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On October 29 2011 03:43 Corsica wrote:
Misleading title I expected to see other pictures here. But that's the way I do it
1 Buy. Powerful Mac
2 install Windows 7
3 install Sc2
4 ????
5 Profit
In the end you have a pOwerful beast that is comPatiable with everything in the world you can carry it around and it's not made of freaking plastic))))
Hm, I never really consider Macs gaming computers. How much would it cost to get a Mac with similar specs to my laptop? This thing was at the upper end of my price range.
On October 29 2011 03:47 icydergosu wrote:Thats not a laptop, more like an abomination.  Wouldnt even have the space to put that thing up during class in university. Do these $1,549.99 include taxes? The closest to those specs i could find was this one, http://geizhals.at/eu/688315 about 2120 USD You should try to run furmark in combination with something cpu intensive(prime) on it to stress the cooling system and see if it is throttling.
No, I paid just under $1700 when it was all said and done.
On October 29 2011 03:50 mizU wrote:
Oh my gawd... what a beast. I wish I got a better processor. Can you stream on you laptop?
I haven't tried yet, but I'm sure I can and I plan to.
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On October 29 2011 04:18 Riku wrote:
Hm, I never really consider Macs gaming computers. How much would it cost to get a Mac with similar specs to my laptop? This thing was at the upper end of my price range.
As a long-time Mac user, Apple laptops have a steep price premium because they are usually smaller and lighter than comparably-specced Windows laptops. This can have downsides for gaming as well, because cooling in a more compact case has been an issue they've struggled with over many product generations. Short version is that it's unlikely that you could have had those specs in a Mac laptop at the same price. The Mac laptop probably would be easier to carry around, though. 
Apple's desktop computers tend to be not too far off in price from their Windows counterparts, once you factor in that the iMacs have nice LCD screens built into the box and the Mac Pro desktops are based on Xeon processors, which are quite costly even in the Windows world. However, if those specific features aren't important to you and you don't care about OS, it can be a lot cheaper to go with Windows hardware.
I have a Mac Pro from 2006 that I was considering upgrading when they refresh the line later in the year or early next year, but when I looked into it I discovered that it would save me probably $1500 to buy a new i7-2600 desktop with an Nvidia GTX 580, almost entirely because of the Xeon processor premium. I wound up keeping the Mac Pro for general work and using the Windows box for games and computer graphics work that specifically benefits from the speed.
So, bottom line is: Mac products have specific, costly features that can be very valuable in certain circumstances, but that almost always drive the price up. These features drive the price up on the Windows side also, but people usually don't spring for them. Macs are usable for games in Mac OS and great for games when dual booted with Windows, but if price is a primary limitation, you'll probably be happier with a Windows system.
Edit: Every time in the last 10 years I've priced out an assembled (i.e. not home-built) Windows system with *identical* features to the Mac equivalent, when there is a Windows equivalent at all, they've come out nearly the same. However, often it's possible to cut the price in half on the Windows side by compromising on some relatively small feature point (like going from a 4-core Xeon to a similar non-Xeon processor), while on the Macs the expensive systems are all there are.
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Honestly unless you're an hardcore Apple fan, a MacBook Pro should NEVER be recommended as a gaming machine.
I will use the machine we have in this blog as an exemple against a similar Apple machine: Rikus MSI and a 17" MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro can be similarly built as the MSIs, with extra fees. Starting at 2500$ with the same CPU, but with 1/3 of the memory, a smaller and slower hard drive, and a 512MB video card. After all the options to match the MSI, the MSI would be literally half the price. That's a 1500$ price difference.
I hope you guys are actual Apple employees and you don't actually believe what you're saying.
Edit: The configurations in the Tech Specs page and the Buy Now page on the Apple USA are actually totally different for some reason. While there is no video card upgrade and no 12Gb memory options to match the MSI, it isn't as bad as I first wrote, while still being near twice the price.
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United States22883 Posts
Riku, there is no MBP that's comparable to your laptop. You've got a top tier video card, the best MBP's have a mid-tier video card and costs $1000 more than the equivalent Samsung 7 Chronos. The gap between size, battery life and form factor have vanished, and the only difference left is build quality. Admittedly, the build quality of HP's and the like still blow, but Asus and Samsung have put together extremely competitive products with Apple's lineup, at a lower price.
And the screen quality of MBP's is pretty overrated too. They're all using TFTs, not IPS displays, which you can only get out of the professional Lenovo's, Dell's and HP's.
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United States22883 Posts
On October 29 2011 05:32 rupert wrote:
Honestly unless you're an hardcore Apple fan, a MacBook Pro should NEVER be recommended as a gaming machine.
I will use the machine we have in this blog as an exemple against a similar Apple machine: Rikus MSI and a 17" MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro can be similarly built as the MSIs, with extra fees. Starting at 2500$ with the same CPU, but with 1/3 of the memory, a smaller and slower hard drive, and a 512MB video card. After all the options to match the MSI, the MSI would be literally half the price. That's a 1500$ price difference.
I hope you guys are actual Apple employees and you don't actually believe what you're saying.
Edit: The configurations in the Tech Specs page and the Buy Now page on the Apple USA are actually totally different for some reason. While there is no video card upgrade and no 12Gb memory options to match the MSI, it isn't as bad as I first wrote, while still being near twice the price.
They updated the processors of MBP's literally last week, so they probably haven't updated the tech specs page accordingly. Still, the best card they offer is a Radeon 6770M which is in a completely different class from the 570M. The 560M is really where mobile cards get serious, and the 6770 is well below that.
Aside from a custom built Sager/Clevo, that's the most powerful computer you could've gotten at that price, Riku. The Asus G74 only has a 560M in it.
