Looking for a new laptop
 

My work is offering a computer loan program for the months of August and September. The deal is $1300 payroll deducted for a year, interest free. I'm looking at a laptop. The current contenders are an HP nx9420 or a MacBook. I'm a desktop support tech for a small college in Vermont. Campus is 99% PC and if I bought the Mac I"d dual boot with XP. I've used current Macs here on campus and I know what they're all about. I've played with Linux and Mac for a few years on and off. The HP is a 17" 7.4lbs dekstop replacement that would do the usual PC laptop stuff as well as being a machine I can game on. The PC is clearly more bang for the buck with a big screen, 256Mb video, Dual Core 1.6, 80Gb hard drive, combo dive, 512Mb Ram would be upped to a gig, wireless, and XP Pro. The Mac is a 2.0 Core Duo, 13" wide screen, 80Gb drive, DVD cutter, wireless, 1Gb Ram, X 10.4 and a free 2Gb IPod Nano.

The price on each... The HP comes in at $1264 before the extra ram. The Mac is $1334.

What do ya think?

I bought a HP laptop about 3 years ago. Been pretty happy with it. When I bought it, USB1.1 was still hanging on, and my laptop only has that. But, a USB2.0 PCMCIA card helps me out when I need the extra speed. Things I'd make sure you get are the higher-capacity battery (preferrably not made with Sony cells), DVD+-RW drive (they're pretty cheap now), 1GB RAM (especially if the one you get uses UMA (shared video memory), and a 7200RPM hard drive.

They all come with 802.11g, modems, 10/100 NIC, and the usual heebie-geebies.

The rest is just personal preference. Screen size, widescreen or 4:3 aspect ratio, etc.

I'm not really concerned about the DVD cutter... I don't have the need to cut more than 700Mb too often. Battery size is important but I think you get what you get with this model.

if you had more money i would say MAC... but sense its only 1300 or so.. PC. just like you said, Alot mor ebang for the buck...

1GB or memory is a must for a laptop and 7200 RPM drive help out alot also.

i got a gateway, havent had any probs with it so par (knocks on head) but its got the amd 3500 64 bit prossesor 1 gig or ram 64 meg video (dedicated) up to 256. but it was like 1100 but then i got the 4 yrs unlimeted warrrenty protection that will have them replace it as long as it doesnt get thrown into a pool but outt he door was right around 1500. i just got an external hdd cause the 100 gig that is in it is not big enough so i went and bought a case for my 200 gig so i now have a 200 external hdd but my next purcase will be 2 1 gig sticks of ram as of right now i have 2 512 sticks in there now. but if you pay attention to newspaper ads you can find some realy good deals (back to school sales) like my mom just went and got a desktop comcrack 2 ghz 512 ram 128 video dvd burner 200 gig hdd and 17 in lcd for 475 outthe door.thats cheap.

You can't go wrong with either. Unless gaming is a big concern.

A big screen gaming box is a concern but it's kinda a toy... Listing proficient with Mac OS looks good on a resume. I just hate spending so much for so little.

As for Gateway, we get a wicked deal on them through work but even with my discount they're too expensive.

I'd go with a mac. My next computer is going to mac as I am really starting to dislike Windows.

yeah me too but with what money he has to spend hes not going to get vary good mac.. :(

a good mac starts at like 2K+

I do like my Mac Mini i got for $500 but its realy not a preformer.. its not that fast and the only thing its good for is webrowsing and Word stuff...

Im thinking of save for a G5 mac, a realy one not one of the new 1/2 PC & 1/2 Mac.. i want a real mac with a G5 CPU and stuff... there fast in a lot of aeras still then the Intel's

There are a lot more software options for Window's than there is for the Mac. I am not sure if the fustration of trying to relearn a new OS is better than having sparatic hick-up's in Windows :?

Mac isn;t to hard to learn... its alot easyer then Linux. but yeah still things to learn :(

But if you're dual booting, you get your choice of OSX or XP. X 10.5 will include the dual booting software (Bootcamp) with the OS. Unfortunately it's not due out until Spring 07.

It seems like with the Mac I sacrifice the big screen and video memory (basically gameing) for the ability to run both OS'.

I've taken the first class on becoming Mac Help Desk Certified. So I know my way around it. It's just that knowledge not used is lost....

