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Mac Hardware and Software |OT| - All things Macintosh
- Thread starter 3N16MA
- Start date
Marty Chinn
Member
Nice OP.
Decided to make a Mac OT so that hardware discussion can be grouped under one thread instead of having several. Discuss current or rumored hardware or ask for purchasing advice. There is already a OS X Lion OT so if you want to discuss software go here: http://neogaf.net/forum/showthread.php?t=437860.
Always-honest
Banned
Well, thanx. I Love mac hardware.
Mailenstein
Member
What a sexy OP. Nice!
Dreams-Visions
Member
Checking in.
<3 my MacBook Pro.
I'm on my second MBP and I can safely say I've never had a better laptop computing experience. It's been an absolute delight, a few launch bugs notwithstanding.
I really look forward to seeing what they do with the 2012's...or specifically, what they will do with the first MBP's that have no built-in optical drive. I'd love for them to add a second HDD bay, but I assume they'll go for a smaller frame. And either way, the odds are that it will look great.
<3 my MacBook Pro.
I'm on my second MBP and I can safely say I've never had a better laptop computing experience. It's been an absolute delight, a few launch bugs notwithstanding.
I really look forward to seeing what they do with the 2012's...or specifically, what they will do with the first MBP's that have no built-in optical drive. I'd love for them to add a second HDD bay, but I assume they'll go for a smaller frame. And either way, the odds are that it will look great.
Meus Renaissance
Member
What do you guys suggest for keeping the keyboard on the MBP nice and clean? It sort of has a shine effect on some keys after use
bean breath
Member
I thought this was going to be a detailed timeline of the history of Mac hardware with tons of pics. Slightly disappointed but still cool.
TheChewyWaffles
Member
MercuryLS said:
What'd that set you back? I want one.
Meus Renaissance
Member
I don't know whether I like looking at it more than I do using it. Best computer experience I've ever had.
One thing I was worried about was the smaller screen, coming from a 13" MBP, it did worry me. But Apple was smart when they designed Lion, it feels like they had the 11" machine in mind with many features. Full screen is fantastic on this machine, I can see myself using it a lot. The Air feels like the first laptop that is truly mobile, it feels more like an iPad or iPhone in this repeat. You just WANT to take this thing around with you, with the big MBP you'd always think twice.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
If only every electronics device could be so sexy!
Here's a question that I can't wait to see repeated over and over.....
I'm gonna be picking up a Mini at some point this year. Would be getting the i5 chip though am tempted by the i7. Does anybody have some actual, real-world-ish examples of the speed differences between the two? I know of geek bench scores and percentages, etc but that doesn't actually really tell me how much faster the i7 may actually be...
Here's a question that I can't wait to see repeated over and over.....
I'm gonna be picking up a Mini at some point this year. Would be getting the i5 chip though am tempted by the i7. Does anybody have some actual, real-world-ish examples of the speed differences between the two? I know of geek bench scores and percentages, etc but that doesn't actually really tell me how much faster the i7 may actually be...
Meus Renaissance said:
That the 13"? That's what I'm on. I bought it for iOS development (and just to have a nice laptop) and I love the thing. Was tempted at first to sell it and grab one of the new airs, but I think I'm just going to swap a SDD in there and enjoy the nicer processor until the new MBPs hit. 13" really is the perfect size for me; I wish they offered a 13" with better graphics.
MercuryLS said:
I think this is why the MBA sales have increased so dramatically. It used to be a very expensive secondary computer that overheated watching HD YouTube videos. Now it's got the power to be a main computer for most people. Add to that the $999 starting price and more and more people are picking them up.
Meus Renaissance
Member
Wallach said:
I really had my heart set on a 13inch Air because I needed something very light to carry but was getting impatient with having to wait something like 12 days to have it built with 4GB of memory. Went to the retail store, cancelled the order and picked up a Pro: I told the guys working there I need to see how much weight it'll be on my back, so they were nice enough to get out a Pro in its box and allow me to put it in my back-pack and walk around with it in store. Wasn't heavy at all (have a bad lower back). Purchased it and am very happy with it, outside the ridiculous amount of CPU flash playback uses on the machine.
Paid
£500 for it 
3N16MA said:
Yeah, MBA is going to be huge for Apple. The only competitor I see on the windows side is the upcoming Asus laptop that looks like a wholesale ripoff of the 11" machine. It's also rumoured to have a higher price tag too. One thing Apple has going for it is dirt cheap component prices due to their insane volumes, it's going to be very very hard for PC manufacturers to make a price competitive MBA clone.
Also, this thing is quiet as a mouse and cool to the touch. That in itself is worth the 1.5K I paid for it. My MBP sounded like a PS3 filled with a garbage can full of dust and was hot enough to make the sun feel like shit.
Souldriver
Member
I hate to be that guy, but I've got a honest question.
You can find Windows laptops for half the price with the same specs as a Macbook. Now, I'm fully aware that you're not getting the same computer experience. The Mac has OSX, incredible hardware, build quality, battery life, high quality screen, ... that all of the Windows laptops with the same specs lack. However, if you go shopping for a 1,800 dollar Windows laptop (to compare with a 15inch macbook pro), then you will also get a sexy looking device, great build quality, big battery life, top notch screen, arguably better specs, ... and the experience becomes more comparable to that of a macbook, except for OSX off course.
So my honest question is: does OSX make the difference, price considered, or are there things that I'm overlooking that you simply never will get on a Windows laptop, even if you spend as much (say 1.5k) on one of those as you would on a mac?
