Technology Apple Macbook Pro vs Macbook Air vs Sony Vaio

[doc44ever]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

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[da Vincis World]

I have no idea what you are talking about but Macbook Air.

 

[weezynation]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

Before I consider answering your question...are you being serious? That whole arrogant rant is really throwing me off.

 

[NightGod]

If you want to be a "rebel", just like everyone else: MB Pro
If you want extreme portability and hipster cred: MB Air
If you want the most power for the least money: whatever PC, go with Sony if that makes you happy, just stay away from HP/Compaq
If you want geek cred: netbook of your choice with the logos covered and Linux loaded on it

 

[Local Native]

Before I consider answering your question...are you being serious? That whole arrogant rant is really throwing me off.

Kids these days. I hope I wasn't like this coming out of high school.

But as for your question, you'll find that a slim and compact laptop is best because you don't want to be lugging around a beast that makes enough fan noise to wake the entire library. PC vs. Mac battle comes down to price vs. "coolness", so go to a store and make an informed decision as to what suits your needs best.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Typewriter ftw!!

 

[tn4596]

if you are good with computer = pc (like if you know what to do if it got a virus, or if you are comfortable with openning up ur laptop and replace thermal paste or clean the fan should something goes wrong)
if you are not good with computer = mac

althought you are unlikely to encounter those problems with a sony, macs are literally maintaince-free, virus-free, foolproof and they last for a long time. (i repeated see people spillin drinks on macs and they still function well afterward) i would buy a pro 15 in if i can afford it. altho 13 inch work as well if you dont wanan carry a big laptop around but i personally like the big screen.

if u do go for pc, i would just go on newegg.com and find the one with good reviews. personally i dont like vaio cuz they are way overpriced for their components but if you care about namebrand and can chunk out the cash, i dun see why not. idk why u think using people who use pc are one who cant think outside the box, lol. you are given much more administrative control over your computer and can do more "thing" with a pc period.

 

[Political]

Go to cnet.com
search for the laptops that you are currently pursuing
read the reviews
????
profit

 

[Etorphine]

mbair. posted from my mbair.

 

[mauberley]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

OP, given your stated "needs," your choice of laptop will make little impact on meeting them. You need to focus on accomplishing something much larger to be a legend, like this:

[YOUTUBE]omLpwpRH6PA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[aSagacious]

MB Pro vs MB Air vs Vaio

Wow, you really like overpaying for your products, huh? I hear Alienware is having a special

 

[Narmerguy]

Wow, you really like overpaying for your products, huh? I hear Alienware is having a special

 

[NickNaylor]

So I had just had a revelation: I always thought your name was Namerguy, not Narmerguy, and just noticed this on your post.

Mind blown.

Oh and OP, laptops aren't "the key to success." That's like saying the right stethoscope is the key to success to being a doctor. I know people that did well in school that didn't own their own computers and used publicly available ones in the various buildings. It's really not that big of a deal.

 

[bucks2010]

So I had just had a revelation: I always thought your name was Namerguy, not Narmerguy, and just noticed this on your post.

Mind blown.

Oh and OP, laptops aren't "the key to success." That's like saying the right stethoscope is the key to success to being a doctor. I know people that did well in school that didn't own their own computers and used publicly available ones in the various buildings. It's really not that big of a deal.

Yes but you don't look as cool in the library w/out a shiny silver laptop with a glowing apple on the back. Extra points if you wear the white ear buds.

 

[aSagacious]

Yes but you don't look as cool in the library w/out a shiny silver laptop with a glowing apple on the back. Extra points if you wear the white ear buds.

Yeah until you walk past them and notice that the only things up on their screen are Facebook chat and Hulu

 

[HH Holmes]

The new MB Airs are super cheap (on Apple standards) and have the i5 processors (literally came out last week)... Very enticing as long as you aren't doing any major photo/video/graphic design creation or editing.

 

[aSagacious]

The new MB Airs are super cheap (on Apple standards) and have the i5 processors (literally came out last week)... Very enticing as long as you aren't doing any major photo/video/graphic design creation or editing.

