Looking for something like a Macbook Pro, but not a MBP.

S

spadefoot

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 13, 2000
Messages
424
I was in BB the other day and laid hands on a Macbook Pro. I can't help but admit that I liked it. It made me feel a little dirty inside, but I liked it. I'd like to find something that's pretty much exactly like the MBP (slot loading DVD-R, thin form factor, decent 3d, good display), but that doesn't polish Steve Job's knob if I buy one.

Any suggestions?
 
Sony FZ series?
The upcomming Dell XPS M1530 might also do the trick.

Do you need a 15,4" display?
 
I looked at the Sony offerings, they're close, but they have fairly low GPU's (most are Intel integrated). I've read some neat stuff about the upcoming Dell, but given the problems they've had with getting the 1330 to market, I won't hold my breath. I don't HAVE to have 15.4, but I'd like to stay smaller than 17", as I'll be hauling it around a fair amount.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
The Sony SZ series is a pretty slick notebook, but it's a 13.3" incher. I played with one in BB the other day. It's stupid light and thin. It has a LED backlit screen and dual video cards. You can switch between the integrated video for longer battery life, or the 128MB Geforce 8400M GS chip for power. You're going to pay for that Sony name though, it runs around $2k. :eek:
 
The Sony FZ series has the Nvidia Geforce 8400M GT. The GPU isn't as good as the MBP's, but the feel of the notebook is probably the closest thing to a MBP.

I had to make a similiar decision but went with the Lenovo T61P instead which proved to be a bit cheaper and provided a GPU thats comparable to a 8600M GT (Quadro 570m). What sucks is that nobody seems to make a screen as good as the MBP's LED screen. All these TN panels.... blah!
 
If you want something like the Macbook Pro, then get the Macbook Pro. There's no PC laptop that fully compares to a real Macbook Pro in terms of design.
 
sitheris said:
If you want something like the Macbook Pro, then get the Macbook Pro. There's no PC laptop that fully compares to a real Macbook Pro in terms of design.
Click to expand...

I agree. If I wanted to put a computer behind a glass display I'd choose the MBP, or just the case even.
 
sitheris said:
If you want something like the Macbook Pro, then get the Macbook Pro. There's no PC laptop that fully compares to a real Macbook Pro in terms of design.
Click to expand...

True, there is nothing more like a particular object than that object. I like Apple's deisgn, I just don't want OSX, and I particularly don't want to pay the 600-800 extra dollars for the little logo.
 
spadefoot said:
True, there is nothing more like a particular object than that object. I like Apple's deisgn, I just don't want OSX, and I particularly don't want to pay the 600-800 extra dollars for the little logo.
Click to expand...

You know you can install Windows right?

If you want something "similar" to the Macbook Pro I suggest looking at the Dell XPS M1330, Dell XPS M1530, Sony SZ6xx series, and Asus notebooks in general.
 
heero884 said:
You know you can install Windows right?

If you want something "similar" to the Macbook Pro I suggest looking at the Dell XPS M1330, Dell XPS M1530, Sony SZ6xx series, and Asus notebooks in general.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know you can install Windows, it the Apple "tax" I'd like to avoid... Plus, man, there's something in me that just can't quite buy a Mac... Too many years of PC advocacy, I guess.

I've looked at the 1330's and they are pretty nice, don't think they offer a slot-load DVD, though. Third verse, same as the first on the 1530's. I checked out Sony's site, but they have pretty lousy 3d on their smaller units, as far as I could tell.

Thanks for the ideas, though!
 
spadefoot said:
Yeah, I know you can install Windows, it the Apple "tax" I'd like to avoid... Plus, man, there's something in me that just can't quite buy a Mac... Too many years of PC advocacy, I guess.

I've looked at the 1330's and they are pretty nice, don't think they offer a slot-load DVD, though. Third verse, same as the first on the 1530's. I checked out Sony's site, but they have pretty lousy 3d on their smaller units, as far as I could tell.

Thanks for the ideas, though!
Click to expand...

Why not just give mac a try? Stop by an apple store and play around with the OS. I used PC's for the past 10 years and just switched to Mac about 6 months ago, couldn't be happier. OSX is lightyears ahead of XP/Vista imo
 
spadefoot said:
Yeah, I know you can install Windows, it the Apple "tax" I'd like to avoid... Plus, man, there's something in me that just can't quite buy a Mac... Too many years of PC advocacy, I guess.

Thanks for the ideas, though!
Click to expand...

I agree, there is something of an "Apple Tax" for the Macbook Pros. However, I still keep going back to the Macbook (I'm looking for a 13" laptop) over many of the other choices for one really good reason: Vista.

