not sure of your point. If you break it, there are literally hundreds of thousands of people willing to help out, unlike Mac where the usual advice I have found as a "new user" to some forums is "Take it too the Apple store, they can fix it for you if you have apple care" or "buy a new one as that one is old anyways". Some solid advice there!

 

I suppose everything is down to circumstances ie how much budget the person has, what there personal preferences are, what suits there requirements better etc etc

 

Only mac I currently have is a 2011 mac mini

Yes, I agree here, it is down to budget.

 

You may want to look at your budget closer, as you complain A LOT on facebook about being financially stuck, or not great in terms of income/outgoings etc, when many people (myself included) have given you advice you plainly want to ignore. Many of the problems I have found with a lot of mac users, who claim to constantly be poor, is because they shell out £1K+ for hardware, slap it on a credit card or take a loan, and then make the absolute minimum payments, then the next year (or when the loan/cc is paid off) do it again. Its a horrible cycle and seems one that many (not saying all) Apple fans fall into.

Edited April 11, 2014 by featured_spectre
fixed horrible spelling errors

[APMerry]

there is something in my computer called a freefall sensor so the computer known when it's been dropped and powers itself down before it hits the ground thus saving all my work and not corrupting the hard drive

 

Just out of curiosity... have you ever tried this? It would have to do everything bloody quickly! I don't suppose you have, as I don't think many people are into throwing their £1k laptop about.

[abillybob]

Just out of curiosity... have you ever tried this? It would have to do everything bloody quickly! I don't suppose you have, as I don't think many people are into throwing their £1k laptop about.

 

I haven't tried it on this one though my Girlfriends laptops (which is a new Dell) has got 1 too with a HDD and a freefall sensor. She dropped hers at college while it was on and in her hand. When she picked it up off the floor the computer had gone into hibernation and supposedly switched off the hard drive as when she started it back up it gives you a notice on what the freefall sensor has done! So I'm pretty sure it does work... well it does on hers anyway, but no I have never tried it on mine!! Haha

[ICTDirect_Dave]

my Alienware is better designed, has nicer use of materials and is more rugged with additional add ons like an MSATA SSD and a 2.5" SSD, it would already beat the Macs 2.5" HDD in reliability because SSD's are more rugged than mechanical HDD.

 

Just a quick note here,

 

Every MBP above the entry level (so every one at £1099 or above) comes with PCIe based SSD storage as standard, far superior to MSATA in terms of raw speed.

Plus they get the awesome screen too. Now you may say the pixels are too small on a screen that size, but I don't care, it's a thing of beauty and a native res of 2560x1600 looks awesome!

[Norphy]

Mac laptops have had freefall sensors since the PowerBook and iBook were the current lines, i.e. since 2005

 

Sudden Motion Sensor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

There was even a screensaver which could read input from the thing and show which way the machine was being tilted.

 

Anyway, freefall sensors aren't foolproof. Even when the hard drive is powered down they are susceptible to impact damage.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Norphy

[superatticman]

I actually compare Apple to modern day BMW and Audi. People think they are 'bombproof' which they aren't. People think they are superior build quality of which they aren't. People think they are good looking of which most models undoubtedly are.

 

The above are ultimately for posers.

[abillybob]

Cheers guys for telling me that, I never knew and appreciate the feedback. Still no one has answered how a MBP is any different in quality hardware wise to an equivalent PC? The outside chassis/case is the only difference in my opinion... and that gets easily scratched and damaged, it bends also which I don't like and the metal itself feels tacky in my opinion.

[ICTDirect_Dave]

What model Alienware do you have btw?

[abillybob]

What model Alienware do you have btw?

 

Alienware 17, 500GB SSD,

128GB MSATA Cache SSD,

1TB HDD,

32GB RAM,

Broadcomm AC Wifi

1080p 120hz 3D screen

Nvidia 780m 4GB GDDR5 GPU

i7 M700MQ @ 2.4Ghz Tubro to 3.6Ghz

Intel 4600 HD Intergrated GPU

Blu-Ray Rewriter

 

Love it best thing I have ever bought!

