LaptopAdvisor

Well, previously we’ve written up an article on 5 Reasons to Get a Mac. So now, just to be fair to both sides, here are 5 reasons not to get a Mac. I’m hoping not to insult any current Mac users, but rather giving some confused, or debating, users a couple of pros and cons on the Mac.

Less Upgradeable After Purchase

For many of you desktop users, you know how easy it is to pop open the side (or back, or whatever) part of your computer, and freely interchange the parts. Well with a Windows laptop, you can still pretty easily just pop open the bottom with a small screw driver. With an Apple, its quite a bit harder.

No SLI

At this time, none of the Macbooks, to my knowledge, offer SLI connectivity. That means no putting graphics cards together, sometimes a serious, and costly, gaming limit. This can also be a serious video editing limit, if you prefer dual graphics cards. Eventually, hopefully, this may change, and Apple will receive a motherboard that has SLI enabled.

Lack of Ports

Most Macbooks are lacking in ports. If you’ve ever tried to connect a Macbook to a projector, you know the problems with connecting a Macbook to a VGA port. You can get a converter, but as a former student, the number of times you’re caught without a converter is quite frequent. Also, there are very few USB ports compared to PCs, which can be annoying when connecting external devices, such as a mouse and flash drive. There are, finally, no HDMI ports yet, either. This can tend to be tedious when trying to connect a newer external monitor.

Harder to Self-Repair

If your laptop is out of warranty and breaks for some reason, whether its do to user-error, as in you accidentally dropped it, or some wear and tear, like a GPU that eventually fails, Apple laptops tend to be harder to repair. This is for two reasons, first because of the one mentioned above, where they’re harder to take apart, and thus they’re harder to diagnose and repair by one’s self. The second is that more people are trained to repair PCs, just because there are so many more out there. Apple’s market share is growing as of now, but they’re still not at the point a large number of people have knowledge on repair. This can also lead to more expensive repairs.

They’re Expensive

This is probably the most obvious. Apple laptops are even more expensive than Alienware laptops with similar configurations. Yes, you do get good service, and a reliable laptop, but the price is considerably higher. For these higher prices, you can get much better upgrades from almost any of the other PC companies. So price versus performance, the PC definitely beats the Mac here.

Well, here’s probably where the most heated debates in the laptop world. And there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people considering whether to buy a Mac or PC, or whether to switch from a Mac to PC (or vice versa). So, here are 5 reasons to either tip the scale in favor of the Mac, or to dissuade you Mac users from switching. And yes, for all of you diehard PC fans, we will also have articles on why not to buy a Mac, why to buy a PC, etc.

Less Viruses

This is probably the number one argument in favor for a Mac. If you’ve ever searched this topic at all, this is probably the one you’ll find. The reason for this is simple, and not so simple. It is basically because the Mac OS (operating system) is based upon a different system, Unix, which, at least for the time being, viruses are not being designed for. So Mac users, enjoy it while you can, but for now, there are very, very few viruses for the Mac. That will probably change eventually due to the increasing market share of Apple computers.

More Stable OS

In addition to being less prone to viruses, the Mac OS also tends to crash a lot less, and have much fewer programs than the Windows OS. Now, Windows does not crash quite as much as people out there would like you to believe. And Vista really isn’t too bad, but the fact of the matter is that the Mac OS has less bugs, and therefore less crashes.

Can Run Windows

With programs like Bootcamp, and the older Parallels, it is possible to run Windows should the need be. Now the bad thing is you have to pay for Windows software (or Bootcamp that comes with Windows). But, if you have some programs you absolutely need to run on Windows, you do have the option. Also, it can be a bit of hassle to switch, and slow to run programs in Parallels, but, again, having the choice outweighs this.

Apple’s Customer Support

Let’s face it, PC support has gone downhill since the days of Dell in its prime. Now it takes several weeks to get back a broken PC, even if it’s under warranty. Not only does Apple have a turn around time of days, not weeks, but also it has a Genius Bar fully available to people at the Apple stores. Though sometimes the line is very long, it’s much more convenient.

More Video Editing Programs Available

I’ve heard constantly the reasoning, get a Mac for photo and video editing, because its better. And quite simple, it is not “better.” But because the entire Adobe suite works for both PC and Mac, plus you’ve got one vital program, Final Cut Pro, with the Mac, it does have more variety. Between Final Cut Pro and its Adobe counterpart, Adobe Premiere, I like Final Cut a bit more. Combine the additional programs, such as iMovie and iPhoto, with all the PC programs you can run through Bootcamp and you have a much wider variety of programs in your arsenal.

Let’s face it, Dell laptops have never been the prettiest laptops, but the new Adamo may just change the Dell stereotype as we know it. Now, as laptop specs are starting to “top out,” it seems that more and more people are buying for looks rather than purely features. As you’ve seen in the past, the Inspiron laptops are hardly aesthetically pleasing, if you will, and Dell tried to remedy the problem a little bit with their laptop skins, and even their Studio line of notebooks. But, now, it seems that Dell took a page, well maybe several pages, out of Apple’s book and crafted quite the laptop.

