Is a Macbook a good college laptop?

[ugafan_2009]

I'm going to be starting college this fall and I'm in need of a new laptop. I'm told the hot item at UGA are Macbooks and I'm starting to like them after doing a bit of research. Would the $1300 aluminum Macbook be a good laptop for me to purchase. I don't plan on majoring in anything that would require really a really nice computer. It would mainly be used for school work and entertainment.

 

 

 

Should I purchase a Macbook or should I just go for a PC that I could potentially get the same specs for cheaper? Thanks.

[Bauke]

Depends on what you plan to do with the laptop. If it's just to type out stuff and surf the intertubes a bit... you might as well take a cheap laptop with Windows, instead of overpriced Apple stuff.

[Sbrideau]

Well, it depends. If the college require you to use ms programs like Office and all, you should go for a PC. Same if you want to play games. Make your choice for the mac if you want if what I named does not affect you.

 

 

 

Anyway, wait for laura0077 to answer here (I think she will come here soon enough), she knows more than most of us about Macs.

[Bauke]

Well, it depends. If the college require you to use ms programs like Office and all, you should go for a PC. Same if you want to play games. Make your choice for the mac if you want if what I named does not affect you.

 

 

Still, even if you don't specifically use MS programs or want to play games, it's still no reason to choose a Mac. I'd only pick one if you really like their OS and their software, since you're pretty much paying a [cabbage]load of money for it.

 

 

 

Some people claim Macs are user friendly. I beg to differ and see no advantages in Macs.. but he, everyone has to choose for himself.

[Laura]

Anyway, wait for laura0077 to answer here (I think she will come here soon enough), she knows more than most of us about Macs.

:P

 

 

 

I was in the same exact boat as you, college and everything. And after filing a $20,000+ lawsuit against Dell I'd had enough of companies ripping me off. Anyways, I was deciding on the $999 white MacBook or the Rev A MacBook Air, but I took the more expensive route and went with the 2.4Ghz Aluminium MacBook. I must say, its elegance is subpar to none, the keyboard (chiclet style) is far easier to type on, and the MultiTouch trackpad is amazing. The display is better than the previous laptops I've had, but it comes short on viewing angles. The LED lighting does come on as fast as advertised and looks, from what I can tell, the same as an LCD. Another thing I noticed about the display is that you don't have to, when opening the notebook, hold the base of the laptop, it's minor, but it's something I found neat.

 

 

 

As far as hardware goes, it's a speedy little machine. Boot time is faster than the Vista desktop I had from Dell, though for the record it was defective. The nVidia 9400M is a great integrated solution as far as I'm concerned and if you're looking at gaming, I can get 36FPS on Crysis in XP with lower settings; so it is playable. The 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo is fine, but the fasted CPU I've had was a quad core of the same clock speed. I'd suggest the 2.0 though, as benchmarks only show a 9% performance increase for what it's worth (I wanted the backlit keys). The 2GB of RAM is fine for me, a little limiting since I'm used to 6GB.

 

 

 

The software is perhaps the best I've seen on a computer right out of the box; iLife is simply an amazing suit. If you're into photos, iPhoto does wonders with Faces and Places, both of which do their job well (facial recognition was a breeze and it easily found the locations of the pictures I took). iMovie is easier and more user friendly than MS Movie Maker as well as the addition of more in depth features. iWork is, to me, better than the Microsoft version in certain aspects, namely Keynote. I just made a 40 slide Keynote and it was far easier than on MS Office. The transitions flow smoothly and the sound effects actually work with the presentation. Pictures were easily imported, rotated with the trackpad, and cropped using the Alpha tool. Pages is my main gripe about iWork, lacking features I was used to in MS Office with less functionality. The little things got to me, namely not previewing the font or size as I scrolled over new aspects. I don't use Excel, so I can't comment on the Mac equivalent, Numbers.