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Alienware 17, 500GB SSD,

128GB MSATA Cache SSD,

1TB HDD,

32GB RAM,

Broadcomm AC Wifi

1080p 120hz 3D screen

Nvidia 780m 4GB GDDR5 GPU

i7 M700MQ @ 2.4Ghz Tubro to 3.6Ghz

Intel 4600 HD Intergrated GPU

Blu-Ray Rewriter

 

Love it best thing I have ever bought!

 

That's not a laptop, it's a house!!

 

It weighs over four kilos! Yes it mght have a decent spec, but i'd take a MBP over that any day. You don't need that musch spec, for gaming I have a decent desktop rig that will out perform your 'laptop'. I want a solid build (can't beat aluminium), portability, something that doesn't weigh as much as my car would be nice. My 17" MBP weighs less than 3 kilos and has a slightly nicer screen (1920 x 1200(not bothered about 3d, it's a gimmick at best)) and it five years old. It still plays what few games I need it too when on the move (Arkham Asylum (1080p), Football Manager & a heavily modded Star Wars Empire at War). With 8GB ram and a decent Core 2 Duo it still runs as fast as ever, even under 10.9.

 

You did get a good deal on that though! Can't find your spec for even slightly close to what you paid...

Edited April 11, 2014 by ICTDirect_Dave

[abillybob]

That's not a laptop, it's a house!!

 

It weighs over four kilos! Yes it mght have a decent spec, but i'd take a MBP over that any day. You don't need that musch spec, for gaming I have a decent desktop rig that will out perform your 'laptop'. I want a solid build (can't beat aluminium), portability, something that doesn't weigh as much as my car would be nice. My 17" MBP weighs less than 3 kilos and has a slightly nicer screen (1920 x 1200(not bothered about 3d, it's a gimmick at best)) and it five years old. It still plays what few games I need it too when on the move (Arkham Asylum (1080p), Football Manager & a heavily modded Star Wars Empire at War). With 8GB ram and a decent Core 2 Duo it still runs as fast as ever, even under 10.9.

 

You did get a good deal on that though! Can't find your spec for even slightly close to what you paid...

 

Haha it does way a ton. But it's not too bad it was just to replace my desktop gaming rig and my surface pro and combine them into one. I do a lot of travelling and go on holidays often with the over half, so it's nice that when she's getting ready and take 2 hours or more... I can sit in the hotel room and game my heart away and don't have to watch Portuguese TV to pass the time! I am aware that you can buy better desktops but I don't regret my purchase one bit. It will still play titles like Theif on full graphical settings. Also you can't go anywhere but your house if you want to game where as I can go anywhere, the mbp wouldn't live up to it you'd be lucky if you could run Orcs must die. The price was £1399 I bought it off a friend who only had it for a month but was moving to Abu Dabi or however you spell that place and he didn't want to take it with him! Long story I also chose Alienware as I can upgrade the GPU and it won't void the warranty (if you get accidental cover it includes it) So next year will be upgrading to the 880m or 980m So it's future proofed just like a desktop. I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't that cheap but it has been the best purchase I have ever made it's a thing of beauty!

[mthomas08]

Horrible argument that's been done to death.

 

If you need max osx, buy a mac

If you need windows, buy a pc

If you buy a mac SOLELY to use windows, you're a moron.

 

This made me crack up! Brilliant.

 

Although I will add:

If you need internet access: There are tons of choices on the cheap.

[featured_spectre]

Horrible argument that's been done to death.

 

If you need max osx, buy a mac

If you need windows, buy a pc

If you buy a mac SOLELY to use windows, you're a moron.

 

But how else will I show my hipster friends that I am so hipster that I use Windows on a Mac which runs a VM of a linux OS?

[ICTDirect_Dave]

I was gonna say I thought that was too cheap, to get similar spec new you're looking at £2,000 plus. And you could get a pair of macbook pros or a mac pro for similar prices!

