Why buy a Macbook?

[Currawong]

Why would you build a hackintosh, giving you worse issues with drivers than Windows?

 

[Adda]

Quote:

 
 
Cr@p, that's what I was afraid of. The current model dropped the dvd drive and a few other things, but comes with an Intel Core2 Duo SU7300, running at 1.30GHz; how much better is that?

 
There wouldn't be too much of a difference, except that the Core 2 would use significantly less power.
A Turion X2 2.2 GHz is not a slow processor, but Windows Vista is good at making even fast computers seem slow.
Installing WIndows XP or 7 on there would be good, with Linux it would fly like the wind.
A faster HDD would probably give you better performance then more memory, 2 Gb of memory is more then enough for regular usage.
But the question is, does it use 1.8" or 2.5" HDD's? 1.8" drives are pretty slow, but the high capacity ones are fairly decent.
I regularly use my old ThinkPad A30p, that is a 1.2 GHz P3 with 512 MB memory, using Linux Mint it's a pretty decent machine, easily capable of doing everyday tasks, compared to that your Turion is a speed devil!
 
If you use the right software for the right system, it will never feel slow, a computer doesn't get slower as it ages, it'll stay as fast as the day you bought it.
 

 

[Adda]

Quote:

It was sincere. Personally, even if I could run OSX hassle-free on a Windows laptop, I'd be tempted to pay the Apple premium for the screen, the touchpad, the rigidity of the case and the hard drive that locks the instant it detects motion, but I suspect all of the above, with the exception of the touchpad, is available elsewhere. The question, of course, would be is it available in a hardware set that OSX will support and will it really be much cheaper than just buying a Mac. I don't know that answer, but I'm sure you can find it.
 
Is there a list of all OSX compatible machines somewhere? 
 
P

There is no sutch thing as a "Windows laptop" and a ThinkPad would give you all the features MacBooks have and more.
To make OSX run without trouble on a PC you have to make sure it's based on the same components found in Mac's.
 
Here are a few charts showing PC's and what works or not on OSX:
 
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/12/17/osx-netbook-compatib.html
 
http://www.mymacnetbook.com/compatibility-chart/
 
None of the notebooks listed are very interesting though, unless you just want a netbook.

 

[milkpowder]

A lot of people in my age group, ie those who attend university/college/high school, use Macs because of the attractive educational discounts (w/ or w/o free iPod), great aftersales service, aesthetics and the cool factor.  This is evident in the seemingly endless MB Pro spottings in our university library. I was so ready to make the switch and very nearly went for a Macbook Pro myself because of the aforementioned factors but resisted simply becauses I wanted a quad-core CPU for editing photos (Lightroom 3).  Plus, a similar spec would've costed a whole lot more.  In the end I bought a Macbook look-a-like: HP Envy 15 (i7-820QM, 8gb 1333mhz ram, 500gb 7200rpm hdd, ati5830 1gb, 1080p 15.6", USB3.0, BD-ROM, Win7 Pro 64-bit) with a 3-year warranty.  The chassis is an all-magnesium frame but doesn't give you the same solid high-quality feel a unibody Macbook Pro has.  I still lust after the Apple look!  If it's true no-frills workstation-type power you want from a laptop, I would go for one of the higher-end Dell Precision or an HP Elitebook.  Now those are proper laptops which will last but be prepared to pay for it too!  They make any Macbook Pro look like Fisher Price.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tfarney /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
It was sincere. Personally, even if I could run OSX hassle-free on a Windows laptop, I'd be tempted to pay the Apple premium for the screen, the touchpad, the rigidity of the case and the hard drive that locks the instant it detects motion, but I suspect all of the above, with the exception of the touchpad, is available elsewhere. The question, of course, would be is it available in a hardware set that OSX will support and will it really be much cheaper than just buying a Mac. I don't know that answer, but I'm sure you can find it.
 
Is there a list of all OSX compatible machines somewhere? 
 
P

I don't really like the touchpad, so, there we go!  >_>
 
There is a list, but it's mostly for either PC hardware or netbooks.  If I go in the direction I'm thinking, I'll probably have to terminal up my HWID for the video card, and somehow either use a desktop 480 kext, or wait for someone to make a 480M kext.

 
Quote:

Why would you build a hackintosh, giving you worse issues with drivers than Windows?

It isn't so bad.  And it's fun, like a DIY project.  Things come together nicely in the end.
 
Quote:

There is no sutch thing as a "Windows laptop" and a ThinkPad would give you all the features MacBooks have and more.
To make OSX run without trouble on a PC you have to make sure it's based on the same components found in Mac's.
 
Here are a few charts showing PC's and what works or not on OSX:
 
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/12/17/osx-netbook-compatib.html
 
http://www.mymacnetbook.com/compatibility-chart/
 
None of the notebooks listed are very interesting though, unless you just want a netbook.

All netbooks.  No fun.

 

[tfarney]

 
 
Quote:

I don't really like the touchpad, so, there we go!  >_>

 
 
And I'm totally addicted to the thing, so there we go!
 
Tim

 

[12thgear]

 
Quote:

Why would you build a hackintosh, giving you worse issues with drivers than Windows?

If you're doing "new construction" it isn't so bad, since you can research and choose the most compatible parts first. I think most people building hackintoshes are primarily building a Windows PC anyway, and adjust their plans slightly to work in OS X compatibility. I personally wouldn't build a hackintosh as my primary OS X computer. Too many variables would be outside of my control. I would make Windows my main OS in that situation, as everything would be officially supported. 

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

If you're doing "new construction" it isn't so bad, since you can research and choose the most compatible parts first. I think most people building hackintoshes are primarily building a Windows PC anyway, and adjust their plans slightly to work in OS X compatibility. I personally wouldn't build a hackintosh as my primary OS X computer. Too many variables would be outside of my control. I would make Windows my main OS in that situation, as everything would be officially supported. 