 

 

 

All in all, it's a great computer. And as you can probably tell, I do enjoy OS X more than Vista or XP (and 7 for that matter) though I do have XP partitioned on here. There is a slight learning curve when migrating from a Windows PC but it's easier once you get the hang of it. For college, the only difficulty I had was using the CDs issued with the textbooks, but who uses those anyways? :P As many people will point out, Macs are expensive. But to me, that was justified with English speaking representatives alone. I'm not going to sit here and preach to you like a fanboy or whatever, but this laptop is amazing and I'm glad I paid what I did for it. If you'd like to have any other information all you have to do is ask. ;)

 

 

 

I also might add that refurb products get their battery swapped out, the defective part, and the outer shell replaced. It could be worth it to go with a refurb and save.

 

[hide=Pictures]

 

 

[/hide]

 

[hide=My post in another thread]2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo

 

2GB DDR3 1066Mhz

 

nVidia 9400M (which is better than the ATI 3450 I used to have)

 

250GB 5,400RPM (thinking of buying a 128GB SSD since the largest file on here is iTunes and the iPhone SDK. Perhaps after the price drops a bit more though.)

 

The only thing I don't like about OS X so far is Pages. I found the MS Office "ribbon" intimidating even after two years of use (everyday) but I could manage to do so much more. Pages is too straight forward, if that makes sense. Keynote seems a lot easier than Powerpoint and the transitions are superior. Whenever people used Powerpoint's transitions and sound effects when presenting, I'd laugh, simply at how cheesy they were. Numbers/Excel I can't comment on because I've never used either. Zooming in/out in the trackpad is annoying in Safari Beta 4 because it resizes the font and it's difficult to get back to normal. Having no maximize button is hard to get used to; it just seems like wasted space. Anyways, even after two days, I'm glad to have bought a Mac despite the cost.[/hide]

[Sbrideau]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I have a friend that first used Windows 7 a few days ago (he never used Vista), and exclaimed that Win 7 was easier to use than Mac OS X, although he has an older Mac laptop (can't remember the name).

[Laura]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I have a friend that first used Windows 7 a few days ago (he never used Vista), and exclaimed that Win 7 was easier to use than Mac OS X, although he has an older Mac laptop (can't remember the name).

 

Probably an iBook or PowerBook G4 in including previous models.

[stevepole]

I got a MacBook Pro before I came to college as a freshmen. I never once have had a problem with my machine, unlike almost everyone I know who has a vista laptop. Most of my friends have ended up purchasing MacBooks to avoid all the problems they have had during their time as a freshmen. Window's machines may be cheaper but cheaper doesn't always mean better. Mac's do have MS Office, and as much as some people don't like to admit it Macs can do just as much as a Windows machine, excluding your hardcore gaming and that is about it.

[BloodAngel]

If you don't plan to game at all and want to spend the money then they are pretty good. I use a 15" MBP for University and have no problems with it at all. You can get Office etc for Macs, however Open Office is a perfectly good substitute and is compatible with MS Office.

 

The only problems you may run into are if your course requires/advises you to have some very specific software as usually it is Windows only.

 

 

 

It is all down to personal preference really, Windows and Mac both have their advantages and disadvantages and neither OS is better than the other, however I'm sure someone will come along and say "lol Mac" or "lol Windows" at some point.

[ugafan_2009]

Thanks for the replies. Would I be able to run a less powerful Windows game using Boot Camp smoothly? Would the 2.4 GHz or 4GB RAM help in everyday use or would it just be useful for higher end programs?

 

 

 

Thanks.

[Sindarin00]

Macs are complete and utter [cabbage]. I would rather be clawed to death by a million angry rats, then ever set my fingers on a MAC again. It was the biggest piece of overpriced WHITE TRASH that I have ever seen/touched/used. Even if someone gave me a MAC, all I would use the damn thing for is a BOAT ANCHOR! A THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR BOAT ANCHOR!

 

 

 

1) YOU CANNOT UPGRADE THEM!!! (OH IM SORRY, BUY A NEW ONE PLEASE)

 

2) ONE MOUSE BUTTON JUST BLOWS!!!! (ONE MOUSE BUTTON IS FOR THE WEAK!!! BRING ON FIVE OR SIX BUTTONS!!!)

 

3) CRASHES LIKE NONE OTHER! EVEN STARTING UP!!! (PROGRAMS TERMINATE UNEXPECTEDLY QUITE OFTEN FOR NO REASON!!!)

