Mac Pro or Dell XP: All things being equal, does it just come down to preference? (VANITY)

January 30, 2010 | This Just In

[This Just In]

We're still shopping for the right laptop. It is quite an investment, and with so many choices and options, where does one begin. Naturally, the first questions is one of function. What will we be using the laptop for. Gaming? Small business? There is also the price tag to consider.

Our interest lies in two main functions which involve academic studies as well as recording music. With so many brands/models to choose from, it appears that the most widely used laptops are the Mac Pro and the XP. Between these two choices, which would you recommend and why?

TJI

[rightly_dividing]

What about the Lenovo IdeaPad series? I am wanting a new laptop in the $400-$600 range, and don’t know what to buy. I need a quality, dependable unit. Maximum bells and whistles not necessary.

[ottbmare]

Well I would damn sure not get another Dell. Our family has had a number of them (mostly due to the kids’ stepmother having a professional relationship with Dell) and they have all broken quickly, with horrible, insulting customer service that never touched the problems.

I have a Toshiba now, and so do my son and daughter. We are delighted with them.

[proudofthesouth]

Stay away from Dell.

I was a resident of Dell Hell a few years ago and will never, never, never buy another Dell again.

A couple of days after Windows 7 came out I purchased an HP G71-340US Notebook and once again surfing the web (I was a previous Vista user) is a pleasure!

[dr_who]

My Dell is behaving better than my first laptop did, a compaq/HP amd64 monstrosity that worked well as a way to keep my lap warm. The power regulator on the board crapped out after I bought a new battery for it. It had an Nvidia chipset. I went with a newer, cheaper, but not bleeding-edge dell machine that wasn’t rediculously heavy and sips power. It’s business-oriented and portable, not a gaming laptop. It has an intel core duo cpu and an intel chipset that didn’t get bad reviews on the web (not too surprising given that Intel has made successive generations of cpus/chipsets forever and nvidia has only recently branched out into general purpose cpus and chipsets). If I could verify whether or not a company like ASUS designed/contract manufactured my Dell model, i would have bought it even faster. As for Li-ion batteries, i think the technology has matured now and seems to be less troublesome. Finally, I’ve avoided mistreating my laptop. I don’t tough on the somewhat flimsy power cord where it plugs into the laptop and keep the keyboard and screen clean.

[This Just In]

We own a Dell pc with Windows XP. It’s maddening to have to deal with all the virus’, etc., but what are ya gonna do. We own the darn thing. So, I do not want to deal with the same issues with our laptop.

RachelFaith, what you’re saying about the cost/time effectiveness sounds wise to me.

[Pikachu_Dad]

Portable implies taking it out in public... So CHEAP is good.

It is easy to lose laptops; have them stolen; drop them... so having an easy to use low cost machine is preferable.

[Pikachu_Dad]

‘recording music’ is a very specific application. What software do you intend to use and which platform do they run on?

[This Just In]

It would appear that cheap and what we need in a laptop doesn’t go together.

We need a laptop that will allow us to record music (studio recording), and use for academic studies.

[Paladin2]

The data rate for stereo sound recording is quite low compared to HD video. I have 486’s that can do a downtown job on .wav audio.

[Stentor]

It’s maddening to have to deal with all the virus’, etc., but what are ya gonna do.

[RachelFaith]

For recording the BEST is “Logic Pro” software. And the training for it is called “Lynda”. It’s a video training, so you do not need to BE anywhere to get it, and it IS the training video all Mac Employees use. Hands down it is simple, monkey see and monkey learn to do very quickly.

I do recordings too, for Rock Bands.

[Hilltop]

I have a pc laptop and two towers at home, a mac at the office. In my opinion, there is no comparison. I plan on going all Mac, I’ve not had one crash at the office.Apple support is tremendous.If you enjoy seeing the peeps at the computer repair shop, go with a pc.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"We’re in a rural location, so everything will be done over the internet."

Well, my Mac laptop needed a display backlight fix a few months after the warranty ran out, and so I made my one and only call to AppleCare. They had me try a few things, and authorized the repair over the phone, no charge. So I have good things to say about their phone service too. But mostly, my main point is that these computers run trouble-free. My wife is using a hand-me-down Mac laptop from my son, who upgraded recently... hers is now six years old, never a problem.

Incidentally, I highly recommend laptops. The earlier poster who complained about battery issues was off-base, IMHO. In my experience, Apple's batteries last a good several years; the new ones are even better. Hell, if the battery craps out completely you can still run it off the wall plug, so you're no worse off than you are at any given day with a desktop machine. Used to be, I'd prefer desktop machines due to expandability. Today, with everything done via USB it seems, there's no reason for that. And it's nice to be able to sit in a comfy chair with your computer, as I'm doing now. There's still a small price premium, but it's not what it used to be.

[This Just In]

Well, in a ideal world, ProTools, but we’re not even in that solar system, so it would depend. We are currently using Cubase.

[Global2010]

My Dachshand pup chewed my brand new Blackberry
charger a few months ago.

I bought a new one (2 for 1) deal and the
gal(also a dog owner) told me to spray
the cord with viniger/water.

Hope that helps.

I have to agree with your assesment per
why one would spend big bucks on a computer or
laptop.

Folks ask me all the time why I dont have a
computer.

My work intells caring for my quad son.

Webtv is fine for making work sched.
Email, FReeping or reading the local
paper.

Dont have time for much else in regards to
computer time.

Just not a neccessary need in my life other
than what I use webtv for.

Oh I do have a Blackberry with UTUBE and a
Browser for on the road or to look up utube
as webtv is not able to do that.

Really comes down to do you think you need a
computer because so many have them?
Do you have the $$$ to keep it up and running?

Do you intend to spend time troubleshooting and
using it or do you easily frustrate on
such activity and would be more likely
to allow it to sit and collect dust.

Really have to examine your own lifestyle
to know if ya need a puter.

I have had a cell phone now Blackberry for
several years and rarely use it, more for
emerg and having utube/browser when waiting
long for doc appts ect....

Matter of fact we are so busy in our off
screen life the most I do is check email and
read headlines (occassionally post) here.

(boy that caffeine sugar high from my chocolate special
treat just kicked in)

[parsifal]

Same here. Toshiba laptop. Fall of 2007. Got it cheap and almost bought a new one for $199 or $299, I forget which, right before Christmas. I hate Windows, but Mac’s just cost too much.

parsy, who will probably switch one of these days

[Hilltop]

Ditto on time machine. During a publishing deadline important e-mails were accidentally deleted. Time machine and Apple support recovered all of them. Saved my bacon.

[RachelFaith]

I Logic Pro is way way overkill, then the cheaper answer is iLife which comes with most Mac bundles or you get it separately pretty cheap, and includes a very stripped down version of Logic and other editing software. And when I say stripped down I mean for Apple Standards... what comes with it is usually far BETTER than the most radical custom expensive recording software you could Buy just 4 or 5 years ago anywhere.

CALL APPLE and talk to them, they actually WILL answer questions. Just call the nearest apple store even if it is 300 miles away.

[This Just In]

Also, Lexicon Omega ASIO

[RachelFaith]

IF... If Logic Pro... (fixed)