$1699 (stripped) for:
1.8 GHz processor
256 GB SSD
4 GB RAM
384 MB DDR3 GPU

sounds like a typical overpriced, mediocre Mac.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

The new MB Airs are super cheap (on Apple standards) and have the i5 processors (literally came out last week)... Very enticing as long as you aren't doing any major photo/video/graphic design creation or editing.

It also doesn't have a CD/DVD drive installed in it, barely has any memory, has the weakest processing power of any mac today, and has barely any ram. I'd go with an all purpose computer like MBP or Viao, unless you want to buy a different desktop computer.

 

[HH Holmes]

$1699 (stripped) for:
1.8 GHz processor
256 GB SSD
4 GB RAM
384 MB DDR3 GPU

sounds like a typical overpriced, mediocre Mac.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air/select?mco=MjMzOTQxMjE

That's the highest level/most customized MB Air. Like I said, if the OP is only doing word processing, emails and the occasional powerpoint or excel, the MB Air is a perfect choice. I have the new MBP 13" with the 2.3 gHz i5 and 4 GB DDR3, and it's more power than I will ever use.

It also doesn't have a CD/DVD drive installed in it, barely has any memory, has the weakest processing power of any mac today, and has barely any ram. I'd go with an all purpose computer like MBP or Viao, unless you want to buy a different desktop computer.

I've had mac computers for ~5 years now and have used my CD/DVD drive once. I don't like the MB Air, and I would never buy one, but now that they are cheap, it may be good for the OP.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

sounds like a typical overpriced, mediocre Mac.

Even apple fan boys admit that the MB Air is a **** product.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Why not try the laptops, see which one you like better, fits your budget, and go with that?

 

[aSagacious]

Like I said, if the OP is only doing word processing, emails and the occasional powerpoint or excel, the MB Air is a perfect choice. I have the new MBP 13" with the 2.3 gHz i5 and 4 GB DDR3, and it's more power than I will ever use.

Maybe it's just me, but if I'm going to spend upwards of $1000 I'd rather over-buy than under-buy. Yes, most of the time OP might be doing word processing, browsing the web, etc but what if on occasion he wants to try out a game, stream a video, etc? I just dislike the Mac 'tweener' products (MB Air, Ipad, etc) that are okay at most things at very good at nothing.

 

[artsciencelove]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

We should hang out.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

Wanting a laptop to write a speech that'll make people remember you... When did Phil Davison want to become a doctor?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMgyi57s-A4

 

[ryuuzaki]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

After reading your post, I will say that you should figure this out yourself. If you want to be known as someone who can think outside the box, try thinking within the box first.




But if you must insist, it's fairly simple. If you like Windows, get the Sony VAIO of your choice since you seem to respect the brand. Do you want a thin computer? A thick computer? Do you want to game? Write down what you want, and compare it to what Sony offers. Then make your decision.

If you like OS X, then again, what do you want? Do you think you'll need an optical drive? No? Get the Air. If you do, then get the Macbook Pro.

If you want to get an expensive machine, then do so. Be sure to get a warranty. Regardless of what people say, there is no brand out there that manufactures computers that are close to perfect. They all have the chance of potentially failing. Even if some computers fail less than others, the difference is absolutely minuscule, and their reason for failing less is due to 1. the user, and 2. chance.

 

[aSagacious]

When did Phil Davison want to become a doctor?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMgyi57s-A4

I absolutely love that vid!

 

[Pseudolithos]

For the record, I'm going to talk mostly about laptops that have little to no gaming capability.

I am an admitted Mac hater but I will say that the MBA is arguably the best in its class of "ultrathin, ultraportable". For comparison's sake, the Samsung 900x3a is a Windows laptop I would put in that category. As ultrathin+ultraportables are emerging technology almost all of them are, in my opinion, too expensive to warrant any advantage in specs (the advantage in specs for this class of laptops being the solid state drive, which, might I add, is too expensive itself).

