Are Mac's worth the price premium?

[rpm]

Since getting an iPad and an iPhone I must confess the ecosystem is probably the only thing tempting me right now. ATM being a student I live and breathe through a laptop (Asus N55SF which I recently purchased to push aside my former HP). The aforementioned ecosystem drooling occurred after getting the laptop. with the student discounts I am tempted in purchasing a copy of ps or lightroom (at discount they're both within the same price range here). Well long story short, I've been looking at the other side these days (despite my gaming tendencies raising objection - however I am more into consoles than pc gaming but I do dabble with the RTS genre on it). I must say I am shocked as to how Apple is the only company who has managed to shrink their laptop chargers/adapters but anyway. is OS X and Macs really worth the price premium? currently I've been using evernote and dropbox to go around the lack of iCloud link with Windows and its perfect. I guess hardware wise Apple has a good edge but price wise...I don't know and would like user feedback from you guys on the forum. Oh (1) I've never had severe issues with Windows and nor do I find it 'hard' to do any tasks with (2) I'm an IT student and fairly aware that the majority of problems is hardware more often than not and design methadology between the two systems make it hard to compare (3) can anyone tell me how well does Parallels run? a lot of the software I use for uni remains Window only

 

[Jeff92]

Call me simple but I have no probably.manually syncing my devices with a pc. I have used macs before and they are really nice but I would personally take a decked out windows machine over an overpriced mac anyday lol. (Don't hate)

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[Josh66]

Hardware-wise, isn't everything pretty much equal these days? (Parts are parts ... and computers are just parts...)

I use Linux, personally, but my computer is more than capable of running any OS out there ... I just prefer Linux.

If you use a lot of Windows only software, like you said, that should pretty much tell you what to get... If you want a new OS, you'll have to find new software first.

I can't think of anything I use a computer for that there isn't free software for, but some people don't like open source/free software for whatever reason... Maybe they just don't know that they can get the same thing for free...


What "windows only" software do you use?

 

[rpm]

Microsoft Project, Visio, Visual Studio - academia related and potentially professionally when I move forward.

 

[Natalie]

I dunno if it's any different now, but when I was in the laptop market in 2009, I found that even the best MacBook Pros couldn't compete with available PCs despite being way more expensive. Here were some of the things I noticed about MacBooks (keep in mind it was back in 2009 so things might have changed).
- No high definition screens, that is at least 1080p. For photo editing, the more resolution you can get the better. It also means you can't watch high definition video.
- Slower processors, but given how far processors have come in the past three years, it's basically a moot point.
- Slower hard drives... 5400 RPM 500GB on a MacBook Pro vs 7200 RPM 500 GB on most of the PCs.
- No HDMI ports, so you can't plug your computer into anything (these ports come in handy when you want to put video or display photos on an HDTV).
- No Blu-ray players/writers, although no point in having those since you can't watch HD video anyway.
- Graphics cards weren't as good, but again, this is something that changes a lot in three years.
- Less RAM... I think the most I could get on a Mac was 4GB, but I wanted 8GB.

And there was a bunch of other minor stuff that I can't remember because it was three years ago. But basically, for $1800 I got a laptop that was way better than anything Apple even had to offer, even in their $3000 decked-out MacBook Pro (I think that's how much they cost at the time). Definitely shop around, but it still seems like you'd be able to build your own computer that's way better and less expensive than a Mac.

Luckily computers and gadgets aren't like DSLRs... You can get an iPhone (I have one) and it'll still work fine with your PC. There's really no reason to get a Mac just so the operating systems on your devices are the same.

 

[Josh66]

Do your professors demand a specific file type for you reports or whatever? Because all of that stuff can be done without Microsoft...

Even if you have to save as a Windows file type, you can almost always do that under Linux.

I'm not saying you have to run Linux - but I am saying that you should consider it. Look into it and decide whether it's for you or not. Just sayin' ... there's more out there than just Windows and Mac...

 

[Josh66]

I dunno if it's any different now, but when I was in the laptop market in 2009, I found that even the best MacBook Pros couldn't compete with available PCs despite being way more expensive. Here were some of the things I noticed about MacBooks (keep in mind it was back in 2009 so things might have changed).
- No high definition screens, that is at least 1080p. For photo editing, the more resolution you can get the better. It also means you can't watch high definition video.
- Slower processors, but given how far processors have come in the past three years, it's basically a moot point.
- Slower hard drives... 5400 RPM 500GB on a MacBook Pro vs 7200 RPM 500 GB on most of the PCs.
- No HDMI ports, so you can't plug your computer into anything (these ports come in handy when you want to put video or display photos on an HDTV).
- No Blu-ray players/writers, although no point in having those since you can't watch HD video anyway.
- Graphics cards weren't as good, but again, this is something that changes a lot in three years.
- Less RAM... I think the most I could get on a Mac was 4GB, but I wanted 8GB.

And there was a bunch of other minor stuff that I can't remember because it was three years ago. But basically, for $1800 I got a laptop that was way better than anything Apple even had to offer, even in their $3000 decked-out MacBook Pro (I think that's how much they cost at the time). Definitely shop around, but it still seems like you'd be able to build your own computer that's way better and less expensive than a Mac.

Luckily computers and gadgets aren't like DSLRs... You can get an iPhone (I have one) and it'll still work fine with your PC. There's really no reason to get a Mac just so the operating systems on your devices are the same.

Computers are just parts...

You can buy whatever parts you want and put whatever OS you want on it.