You can find Windows laptops for half the price with the same specs as a Macbook. Now, I'm fully aware that you're not getting the same computer experience. The Mac has OSX, incredible hardware, build quality, battery life, high quality screen, ... that all of the Windows laptops with the same specs lack. However, if you go shopping for a 1,800 dollar Windows laptop (to compare with a 15inch macbook pro), then you will also get a sexy looking device, great build quality, big battery life, top notch screen, arguably better specs, ... and the experience becomes more comparable to that of a macbook, except for OSX off course.
So my honest question is: does OSX make the difference, price considered, or are there things that I'm overlooking that you simply never will get on a Windows laptop, even if you spend as much (say 1.5k) on one of those as you would on a mac?
I'm really happy with Apple this month.
Two things...
1. I spilled coffee all over my mother-in-law's Macbook Air (was only 6 months old), and they fixed it for free.
2. I had a WHITE Macbook in my Cart on apple.com to buy for my wife. I was planning on ordering the next day, and when I went back to the site, my cart was clear and they announced the new MBA's (while at the same time, discontinuing the Macbook). So I lost out on my $100 Gift Card. My wife didn't want the MBA, so I ordered a Refurb. It was the 2.4GHz, 2 GB Ram, 250 GB drive.
When I got it a few days later, it was the 2.4 GHz, 4 GB Ram and 500 GB drive.
I was really pleased with that.
Two things...
1. I spilled coffee all over my mother-in-law's Macbook Air (was only 6 months old), and they fixed it for free.
2. I had a WHITE Macbook in my Cart on apple.com to buy for my wife. I was planning on ordering the next day, and when I went back to the site, my cart was clear and they announced the new MBA's (while at the same time, discontinuing the Macbook). So I lost out on my $100 Gift Card. My wife didn't want the MBA, so I ordered a Refurb. It was the 2.4GHz, 2 GB Ram, 250 GB drive.
When I got it a few days later, it was the 2.4 GHz, 4 GB Ram and 500 GB drive.
I was really pleased with that.
Souldriver said:
Considering that pretty much all laptops are powerful enough to handle the majority of tasks that people do on a computer, specs mean very little to me anymore. All of those things highlighted are huge to me know. I want a seamless OS experience, I want incredible hardware and build quality, I want to be able to use the best damn trackpad in the industry. All of these things matter much more than raw specs. I'll never be able to game on my MBA, but then again I didn't buy it for that, I bought it because it is the finest computer money can buy right now and is insanely portable.
I did love my MBP until a few weeks ago. Having constant freezes and I'm thinking it may be an issue with graphics switching. It pretty much arsed now, won't even boot up. I took it into the Apple repair shop, found it was possibly a hardware issue, but found slight corruption on the hard drive and charged me for the repair. Got home, booted it up and it's still crashing. So pissed.
Any ideas from GAF? I jut want this fixed. I bought it in Feb, late 2010 15" i7 MBP.
Any ideas from GAF? I jut want this fixed. I bought it in Feb, late 2010 15" i7 MBP.
I've got a Macbook Pro from like 07 or 08. It has 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, and 3GB ram, since I just upgraded the ram this year. I also put in a 750 gb hard drive. It still runs like a dream, and that's doing things like photoshop and illustrator and video editing all at once.
Since we're all doing this:
Since we're all doing this:
Meus Renaissance
Member
Souldriver said:
My opinion? No. There is an argument that the machine itself (laptop) considering its build quality is worth more than a comparable spec Windows machine, but not to the extent that Apple price it at, which is a shame because if these machines were far cheaper than I'm sure they'd have more customers. However, profit margins > market share
forknknife
Banned
My 13'' Macbook Air has sold me on apple computers, specially due to the fantastic trackpad and balance between portability, design and performance. I'm a but bummed that they released a new version of the Air so soon, specially seeing as it seems to run much faster (although I'm completely satisfied with how fast mine is, though). I am looking forward to see how the cloud technology affects apple products in the future, let's see if Apple can pull it off.
Souldriver
Member
But you're kinda answering besides the question. I'm making the hypothesis that once you shell out as many dollars on a regular laptop as you would on a macbook, you'll also end up with all those things you mentioned as important. Minus OSX off course.MercuryLS said:
It's a hypothesis though, because I'm not sure about that. F.e. I know the trackpad of the Macbooks can't be found anywhere on other laptops, because it's so closely related to OSX. Perhaps there are a whole bunch of other things inherent to a Macbook, that "money can't buy" with other laptops. That was my original question.
@teamaxe: good point.
Souldriver said:
I think when it comes to laptops, the OS actually matters more than it does on my desktop. I don't game on my laptop; I want it to do work, and do other standard stuff on the side. In that respect I think OSX is a hell of a lot nicer to use compared to W7. For my desktop, I haven't convinced myself to bother with a Mac yet due to the gaming-grade hardware upgrades being quite overpriced.
Dreams-Visions
Member
oatmeal said:
forknknife
Banned
MercuryLS said:
Portal 4 runs excellently on my Air, you can do plenty gaming on it... the problem is the amount of games available.
LiveFromKyoto
Member
3N16MA said:
I'm upgrading at the next refresh. All the rumours flying around sound really cool, but I hope it has enough storage if it goes to SSD (not that I'd mind going solid state, I've had to replace my HDD twice during my MBP's lifespan due to hard knocks).
Does it give you a hard time if you need to restore to a machine with a smaller storage footprint?