 

What's the battery life like btw? Everyone in the office here reckons about ten minutes

Edited April 11, 2014 by ICTDirect_Dave

[abillybob]

I was gonna say I thought that was too cheap, to get similar spec new you're looking at £2,000 plus. And you could get a pair of macbook pros or a mac pro for similar prices!

 

What's the battery life like btw? Everyone in the office here reckons about ten minutes

 

Depends when the dedicated graphics is running it will last 1-2 hours when it's using only the intergrated GPU it'll do 6-8. I don't ever game unless it's plugged in anyway You can pick up an Alienware 14 though for under £1000 so cheaper than a MBP and a lot more to show for it!

 

The only thing that has annoyed me is the support, it was awful from Dell, granted they tried to get it sorted for me (it was BSOD'ing, but after my own messing found out it was a Dell Driver issue) I just couldn't understand them, would be put on hold it was fairly annoying trying to speak with Dell support about it!

 

Oh and just to add never look at Alienware direct costs as they are so much more expensive buy them from a reseller you can save 100's!

Edited April 11, 2014 by abillybob

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Depends when the dedicated graphics is running it will last 1-2 hours when it's using only the intergrated GPU it'll do 6-8. I don't ever game unless it's plugged in anyway You can pick up an Alienware 14 though for under £1000 so cheaper than a MBP and a lot more to show for it!

 

The only thing that has annoyed me is the support, it was awful from Dell, granted they tried to get it sorted for me (it was BSOD'ing, but after my own messing found out it was a Dell Driver issue) I just couldn't understand them, would be put on hold it was fairly annoying trying to speak with Dell support about it!

 

Oh and just to add never look at Alienware direct costs as they are so much more expensive buy them from a reseller you can save 100's!

 

I wouldn't say a lot more. That entry level AW14 has a better gfx card, far worse screen and less ram than the entry level retina mbA - admittedly it's £200 cheaper, but i'd say that the lightning quick PCIe flash storage is well worth the difference

[mac_shinobi]

 

You may want to look at your budget closer, as you complain A LOT on facebook about being financially stuck, or not great in terms of income/outgoings etc, when many people (myself included) have given you advice you plainly want to ignore. Many of the problems I have found with a lot of mac users, who claim to constantly be poor, is because they shell out £1K+ for hardware, slap it on a credit card or take a loan, and then make the absolute minimum payments, then the next year (or when the loan/cc is paid off) do it again. Its a horrible cycle and seems one that many (not saying all) Apple fans fall into.

 

Nope I dis-agree

 

1) I Sold the 2008 Mac Pro and other items I had for £1,600 on ebay as

 

A) I needed a new car to get to work and back

B) I used some of the money that was left over from selling the items to get a 2011 mac mini and an airport extreme 5th gen for about £600

 

I have paid my bank loan off so financially am better off, yes I still have a few debts to pay off but nothing major , so just an overdraft , one store card and one credit card ( none of which amount to a lot like you are insinuating !! )

 

I don't even post statuses on face book complaining , not that I remember. Only complaints I recall were that in order to learn more about virtualisation / exchange etc that I would need to upgrade the mac mini with an SSD and more RAM as currently it only has a slow 5,400 rpm hard drive and 4gb of cheap ram which came with it, looking in the system profiler it shows that it supports SATA 3 hard drives and if I re-call correctly I can get a 16gb RAM kit ( 2 * 8gb modules ) -->

 

16GB kit (8GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 upgrades for Apple Mac mini (Intel Core i5 2.5Ghz) DDR3 - Mid 2011 Desktop/PC, CT3327436 from Crucial.com

 

Also in my original posts which you seemed to have deleted off the important parts regards to saying you need to get apple care, well in my original post I did state that I had apple care and no I did not get that straight away ( as long as you get it within the first year from the date of purchase you can still get apple care for whatever apple device ). Cost me £140 for apple care which runs out I believe August this year and so far I have not had to use it what so ever.

