exobrute

Alright now i am soooo frusterated right now. I dont what to get. I am getting a new computer for my 16th birthday for sure but idk which one. My parents are willing to spend about $1200, not much more. At first i was going to get a refurb aluminum unibody macbook pro 2.4ghz for $1600 but i would have to spend $400 of my own money, i was very set on this until my friend said i should build my own custom pc. I really really love the look of the macbook pro which is why i was gonna buy it. I also really love portability. But the macbook pro isnt very powerful and for $1200 i can get a custom built pc from ibuypower.com. This is its specs which i would buy:

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Case- Nzxt Tempest Gaming Tower Case
Case Lighting- Cold Cathode Neon Light Blue
Power Supply- 800 Watt -- Power Supply quad SLI Ready
Processor- Intel Core i7 Processor 920 4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache
Processor Cooling- iBUYPOWER Napoleon CPU Cooling Fan System Kit

Motherboard- Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way SLI PCI-E MB 3-Way SLI )

Memory- 3 GB [1 GB X3] DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair Value
Video Card- NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB w/DVI + TV Out Video
Hard Drive- 320 GB HARD DRIVE Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive- LG 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black )
Sound Card- 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card- Onboard LAN Network Gb or 10/100
Flash Media- Reader/Writer 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black
Operating System- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic 64bit
Warranty Warranty- Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support
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Now the specs of the macbook pro are like a 2.4ghz core 2 duo, nvidia 9600GT and 2gb ram. Now i know the pc specs blow away the macbook pro. But like i said i love the portability of laptops, now ive had a desktop for ever but occasionally use my dads crap laptop. So i dont know how much id use it portable but im sure i wuld. Also the macbook pro is amazing looking.

So which do you think i should get?
Please leave all your thoughts,

Thanks

Jack.Sparrow

If you want a laptop, you can get a 'non-mac' for cheaper :) Mac's are over-priced for what they offer.

I'd personally go for the PC.

linderman

if you are a gamer ........ then you want a desktop

connor-53

Ibuypower is not good at all, way over priced and not as many options as you would want. When you come here, we can help select the computer you want need. Lets start here

1) Budget
2) What you want the computer for

From there we can get you a good computer.

exobrute

My budget is $1300. I am looking for a computer that will be really fast for atleast 5 years. I cannot decide between a laptop or desktop. Im a student and am 16 but i still dont know which to get. I like occasional gaming but i cant do much cause my current PC stinks and cannot run anything so i havent really gotten the chance to do PC gaming.

Is there a laptop comparable to an i7 processor? What processor in a laptop is closest?

Should i get a laptop or desktop and if laptop whats a good PC thats nice looking faster or the same as a MBP and around $1300?

Thanks

Scythe X10

While I can't help you with the tech aspect I can help you with common sense.( no offense meant)

If you stay at home alot and don't move around the house to much get a desktop, remember you'll basically have a 5-10ft chain around your neck if you want to use the PC.

If you go on the bus alot or travel to places where laptops are permitted or go to friends houses alot get a laptop..

If you want a laptop comparable to a 1300 dollar PC build you might be spending anywhere from 1500-2000 for it. It all comes down to preference.

You can google mobile CPU benchmarks and compare them to an i7 benchmark.

linderman

food for thought ............ laptops dont run at full cpu power unless they are plugged into wall power

connor-53

Good gaming laptop $1500+, good gaming desktop $800-1000

connor-53

And even if you bought the best gaming laptop you can, you are really wasting money and it still won't be as good as a desktop.

Scythe X10

Well you can tweak the power settings but the battery will have a heart attack after a good hour..

connor-53

Alienware laptop starts at 1200 cheapest.

exobrute

Ok well ive made up my mind, well not fully. Im either buying a refurbished unibody 2.4ghz macbook pro. Or the PC with some more ram and maybe a different video card. The reason i am selecting these two is because if im getting a laptop i want a Mac just because my parents have one and have had very good results with it. But i still cant decide between those 2. I really want mobility but i also mite be doing gaming once i get a computer that can.

What do you think?

connor-53

Ok, lets list the pros and cons of each

Mac Book
Pros
- Portability
- Good feedback
Cons
- Runs on battery
- Little to no upgrades
- No games
- Drop it your screwed
- REFURBISHED***
- $1000+
Desktop
Pros
- Cheap (800-1200)
- Easily upgraded
- Good feedback
- Runs off of outlet no charging etc
- Customizable
- NEW***
- Games
Cons
- Lack of mobility
(Can anyone else think of more cons?)

connor-53

So yeah think of that ^ when you make your decision.

wrench97

To add fuel to the fire, Mac Pro's are good hardware overpriced but good, there are limited apps when compared to windows unless you use boot camp which offers limited compatibility to native windows programs Ie most games (high end) don't like running under boot camp. If your computer interests lie else where then it may be the right choice for you, If you're looking at college in 2-3 years depending on your course selection and school selection it may be too outdated at that time to satisfy the requirements.

For gaming the windows desktop is the way to go, I have a couple of both and find myself mostly on a older laptop these days, my daughter is in college and wants nothing to do with a desktop that has to be plugged in she's really good at tweaking the power settings for long battery life and carries a fully charged spare with her, My son about your age wants nothing to do with a laptop that doesn't play games like his Xbox will.

So the bottom line is in your budget range the latest and greatest games= Desktop, portability and general computing, Net, Email, Programming, Graphic Design, = Laptop

Mcninjaguy

also I wouldn't get a GTS 250 as its a renamed 9800 GT

go for the GTX 260 best bang for buck

try getting a corsair 850w PSU

a laptop will be considered slow in 2 years
a desktop will be considered slow in about 3 or 4 years at the same price.

if you like any gaming forget the mac and its highly overpriced and vanity looks. It sure looks pretty but who cares its overpriced

shahedjoy

go for desktop with ATI HD RADEON card.....dont waste money

Mcninjaguy

The GTX 260's have gone down in price and they give quite the performance so no its not a waste of money shahedjoy

exobrute

Well it wasnt between the desktop and a Mac Pro it was a Macbook Pro. I see where your all coming from about getting the desktop, and trust me i really wanna have a computer that can game and do anything i want but i still am not sure about if i want portability or not. Please tell me if you think i do, heres a description of what i do when i get back from school, btw im 16 and a sophomore in high school:

I get home and go get on my computer in my room, i check a few of my favorite blog sites and play some runescape (its the only game i can play, i know its stupid). Then i check my email. After that i usually go watch some TV. Sometimes i use my dads slooooow laptop while watching tv. I go to my friends a lot on the weekends but we are never really gaming or anything were mostly outside. I do travel a lot on spring break, Christmas break, summer, etc.

What do you think?

Phædrus2401

Solution:
Get a medium-high-end desktop PC with a good graphics card for when you do game, and for something that will stay current for several years, then get a little cheap netbook (Mac or not) that will work as a word processor and web browser. You can also VNC from the netbook to the desktop so that you can run strenuous programs at home while you're out and about with the netbook. That way you get a very powerful computer, but also something that you can take with you. So spend $1000 on a desktop and $300 on a netbook and you're set.

I would actually suggest using Linux on the netbook, as the portable versions of Linux would allow you to make the most of the scant resources available, while the KDE and Gnome environments look nearly as slick as the Mac UI.


(This is what I'm planning on for college, actually, except that I already have the desktop)