Laptop Advice, Mac Vs MS - Uni Related.

Sounds good Krizz, but have i been missing something... is ffxiv coming out on xbox? i thought it was said that it wasnt but my friend just told me it is (should be) and linked me to this http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20014119-17.html is this is true, why have i missed theuproar about it?

I wouldn't count on it coming to 360 for a long time. I'm sure it eventually will.

/facepalm

Quickly delete that post if you dont mind Jet, i was enjoying being on topic :P

Edit: but yes probly end of next year earliest i imagine ; ;

why spend the extra money for the mac hardware? when any other manufacturer would be cheaper for the same specs and just dual boot on it?

the xbox360 doesn't even play ffxi properly, who in their right mind would want them to try to run ffxiv on it?

Don't comment on earlier posts that were nothing but a mac vs pc war. I already stated that those who derail this back to that will be topicbanned.

o.o

I don't even want to try to guess when it will come to 360. That article was actually old news recycled.

My view and feelings have changed alot over the course of this thread. If you were in my position what would you do?
Buy an expensive laptop for ffxiv and other needs now or just get a much cheaper laptop and buy a ps3 specially for ffxiv in march?

Or i could get a macbook and spend a ton anyway :P think im over the idea of a macbook >.o to expensive for my needs unless it could run ffxiv well, which it cant (inb4 that thread about it running well xD).

Edit: the money i'd save with a much cheaper laptop would easily cover the cost of a ps3 i guess.

Personally, I would never spend more than $1k USD on a laptop. Not even close. My current one cost me $600. It plays FFXIV on lowered settings, but that's good enough for me. I have two desktops at home, one of which I just upgraded to play FFXIV on decent settings (which turned out to be high settings).

If you want the level of graphics I think you do, I'd play on PS3.

Keep in mind I'm one of those people who is happy just playing the game. I don't care how it looks.

I find the Vaios really aesthetically pleasing and to be honest, ive not even tried ff14 i may not even like it i guess, so i suppose i shouldnt jump straight in with the expensive laptop if im not planning on playing other games on it. Im going to start looking at much cheaper alternatives, and like you say mayhap ill be able to run it on low settings anyway if im desperate.

This way the majority of my time will be spent on the internet, msn, microsoft office and maybe some cubase and itunes. Maybe some more software like i say when i get more into my course, but judging from what my lecturer said i doubt it will be anything difficult to run. Just checking that i really dont need to look out for any specs for this sort of thing do i? Like most laptops between 300-500 quid will do more than enough i would assume.

Generaly speaking, people who argue in favor of PC have absolutely no experience with a MacBook whatsoever. My roommate has recently purchased a $4000 ThinkPad with a quadro graphics card, I have had the luxury of testing his computer, as well as as various other laptops (Alienware, and some cheaper Sony and Toshiba models), and I have to say that I greatly prefer the MacBook Pro.

One big draw to the Macbook is the feel. After using a Macbook for 10 seconds it becomes blatently clear how garbage the trackpads on any other laptop are by comparison. I have to say the trackpad alone is reason enough to purchase the Macbook. Secondly, the Macbook is one of few laptops that feel luxurious as it is one of few that are made from solid aluminum, many laptops are made from plastics which make them feel cheap. Thirdly, you can't neglect the look of a MacBook, anyone in engineering or industrial design will tell you that the Macbook surpasses any other laptop in terms of beauty by far. Just holding a MacBook makes you happy which is a very important aspect when it comes to laptops.

The second draw is the technical aspect. Firstly, being solid aliminum the MacBook is far more efficient at dissapating heat, as an added bonus the air vents are on the back rather than the bottom. This means that the vents won't become clogged if you rest the laptop on your bed, and it also won't burn your legs (Some laptop burns can be serious). Secondly, the MacBook Pro has built in firewire and SD card ports which many laptops don't have. Thirdly, the MacBook Pro has an external power indicator which means you don't have to boot the laptop to check the power. Not to mention the magsafe power connector which pops out if you trip over the cord, saving your laptop from jerking across the desk and falling to the floor (everyone trips on the power cord at least once).