 

4) LEOPARD!! LIKE WTF!! LEOPARD FOR A OS!!! (WOW IM AN ANIMAL! COOL!)

 

5) GAMES!! MIGHT AS WELL FORGET ABOUT IT!! (WOW I CAN PLAY THE SIMS! WOOW!)

 

6) COST! I COULD BUILD A BETTER/FASTER/EASIER COMPUTER FOR THE PRICE OF ONE OF THEIR PIECES OF [cabbage] (AND PLAY REALLY COOL GAMES!)

 

7) NOT USER FRIENDLY! MAKES YOU WANT TO COMMIT SUICIDE

 

8) GARBAGE!!!!

 

9) TECH SUPPORT FOR THEM BLOWS!!! (OH ITS BROKEN, BUY ANOTHER ONE PLEASE!)

 

 

 

This sums it up quite nicely http://www.mac-sucks.com/

[stevepole]

Macs are complete and utter [cabbage]. I would rather be clawed to death by a million angry rats, then ever set my fingers on a MAC again. It was the biggest piece of overpriced WHITE TRASH that I have ever seen/touched/used. Even if someone gave me a MAC, all I would use the damn thing for is a BOAT ANCHOR! A THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR BOAT ANCHOR!

 

 

 

1) YOU CANNOT UPGRADE THEM!!! (OH IM SORRY, BUY A NEW ONE PLEASE)

 

2) ONE MOUSE BUTTON JUST BLOWS!!!! (ONE MOUSE BUTTON IS FOR THE WEAK!!! BRING ON FIVE OR SIX BUTTONS!!!)

 

3) CRASHES LIKE NONE OTHER! EVEN STARTING UP!!! (PROGRAMS TERMINATE UNEXPECTEDLY QUITE OFTEN FOR NO REASON!!!)

 

4) LEOPARD!! LIKE WTF!! LEOPARD FOR A OS!!! (WOW IM AN ANIMAL! COOL!)

 

5) GAMES!! MIGHT AS WELL FORGET ABOUT IT!! (WOW I CAN PLAY THE SIMS! WOOW!)

 

6) COST! I COULD BUILD A BETTER/FASTER/EASIER COMPUTER FOR THE PRICE OF ONE OF THEIR PIECES OF [cabbage] (AND PLAY REALLY COOL GAMES!)

 

7) NOT USER FRIENDLY! MAKES YOU WANT TO COMMIT SUICIDE

 

8) GARBAGE!!!!

 

9) TECH SUPPORT FOR THEM BLOWS!!! (OH ITS BROKEN, BUY ANOTHER ONE PLEASE!)

 

 

 

This sums it up quite nicely http://www.mac-sucks.com/

 

 

 

:roll:

 

 

 

I could counter all those.. but I'm not. The 2.4GHz and 4gb of ram does help for everyday use and is really useful for higher end programs. Your average computer user isn't going to use more then Microsoft Office, and the applications available to you out of the box. So you can consider that too.

[Mil]

@Sindarin00 See a doctor or something.

 

 

 

 

 

Macbooks are the preferred choice for a laptop for many students. Those who have been using Windows all their lives will obviously do anything thing they can to stay away from Macs (avoiding change I guess...), but I find that after using both Mac and Windows for many years, I'd prefer to use the Mac. Windows has just caused me too much trouble, though because it is so popular, it can be good at times.

 

 

 

There is no solid reason to just buy a Mac instead of a Windows laptop. Sure you have the more visual interface, and the ability to run Windows (via Boot Camp or Virtual Machine), but it really comes down to what you're comfortable with. Macs do not suck, no matter what any Windows fanboy says, if they did, they just wouldn't have a place in the market. Macs are made to work together; hardware and software. There are loads of Applications for Macs, and loads of sites dedicated to them, and IMO, to a much higher quality than to Windows forums and websites/applications (check out: http://mac.appstorm.net/)

 

 

 

Apple make these computers themselves, Microsoft do not make their own end-product, just the OS. They can't really control the specs of the computers that end up running their software, so I guess thats why there's a big problem with reliability with Windows (problems with Registry, weird errors - force people to get deeper into the OS).