Design

As far as the looks go, we see quite a bit of ergonomic design. Normally, the Dell laptops look like, quite frankly, like they were built out of Legos. This time around, the laptop is made from aluminum, which consists of large single pieces, rather than several pieces put together. In addition, you have a backlit keyboard, with curved keys, plus a 13.4” glass screen that spans the entire upper chassis. Even the vents in the back have been artistically designed. The color comes in either onyx or pearl, both which have a nice, sleek, polished finish for some additional glamour. For a full look at the laptop design visit http://www.adamobydell.com

Specs

Although the design of the laptop may be flawless, the specs aren’t really anything out of the ordinary. The laptop boasts Bluetooth, DDR3 memory, and a variety of Intel Core 2 Duo processors, but other than that, its pretty much all basics. The nice part is that the specified battery life is approximately 5 hours (probably 4 in actuality), which is to be expected from a laptop of this size. Even though the specs are nothing special, you may find some extra appeal in the accessories.

Accessories

Unlike most laptops I’ve seen in the past, the Dell has matching accessories. The only laptop company I’ve really seen to do this in the past is Sony, who do it to a large extent. I guess the Apple line of products have “matching” accessories, but it seems as though Dell went above on and beyond on this one, on par with Sony. With your onyx or pearl Adamo, you can get a matching external hard drive, 250 or 500 GB, a DVD/Blu-Ray drive, and finally, a USB drive. If sleek, matching, technology is something you crave, then here it is.

Conclusion

All in all, I think the Adamo is going to be a serious contender in the laptop world. Yes, the specs are nothing special, but let’s face it, the laptop is just plain cool. I’m not one to buy technology based on looks, but I’m beginning to consider it based on laptops like this.

If you’ve narrowed down your approximately size to 14.1”, or around there, here’s a good place to look to help you choose the laptop for you. Or, if you’re just browsing and checking out some options, these 3 laptops are some of the noteworthy ones from the 14.1” department. Also, the following list is in alphabetical order, and nothing more.

Asus N81Vp

This laptop provides an odd combination between small size and immense graphics power. It boasts 4 GB of RAM, a 320GB 7200RPM hard drive, an Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 Processor running at 2.66Ghz, but more surprisingly an ATI Radeon 4650 Graphics card with 1 GB of video RAM. That is correct, it has 4 times as much video RAM as its competitors. The only problem is the processor is a bit lacking, and you’re much more likely to run out of processor speed before video RAM. But, other than that, this laptop is definitely a performance powerhouse. OK, I lied: there is one other problem, the battery life. Most 14.1” laptops are made to be portable, hence the 14.1” size, but this laptop’s battery life is probably not going to exceed 2 hours. So, if you’re in dire need of video RAM, a small size, and can constantly be plugged into an outlet, then this is the laptop for you. Check out a more detailed review on this laptop which we’ll have posted later.

HP Pavillion DV4t

The best thing about this laptop, besides the features, is the initial price of $599: pretty good for a high performance 14.1” laptop. In addition, it has a multitude of upgradeable features, including internal TV-tuner and Blu-Ray Drive (though I’m not sure how many Blu-Rays you’ll be watching on a 14.1” screen). Other features include an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor running at 2.8GHz, 4 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce 9200 with 256MB of RAM. Though, actually purchasing all of these upgrades will bring the laptop to a nice $2000 price tag, which, depending on how much money you have to spend, can be quite a bit. The nice thing about this laptop is that it is one of the best customizable high performance laptops; not quite that of the Asus N81Vp for gaming, but has a fast processor making it a good contender. In general, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, but does have a lot of customizable options, which can move it from ordinary to extraordinary. Look for a future article reviewing this laptop in detail.

Lenovo ThinkPad T400

Another king of performance, the Lenovo, has some comparable features to the two listed above, but isn’t quite up to par with either. So why do I put this laptop on the list? Well, keep reading and you’ll find out. The features include 2GB of RAM, an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor running at 2.8Ghz, and an ATI Radeon 3470 video card with 256MB of video RAM. Still not impressed? Well, the Lenovo has one thing that some of the other high performance laptops don’t: hybrid graphics. This allows the user to switch between the ATI graphics card, and an integrated graphics card, saving much battery life. Which, brings us to its key feature: the 9 cell battery with a 10 hour battery life. This is 3 times most of its competitors, and makes the laptop a killer mobility choice. If you’re looking for a laptop that has extreme mobility, without sacrificing much on the side of performance, this is definitely the laptop for you. Finally, look for an in depth review of this laptop.

Well, there you have it, the top 3 14.1” laptops, in my opinion, of course. I tried to include one ultra-high performance, one average high performance, and one extremely mobile high perfomance laptop. Hopefully these laptops can meet some of your needs, well at least in the 14.1” department. These laptops also do boast quite the significant price tags, so if you’re looking for cheaper laptops, look to some of other articles, especially ones on netbooks.