18 replies to this topic

[MattTheLegoman]

Hi, my Dell Inspiron something something has been going strong for 5 years and it hasn't shown any signs of aging, apart from the battery going bung after a year, I treat it well but it stays locked into a juice socket all the time.

 

However, I created this topic for a friend of mine. They're looking for a college laptop, and I doubt they or me have any skill in creating one by skratch. So what do the geniuses and smart guys and girls here recommend? Apple? I haven't been given any price-range however, or what they have used before.

[Bofur]

MacBook Air, without a doubt. It's recently been upgraded and reduced by £100 in Britain.

But I'm Apple-biased....

[Elric]

Macbook Air or Asus N550JV. Macbook Air is premium but best parts for the price is N550JV

[MattTheLegoman]

What is the price difference between the two? Or are they in the same range?

 

Ahhh I forgot - inexpensive was mentioned. =p

 

 

MacBook Air costs around ~ AUD$1,000

Asus N550JV costs around ~ AUD$1,600

 

I will put the price range around ~AUD$1,000, which is ~USD$940, ~£560 and ~€680.

Edited by MattTheLegoman, 13 May 2014 - 10:48 PM.

[Pasidon]

Never recommend a Mac to someone who is not using it purely for media editing.  I've seen it a dozen times... Macs aren't reliable.  Short in their life, they began to lag, freeze and crash.  Like clockwork.  Even my room mate just last week was bashing his keyboard because his Mac started lagging and freezing, and apparently it was the 2nd time it's done this and he had already sent it in to fix it.  It wasn't old either... just over a year.  Same thing happened to my brother, 2 people at the same time when I was in England, and so many other times to people I've met.  Never recommend a Mac to anyone but your enemies.  HP is a good brand.  You just have to manage over-heating problems, which isn't difficult.  

[MattTheLegoman]

What is a good computer for around the same price of the Macbook Air?

[Pasidon]

Doesn't a Macbook Air cost 1000 bucks?  A 600 dollar Asus is more reliable.  Just about anything that isn't reliant on gimmicks, like touch screen or laser sound, or anything silly a laptop doesn't need will be cheep and reliable.  Asus, HP, and Lenux are three reliable brands of laptops that are cheep as well.  And if your friend is actually planning on doing lots of media work, like music or video editing, then a Macbook is actually a valuable investment.  Just make sure he doesn't keep it on all the time and put too much strain on it, because it will die very quickly.

[Bofur]

The cheapest MBA these days in the UK is £750, and that's not too expensive.

Also, Pas, not much is "more reliable" than a Mac. In my (personal) findings.

[Elric]

that asus i recommended on amazon costs around 1000... macbooks dont freeze or crash unless you treat them badly. my dad has has his mac for a close 7 years and has not had a single issue on it ever. no freezing. no crashing. no lag or whatever. 

[Pasidon]

That's fine.  I'm just saying that I know people who have treated them well, and the things just give up.  It's a gamble in my opinion.

[Phil]

Time Machine alone would make me buy a Mac again to keep all my notes and documents safe. Haven't seen any backup method that's as simple and reliable as that. Hardware is one thing, but for me personally, running OS X is a huge plus.

Edited by Phil, 11 June 2014 - 10:46 PM.

[Bart]

It's been a while since I last bought a laptop. Are there any yet with the build quality of a Macbook without, well, being a Macbook? I don't like those laptops made of bendy plastic, that you can't really safely grab and lift holding one side, and have those annoying uneven bottoms with little legs. Which describes every laptop I've ever owned.

Good:

Bad:

[Elric]

The HP Envy 15 looks a lot like a macbook not sure if its aluminum unibody though. Also there are the razer blade laptops but all are expensive with that kind of "look"

[Phil]

In other words, a MacBook is the way to go

[Elric]

essentially yep!

[The Best Guest]

Dell? Just me? I've had dells all my life and I've never had any problems. If im not building my own those are my go to for friends and family. No one's been disappointed yet. 

[Elric]

meh, i want high build quality, long battery life, and an all around good slim system. the mac fit the bill perfectly so thats what i went with and it arrives tomorrow

[MattTheLegoman]

She got a Windows computer of some variety - ages ago actually. =p

 

I have a Dell Inspiron. Been going good for its entire life. Although another friend had theirs (same model but with a red cover) go to pot a couple of years ago.

[Beowulf]

People recommending Macs... I'm gobsmacked and sad.