[SemiAudiophile]

Quote:

By the way CSS (Counter Strike Source) is on PC and Mac for $6.80 today on Steam if anyone is interested. Noobs/Mac Users welcome. Hardcore PC gamers, well you've been playing CSS since 2004 so go ahead and beat the Mac users senseless. It will be like stat-padding except legit.

 
Awesome, thanks. I knew that Portal 2 was coming out for Macs but no idea CSS too. Gaming on a Mac is gonna be weird..but I think I'm gonna give it a try. I wonder how the Macbook Pro will be able to handle it. 

 
I knew that people have been complaining about gaming for macs for years, I guess steve jobs finally gave in and struck a deal with steam. I predict a new line of gaming desktops from Apple soon. I wonder how it would turn out. 

 

[Shike]

     Quote:

read the thread title. "why buy a macbook", not "why buy a mac pro". I'm glad you're arguing on topic here.

 
So you're arguing there's no such thing as a good Windows laptop (i.e. they're all "garbage")?
 
That's just a bit of a narrow view.

 

[ayz]

Quote:

     Quote:
 
So you're arguing there's no such thing as a good Windows laptop (i.e. they're all "garbage")?
 
That's just a bit of a narrow view.

there is no windows laptop right now of similar or better build quality than a macbook pro that i would prefer over a macbook pro.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

there is no windows laptop right now of similar or better build quality than a macbook pro that i would prefer over a macbook pro.

The HP ENVY has a very similar build quality.

 

[ayz]

similar but still not as good in my opinion. if they improve the HP envy design to a full alumnium or magnesium unibody, then the next time i want a windows laptop i'll give it serious consideration.

 

[ayz]

also on a side note, configuring the HP envy 15" to similar specs of an MBP (not including the superior video card) only yields ~$100 price difference.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

I'm never buying a HP laptop again. I admit they do have pretty nice designs (one of the reason why I bought them in the first place), but they feel cheap compared to the macbook pro. They're servers and workstations are alright, but laptops are horribly built and designed internally. Mines overheated easily causing the GPU to mess up and cause it not to turn on. This was evidently reported by many other users using the same model and HP instead of recalling chose to do nothing about it. Maybe a good choice from a business standpoint, but bad for building customer relationship and satisfaction. 

 

[Shike]

Quote:

there is no windows laptop right now of similar or better build quality than a macbook pro that i would prefer over a macbook pro.

 
Envy has an aluminum body - while not unibody it's of better quality than you give it credit for.
 
I fail to see why unibody is even necessary unless you plan on dropping your laptop.
 
Quote:

also on a side note, configuring the HP envy 15" to similar specs of an MBP (not including the superior video card) only yields ~$100 price difference.

 
$300 - and superior graphics card (if you configured it like I did, you'd also get 1080P).  Then again the Envy uses an external drive, so it's a pain to compare them anyway.  The point is Windows laptops are better than you give them credit for.

 

[khaos974]

Still quite far from a MBP if you are talking about perceived quality, I had a hp envy in one hand and a MBP in the other, the MBP conveys the impression of a trendy professional device while the Envy conveys the impression of a trendy tool. It's was a bit hyperbolic of course, but this is the general impression I had.
 
The MBP also offers a better autonomy and a better trackpad, it up to you to see if the ergonomics are worth 300$.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Still quite far from a MBP if you are talking about perceived quality, I had a hp envy in one hand and a MBP in the other, the MBP conveys the impression of a trendy professional device while the Envy conveys the impression of a trendy tool. It's was a bit hyperbolic of course, but this is the general impression I had.
 
The MBP also offers a better autonomy and a better trackpad, it up to you to see if the ergonomics are worth 300$.

The MBP only has a better build quality, prettier exterior, and better trackpad, compared to the ASUS G73JH, which has a better CPU/GPU/Drive support, and costs much less.  And who really uses a trackpad with a desktop replacement machine?

 

[ayz]

Quote:

Envy has an aluminum body - while not unibody it's of better quality than you give it credit for.
 
I called it a decently built laptop but not up to the quality of an MBP. Which is true. Not sure how much more "credit" you're looking for it to get.
 
I fail to see why unibody is even necessary unless you plan on dropping your laptop.
 
A lot of things aren't necessary. A 420HP engine isn't necessary. A 55" LCD isn't necessary. The basis of this entire forum (high-end audio equipment) isn't necessary. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with paying for a better product. 
 
$300 - and superior graphics card (if you configured it like I did, you'd also get 1080P).  Then again the Envy uses an external drive, so it's a pain to compare them anyway.  The point is Windows laptops are better than you give them credit for.
 
I said they were not as well made as a macbook pro. Which still holds true. I'm not sure why you keep saying I should "give them more credit". I stated the facts. Essentially what you're doing is this: For the sake of argument, let's say on a scale of 1-10, MBP is a 10. You're complaining that I'm giving the HP Envy a 7 instead of an 8. Which is still not a 10. Not sure why you feel like doing this or what the point is but ok.

 

[Currawong]

Sony notebooks are rubbish, they have been for many years since Sony turned from making good products to trying to get as much product out the door as possible.
 