Finally, as far as technical specs go, the specs are suprisingly good. I have NEVER pushed my CPU/RAM past 30% capacity, meaning any higher specs would be completely unnoticable. There are only two reasons anyone should choose not to purchase a Macbook. The first is that they simply cannot afford a MacBook. The second is that they are in an engineering or industrial design program which requires solidworks. Anyone in a Science or Computer Science Major should choose thr MacBook.

*Note: The added advantage to people in computer science students as it allows them to take mobile networking courses*

A lot of text yet not a single solid explanation of why people should expend tons of dollars for a sony vaio clone/imitation design (macbook pro's),but explaining how cool a mac looks with cheap aluminum made in china, there is actually lots of laptops that looks and feels better than a macbook pro, like some toshibas and sony vaios with better specs, for cheap, unlike imacs and macbooks pro that sells expensive devices with outdated hardware and they can't be upgraded, same with imacs, apple fools people with their nice and pretty ads but consumers don't know their hardware is made in china like the majority of laptops, your post is very biased but it lacks of smart and wise advices/reality.

Same thing with the terrible garbage iphone 4g, the consumer is biased/hyped up by pretty apple's ads but most of them don't know that there is lots of phones much better than iphone 4g, like the samsung galaxy and htc evo 4g,


not to mention that apple actually copied their macobooks design/ keyboard layouts from 2003 sony vaios, so yeah their design it's not unique, i think you need a lil research and low down your hype with apple products , cause you seem to be very biased and misinformed

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/15517407/Sony-VAIO-EE2-E1E-WI-Athlon-II-Dual-Core-P320-2-1GHz-3GB-320GB-DVD-SM-15-5-Windows-7-Home-Premium-64-Bit-Laptop-Notebook-White/Product.html

Hows this? I find it aesthetically pleasing and well, its in sale (with suposedly £130 off) and seems like a nice vaio to cover my needs (covered in my last post) if i ditch running ffxiv.

I always seem to be missing something - is this still a big rip off or a big nono? If not i might just go for this.

Take the mac in and trade it in for a real pc.

Macs are pure garbage.

Ark

Aluminum is aluminum regardless of the country it's made in. I don't know if you've ever taken chemistry or not but chemical elements don't differ from one country to another. Oh, did I mention aluminum is EXPENSIVE? Also, since when did people start caring what country things are made in? The majority of computer companies build their products in China. If what you want is a cheap computer that runs, by all means go for the Sony. In all honesty though, nothing comes close to a MacBook Pro in terms of asthetic. (Note that the Vaio is a knockoff and nothing more, just look at the trackpad and you'll see the problem.) If you haven't spent a day with a MacBook, you really have no right to speak on the topic

Would 3gb instead of 4gb make much of a difference?

It depends on what you're trying to run. It never hurts to have more. From my understanding, laptops can easily have RAM upgraded. So if you ever feel you need more it can easily be done.

@Haxorking

You don't need to spend a day with a Macbook Pro to see how it's not the best "bang for your buck". Over one thousand dollars for a laptop that has an integrated graphics card? (Based on the Macbook Pros currently on their site). Please.

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256 MB
Intel Core i5
hows that?

The 17-inch MacBook Pro and selected 15-inch models pack a double graphics punch, utilising both integrated and discrete NVIDIA graphics processors. MacBook Pro is fast enough to run the most graphics-intensive games and professional applications, but portable enough to come along for the ride.