This doesn't mean that I would recommend the purchase of a MBA or a 900x3a though. MBA and 900x3a are laptops that, yes, have i5 processors, but they are ULV processors. It's much more economical to purchase a laptop based on a standard voltage processor at the cost of maybe 0.5 lbs of extra weight and of course the thinness. For that cost you will probably get about 1.0 GHz more processing power per core at a better price.

Besides MBA's however, essentially every other Mac computer is crappy and overpriced. For fun, my laptop (Toshiba Portege R835-P55X) compared to a Macbook Pro of roughly equivalent specs has:

- Same processor
- Same RAM
- Roughly comparable integrated graphics (both bad)
- Twice as much storage space at same RPM
- Same screen size
- Weighs more than 1 lb less
- Costed $400+ less for me personally out of pocket, $300 less for people who use no coupons or anything

I really don't see the point of getting a Macbook Pro at all. Any durability argument should be thrown out the window because durability of a computer is almost always based on the user's handling of the computer. The only slightly good argument I see for the MBP is maybe the argument that the film editing software is better (Final Cut Pro, for those that don't know). Even then, switching between all those codecs is a huge pain in the butt. Anyway.. In conclusion,

MBA: Get if you care a lot about the looks but not so much about the performance.
MBP: The only reason I can see that you would purchase this one is maybe if you were absolutely terrible with computers and had to reformat every time you got any type of malware on your Windows computer.
Sony Vaio: In your case the Vaio probably offers the most price : performance ratio. And I'm pretty sure it has a backlit keyboard.
My laptop: Even better price : performance ratio

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

It's just a laptop. Unless you are going into graphic design or something related you do not really need high end hardware. Nowadays most of the new hardware can browse the internet, play 720p/1080p videos just fine, etc. I doubt undergrad nor medical school will require you an awesomely powered computer, I am pretty sure with the tuition you are paying they should provide you with most of your computing needs.

Does not help if you major in the sciences. The most you get to use your computer for class is whatever office suite you have and the internet browser, neither of which require top of the line computers.

But in terms of the three, just get the pro. Doubt you will utilize most of the power out of a vaio unless you are big gamer or something.

 

[Etorphine]

Maybe it's just me, but if I'm going to spend upwards of $1000 I'd rather over-buy than under-buy. Yes, most of the time OP might be doing word processing, browsing the web, etc but what if on occasion he wants to try out a game, stream a video, etc? I just dislike the Mac 'tweener' products (MB Air, Ipad, etc) that are okay at most things at very good at nothing.

It's not just about specs. I own a 4.1 ghz, 8 GB RAM tower with a 22 inch monitor, and then one of the newer macbook airs. I find myself using the macbook air 90% of the time, even at home. There is something to be said about a .18-.76" aluminum body laptop that runs on a lightning fast SSD, with most programs booting in 1/8 sec.

EDIT: the macbook air can definitely stream 1080p, no problem. I've even run starcraft II on it.

 

[aSagacious]

It's not just about specs. I own a 4.1 ghz, 8 GB RAM tower with a 22 inch monitor, and then one of the newer macbook airs. I find myself using the macbook air 90% of the time, even at home. There is something to be said about a .76" aluminum body laptop that runs on a lightning fast SSD.

If not specs, then what should be the primary consideration? Yes, laptops are more convenient than desktops most of the time. I've owned 17" laptops and 13" tablets, both of which are equally portable in my book (no the 17" wasn't cumbersome and yes it fit in my backpack just fine). Are you really trying to argue to that the thickness of a laptop is of the utmost importance when deciding between two machines?

 

[mauberley]

If not specs, then what should be the primary consideration? Yes, laptops are more convenient than desktops most of the time. I've owned 17" laptops and 13" tablets, both of which are equally portable in my book (no the 17" wasn't cumbersome and yes it fit in my backpack just fine). Are you really trying to argue to that the thickness of a laptop is of the utmost importance when deciding between two machines?

Well... yes.

Seriously.

