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Thinking of switching - thoughts?

post #1 of 14
12/18/06 at 4:16am
Thread Starter 
I'm in the process of deciding on a new laptop, and am having a hard time deciding between a new Macbook Pro 17" or a Dell M1710. I've been working on a Dell Inspiron 9300 for the last two years and love the 1920x1200 resolution on the glossy monitor. I'm worried that losing almost 9% of my screen real-estate if I go to the Mac will be very noticeable in stuff like Eclipse, where I do most of my development work. I don't really tile applications, I just like to be able to see a lot of stuff at once when coding.

The price isn't really an issue, even though the Dell is about $1000 more (fully loaded) since this is my only real business expense. The Dell has a much better video card (the Nvidia 7950GTX), but gaming isn't a real priority. The Inspiron did pretty well on stuff like Oblivion with the Nvidia 6800 GO card, so I'm guessing the Mac's ATI card will be an improvement.

Anyone else in the same situation and have some input on this decision?

Aside from the screen resolution difference and the video card, the systems are pretty similar, it seems like. I guess it comes down to being able to accept the lower screen res and getting used to the new O/S, since I've always been a Windows user. I'd definitely be working w/ XP or Vista still on the Macbook, and gradually getting acclimated to Mac O/S.

Any new developments in the Mac hardware coming down the pipeline that should make me wait a while? I'd like to get it this year to put it on this year's taxes, but time's running out.

Thanks for any comments!
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post #2 of 14
12/18/06 at 12:02pm
wait till mid jan. to make your purchase, macworld is then.

other than that, id take the pro over the dell. ive had the xps, and now a 13" mb. my 3rd and final replacement machine will be a mbp.

the thing just doesnt compare to an xps. the xps is so bulky, and the mbp, well its sexy.

using a 1680x1050 screen is fine for your needs id say. sure itll be a little less resolution. if you dont DEPEND on your book to game, like some, the mbp is the clear winner here
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post #3 of 14
12/19/06 at 7:01pm
I found that a comparison of included hardware is not that important. It all comes down to what OS and what software for that OS.

First couple of months might be trying with learning a new OS, but I think it is worth it. However, I am keeping my gaming desktop for, well, games.
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post #4 of 14
12/20/06 at 1:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Liver
I found that a comparison of included hardware is not that important. It all comes down to what OS and what software for that OS.

First couple of months might be trying with learning a new OS, but I think it is worth it. However, I am keeping my gaming desktop for, well, games.

this is a huge part of why Macs were/are valued as being on par with other hardware, and not over priced, even before the switch to intel. every major professional review i've come across notes the iLife suite, ease of use, and lack of need for antivirus and spamware protection (amongst others) as being the reasons why they're on an even fiscal playing field when compared to "cheaper" PCs.
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post #5 of 14
12/29/06 at 2:52am
Just a few quick thoughts.
Quote:
wait till mid jan. to make your purchase, macworld is then.
I may be completely wrong, but I was under the impression that they announced stuff at macworld, and rolled it out later in the year. I mean, I can tell you right now, no matter what laptop you are buying, if you wait a year you could buy a better/cheaper one.
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i've been working on a Dell Inspiron 9300 for the last two years and love the 1920x1200 resolution on the glossy monitor.
Your poor eyes... my 21 monitor isn't even running that high.
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First couple of months might be trying with learning a new OS, but I think it is worth it.
OS X is pretty intuitive for the most part, I just started using it at work and I'm impressed with how they designed things, but I am a huge geek so I don't know how it is for less computer orientated people.
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this is a huge part of why Macs were/are valued as being on par with other hardware, and not over priced, even before the switch to intel. every major professional review i've come across notes the iLife suite, ease of use, and lack of need for antivirus and spamware protection (amongst others) as being the reasons why they're on an even fiscal playing field when compared to "cheaper" PCs.
Could always install linux/bsd on a pc if you are that concerned with spyware/viruses. *ducks*
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post #6 of 14
12/29/06 at 9:27pm
ive just purchased a MBP last week. i couldnt wait any longer. its current specs were fine for me, so i bought.

i love it, i wont take it back, and most importantly, i have my LAPTOP NOW.
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post #7 of 14
12/29/06 at 10:59pm
You could wait because MW2007 is just around the corner, but I doubt there will be any change to the current notebooks. They may add another addition, such as a new 13" WS PB to replace the long-gone 12" PB, but that is just heresay. The current machine is well equipped and should do you justice for years to come.
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post #8 of 14
12/30/06 at 12:57am
they wont add anything.

but my ipod needs an update
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post #9 of 14
12/30/06 at 3:15pm
I only wish the smaller macbooks had some sort of graphical accelerator. The intel graphics chips are pretty horrible, I mean if you can barely run wow your pretty far down, below even the chipsets of like 3 years ago, maybe even further. My brothers geforce2mx runs wow better then my friends newer intel graphics chip. A geforce2mx for godsake, thats just sad.
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post #10 of 14
12/30/06 at 3:24pm
It could be a lack of ram in the system you were using due to the fact that it is shared memeory and OSX tends to use more memory then XP.
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post #11 of 14
12/31/06 at 1:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by haloinahaystack
I only wish the smaller macbooks had some sort of graphical accelerator. The intel graphics chips are pretty horrible, I mean if you can barely run wow your pretty far down, below even the chipsets of like 3 years ago, maybe even further. My brothers geforce2mx runs wow better then my friends newer intel graphics chip. A geforce2mx for godsake, thats just sad.
barely run wow? it was fine on my macbook. i guess everyones definition of "barely" is different.

working, and more than playable, is more than just barely to me
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post #12 of 14
12/31/06 at 5:34am
the last computer i had that used a geforce 2 mx 400 was my old HP, and i can say that i am sure it would not have a very fun time playing WoW :O ha, CS 1.6 was about as much as it wanted to run.
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post #13 of 14
1/1/07 at 5:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kgeier82
barely run wow? it was fine on my macbook. i guess everyones definition of "barely" is different.

working, and more than playable, is more than just barely to me

yeh, i'd be curious to know if he was running a PPC version or the universal binary version.
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post #14 of 14
1/22/07 at 2:41pm
im thinking of switching as well.. I have a desktop so I will have the best of both worlds. I just love smaller notebooks and the greater battery life it offers over my existing desktop replacement notebook. Plus they just look plain hot
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