Above is the specs of the 15" macbookpro, how does that look for ffxiv?
(yes its bloody expensive £1500 which is probly over 2k dollars) but i can get it for £1000 as a student apparently.

why are you posting the same stuff again and again giving your biased opinion on macbooks, any smart person with computer knowledge will not spend over 2k$ for outdated hardware/trackpad, because that's all your talking about

this lenovowill do anything for you even play ff14 just fine for 750$ only, it haves a Radeon HD 5730 1 hdmi port, and with way better specs than a macbook pro, this laptop would prolly go for 2k$ if was a macbook pro with those specs

you can't run ff14 with GT 330M, that video card it's too old, the memory (256) it's too low as well, it does not even supports directx 11, i checked all the prices on apple's website, you can't run ff14 even with the most expensive macbook because they still offer the same video card GT 330M but with 512mb, that video card it's the successor of the gforce 9400, it have been benchmarked as well gt 300m benchmark

I like chiming in on these discussions, so I will

if OP still matters, game development, unless you are doing graphics only, I would stay with PC, as a developer myself I can attest to how much easier it is one a windows system, Microsoft is extremely helpful in providing the tools developers need, and just because you are going for game development does not mean thats where you will land a job.

If you know .NET systems you can much more easily find a hold over job working with web app building in ASP.NET or offline applications in any other .net language. Windows + .NET is a dream for a programmer

then since you are in college I would venture to guess money is tight, so even at 1k a macbook is questionable for that alone, and if it breaks outside of warranty you are screwed out of a large chunk of cash

Now many people say apple construction highest quality etc etc, to them I show this
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

Asus, another company that makes a large portion of their own parts, is rated higher for reliability, so for a college student with a need for a moderate powered computer that could also use good graphics I recommend this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220700

now thats 1200, quite expensive, buuut if you shop around and wait for the right price, I found this exact laptop at best buy for 900, best laptop purchase ever

1 thing though, its large and heavy, but I really thing for OPs needs its the best possible

Macbook Pro 15.4"
- Intel® Core™ i5-540M processor (2.53GHz)
- 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
- 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256 MB

Price: $1899.00

Sony Vaio VPCZ1290X CTO 13.1"
- Intel® Core™ i5-540M processor (2.53GHZ)
- 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
- NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 1GB

Price: $1969.99

Now, the only difference between the two laptops is the video card and the screen size. As I didn't feel like customizing the laptops to make them identical, I'll simply say that difference in video cards is about $250. I feel that's being generous however if you feel it's too low then provide me with a comparison of a 256 mb card and a 1g card with a price difference of over $250 and I'll be happy to correct it.

Now, this leaves us at a price difference of about $200 in favor of the sony.

Now, let's take in to consideration that the Vaio is made from plastic whereas the Mac is made from aluminum, which disappates heat far more effectively, looks and feels nicer by far, and is far more durable. Secondly the Mac is the ONLY laptop on the market which uses a magsafe power connector. The magsafe connector attaches the cord with a magnet, rather than forcing the cord into a port, this means that if your trip on the cord, the connector pops out, rather than yanking the laptop off the desk. The macbook also uses a unique CD slot which doesn't slide out and therefor cannot break the way a conventional tray does. CD trays on cheap laptops break quickly. Finally, and I can't express this enough, the Macbook trackpad. The Trackpad is just so much better I would pay an extra $500 for it alone.

Comparing a Macbook to a $500 PC is like comparing a rolls royce to a $500 car. Will both cars get you from point A to point B? Yes. However, The rolls royce will do so in luxury and comfort, the $500 car will not.

That's something only someone who has experience with both Mac and PC could understand. Spend a day with a Mac and you'll see the difference. Personally, I'm not a fan of Linux, I use Windows 7 and I still much prefer Macbook compared to any other PC.

Now, if you don't have the money, by all means buy a $400 Toshiba model, realistically all you need is a word processor and a spreadsheet for science program, any PC built within the past 8 years can do that for you. If you want to do it comfortably, buy a Mac.

As for technical performance, I'll be comparing my Macbook Pro against my room mates Thinkpad which was twice the cost. I will be using SolidWorks to compare their capabilities, for those who don't know SolidWorks is probably the most CPU/RAM/Graphics intensive program in existance short of requiring a supercomputer. To give you an idea of the scope of the program, Licencing costs approximately $8,000 per computer per year.

Lol...

Another mac fanboy talking ***on a forum.

If you think SolidWorks works better on a mac, laptop, you're delusional.