Do try to consider that other people have different needs or wants than you. I, for example, would in no way consider a 17" laptop to be portable enough for my needs. On the other hand, I've been greatly desiring an 11" or 13" Air, but feel that my 13" MacBook is the best compromise among all my needs.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

It's really a matter of personal taste. When I go to college, I'm debating between either getting a new Macbook Pro, looking at some Window laptops (although I'll probably stick with Apple since I like OS X better), or just work on my 13" aluminum Macbook, replace the battery, etc. Some people like to get something bigger than 13", while that's the perfect size for me. Just figure out which laptop fits better for you and go with that. Only way to find out is to look at the different types.

 

[aSagacious]

Do try to consider that other people have different needs or wants than you.

Fair enough, to each is own I suppose.

 

[FIREitUP]

It's not just about specs. I own a 4.1 ghz, 8 GB RAM tower with a 22 inch monitor, and then one of the newer macbook airs. I find myself using the macbook air 90% of the time, even at home. There is something to be said about a .18-.76" aluminum body laptop that runs on a lightning fast SSD, with most programs booting in 1/8 sec.

EDIT: the macbook air can definitely stream 1080p, no problem. I've even run starcraft II on it.

or you could invest in putting an SSD in your tower....My uncle has a macbook air; the screen makes me want to puke. The viewing angles are horrid and the colors are off. I'll take an extra .8 pounds and an IPS display on my lenovo any day of the week. The keyboard and trackpoint (red nub) combination is killer.

 

[txlover]

I'm really confused about your post, anyways don't get the Vaio!!! From personal experience, it is an absolute piece of ****. The worst part is the Sony customer service - I went 3 months without a functioning laptop.

 

[deleted393595]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused! Laptops are the key to success and standing on stage in 4 years to give my VaLeDiCtOrIaN speech, I want to be looked at in a different way similar to Apple. I want people to remember me for many years, hopefully a legend. Now, I don't want to be referred as the guy who uses a lame windows PC due to the lack of capacity to think outside the box. So can you guys please guide me in which laptop would better serve my needs. Please think outside the box and give me your experience with the following as well. If you decide Sony Vaio, please specify the model and processor.

:troll:

 

[jchap]

It is mid-august and I am totally confused!

Most VaLedIcToRIaNs I've met have generally known the correct month.

...Or are you from the FuTurRRrRrrRrE?!

 

[Etorphine]

or you could invest in putting an SSD in your tower....My uncle has a macbook air; the screen makes me want to puke. The viewing angles are horrid and the colors are off. I'll take an extra .8 pounds and an IPS display on my lenovo any day of the week. The keyboard and trackpoint (red nub) combination is killer.

its personal preference. I actually love the glass trackpad and love the monitor colors, and those two were reasons I opted for the model in the first place. Perhaps your uncle has a lemon.

If you don't like it, don't buy it, easy as that. It's your money and you should spend it as you'd please.

 

[FIREitUP]

its personal preference. I actually love the glass trackpad and love the monitor colors, and those two were reasons I opted for the model in the first place. Perhaps your uncle has a lemon.

If you don't like it, don't buy it, easy as that. It's your money and you should spend it as you'd please.

It's not a lemon, it's just a crap display on a crap machine. I don't like it, and I won't buy it. I'm just trying to inform others of the better quality options out there. Further, if you've never used the trackpoint, you might be surprised at how accurate the movements are and how easily I can navigate comparing ot your touchpad.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Lenovo ThinkPad x220 (with SSD) >> MBA or MBP. In my opinion.

And you'll pay less for a more powerful and durable rig if you go with the x220. You can even get it with SSD for less than $1000 if you skip on some extras (ex. no IPS screen, no camera, etc). Read the threads in Allo that are going on regarding this if you're interested. Edit: Also, they have a ridonkulous battery life.

Ultimately, it's your choice though.

 

[MeowMeowCAT]

Lenovo has that odd nipple mouse.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Just make sure you're looking at prices for college students. It'll be cheaper, in most cases, than the laptops for everyone else.

 

[Myuu]

Moving to tech forum.

 

[doc44ever]

Wow, you really like overpaying for your products, huh? I hear Alienware is having a special

Well if its a special then I'm not overpaying for it am I? Wait I guess not everyone can be as smart as me to become valedictorian!!!