Why buy an expensive PC laptop?

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:22 pm

I'm not looking to do battle here and am just curious. So we all agree that PCs are generally cheaper and from some of the talk on here you could get a $1,000 PC laptop and do everything a Macbook Pro can do.

So using that logic if you had $2,000 to drop why would you buy a PC laptop? Is it strictly a preference thing or do expensive PC laptops have some astronomical specs that a Mac can't touch?

j2j · Post by **j2j** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:31 pm

I bought a macbook pro, cause vista got a bad reputation for audio very quickly. During my shopping, I noticed higher priced PC laptops, had less spec than a MBP anyways.

I don't understand computer software and hardware prices. It is a very funny and strange economics to me.

I can say, I'd prefer to run Linux on a Sony Viao, than anything else.

Although I find OS X to be acceptable, I find Mac Hardware to feel cheap and flimsy. If windows wasn't a bug out, I'd be on PC. If my most important software gets a Linux port, I'll be on PC.

I just find that the Sony is manufactured to a higher standard than the Mac. I find Os X is coded to a higher standard than Windows. I see no reason to spend 2500 dollars on a PC laptop, than again, I'm not a gamer.[/i]

jackjack · Post by **jackjack** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:43 pm

I started a similar thread above. You may want to read my thoughts in it.

When you search and find a $400 dual core on sale it seems like a no brainer to me. Just as fast. I would be sure to put on XP on it.

I do think vista is usable though. I have a friend who plays out all the time for four or more hours straight (ie. no crashes allowed at all!) and vista works for him. I think you just need to tweak it a bit to disable unneeded things.

I like my macbook and my pc. But if you are struggling to get the cash. The pc is the way to go. It is a joke that macs are any more stable (I can crash mine on demand) or better (cheap plastic and broken wifi).

All computers are buggy at times. You need to budget them time to tweak them to a stable state.

One more thing - a cheap $400 PC laptop is also worth it just to run PC only plugins or (if you set it up right) to export processing load to.

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:50 pm

jackjack wrote:I started a similar thread above. You may want to read my thoughts in it.

When you search and find a $400 dual core on sale it seems like a no brainer to me. Just as fast. I would be sure to put on XP on it.

I do think vista is usable though. I have a friend who plays out all the time for four or more hours straight (ie. no crashes allowed at all!) and vista works for him. I think you just need to tweak it a bit to disable unneeded things.

I like my macbook and my pc. But if you are struggling to get the cash. The pc is the way to go. It is a joke that macs are any more stable (I can crash mine on demand) or better (cheap plastic and broken wifi).

All computers are buggy at times. You need to budget them time to tweak them to a stable state.

One more thing - a cheap $400 PC laptop is also worth it just to run PC only plugins or (if you set it up right) to export processing load to.

Yeah, I saw your post and you do have some good points, but in a way mine is the opposite of yours in that I am asking if money was no object why would you pick a high end PC over a Macbook Pro. As I mentioned, could just be OS preference.

But prevailing theme on what people should buy is usually "I can't afford a MBP" and as you stated you could get a PC laptop for $400-$500 which is still half the price of a regular Macbook.

I have a feeling nobody on here is going to say they dropped $2,000 on a PC laptop but somebody out there must be buying these.

Atomikat · Post by **Atomikat** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:53 pm

My first computer was an eMac (9 years ago), I just can't stand in front of a Pc for more than 10 minutes without wanting to kill myself.OSX makes my life easier,happier,comfortable.
Now, I'm on my third computer (Macbook Pro 17"), just love it.
For me ...it's a matter of preference.

Atomikat · Post by **Atomikat** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:54 pm

Sorry, double post...

andydes · Post by **andydes** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:07 pm

Well I just did a quick search for gamer's laptops and found this:

XSL8-Q9300

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9300 (2.5GHz, 1333MHz, 6Mb Cache)
1 x Nvidia GeForce Go 9800M GTX 1GB
Hi-res 17" WUXGA X-Glass (1920x1200)
4GB DDR2 800Mhz
250GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
8x +/- Dual Layer DVD Writer
Windows Vista Home Premium

3 year pan-European C&R parts and labour warranty
£1786.00 £2053.90 inc VAT

And that wasn't the highest spec available. Looks pretty chunky though (can take 3 harddrives, lol). As for business machines, there's a lot of software that you can't run on mac. I'm an engineer and most CAD packages I've used are PC only. Amongst musicians, I'd expect if money was no object, the vast majority would get a MBP.

