<p>If you want to do gaming, just go with an ASUS laptop.</p>
<p>notebookforums.com (velocity micro, maingear, for boutiques)</p>
<p>If price is not a factor, 100% definitely a MacBook Pro (NOT a MacBook).</p>
<p>you guys are crazy. the ASUS M50Sv-A1 beats the crap out of most macbook pros with more hardware compatibility and customizable options. </p>
<p>ONLY get an apple if you really really like OS X (or the look of an apple, I guess). the hardware is just not comparable to Windows laptops.</p>
<p>to elaborate, let's look at the top end 15" Macbook Pro vs. the Asus M50Sv-A1</p>
<p>Asus:
Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn T9300 2.5 GHz 6MB 800 FSB
3GB RAM DDR2 667 MHz SODIMM 2G+1G
Hard Drive: 250GB SATA 5400 rpm
Optical Drive: DVD Super Multi
Screen: 15.4 WXGA+ 1440x900 glossy
Price: (Currently) $1,299.00</p>
<p>Apple:
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM-2X1 GB
Hard Drive: 250GB SATA 5400 rpm
Optical Drive: SuperDrive 8X DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW
Screen: MacBook Pro 15-inch Widescreen Display
Price (with student discount): $2,499.00</p>
<p>Want a camera for conferencing? Asus has it, too. Want a built-in mic? Asus has, it too. Want a fingerprint scanner and photo identification? Asus has it. </p>
<p>Want the apple name, a shiny box/laptop, and OS X? Get the MacBook.</p>
<p>true, but the macbook pro does get much better battery life...</p>
<p>and the photo identification software is very gimmicky, and doesn't work very consistently...</p>
<p>true that, i must admit. the battery life on the macbook pro is leaps and bounds better than the asus (which only sits around 2 hrs and some change). </p>
<p>however there's no way i'll be using my laptop for 2 hours straight without it being plugged in somewhere.</p>