Oh how true :lol:

The new macs run on Darwin a modified version of BSD. It would benefit to go this route and kill 2 birds with one stone and learn Darwin as well. Will give any resume' a boost knowing Windows, Mac OS, Darwin (Linux, Unix, BSD). Much more benifical than running games. Thats what Gaming PC's (XBox's) are for.

Hmmm, here's a plus. The HP seems to be Linux compatible.

Most Intel PC are linux compat. I really don't know any that aren't.

why would you buy a mac....its just an overpriced pc really.....the mac os does nothing besides look cool lol(that cant get a virus thing is BS if people prominently used macs over PC's there would be alot more virusus written for mac lol). an xbox is NOT a gaming PC the PC is still far superior in graphics and patches/support after the game is released

my vote get the PC

Karl, can I have your old one. :D

u need one?

i may have one for ya..... if you come to NYBF ;)

All O/S's have their strengths and weaknesses, all have their purpose. Don't rely on any one O/S to do it all, you will just be asking for trouble. Analyze what you will use the computer for the most and determine which O/S will be the most beneficial. All O/S's are vulnerable to viruses, and hack attacks so it really depends on what you want to do and what you want to learn. Don't just be an MCSE or Certified Redhat Engineer, etc. it's best to learn what you can so you will be more valuable to your next employer or just more well rounded for yourself.

2 Pennies

Also just an FYI. All PC O/S's are based off of the Bell/AT&T Unix operating system (Mac, Windows, Linux, BSD, DOS, Sun O/S, AIX)

you cant realy saw that anymore cuz Windows is SOOOOOO..... diffrety then any MAC or Linux OSes...

yes they all use that basic codeing the same almost but just because something uses the same codeing doesn;t mean is all the same in the long run...

its kinda like saying... my car is made with steel so its all the same as a Honda...

Not so Windows basic underlying kernal is still basiclly the same as Windows 1.0, Windows286/386, WFW, etc... not much has changed just the GUI.

(edit) Also the comment on the steal would be more like the GUI, the Internal Combustion Engine would be more like the base code.

I'm not too fond of Apple laptops. Their hardware reliablility is questionable.

The Dell Latitude series is top notch and very reliable. It's a commercial-grade laptop.

I'm going HP when I buy my laptop next month.....Don't really care for anything else out there.

From what I heard from many many people is that Dell's are just generically produced, mass distributed piles of shit.

I disagree. Mac is an alternative operating system the same (altho more accepted) as Linux/Unix/BSD etc. As for the Mac hardware, it is well made and "dressed to impress". I do agree that they are overpriced and I see the whole Microsoft monopoly on software being the same as Apple's monopoly on hardware...

And you're right about the virus thing. It's not common to hear of Mac viruses however Apple just released a 30Mb patch to fix some 26 security holes in response to the recent exploit. I've heard a lot of people say "If I get a Mac I don't need antivirus." All this talk is doing is lulling people into a flase sense of security. With Mac only having 6% of the market share, sure you don't hear much about virus problems.

As for the buy, I'm leaning towards the HP but, I've got a meeting with the boss on Tuesday..... till then all is on hold.

Thanks to all for this conversation. Keep the thoughts coming! :lol:

Ya I'd definantly pass on the Mac....

I hate them personally....


School computers ruined it all for me.

It's funny cuz all major computer brands use similar name branded parts inside for the most part, and most of them probably have their Mobo built in the same country, if not the same factory.

It's all about funtionality.

For the money?

PC FTW!

When it's not on fire.... ;)

PC/Mac Hardware
 

Most of the PC's that are designed for home use (that would be anything with XP Home, basically) are all manufactured in one place Taiwan. About 65% of manufactures have there business based PC's built there also. Companies like Intel, HP (Compaq), Mac, and IBM have their own manufacturing facilities in the US, Singapor, and the Philipines. All Manufactures code their own firmware for their own specific needs and uses within the PC. And almost all manufacturers build their PC's somewhere in the US (most but not all). Alot of the major differences are within the coding of firmware as well as materials used in the building of chassis and the design of the cooling. Most of the R&D work for any PC is in the compatability testing with the 3rd party hardware, software, O/S's and the drivers, as well as getting Certs from the likes of Microsoft, Sun, Novell.

[edit] sorry didn't mean to hijack this thread.