There are a few hardware configurations where everything is PERFECTLY supported.  The moment they update the Mac Pro line, one could build a high end Hackintosh machine, with those exact parts, just gotta find a similar motherboard.  Boom, Mac Pro for cheap.

 

[grokit]

Quote:

 
There wouldn't be too much of a difference, except that the Core 2 would use significantly less power.
A Turion X2 2.2 GHz is not a slow processor, but Windows Vista is good at making even fast computers seem slow.
Installing WIndows XP or 7 on there would be good, with Linux it would fly like the wind.
A faster HDD would probably give you better performance then more memory, 2 Gb of memory is more then enough for regular usage.
But the question is, does it use 1.8" or 2.5" HDD's? 1.8" drives are pretty slow, but the high capacity ones are fairly decent.
I regularly use my old ThinkPad A30p, that is a 1.2 GHz P3 with 512 MB memory, using Linux Mint it's a pretty decent machine, easily capable of doing everyday tasks, compared to that your Turion is a speed devil!
 
If you use the right software for the right system, it will never feel slow, a computer doesn't get slower as it ages, it'll stay as fast as the day you bought it.

 
Thanks for the reply. It's a 5400rpm 2.5" drive. You're not the first person to tell me to get a faster one, it just doesn't seem to be a big difference going from 5400 to 7200 rpm. My instinct was more RAM, but it sounds like my first move should be Windows 7, then maybe the HDD, then finally more RAM if necessary (I already have 4gb). Glad to hear the Core 2 isn't that much faster. I knew this one consumed more power (and ran correspondingly hotter).
 
If HP had kept the old form factor with the new processor, they would have had a perfect machine (for my mobile needs). If you fly coach and want to watch dvd movies on longer flights, this is the perfect solution for those crowded fold-down tables, as it needs less room and the screen is closer when you spin it around, and the touch screen works well enough to control things.

Mostly red-eye flights, but I just can't sleep on airplanes and reading sucks when you're too tired. Stupid HP, I'm sure they had their reasons but I think they blew it on this one. They finally put a decent processor in the Tx series, then they drop the dvd drive?!? That's why I got the best version I could find with the old form factor.
 
Linux sounds great, but I'm not sure I want to get into it as I don't really need another hobby at this point, plus I need Windows for certain applications.
 

 

[Adda]

 
Quote:

 
Thanks for the reply. It's a 5400rpm 2.5" drive. You're not the first person to tell me to get a faster one, it just doesn't seem to be a big difference going from 5400 to 7200 rpm. My instinct was more RAM, but it sounds like my first move should be Windows 7, then maybe the HDD, then finally more RAM if necessary (I already have 4gb). Glad to hear the Core 2 isn't that much faster. I knew this one consumed more power (and ran correspondingly hotter). If HP had kept the old form factor with a new processor, they would have had a perfect machine (for my mobile needs). Stupid HP, I'm sure they had their reasons. Linux sounds great, but I'm not sure I want to get into it as I don't really need another hobby at this point, and I need Windows for certain applications.
 

 
Well in that case, getting a 320GB+ 7200rpm disk will make a easily noticeable difference.
Your upgrade plan seems very reasonable to me.
Maybe you should take a look at this:
 
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/23/lenovo-thinkpad-x201-tablet-review/
 

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Well in that case, getting a 320GB+ 7200rpm disk will make a easily noticeable difference.
Your upgrade plan seems very reasonable to me.
Maybe you should take a look at this:
 
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/23/lenovo-thinkpad-x201-tablet-review/

Looks like you were responding while I was expanding, lol. The Lenovo is very nice, but I didn't want to spend the extra $1,000 for a tablet that wasn't going to be my primary machine anyways. OTOH, I probably wouldn't need to upgrade anything. If I had read that review before I replaced my HP I might have taken a closer look at the Lenovo, it's very nice actually. The price scared me off, too bad money has to be a factor! I think I did okay for $900 though, for now; ya gets what ya pays for I guess.
 
Edit: Aaargh!, no built-in optical/dvd drive in the Lenovo either! So much for that

 

[Adda]

Quote:

 
Edit: Aaargh!, no built-in optical/dvd drive in the Lenovo either! So much for that

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=43R8781&current-category-id=34851FD360E5473EB9DFEB639312E18E&&hide_menu_area=yes

 

[grokit]

Quote:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=38&Code=43R8781&current-category-id=34851FD360E5473EB9DFEB639312E18E&&hide_menu_area=yes

 
Very Cool, esp. the fact that you could put a blu-ray drive in there. But it adds another inch to the thickness, and turns the x201 into a 6 pounder, a bit heavy IMO for travel. Almost worth it with the improved power and battery life though. Really a nice setup there. Way more powerful and still cheaper than the Modbook, which is what I was considering if I wanted to spend a LOT more $.

 

[12thgear]

I have a client with an X200s and it's a sweat little setup. He doesn't need the optical drive when he travels, and he loves the tiny size and weight, while retaining good performance and dull keyboard. He had to get used to a trackpoint, but it certainly makes the machine really compact. We keep an Ultrabase and a 22" Dell Ultrasharp display at his desk. 
 
I've used ModBooks, and they're pretty neat, but the realities of their production makes them prohibitively expensive. I like the iPad as it stands now, but my pet version would have a screen that also works with pen input, and is pressure sensitive. 

 

[Hybrys]

Why is it so hard to find an i7-QM 17", with a 280M or 5870?  Seriously, only the ASUS seems to be in the running here.
 
The HP DV8T looked promising, until you see that it's locked in with a 230M.  Half the power of a 5870?  No thanks.