 

[rpm]

hey Natalie a lot of your points are still the same. when i was looking for laptop i did also look at mac book pros in the process...

i paid 1300 and i got a 15inch 1920x1080p resolution screen, quad core i7, 8gb ram, gt555m 2GB gpu, bluray player, amazing speakers (bang and olufsen) coupled with a bundled subwoofer for the laptop (nice and small too combined makes the best speaker system built into a laptop ever) and it happens to come with a full keyboard with number pad. only thing missing? an IPS screen...and maybe a full metal body for sturdiness otherwise ya. no MBP touches that at that price point. not even the 17inch with its high res screen when you factor in a near 3000 price tag...

i would have loved to see a lenovo U300s type laptop with the above specs with their full aluminium body or even a larger Zenbook from Asus themselves....otherwise a big thing about Mac laptops has to be their ability to last

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

"Are Mac's worth the price premium?"

No.

I have a somewhat unique perspective. I sold Apple computers part time through college. Always been a windows guy. In fact i am typing this on an iPad 2. So I've seen both sides of the coin, extensively.

Take that 2k you'd spend on a mediocre Mac built with hardware years behind the curve and go buy/build yourself a beast to be reckoned with.

Like I always say to Apple users, "give us the same budget to buy a computer and I'll find a PC that does everything your Mac does, runs twice as fast, has better individual components and could probably barbecue me a hamburger if I asked nicely. "

 

[usayit]

I am Linux (home built and store bought) and Mac user for home and work (in software development). I even have a dual boot hackintosh but rarely booted in Windows.. If you have to ask, then No.

A windows machine from any other vendor built to their commercial specs will cost also have a high price tag. Comparing anything store bought to home built is not really a comparison. Home built PC will also be cheaper than even other non-apple branded machines.... at that point its not amcomparison between Apple vs X, its a comparison between home spec'd and X.

 

[digital flower]

Macs are more expensive? I wouldn't know since I didnt consider buying anything else but I didn't need the latest or fastest computer. MY MBP seems to do everything I want it to fast enough (like processing large batches of photos). It was an easy decision after using the the wife's Dell laptop a few times. The filing/folder system on the Mac is superior for my needs and I seem to have found software for everything I want it do. The screen is wonderful and it hooked into my home network flawlessly ( about 2 minutes to get get everything connected).

The speed/power issue reminds me of when I went to purchase a new Dodge Ram truck a few years ago (still have it). The salesmen insisted that I needed the V10 model because it was faster and more powerful but I resisted and got the 5.9 V8 model instead. We all know what happened to gas prices and I still have plenty of power.

 

[o hey tyler]

• Are Mac's worth the price premium?

No.

 

[Tommo]

Macs are more expensive? I wouldn't know since I didnt consider buying anything else but I didn't need the latest or fastest computer. MY MBP seems to do everything I want it to fast enough (like processing large batches of photos). It was an easy decision after using the the wife's Dell laptop a few times. The filing/folder system on the Mac is superior for my needs and I seem to have found software for everything I want it do. The screen is wonderful and it hooked into my home network flawlessly ( about 2 minutes to get get everything connected).

The speed/power issue reminds me of when I went to purchase a new Dodge Ram truck a few years ago (still have it). The salesmen insisted that I needed the V10 model because it was faster and more powerful but I resisted and got the 5.9 V8 model instead. We all know what happened to gas prices and I still have plenty of power.

What screen setting do you use on your MPB when editing photos cause i find when i edit photos on my MBP the photos lack the colour and contrast i get when i plug my MBP into my sony TV and view the same photo. (it looks 10 times better on the TV)

 

[ann]

Since I am a visual person, I love the looks of a MAC and have considered them more than once.

However, I went to my local Apple Store and discussed my needs, etc with them ; and based on my software,etc. they told me I would be better sticking with a PC as by the time I ran a parallel system I would be losing the very function most love about a mac. I was surprised but found their honesty to be refreshing.

Late last year I got another new PC basically for my Photo work only, and even with all the upgrades it was still less expensive than the largest MAC tower.

Just my two cents.

 

[TheBiles]

I dunno if it's any different now, but when I was in the laptop market in 2009, I found that even the best MacBook Pros couldn't compete with available PCs despite being way more expensive. Here were some of the things I noticed about MacBooks (keep in mind it was back in 2009 so things might have changed).
- No high definition screens, that is at least 1080p. For photo editing, the more resolution you can get the better. It also means you can't watch high definition video.
- Slower processors, but given how far processors have come in the past three years, it's basically a moot point.
- Slower hard drives... 5400 RPM 500GB on a MacBook Pro vs 7200 RPM 500 GB on most of the PCs.
- No HDMI ports, so you can't plug your computer into anything (these ports come in handy when you want to put video or display photos on an HDTV).
- No Blu-ray players/writers, although no point in having those since you can't watch HD video anyway.
- Graphics cards weren't as good, but again, this is something that changes a lot in three years.
- Less RAM... I think the most I could get on a Mac was 4GB, but I wanted 8GB.

And there was a bunch of other minor stuff that I can't remember because it was three years ago. But basically, for $1800 I got a laptop that was way better than anything Apple even had to offer, even in their $3000 decked-out MacBook Pro (I think that's how much they cost at the time). Definitely shop around, but it still seems like you'd be able to build your own computer that's way better and less expensive than a Mac.

Luckily computers and gadgets aren't like DSLRs... You can get an iPhone (I have one) and it'll still work fine with your PC. There's really no reason to get a Mac just so the operating systems on your devices are the same.

Computers are just parts...

You can buy whatever parts you want and put whatever OS you want on it.

Not Macs. You can only install OSX on Apple-approved hardware. Meaning, you have to take the unbelievably over-priced trash that they throw out to you. Windows or Linux are are only ways to go if you want to build your own rig with total freedom.

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