NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Apple Forums › Apple Notebooks › Bought my wife a MacBook, should I get an HP 9500t or the MacBook Pro?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Bought my wife a MacBook, should I get an HP 9500t or the MacBook Pro?

post #1 of 10
6/21/07 at 1:07pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys, I recently bought my wife a 13" MacBook, and I've got to say, I really like that little sucker, epsecially for the camera and photo options. Here is my question. I am looking at the 17" HP 9500t, but also at the MacBook Pro, either 15" or 17". I can't decide, but let me tell you my needs and configurations, and hopefully I can get some objective advice. I am a PhD student, so I would need Office, but I also like to game and play on the net, as I have a blog and would like to try and take that further. Is 17" the best experience for gaming or does a 15" work. Would that even work for a Mac with Boot Camp? So, based on my wants, here are my options.

HP9500t:
Intel 2.0 Mhz Dual Core 4mb Cache
2gb ram @ 667
Vista Ultimate 64-bit
8600 GS nVidia
17"

Macbook:
Intel 2.4 Mhz Dual Core 4mb Cache
2gb Ram @ 667
OSX
8600 GT nVidia
15"

or the 17" version.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 10
6/21/07 at 1:25pm
mbp,, youll just be happier
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
6/21/07 at 1:39pm
neither.........get the Compal IFL90
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
6/21/07 at 2:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mitcity22 View Post
neither.........get the Compal IFL90
Compal IFL90? Did you mean to say Compaq or something? I will check google. Also, why would the MacBook Pro be better? Also, since I signed up for the ADC, can I use the store to purchase it? Also, would the 15" or 17" be better?
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
6/21/07 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalt45 View Post
Also, would the 15" or 17" be better?

This is a personal preference.
If you can I would go to an Apple Store and check it out.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
6/21/07 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalt45 View Post
Hey guys, I recently bought my wife a 13" MacBook, and I've got to say, I really like that little sucker, epsecially for the camera and photo options. Here is my question. I am looking at the 17" HP 9500t, but also at the MacBook Pro, either 15" or 17". I can't decide, but let me tell you my needs and configurations, and hopefully I can get some objective advice. I am a PhD student, so I would need Office, but I also like to game and play on the net, as I have a blog and would like to try and take that further. Is 17" the best experience for gaming or does a 15" work. Would that even work for a Mac with Boot Camp? So, based on my wants, here are my options. HP9500t: Intel 2.0 Mhz Dual Core 4mb Cache 2gb ram @ 667 Vista Ultimate 64-bit 8600 GS nVidia 17" Macbook: Intel 2.4 Mhz Dual Core 4mb Cache 2gb Ram @ 667 OSX 8600 GT nVidia 15" or the 17" version. Any advice would be appreciated.
BootCamp allows you to run Windows natively on your mac, anything that you can do on the HP with windows (with the exception of HP exclusive stuff) can be done on the mac with windows. What are the prices of the machines, or is money not an object? 15 and 17 as someone elso pointed out is in fact an issue of personal preference. And as far as the capabilities of the two machines go, I think that the mac will be slightly faster, but not necessarily noticeably so. I would get the MBP since I really like their keyboards and trackpads, and OS X cannot be run (legally) on the HP, and that would be a deal breaker for me.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
6/21/07 at 6:42pm
Only have a few posts but I'll try to input here. Just got the 15 inch MBP in my sig and it is my favorite notebook ever. One key difference between 15 and 17 inch is the 15 inch screens have the new LED display, the 17 inch does not. I couldn't believe it when I read others post about it, but the display actually does sometimes get too bright and I turn it down.

Also, the MBP with the 256mb vid card will run most games just fine. I am a lawyer but like an occasional C&C 3 skirmish or Oblivion session, both run fine. For what it is worth, I ran 3dmark 05 in Windows XP (boot camp) and it scored 7667, which totally surprised me- if you are a semi-casual gamer the 15 " MBP will suit you just fine, same specs for now (but for LCD) as the 17 inch.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
6/22/07 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonnyp79 View Post
Only have a few posts but I'll try to input here. Just got the 15 inch MBP in my sig and it is my favorite notebook ever. One key difference between 15 and 17 inch is the 15 inch screens have the new LED display, the 17 inch does not. I couldn't believe it when I read others post about it, but the display actually does sometimes get too bright and I turn it down.

Also, the MBP with the 256mb vid card will run most games just fine. I am a lawyer but like an occasional C&C 3 skirmish or Oblivion session, both run fine. For what it is worth, I ran 3dmark 05 in Windows XP (boot camp) and it scored 7667, which totally surprised me- if you are a semi-casual gamer the 15 " MBP will suit you just fine, same specs for now (but for LCD) as the 17 inch.

Thanks for the advice. Well, I feel that I have narrowed it to the 15" MBP or the 17" HP 9500t. I know that the Mac can do everything that the PC can do, but what it comes down to is whether not I can hardcore game with the Mac, which I have a feeling I can't, or if I'm fine not gaming with it, since I have PS3. I just can't make up my mind because I love playing Half-Life 2 and can't wait for HL2:EP2.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
6/22/07 at 11:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalt45 View Post
Thanks for the advice. Well, I feel that I have narrowed it to the 15" MBP or the 17" HP 9500t. I know that the Mac can do everything that the PC can do, but what it comes down to is whether not I can hardcore game with the Mac, which I have a feeling I can't, or if I'm fine not gaming with it, since I have PS3. I just can't make up my mind because I love playing Half-Life 2 and can't wait for HL2:EP2.
It will absolutely run HL2 (heck, mine can run HL2, see sig for specs) and it will run it well. So that shouldn't be a concern, and it should look great on the MBP screen. The original MBP could run HL2 very well, and the new one is apparently something like 30-60% faster in certain games.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
6/22/07 at 3:32pm
Mykalt45- forgot to mention about your specs in the HP laptop you are looking at, in respect to gaming. As far as I know (and it's not much, admittedly) the video card in the MBP (8600 GT) is superior to the one in the HP (8600 GS). Here is a link for you with some benchmarks, FYI.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=125246

3dmark is only a score, not sure how it relates to various in game performance, but based on my 3DM '05 test @1024x768, the 8600 GT scores between the GeForce Go 7900 GS and the 7900 GTX, at 7667, at stock settings.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Apple Notebooks
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Apple Forums › Apple Notebooks › Bought my wife a MacBook, should I get an HP 9500t or the MacBook Pro?