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:14 pm

andydes wrote:Well I just did a quick search for gamer's laptops and found this:

XSL8-Q9300

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9300 (2.5GHz, 1333MHz, 6Mb Cache)
1 x Nvidia GeForce Go 9800M GTX 1GB
Hi-res 17" WUXGA X-Glass (1920x1200)
4GB DDR2 800Mhz
250GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
8x +/- Dual Layer DVD Writer
Windows Vista Home Premium

3 year pan-European C&R parts and labour warranty
£1786.00 £2053.90 inc VAT

And that wasn't the highest spec available. Looks pretty chunky though (can take 3 harddrives, lol). As for business machines, there's a lot of software that you can't run on mac. I'm an engineer and most CAD packages I've used are PC only. Amongst musicians, I'd expect if money was no object, the vast majority would get a MBP.

Good points. By "gamers" do you guys mean people who play video games? I just have to ask because I find it hilarious that people would drop mad loot on something just to play games, but they might find it hilarious the amount of money we drop on music software.

jonny72 · Post by **jonny72** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:22 pm

beats me wrote:Good points. By "gamers" do you guys mean people who play video games? I just have to ask because I find it hilarious that people would drop mad loot on something just to play games, but they might find it hilarious the amount of money we drop on music software.

I've always been under the impression that it is the hardcore gamers that drop the serious money on PC's, as the latest and greatest games really push the hardware if you want the fastest frame rates. I think they're crazy but I guess they spend a fair chunk of their spare time playing games so it makes sense to them, the same as they probably think we're crazy paying the prices we do for music software.

But a fair chunk of the high end PC prices are for the graphics cards, which aren't cheap especially if you run with two of them in tandem.

liveISlife · Post by **liveISlife** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:23 pm

j2j wrote:I don't understand computer software and hardware prices. It is a very funny and strange economics to me.

I understand it pretty well, THEY ENJOY RAPING US IN A MONOPOLISTIC FASION!

j2j wrote:Although I find OS X to be acceptable, I find Mac Hardware to feel cheap and flimsy.

+ EFFING 9000!

smutek · Post by **smutek** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:29 pm

Yep, they are talking about people who play video games.

Speaking of expensive PC's, someone on another forum posted a link to this monstrosity this morning:

We caught wind of this dual-screened ThinkPad last week, but now we've got some more details to get your mouths watering -- and your wallets running for cover. The W700ds comes with your choice of Intel Core 2 Quad processors and combined with the NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M GPU. RAM maxes out at 8GB and you can stuff a total of 960GB of SSD / HDD storage into this bad boy. The primary 17-inch screen is supposedly the brightest on the market, and if there wasn't already enough to make you drool, it packs an integrated WACOM digitizer as well (like its single-screened sister, the W700). However, this 11 pound package starts at $3,600, so you'd better be ready to break out the piggy bank come January when this beast is set to ship. Don't pout though, it probably wouldn't have fit under the tree anyway. Check out two more pics after the break.

Dual screen laptop, starting at $3600

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/21/leno ... ics-unear/

My thoughts on this particular machine:

Looks nice.... in terms of horse power and specs.

As far as practicality and aesthetics goes, not so much. The second screen seems really awkward and too small to really be practical. The same goes for the "wacom" digitizer (is it a real Wacom component, or did someone just borrow the name?). It seems way too small to really be useful, and the placement next to the track pad would be a problem for me and probably a lot of other left handed people as well.

At the $3,600 dollars they are asking for this thing I could get the kick ass laptop of my choice, an external HD, a 6x11 wacom tablet, and a nice Timbuktu messenger bag to throw thewhole lot in - and probably still have enough left over for a second display to use at the office.

That machine comes of as being well specd but rather gimmicky, in my humble opinion atleast.

liveISlife · Post by **liveISlife** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:32 pm

GOOD LORD! WHAT THE HELL IS IS?!

adventurepants_ · Post by **adventurepants_** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 9:49 pm

its a dual screen laptop, with I think a slide out second screen.

Its ugly, but I reckon theyll sell a few of these, some road warriors really do need to do two screen work on the road.

they are a hell of a lot more convenient than the Dell 20 inch LCD 'laptops'!

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:02 pm

beats me wrote:So using that logic if you had $2,000 to drop why would you buy a PC laptop? Is it strictly a preference thing or do expensive PC laptops have some astronomical specs that a Mac can't touch?

Firewire. CardBus. Decent screen resolutions.

All those are key to me, and I will now be offered none of those features with a Mac.

I actually quite like Apple computers, it's just a shame they don't make any that appeal to me

So now that the new MacMini is coming out I am hoping and praying it will still have its FW port... if it does I will have to stock-pile or something.

Hidden Driveways · Post by **Hidden Driveways** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:18 pm

You have to figure that there are vast quantities of customers out there who:

a) have money

b) know they do not want a Mac

c) want to buy themselves something fancy

The amount of people out there who use computers for creative production is miniscule in the overall picture of computer users. It's easy to forget that the DAW scene is actually a very, very small part of the whole thing.

Why buy an expensive PC laptop?

Why buy an expensive PC laptop?

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