 

DNS is not anything to do with me and is work related - so was just having a bit of a moan about that.

 

I stated in one of my posts about none of the computers being immune to hardware faults regardless of Apple / Dell / HP / Lenovo / AlienWare etc etc, motherboards / RAM , Power Supplies etc after a number of years and heavy use even if looked after pack up or get issues, capacitors on the motherboard going / bulging ( am sure you know all the common faults that occur with computer equipment over time )

 

I know about the aluminum case not being a solid lump of metal - otherwise where would the computer components go if it was ?? Kind of a given obvious really !!

 

Laptop GPU's vs Desktop GPU's is a no brainer - Desktop GPU's always perform a lot better and always have done in comparison to laptop GPU's whether onboard Intel HD4400 or whatever model or even comparing the mobile versions to the desktop versions such as the GTX 650 or whatever model on a laptop versus the desktop versions. The desktops have a much newer / updated range of cards available that are a lot better than the best laptop GPU's about

 

Desktop would / could be either AMD 295x2 or Nvidia Titan Black edition just as a couple of examples, might even be the GTX 780 Ti

 

Not sure where that thread is for the dual GPU link that was posted - if I find it I will post it but am sure Arthur or someone else will no doubt find it faster than I can

 

We all know how 98% of EG Folk are anti apple so like I said before Personal preference / budget etc

[cpjitservices]

I have a MAC, but it's a PC with OSX installed onto it.. It's solid... it has an i5 CPU and oober amounts of RAM. OSX Works flawlessly.

[seawolf]

'Build quality' or 'teh pretteh shineh'?

 

IME Apple components are not top notch and are overpriced for what you're getting. Graphics cards are a perfect case in point and are the easiest to compare. If you build a basket of components on somewhere like Scan or Overclockers or even Ebuyer that matches the overpriced 'upgrade' options on an Apple machine you'll find that price wise you're not getting good value for money.

 

But they LOOK nice. That's the important thing right?

 

Apple’s new ‘overpriced’ $10,000 Mac Pro is $2,000 cheaper than the equivalent Windows PC | ExtremeTech

[cpjitservices]

I suppose my MAC doesn't count for looks as it's a PC

 

It's a boggo HP Pro 3300

[LosOjos]

Apple’s new ‘overpriced’ $10,000 Mac Pro is $2,000 cheaper than the equivalent Windows PC | ExtremeTech

 

Well fair play to them for that, it's unlike Apple to be cheaper but credit where it's due! The original article that link is based on is interesting: http://www.futurelooks.com/new-apple-mac-pro-can-build-better-cheaper-pc-diy-style/3/

 

However, I wonder how it would stack up on UK prices? Historically, we've been ripped off over here paying the same in GBP as Americans pay in USD. If that remains the case, I suspect you could still build an equal to the Mac for less in this country at least.

[mac_shinobi]

Well fair play to them for that, it's unlike Apple to be cheaper but credit where it's due! The original article that link is based on is interesting: The New Apple Mac Pro is Here - But Can We Build it Better (and Cheaper) PC DIY Style? - Page 3 of 3 - Futurelooks

 

However, I wonder how it would stack up on UK prices? Historically, we've been ripped off over here paying the same in GBP as Americans pay in USD. If that remains the case, I suspect you could still build an equal to the Mac for less in this country at least.

 

Am sure @SYNACK and others from that part of the world would agree with you there @LosOjos as hear a lot about apple mac prices being very high over there as well

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Well fair play to them for that, it's unlike Apple to be cheaper but credit where it's due! The original article that link is based on is interesting: http://www.futurelooks.com/new-apple-mac-pro-can-build-better-cheaper-pc-diy-style/3/

 

However, I wonder how it would stack up on UK prices? Historically, we've been ripped off over here paying the same in GBP as Americans pay in USD. If that remains the case, I suspect you could still build an equal to the Mac for less in this country at least.

 

Am sure @SYNACK and others from that part of the world would agree with you there @LosOjos as hear a lot about apple mac prices being very high over there as well