Comparable PC Alternatives to MacBook Pro?
 

In the market for a new laptop and despite being a lifelong PC user I'm likely going to jump on the MBP bandwagon unless I can find a comparable PC laptop. My budget is $3000.

I'm a "power user" but don't really do any gaming; mostly just work stuff like Photoshop and possibly video editing as well. Still, I'm looking for something that's going to be lightning-fast and problem-free for the next 3 years or so.... ie. 16Gb RAM, 500Gb+ SSD, etc.

Prefer 15" or 16". Would also like it to have a standard keyboard layout (weird Toshiba and HP keyboards: GTFO).

So far haven't found any PC laptop that can compare to the new MBP's physical size (weight/thickness), build quality, or battery life.

Any recommendations? Or am I looking for something that doesn't exist, and I should just STFU and go buy the Mac?

Thanks in advance all :hotbaby:

Budget of $3000 for a laptop.. :okay:

You wont need to spend more than 1.5 for the things you want in a laptop.. if it isnt MBP

I'm actually interested in this as well, but my budget is probably not that high. Something fast and lightweight, with good battery life seems to be hard to find

Razer blade
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I have the Acer V7-482PG-6662

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7238/a...ing-you-need/8

http://products.ncix.com/detail/acer...ustomerReviews

14.1" 1080p IPS Touch
i5-4200U
8GB DDR3
500GB + 24GB SSD
NVIDIA GT750M

Great and lightweight laptop. Battery can last up to 8 hours doing school work. 750M lets me play DOTA2 and D3 on max. Witcher 2 and Hitman Absolution runs decent on medium.

Because there's a regular 2.5" HDD slot and a mSATA drive slot, there's a lot of flexibility. I replaced the 500GB with a 128GB SSD and I'm using the 24gb mSATA as a music/picture storage drive.

Probably best ultrabook out there, and I only bought it for $900 after taxes ($1000 after SSD upgrade).

There's also a 15.6" variant out there, and I believe a 14.1" variant with an i7, which will be better for doing PS work.

I chose this laptop after doing extensive research, and it's a powerhouse for what I paid. Best laptop in the $1000 range no doubt.

I have the 13 inch mac book pro retina. Very solid, great screen and not too shabby battery life. I'm not sure if there is photo shop for ios. In any case you can put boot camp or parallel on it.
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This!!...

http://products.ncix.com/detail/raze...e-29-95593.htm

or better off ordering from the razer website....i'm quite sure they offer 16gb ram,ect....

Perfect price point!

I just bought the brand new razer 14" coming next week... Paid exactly 3k!

512 SSD will be shipped from Razer tomorrow!

Pretty damn excited.

4k screen and bez performance.



http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

That's not 4k resolution...

thats WQXGA+ resolution (3200x1800)

UHD is 3840x2160

4k is 4096x2160

Graphics display resolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trust me, it's so close you can't tell the difference.

I have a f9k 4k TV in Asia and also the XPS15 and it's pretty damn close, plays and streams 4k porn so awesome that you can see the shame in the pornstars face.

LOL i though they have no shame?!

just get a mac, OSX is far better in everyday use, especially when you are dealing with photos and videos editing. you won't even bother installing windows on it after a few months

Trust me, with 4k not only can you see the herpes, you can also see their fathers disappointment on their faces.

That post is living up to your "title" above your avatar.

I am self-employed, work from home (internet marketing), so I probably average 10-12 hours a day on the computer. Basically my business depends on my computer, so I am OK to spend more if it means the laptop is going to maximize my productivity. I am also able to write off the cost as a business expense which helps a bit at tax time.

Yes, you're right... and when I purchased my current laptop (soon to be replaced) around three years ago, I went in with that mindset (ended up with a Dell Studio XPS16). I spent $1900 on the XPS, and saved around $800 over the MacBook Pro... but fast forward to today, and my Dell is now worth maybe $200 on Craigslist while a 3-year-old MBP can still fetch nearly $1000, so the cost of ownership actually ended up the same. And for those three years I had to live with a laptop that was not even close to the MBP in terms of build quality.

Not saying you can't end up getting better value for your money in a PC laptop -- I have always been a PC homer anyway -- but I've now realized you have to look beyond the up-front price to figure out how much the laptop will really "cost" in the long run.

That looks awesome, thanks for the suggestion. The 14.1" doesn't quite deliver what I'm looking for, but I'm going to try and find a store that's selling the 15.6" version so I can check it out in person.

Thanks for the feedback, all... at this point, unless the aforementioned 15.6" Acer blows my mind, I'll probably end up with the MacBook Pro.

You can always add a second monitor
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Update...

Bought this: Configure - Apple Store (Canada)

It has already won me over. Mac 4 Life.

Seriously though, it's fast as fuck.

Boots in less than 15s.

Retina screen is sick.

I'm sold on the concept of trackpad gestures, especially for surfing the web.

Seamless integration with my iPhone / iCloud is really convenient.

Happy with the purchase.

I'm assuming you already thought this through, but if it's a work computer why not a desktop?

He wants to show it off at Starbucks :troll:

15 seconds is a bit slow

My Air boots in less than 5 seconds... :troll:

Personally I'm not a fan of Macbooks, though I should specify it's more the OS than anything I don't like. I love the build quality of the shell and the solid feeling of their laptops. However, I'm pretty sure I also managed to buy the only Macbook Air in existance with a multitude of problems (two F-buttons don't work, trackpad fails after shutting the lid while it's still running, and wireless devices like mice also stop working after a few minutes of usage... have to unplug and plug 'em back in). :okay:

But, hey... if you're happy with your purchase, that's all that matters. All we can give is our own opinion! :hotbaby:

So that I can show it off at Starbucks.

Made this video just for you guys......... (new MBP vs. old Dell XPS, racing to boot up and open Photoshop)


:fuckyea: