I’ve been spending the last two days transfering all my files and setting up my new laptop PC that I just bought. I got the HP Pavilion dv9740us Notebook PC and in the end the decision to buy a PC over a MacBook Pro was easy.
I really wanted to try something different and buy a Mac but the price was just not competitive on any level. I have heard and read so much about how great the Mac’s are and their new operating system Leopard seems to be very well liked. I love the Mac vs. PC commercials and the Mac’s just seem to be cooler. I so badly wanted to try something new and cool!
Ahhh. A brand new laptop fresh in the box (feet sold seperately)
I needed to get a 17 inch screen as I do a lot of work with Excel and Access for my job and having the wider screen will be great. So, I was looking to buy the MacBook Pro 17″ or a PC with a 17″ screen. The price difference between the two was HUGE!
MacBook Pro 17″ comes with:
2 GB of Ram
One 160 GB hard drive
$2799.00 price tag
The HP Pavilion dv9740us Notebook PC comes with:
3 GB of Ram
Two 160 GB hard drives
$1199.00 price tag (after $50.00 mail in rebate)
My new laptop PC!
The MacBooks never seem to go on sale and so how could I possibly justify paying more than double for something that got less Ram and storage? I couldn’t and that is why I got the PC. It also comes with 4 USP ports, is BlueRay DVD compatible, and can be hooked up to your cable TV and used as a TV (it even has a remote for that).
I don’t like the fact that it no longer comes with the operating system backup discs and it says you need to burn them yourself. I guess this is the new trend. It also has a pretty slim instruction manual as they want you to go online now for everything it seems. I love the fact that it has 2 hard drives so I can put Microsoft XP on one of the hard drives if I end up disliking Vista. Without the two hard drives you would have to partition your one hard drive in order to install the second operating system. That is something I hope I never have to attempt.
So, that is what I have been and will be doing for a while. Getting a new laptop is fun but getting it all set up and everything transferred is quite boring. It’s amazing how old and clunky my 4+ year old Dell seems after getting the new laptop. Now I have to make some money with it!
Old Dell Inspiron on the left, new HP on the right
I love it when I open the box and see a brand new PC.
Unfortunately that’s not that much:)
(spam removed)
Good luck with nuking your day job:)
Good choice if you’re basing it on its specs. I would have personally bought the MacBook Pro though. I’m a die hard Apple fan. :)
While I was in Iraq last year, my wife emailed me one day telling me the the kids were on the computer too much, so she wanted to get herself a laptop. I said sure, imagining that she’d be scooting down to Costco and picking up a $700 machine that she could use for email. LOL, I didn’t know my wife very well. She emails me back two days later to say that she spent 2 grand, and we were now the proud owners of a “pretty” MacBook Pro … which I’m typing on right now, BTW. I’m still not sure I would have spent the extra money had I been home, but I do have to say that since I’ve had the chance to use the Mac, I’m really becoming a convert. Can’t really put my finger on it … but there’s just something I like about this little silver machine. :)
Todd
This almost identical to the one I bought last week. The only difference is mine has only one 250g hard drive. other than that, looks identical. I faced the exact dilemma about the Mac Book Pro.
I’d love to get a $50 laptop. The one I have is a Pentium 133! It’s slow, but does what I need it to…slowly.
It makes me laugh to see others face the same Mac vs. PC dilemma. I would love to own a Mac. I’ve played around a bit with a MacBook Pro (a friend’s) and love the new Leopard operating system. But alas, it does come back to price. So, I have a Toshiba notebook and an old desktop that I’ve been upgrading for three years.
Maybe someday Mac will realize that being the premier computer system does not mean needing to charge twice as much.
Yes, I probably would have tried the Mac for the first time if the price were anywhere in the same ballpark. I just couldn’t justify paying more than double to get less.
I know the Mac has its features, but when it comes down to using the computer, it’s still the basics for me - no need to put down so much money for what something cheaper can do just as well. :)
Btw, Bruce, your old ‘top really looks to be falling apart. Bangin’ on it too much for cash? ;)
I love Macs but it sure is hard to justify the price unless you’re doing professional multimedia editing (photos, video, audio, animation, etc.)
Congrats on the purchase. I just bought a Mac myself (last week actually). I wrote about my experience and posted pictures of the entire “unboxing” process on my blog.
I have daily and weekly deals on all these laptops. Hope you didn’t miss a better price!
Would have bought the Hp too!:D
Congrats on the computer. I am a proud Mac user but I used PC’s for years before going to Mac. There is nothing like a new computer regardless of brand.
Don’t forget that with the Mac you would have been getting a faster processor. So you are not exactly comparing Apples to Apples. (No pun intended)
You also unfortunately have to run Vista out of the box with your PC. You also stated that you may want to install XP on your laptop.
I am biased towards the Mac but I do honestly prefer to buy a computer that just works out of the box without having to potentially downgrade the operating system.
Oh and Apple ships a DVD with all your system software on it as a backup. No need to burn it yourself.
No problems so far with Vista. Scott, after tax (state of Washington) the Mac would have cost me almost $3,000! I got the HP for about $1,350.
The DVD burning of the backup discs was annoying and took almost 4 hours plus having to go buy the discs. But hey, that’s better than spending another $1,500.00
Maybe next time I will get the Mac if they bring the price closer to the PC. There is always a next time.
Good Decision. Saving $1500 by passing on the MAC means your well on your way to making money with the new laptop. I also passed on buying a Mac for the same reason. Its just hard to justify the extra money for a piece of hardware that has basically the same functionallity.
You did the right thing. This particular HP model is about to go on sale at Costco for even less tha you paid for it, and at almost ONE-THIRD what a MacPro would cost, plus when you buy it at Costco you get a two year warranty with it (Apple charges $349 for a Pro 3 year warranty as an *extra* charge).
While the processor might be *slightly* slower on the HP (emphasize slightly), this HP has a 512 meg dedicated video card which the Mac does not have - heck, most DESKTOPS don’t even have that, even Apple’s Pro desktops unless you pay $$ for it.
I use both types of machines. Sure, the Mac operating system is better (less glitchy) than Vista currently is, but overall you’re really paying a high price for the Apple brand name.
Good luck with it. I purchased a DV6000 about a year ago. It’s been great, but my model was notorious for having wireless internet connectivity issues. I had to send it in for repair, and it works better now. Hopefully all is well with yours. Good luck and cheers!
OK, is that a CALCULATOR on the floor, there, just to the right of your desk?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
YIKES!!!!!
:)
heh-heh-heh
Steve
Good luck with the HP, i hope it’s not the unrelible pile of excrement my pavillion turned out to be.
Back for service twice within a year, failed screen twice (common according to the techs) so SSSLLOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW I could take a nap and it’d still be thinking about what it wants to do! In all fairness though it’s aincient (about 2.5 years old) so I’m off to buy the macbook Pro, cheers !
The reason I got a MacBook Pro over another PC was not the hardware issue, it was the software issue. I’ve just had the best luck with the Mac OS for day-to-day processing that I haven’t had with Windows. I also bought refurbished with saved a good amount of money and helped narrow the gap between a cheaper PC and a MacBook.
I am in need of a new computer today. I would like to know if the mac is safer as far as virus and hacker problems. I have a PC now with Windows XP that crashes 2 or 3 times a day.
Bought a gateway back in May, I had a hard time with my internet connection but after many reloads and much persistence I got it to work. DVD drive sounded like it was going to crash, made a lot of noise. I eventually sent it back and bought the macbook pro. I love it. It starts up quickly and shuts down right now. Everything just seems to work flawlessly. I have nine PC’s in my office and none of them operate the same. I just hate the box ( Program not responding.) Have not seen one on the mac as of yet. As they say it just works.
Congrats on the new PC! You can always install OSX on it now that it supports Intel processors, and just run a dual boot machine, just like I’m going to be using Apples BootCamp to install Windows Vista on my MacBook Pro.
Price is always a concern, but I was able to get the top of the line MacBook Pro, for $1,600 rather than $2,799, so my choice was very simple. Had I had to pay $2,799, I would probably be typing this on a PC right now.