Help me choose a Laptop

[nathfromslg]

Hi,Looking to buy a laptop,not interested in desktop as I need portability.

My budget is around 85000 INR which roughly translates to $1400~1500 .

I have zeroed in(kinda) on

Lenovo Ideapad Y510 (59-390016) Laptop (4th Gen Ci7/ 8GB/ 1TB/ Win8/ 2GB Graph)

Asus CN135H G56JR Laptop

and

Apple Macbook Pro 13" Retina Display ( I am getting discount on this so falls into my budget )

Will mainly use for photo/video editing purposes.

Here in India Apple's after sales is a joke they always ask to exchange laptop and pay at least half of the price of the laptop rather than repairing it.

Any other options/opinions are welcome.

Thanks in advance

 

[SnappingShark]

I'd go for the macbook pro 13".

Tried and tested with photo editing ... built better than Windows boxes (i.e components carefully selected, rather than just thrown together)... also, well, it's just nicer.

My opinion.

I have a MBP 13" too, and it's hooked up to 24" monitors. works like a dream

 

[DarkShadow]

Macbook hands down and they hold there resale value very well.

 

[Life]

Guys nononno. Do NOT buy a stupid macbook pro 13inch for $1500! Huge waist of money. I can find you/build you a laptop 10x better for that price. but please, No. If you want to vid/photo editing, you will not need graphics. You will need DDR3 ram. win "7" not "8" minimum 17inch screen, and 2TB hdd. Here's why. Unless you plan on gaming, a 2gb Graphics card is a huge waist. Photo editing/video editing takes pure Ram. Win 8 is a terrible OS for this aswell. It's takes up a lot of space, and even if it's a decently quick OS, it still takes too much ram, and so then when editing it will slow down.. And the interface is total crap either way. disk space fills fast with pictures, and way faster with videos. When you get a 1tb drive, it is in real actually 800gb. The 1tb name is not factual. so 2tb will last you a lot longer, and then later you won't need to invest into an external hdd because you will have enough space.

 

[sscarmack]

Macbook, love mine. Will never go without one. It just works.

 

[KmH]

I'd go for the macbook pro 13".

Tried and tested with photo editing ... built better than Windows boxes (i.e components carefully selected, rather than just thrown together)...

That was true up until Apple and Motorola dissolved their relationship. All computer makers now use pretty much the same components and the OS used is the only real distinction between brands.

Apple computer cost includes a substantial amount for the Apple name and logo.

Display color and gamma (brightness) calibration is only accurate as long as the ambient light falling on the display is constant.
In other words, if the ambient light changes the display has to be re-calibrated to be accurate. That puts limits on

So set up a calibrated external display that won't be moved so you can have the same ambient light falling on the display.
As it is that external display will need to be re-calibrated regularly (at least once a month) to correct for display aging.

Monitor Calibration for Photography

 

[nathfromslg]

I'd go for the macbook pro 13".

Tried and tested with photo editing ... built better than Windows boxes (i.e components carefully selected, rather than just thrown together)... also, well, it's just nicer.

My opinion.

I have a MBP 13" too, and it's hooked up to 24" monitors. works like a dream

I have a MacBook Air with me which was given by my brother,after using it for a week it crashed on me,its SSD died,Apple's After Sales quoted me 60% percent of the price of the price at which it was bought to fix it,which according to me was ridiculous.
So I dont have much confidence on the brand. Laptop was 2 years old and was out of warranty :/

Macbook hands down and they hold there resale value very well.

Yes the resale value is quite high,but my main concern is performance,longevity and reliability. will mainly use it for video/photo editing purposes.very light gaming,and daily use.

Guys nononno. Do NOT buy a stupid macbook pro 13inch for $1500! Huge waist of money. I can find you/build you a laptop 10x better for that price. but please, No. If you want to vid/photo editing, you will not need graphics. You will need DDR3 ram. win "7" not "8" minimum 17inch screen, and 2TB hdd. Here's why. Unless you plan on gaming, a 2gb Graphics card is a huge waist. Photo editing/video editing takes pure Ram. Win 8 is a terrible OS for this aswell. It's takes up a lot of space, and even if it's a decently quick OS, it still takes too much ram, and so then when editing it will slow down.. And the interface is total crap either way. disk space fills fast with pictures, and way faster with videos. When you get a 1tb drive, it is in real actually 800gb. The 1tb name is not factual. so 2tb will last you a lot longer, and then later you won't need to invest into an external hdd because you will have enough space.

Storage wont be a problem as I have NAS and external HDD with me always.Quite interesting facts you have put up.

I'd go for the macbook pro 13".

Tried and tested with photo editing ... built better than Windows boxes (i.e components carefully selected, rather than just thrown together)...

That was true up until Apple and Motorola dissolved their relationship. All computer makers now use pretty much the same components and the OS used is the only real distinction between brands.

Apple computer cost includes a substantial amount for the Apple name and logo.

Display color and gamma (brightness) calibration is only accurate as long as the ambient light falling on the display is constant.
In other words, if the ambient light changes the display has to be re-calibrated to be accurate. That puts limits on

So set up a calibrated external display that won't be moved so you can have the same ambient light falling on the display.
As it is that external display will need to be re-calibrated regularly (at least once a month) to correct for display aging.

Monitor Calibration for Photography

Mostly it will be hooked up a 23" monitor and I have calibrated it,so I guess that wont be a problem.

 

[cheshirecat79]

I'm not an Apple guy myself, but I'd definitely suggest the Macbook in this case. The display alone is worth it- not just for the resolution but also for the color reproduction. Even if you're using an external monitor, the rest of the laptop justifies the cost.

 

[SnappingShark]

Sounds like the OP (nathfromslg) doesn't want a mac... which makes me wonder why it was in the choice of 2 to begin with.


Perhaps justification from others that the real machine you want (the Asus) is good enough?


It is.
Stick to your guns and your gut The rest of us will stick to our macs

 

[CuriosityHouse]

Not sure if its too late to jump in on this or not, but hands down go with ASUS.

If you want to pay for a brand sure go with the Apple. Pay for the Apple. The opinion that Macs are better for graphics purposes is sooo 10 years ago.

If you want to pay for damn good hardware, from a company that is highly regarded in the hardware community, go for the ASUS brand. I know you said you only do light gaming, and I'm the same way, but I'm on my second ASUS G7x series. It's their high end "gaming" series. They are really desktop replacements. Big, heavy, and HARD hitting. It's in your price range and you'll have all the bells and whistles.

If you're looking for super light/more mobility, still stick with the ASUS. Its a damn good brand that walks the walk. I'd put them up against any MAC on hardware tests, any day.