Laptops

Adam Lewis

Adam Lewis

Well-Known Member
Before I get shot with the 'get a desktop, not a laptop' comment. I am fully aware of the desktop benefits and I totally get it. But the girlfriend doesn't want a desktop set up, I'm not allowed one ;) but I'm allowed a laptop, it can be put away and not be seen...

So I'm stuck with laptop, budget is £900-£1000
I had been considering a MacBook Pro 13" , 4gb ram, 250gb hard drive. Cost - £1000
But then it's only 4gb ram, a small screen, would performance be an issue? My gf has one and she edits her youtube videos on imovie, and it's a tad slow, so I'm not 100% sure.

I looked at windows laptops last night, and came across the HP Envy dv7-7332ea .
It's got a 17.3" full hd led backlit screen, 16GB RAM, 1TB hard drive but also has a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 335 (or maybe 350?) 2gb graphics card. Cost - £899

Would £100 extra for less spec be worth it due to it being apple etc etc, or would I be best saving £100 and going HP?

I'm feeling £100 less, for better specs, because its the obvious choice.. but just want your opinions :)
Thanks
Adam
 
Agree with Hamish - but with Mac you're going to be in good shape either way

Just updated swmbo's Macbook Pro after the old one didn't bounce after a 4 ft drop onto concrete - it survived, but was rather knackered

went with the previous 15" with SSD and Retina display - 8GB Ram so she can use Photoshop ok - great machine
 
See guys, just what I didn't want to read. Lol.

But it's a 13" , not retina display, and only 4gb ram,
Am I missing something (other than the OS) ? Seeing as the other is 17.3" full hd, 16gb ram? Not to mention cheaper.
Btw I won't be getting one from cashconverters thanks ;)
 
It's cheap and easy to buy RAM online and instal it yourself. 8 GB will make a real difference to the performance. You should have no issues then.

A suggestion. Keep on eye on Apple's refurb page. It is updated daily. Basically these are items that have been returned. They are checked over in detail, and sold at good discounts. So you can get a good deal on a current one, and sometimes a great deal on a previous model. Fully guaranteed etc.

I've been buying Macs for my family and business for years. No issues. Here is the link:
Refurbished Mac - Buy Refurbished Mac Products - Apple Store (UK)

- - - Updated - - -

It's cheap and easy to buy RAM online and instal it yourself. 8 GB will make a real difference to the performance. You should have no issues then.

A suggestion. Keep on eye on Apple's refurb page. It is updated daily. Basically these are items that have been returned. They are checked over in detail, and sold at good discounts. So you can get a good deal on a current one, and sometimes a great deal on a previous model. Fully guaranteed etc.

I've been buying Macs for my family and business for years. No issues. Here is the link:
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac
 
Good call on the refurb store option - worth checking as the kit is basically brand new, but someone opened the box

I upgraded the RAM and swapped out the HD for SSD in my current MPB - RAM was cheap and easy to source - SSD came via Amazon and with online instructions was easy to upgrade.

Only the latest MPBs are locked down regarding upgrades - a negative move IMHO, but time will tell.

I was surprised that swmbo's MBP came with no CD/DVD drive - but it was easy to driveshare from my desktop Mac and install my old CS5 from the DVD that way.
 
I saw about upgrading ram , it's like £30 for the ram on amazon, and apple even give you destructions online how to do it.. But I really wouldn't trust myself lol

Back to the question though, is there any particular advantage for choosing apple? Seeing as spec is lower?
Ill keep an eye on refurbs too - didnt know they sold them ;)
Adam
 
if hp is the only other brand you're looking at i'd go with apple. i know far too many people who have had hard drive or mother board failures within 6 mos of purchase of their new hp. i've had pretty good luck with toshiba and asus.
 
It just works Adam - and the screens are lovely for photography work, standard and retina.

Battery life tends to be better - build quality is better than almost all PCs - Apple store tech support is excellent
 
Spec means less when comparing a mac to a PC.
As I understand it, the Mac OS doesn't have many of the design flaws of windows. Windows is based on a registry which slowly but surely cripples the system ... Os doesn't ... I'm told its also much more efficient both in running the OS and running software so resources aren't used up so quickly.
im happy to be corrected on that, I don't actually know this stuff, it's just what I've been told... What I do know though is that my mac (16gb ram, ssd, 2.7ghz, retina - yeah, I'm showing off...) is the most awesome computer I have ever used! I would go back to PC now!
 
That doesn't sound too great Beth, 6 months lol . Though I am in Tradibg Standards, so I tend not to bother about stuff like that, and I never buy the unnecessary extended warranties , they're optional for a reason :D

Chris - thanks for that, obviously retina display would be better, but it's good to know that the standard screens are fine. I do use my gf's mbp every now and again when I need to, and it does seem ok, and I totally agree with battery life, it lasts like 8 hours and it's 3 years old now, so it's hardly lost its marbles :)

Hamish, I think (thinking being the key word) - that windows uses between half a gb and 2gb (for vista) just to run, whereas mac uses half a gb and that's the maximum, I may be wrong, but it's something like that anyway.

Well I have to wait until April 18th anyway before making a decision, (18th is student finance day xD ). I'll update you when whatever I get arrives :)
Thanks everyone
 
Just to resurrect an old thread:

Today was the day that student finance paid in, off I went to currys and I bought....


The HP, sorry to disappoint you lot lol, the price went up from £899 to £949 too the cheeky gits, and they didnt have any in store, so had to order online through the store...(or go to Chester?) To top off the cheek, they couldn't do any discount / freebies because its literally just like ordering online at home. And to top off the bloody greed, I had to pay £5 for delivery! Tut tut currys.
Either way I'm happy, reviews are beginning to float around now for the HP, and they're all good, I can't complain (it's being sold on amazon right now for £1300! (Not that that's something to go off).

It arrives tomorrow, I can't wait. My dissertation which is due in next week really isn't getting done... Lol
 
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