An interesting note: You may well know most of the world's notebooks, including Apple's, are built by Hon Hai Industries.  They have a dedicated sealed floor for each manufacturer.  Steve Jobs recently told them to go shove their designs (of Apple's gear) and got Apple's hardware team to design the electronics instead.  The difference between the internals of my new and old MacBook Pros is stunning.  At the very least, open and close a unibody MacBook (Pro) and any PC notebook and feel the difference in quality.  The Unibody is, long-term, probably cheaper to make, as it uses far fewer parts.  If you go through the iFixit archives and compare the number of parts and complexity of older MacBook Pros with the newer ones, it will be quite obvious. The best, IMO, is the new Mac Mini, which is a whole 16 parts (essentially).

 

[piesky]

Quote:

Sony notebooks are rubbish, they have been for many years since Sony turned from making good products to trying to get as much product out the door as possible.
 
An interesting note: You may well know most of the world's notebooks, including Apple's, are built by Hon Hai Industries.  They have a dedicated sealed floor for each manufacturer.  Steve Jobs recently told them to go shove their designs (of Apple's gear) and got Apple's hardware team to design the electronics instead.  The difference between the internals of my new and old MacBook Pros is stunning.  At the very least, open and close a unibody MacBook (Pro) and any PC notebook and feel the difference in quality.  The Unibody is, long-term, probably cheaper to make, as it uses far fewer parts.  If you go through the iFixit archives and compare the number of parts and complexity of older MacBook Pros with the newer ones, it will be quite obvious. The best, IMO, is the new Mac Mini, which is a whole 16 parts (essentially).

I won't call the newest Sony Vaio Z rubbish, for example. To my knowledge, no current laptop at any price has its spec, and the model sold out in many countries within weeks of launch.
 
Apple has a great ergonomic and industrial engineering team. That I'll give them. It was my understanding the design has always been inhouse, with contractors responsible for production input. Perhaps its just evidence of design evolution, rather than Apple sub-contracting out the design. That would really take the gloss out of the Apple brand, since they're running x86 hardware already.
 

 

[Shike]

@ayz
 
Some things you seem to misunderstand:
 
1)  Your opinion in regards to the build quality of a machine is not fact - it's just your opinion.
 
2)  You missed the point - from a design perspective if there's no need for it why bother?  It's probably due to the fact that it's cheaper.
 
3)  We don't go around insulting your gear.  I could go all day and take stabs at your MBP, but don't.  Why?  Some of us realize the benefits of each platform and have common courtesy for other members and their choices.  Sorry you don't.
 
Also, I didn't mention a Hackintosh - not once.
 
4)  Even if that were true (which isn't, it's a poor attempt at insulting me again) it doesn't excuse you from breaking forum rules.
 
5)  Except the fact that your perceived quality is an opinion.  As for the "seven instead of an eight", hardly.  A seven isn't "garbage" - it's average and maybe a fair rating given your needs.  In stark contrast if I were to give a MBP a one out of ten and call it garbage you'd surely question how in the heck I came to such a conclusion. 
 
This was the point, if you're going to call a system garbage you surely better have a reason to backup such an assertion - judging by how you're desperately trying to imply you meant something entirely different and separate yourself from it it's obvious you didn't.  All you seem to be able to do now is harp on the lack of a unibody - quite different from the complete rubbish you'd just throw out.
 
For posterity, what you said earlier:
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ayz 
 
. . .
 
the point was you can piece together some garbage and get the same performance . . .

 
Care to clarify how a seven - according to your example - constitutes garbage exactly?  This remark implied that all Windows based laptops were garbage.  No one's putting words in your mouth, this is what you yourself wrote.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Sony notebooks are rubbish, they have been for many years since Sony turned from making good products to trying to get as much product out the door as possible.
 
An interesting note: You may well know most of the world's notebooks, including Apple's, are built by Hon Hai Industries.  They have a dedicated sealed floor for each manufacturer.  Steve Jobs recently told them to go shove their designs (of Apple's gear) and got Apple's hardware team to design the electronics instead.  The difference between the internals of my new and old MacBook Pros is stunning.  At the very least, open and close a unibody MacBook (Pro) and any PC notebook and feel the difference in quality.  The Unibody is, long-term, probably cheaper to make, as it uses far fewer parts.  If you go through the iFixit archives and compare the number of parts and complexity of older MacBook Pros with the newer ones, it will be quite obvious. The best, IMO, is the new Mac Mini, which is a whole 16 parts (essentially).

An interesting note to your interesting note.  I've down a 'teardown and rebuild' of both a Gateway (P-7805u) and a Macbook (Late 2007), and they were both very similar in both design and quality.  The Macbook was a more painful endeavor to take apart and rebuild, though.  Your comment also suggests that they're just gouging you more, by it being cheaper to produce in fewer pieces.  (Which is theoretically true.)
 
Remember what has been said.  You can't compare low-end PCs to high-end prices.  The higher-level Sony machines are actually decent, although I agree with you on the poor construction and configuration of their mid/low end machines.  The same goes with Acer, their low end machines are terrible, but I've had nothing but success with their high end machines.