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I know for sure that Macbooks are well made laptops, come with the latest tech in hardware, and the best (IMO) Operating System, with great Applications. Easy to use and adapt to, and much more fun to use than Windows. You'll be making the right choice by choosing Apple; there's a reason why they make such few products compared to their rivals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT:If you can wait till later this year, perhaps after you start College, you may be much better off.

 

Snow Leopard (new Operating System) will be launched, sometime this year.

 

Remember that you get a 16% discount for being in Higher Education...

[Shelby_Polo]

Well you've probably all ready made up your mind but I can give you my input.

 

 

 

I've got a 15" MacBook Pro

 

-IntelCore2Duo

 

-8 GB RAM (ya I use that much)

 

-Nividia 9400M

 

-250GB Hard drive (I also have a 1 terabyte external which I store music and film I make, currently holding 750GB lol)

 

 

 

Anyway... I really love Macs OS, waaaaaay better than windows. But I also write my own music and film (so I use LogicPro and iMovie lol)

 

Macs are fast over priced computers; you'll stream movies faster (but you can do that on any good comp)

 

 

 

It all comes down to OS and software, if you find yourself taking advantage of these... buy a Mac; if not, don't.

 

 

 

I hope I helped. :thumbsup:

[Nadril]

*shrug* I've used both Mac and Windows PC's (I need to use mac's in most of my communication graphics courses) and I still vastly prefer windows. I still am of the train of thought that if you know how to use windows, and if you've grown up with it, why bother switching? I mean, if I ever switched OS's it would be to a linux distro that would be cheaper and safer than OS X or whatever the latest mac OS is.

 

 

 

 

 

And really even notebook wise I love my Vista 64 notebook:

 

 

 

Intel Core2duo 2.2ghz

 

4GB DDR3 RAM

 

NVIDIA 9800M GTS 1GB

 

320GB internal hard drive

 

17" screen 1920x1200 resolution

 

 

 

 

 

Thing runs flawlessly, and I picked it up for $1,100 (a sale, but still). Anyways I'm a 3D Artist so even if I wanted to there is no way I would touch a mac for 3D Design. And honestly I just find trying to use photoshop in mac frustrating as hell. :)

 

 

 

 

 

So honestly unless you really feel some need to change just stick with what you know.

 

 

 

I never once have had a problem with my machine, unlike almost everyone I know who has a vista laptop.

 

 

 

:|

[Sbrideau]

I never once have had a problem with my machine, unlike almost everyone I know who has a vista laptop.

 

 

 

Same for me, except that I'm on Vista on both my computers. Never had any trouble on them ^.^ . I used to have a lot of problems on XP though.

[Laura]

Macs are complete and utter [cabbage]. I would rather be clawed to death by a million angry rats, then ever set my fingers on a MAC again. It was the biggest piece of overpriced WHITE TRASH that I have ever seen/touched/used. Even if someone gave me a MAC, all I would use the damn thing for is a BOAT ANCHOR! A THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR BOAT ANCHOR!

 

 

 

1) YOU CANNOT UPGRADE THEM!!! (OH IM SORRY, BUY A NEW ONE PLEASE)

 

2) ONE MOUSE BUTTON JUST BLOWS!!!! (ONE MOUSE BUTTON IS FOR THE WEAK!!! BRING ON FIVE OR SIX BUTTONS!!!)

 

3) CRASHES LIKE NONE OTHER! EVEN STARTING UP!!! (PROGRAMS TERMINATE UNEXPECTEDLY QUITE OFTEN FOR NO REASON!!!)

 

4) LEOPARD!! LIKE WTF!! LEOPARD FOR A OS!!! (WOW IM AN ANIMAL! COOL!)

 

5) GAMES!! MIGHT AS WELL FORGET ABOUT IT!! (WOW I CAN PLAY THE SIMS! WOOW!)

 

6) COST! I COULD BUILD A BETTER/FASTER/EASIER COMPUTER FOR THE PRICE OF ONE OF THEIR PIECES OF [cabbage] (AND PLAY REALLY COOL GAMES!)

 

7) NOT USER FRIENDLY! MAKES YOU WANT TO COMMIT SUICIDE

 

8) GARBAGE!!!!

 

9) TECH SUPPORT FOR THEM BLOWS!!! (OH ITS BROKEN, BUY ANOTHER ONE PLEASE!)

