<p>So i got accepted into University of Portland and ive been researching about the Apple Macbook Pro. My family is a major time Windows user where i use both. (Just Iphone 4 and a Desktop PC and a HP Laptop). Im going to be a science major and still i have months away till i go to college but im a person who liked to be prepared. Now should i get a MBP 15 or a Windows Laptop? Im not bias against any either company. Apple makes great things and so does Windows. Im more familiar with Windows because my family use Windows mainly. I just need some opinion.</p>
<p>I suggest you read over some of the other mac vs PC debates here, they will tell you everything you’d ever want to know. And as a bonus, you won’t even have to wait for other people to post replies.</p>
<p>One of these days, somebody should write a legit review of Mac v PC on these forums targeted specifically at students…</p>
<p>but until then, one discussion I like to recommend to people is here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-computers/1004813-bad-idea-transition-pc-macbook-my-first-year-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-computers/1004813-bad-idea-transition-pc-macbook-my-first-year-college.html</a></p>
<p>Also, it depends on your budget and your needs. Are you going to be a heavy gamer? Perhaps video/photo editing?
In my opinion, go with whatever you are more familiar with, as there is no reason to switch over nowadays.</p>
<p>Mac all the way!</p>
<p>How many students actually do much video and photo editing? If you’re just going to be surfing the Internet, using some office programs, listening to music and watching the occasional video, there’s no reason to spend $1800 when a $750 laptop will be able to cope quite easily. Heck, just glancing at the HP website, the dm4t can be customized so that it has the same CPU, an extra 2 GB of RAM, a bigger and faster hard drive and a longer listed battery life — all for $1070 less.</p>
<p>Not that I’d necessarily recommend HP, but with the price disparity you should have a real reason for needing a Mac.</p>
<p>For most people, especially college students, Windows and Mac are really the same. You check your e-mail, check Facebook, and go to Wikipedia. Well, on both machines you click your internet browser and type the URLs. To use Office applications, you click the icon on the screen and they are pretty much exactly the same (with minor interface differences). Seriously, a significant majority of college students are using their computers for internet and essay writing (with the occasional video streaming), and both are pretty much the same. As a science major, I think you’ll probably be using your computer less than others since you’ll be hand writing more of your work. </p>
<p>I will say this though, despite the price premium for Macbook Pros, you do get a sleeker, lighter machine that packs some power. The biggest bonus I think of going Mac over PC is the battery life is significantly better.</p>
<p>^ While Macs do have pretty good battery, you can’t generalize and clump all Windows-based laptops into one category. There are at least half a dozen reputable laptop manufacturers out there. Some laptop by certain manufacturers have really good battery life that can beat Macbooks in benchmark testing while others don’t.</p>
<p>OS-wise, I agree, for most people it’ll just be the same thing.</p>
<p>There really aren’t any Windows machines that have the same battery life to performance ratios as Macs. The only things that come close in battery life are ones that have ultra-power saving components, and definitely nothing as big a 15". This is because Apple actually engineers their own special batteries optimized for their computers. Also, I think OSX for some reason is more battery friendly because I’ve heard people with Macbooks say their battery life went way down when they did boot camp and loaded Windows. However, this problem is solved if you carry around an extra battery with you which wouldn’t be burdensome, and that’s something Macs can’t do since they have irremovable batteries. Anyway, the main point is I’d say batter life (from experience) is very important in college, especially if you go from class to class and take notes with it. Macs have the advantage here; but as long as you are aware of it, if you go Windows I suggest another battery that you carry with you, which isn’t a huge deal.</p>