I cannot, in good conscience, pay Microsoft for something that isn't remotely what they've been promising for the past 4 years. It's bloated, requires ridiculous hardware to run properly, and it doesn't deliver many of the things that Apple provided in Tiger. And let's not even forget about Leopard, which Apple itself lists as something of an update. It provides pretty much all of those things that Microsoft couldn't program in more than 4 years.
 
Tekara: Ah, neat, I didn't realize that. I've got a friend that has the 12" the was replaced by the 1330, and he likes it quite a bit. I may have to give them a hard look.

sitheris: While I pride myself on being more of a "Best tool for the job" guy than a platform zealot... there are some things I'm not sure I can do, and buy a Mac is one of them.

gunnm74: Yeah, I'm not crazy about Vista either. However, I recall taking a year or more to switch from 3.11 (and os/2 Warp) to 95, 95 to 98, 98 to 2000 and 2000 to XP (I never ran ME, thankyouverymuch). In wach case, the new version seemed like a horrible piece of crap. after a year or so, and a service pack or two, and the software industry figuring out how to write for the new OS, they all turned out to be pretty goood, in their own way. Perhaps Vista is in that samesituation and we need to give it until SP1 to make a decision.

I've been dual-booting Ubuntu/XP on my thinkpad for a couple of months now, and I find that I don't need to go to XP for much. That said, if something goes wrong in Ubuntu, you can still find yourself at a prompt, trying to get things back up and running. The same is true for XP, of course, but I've been fixing XP systems for as long as XP has been out. My Ubuntu-Fu is pretty weak by comparison. On the new laptop that I want to buy, I plan on doing at least some gaming, so I'm going to have to keep XP around on a partition, even if only for that.

You guys have given me some good ideas, and some things to think about. Thanks!
 
spadefoot said:
Tekara: Ah, neat, I didn't realize that. I've got a friend that has the 12" the was replaced by the 1330, and he likes it quite a bit. I may have to give them a hard look.

sitheris: While I pride myself on being more of a "Best tool for the job" guy than a platform zealot... there are some things I'm not sure I can do, and buy a Mac is one of them.

gunnm74: Yeah, I'm not crazy about Vista either. However, I recall taking a year or more to switch from 3.11 (and os/2 Warp) to 95, 95 to 98, 98 to 2000 and 2000 to XP (I never ran ME, thankyouverymuch). In wach case, the new version seemed like a horrible piece of crap. after a year or so, and a service pack or two, and the software industry figuring out how to write for the new OS, they all turned out to be pretty goood, in their own way. Perhaps Vista is in that samesituation and we need to give it until SP1 to make a decision.

I've been dual-booting Ubuntu/XP on my thinkpad for a couple of months now, and I find that I don't need to go to XP for much. That said, if something goes wrong in Ubuntu, you can still find yourself at a prompt, trying to get things back up and running. The same is true for XP, of course, but I've been fixing XP systems for as long as XP has been out. My Ubuntu-Fu is pretty weak by comparison. On the new laptop that I want to buy, I plan on doing at least some gaming, so I'm going to have to keep XP around on a partition, even if only for that.

You guys have given me some good ideas, and some things to think about. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Spade, I used to be the same way with Mac vs. Windows operating systems. My parents were teachers and while all my friends and relatives had Windows OS based system (have been working on them since Windows 3.0 for work groups) I have always had Macs/Apple products in my life and had to "defend myself" against Apple neh-sayers. About 10yrs ago I finally made the change and started working on Windows systems with my buddy and have now been a Windows Tech for about that long. However, in the last few years and now with the inception of Vista I am starting to get sick of all the games you have to play to get a Windows system to run properly and have recently been turning back to Macs. I have to say that if there is one thing that Steve Jobs did right, its the implementation of the system, it just seems to work period. So while you may not be able to bring yourself to use a Mac, I say dont knock-it til you try it. Yeah you will end up paying the "Apple Tax" for the little logo and name but then again aren't you doing that same thing for the Sony?

Also, with BootCamp and a partitioning program you can book as many OS's as you want so you could put Ubuntu and Windows on the machine as well as leave OS X on there too and never have to touch OS X. All in all, if you like the looks, feel of the Macbook then go talk to them about their return policy. Maybe if it is right, buy one and try it out for a bit. Dont like it? Take it back and then you can say that you have atleast tried it and can whole-heartedly say that while you like the aesthetics of the Macbook you just dont like the OS or workings.

Just my 2c.
 
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