 

 

 

This sums it up quite nicely http://www.mac-sucks.com/

Again? Have you ever touched one?

 

1. Yes, you can. You can't upgrade the GPU or CPU. But you can't do that in Windows all-in-ones either.

 

2. This is aluminium MacBook. There is a right and left click and multi-touch. Mmm?

 

3. Crashes? Relative.

 

4. Windows? Gates? Life without walls? Soooo cool.

 

5. COLLEGE

 

6. Yes, you could.

 

7. Relative.

 

8. ?

 

9. You get English speaking representatives and can take it into an Apple Store and get a replacement on the spot. As long as you're covered by the 1 or 3 year warranty, the same as other companies.

 

 

 

http://blog.alienwaresucks.com/

 

http://www.ihatedell.net/

 

http://www.hewlett-packard-sucks.com/

 

http://acersucks.wordpress.com/2006/03/15/

 

Thanks for the replies. Would I be able to run a less powerful Windows game using Boot Camp smoothly? Would the 2.4 GHz or 4GB RAM help in everyday use or would it just be useful for higher end programs?

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

I would get the 2.0 and use the saved money on a 3rd party SSD, but I don't require much HDD space. Then again, the backlit keys are really enticing, even for a touch typist.

[stevepole]

 

I never once have had a problem with my machine, unlike almost everyone I know who has a vista laptop.

 

 

 

:|

 

This part I wish I was joking about. I swear I probably had to help everyone on my dorm floor last year with something that was related to the OS. The worst part about it was that I had never used vista personally, and had to guess my way around. It also didn't help that ASU's has a very tight network where you have to us this Cisco Clean Access Agent to use their internet on a windows machine and that drove a few people mad.

[Racheya]

Tbh, I've never owned a Mac but I see things like this.

 

 

 

If you're a gamer and want a massively hardcore computer - go for Windows.

 

If you want a lower spec computer that will crash often and just... suck - go for Windows.

 

If you want a lower spec computer that will work and be awesome - go for a Mac.

 

 

 

I wish I had the money to fork out for a Mac really, I'd do anything I could to get rid of this piece of crap I have to use at the moment. :(

[Qeauxraline]

Honestly, it really depends on what you want to do. If it's just some typing, internet surfing, and some Runescape, go for an Aspire One. I am using one now, and it's been pretty great so far.

 

 

 

If you want to run things like Photoshop or Dreamweaver, go with a Mac.

 

 

 

If you want games, you can pretty much go either way. Games for Macs have been becoming far more common recently. There a lot more out now than Myst (great game!) and the Sims.

 

 

 

However, I am going to go out on a limb here and say go with a low end PC, and slap some Ubuntu on that. \

[Kaphias]

If you want to run things like Photoshop or Dreamweaver, go with a Mac.

 

I've never understood why people say this. Adobe products work just as well, if not better on a Windows than on a Mac.

 

 

 

Says a Mac user.

[rangeor]

I'm not that experienced with macs, but I can tell you personally that they have great customer service. That's only through my experience, though.

[Laura]

If you want to run things like Photoshop or Dreamweaver, go with a Mac.

 

I've never understood why people say this. Adobe products work just as well, if not better on a Windows than on a Mac.

 

 

 

Says a Mac user.

It's mainly because it was the old industry standard and that's how Apple has since marketed them. Regardless, most media editing shops I've seen are stocked with Macs. The main thing now is that Macs handle fonts better in their native OS, versus Windows. Which certainly should not be a deal breaker for a college student. As of now, I use Aperture as my photo editing software and iPhoto for organizing them.

[Your Grandpa]

Macbooks are pretty great all-around laptops if you just want to get a computer that will work very reliably when you need it, but if you don't want to mod it all that much (or play games).

 

 

 

So simple answer is yes--it's a good college laptop.

[Deathmath]

laura, 20k lawsuit?

 

 

 

I am a linux/pc user and I just do'nt care for them. They are expensive, they do crash less but I don't see any need to fork out htem oney.

 

 

 

But they don't crash and have good tech support so it should be taken into account that if you have the cash and look at an equivalent laptop and want the Mac you will get less crashes etc.