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On October 29 2011 05:47 Jibba wrote:
The gap between size, battery life and form factor have vanished
I'm not sure how you can say that. Comparing Riku's laptop with the Macbook Pro with the closest specs, the Macbook Pro, while it is $1000 more, is 2 pounds lighter (at 6.6 vs. 8.6 lbs.)
While it's a reasonable question to ask whether 2 pounds is worth $1000, I'd say that's a meaningful difference in form factor. (Incidentally, that difference in size is also a big reason that the Mac laptops don't use beefier GPUs, because it's impossible to achieve the cooling they'd require in that size case.)
I haven't seen any Windows 17" laptops in the under 7 lb. range at all, but I haven't looked very hard either. I have gone looking a couple of times for equivalent laptops to Macbook Pros, though, and usually the large price differences at the high end are accompanied by less size and weight.
Regardless, given how Riku's using her laptop and that the one she got was at the high end of her price range, it's a better choice than any Mac laptop she could have afforded.
Incidentally, my current favorite laptop is the mid-2010 generation 11" Macbook Air. It's a slow-as-shit 1.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, but at 2.3 pounds I haven't found any other laptop that I can carry around with me at work literally 100% of the time without worrying about it. It certainly isn't winning any award for gaming but I have played EVE Online and SC2 on low settings just fine.
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United States22883 Posts
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That's not exactly comparable to the Mac Pro, given the 20% lower clock speed, but it is a great price for what you get.
The other factor in buying Apple products is that they have lately been getting a couple-month head start on new product generations from Intel. If someone wished to buy in that window, the price premium may be worth it. However, they NEVER lower their prices on new products. Ever.
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United States22883 Posts
The difference between a 2630M and a 2760M is smaller than the difference between a 560M and a 6770M. Plus the HP can be equipped with a better processor than the 2760M. They're all gunning for the MBP and in most respects, they've met it.
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On October 29 2011 05:47 Jibba wrote:
And the screen quality of MBP's is pretty overrated too. They're all using TFTs, not IPS displays, which you can only get out of the professional Lenovo's, Dell's and HP's.
TN panels*
The LG P220 which will be released soon also sports an IPS and that's indicative of more laptops getting them.
--
Anyways, what demanding games are you playing? The only reason for getting a 'beast' instead of a stationary computer and portable laptop is if you're playing Battlefield 3 with your boyfriend. Are you? 'Cause a portable laptop will play LoL, D3 and CoD with maxed out settings for its screen resolution.
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On October 29 2011 06:53 Thrill wrote:Show nested quote +On October 29 2011 05:47 Jibba wrote:
And the screen quality of MBP's is pretty overrated too. They're all using TFTs, not IPS displays, which you can only get out of the professional Lenovo's, Dell's and HP's. TN panels* The LG P220 which will be released soon also sports an IPS and that's indicative of more laptops getting them. -- Anyways, what demanding games are you playing? The only reason for getting a 'beast' instead of a stationary computer and portable laptop is if you're playing Battlefield 3 with your boyfriend. Are you? 'Cause a portable laptop will play LoL, D3 and CoD with maxed out settings for its screen resolution.
I don't build a computer for what I'm going to be doing today, I build it for what I am going to be doing in four years when I'm still using it.
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On October 29 2011 08:16 Riku wrote:
I don't build a computer for what I'm going to be doing today, I build it for what I am going to be doing in four years when I'm still using it.
That's a good way to think about it.
Edit: Asked about how you got the rainbow, then went back and saw you'd answered that question, That's awesome!
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Speaking of custom built Clevos, I actually just ordered one a few days ago from Malibal (malibal.com). Bought a 2760qm / ati 6990m with a 15.6" LED 95% gamut matte screen, 6.83 lbs. 15.6" was the sweet spot size I was aiming for, so Clevo was really the only brand that had that as well as the high end video cards. Excited to be able to play games on ultra/high when I'm travelling and be able to stream as well :D My old desktop dual core struggles a bit with that.
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I was expecting pictures of a dog, or cat, or some other FEROCIOUS housepet... that said the comments have been so much more informative than expected.
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Well, I'm glad that it seems like I made a good choice.
I always get so nervous when making large technology purchases, but I'm really in love with this thing!
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Your new laptop makes me salivate even more for the desktop I will be getting at Christmas time for Diablo 3.
Also I clicked the "Blog" button on one of your posts and upon reading the title I immediately feared this blog was about some penis you had frequent access to enough to use the possessive "My." Thank God I was wrong.
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On November 03 2011 11:49 TheGiz wrote:
Your new laptop makes me salivate even more for the desktop I will be getting at Christmas time for Diablo 3.
Also I clicked the "Blog" button on one of your posts and upon reading the title I immediately feared this blog was about some penis you had frequent access to enough to use the possessive "My." Thank God I was wrong.
I'm laughing so hard my face and abs hurt.
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For some reason I also just quickly glanced at the title and thought it said "My Big Breast" lol...but that is one sweet looking machine Good job
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I don't understand why people spend so much money on a laptop. Its a fucking laptop, buy an actual desktop PC (or build it yourself) for same price or less and it will blow it out of the water. If you need a laptop for other non gaming things as well, just get a cheap one that fits the bill of what you need.
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On November 12 2011 14:31 SpoR wrote:
I don't understand why people spend so much money on a laptop. Its a fucking laptop, buy an actual desktop PC (or build it yourself) for same price or less and it will blow it out of the water. If you need a laptop for other non gaming things as well, just get a cheap one that fits the bill of what you need.
Because I need a laptop's portability for both work AND gaming.
That's why laptops exist.
O.o;
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EPT
