<p>I'm going to be a freshman at Northwestern in the fall and am looking for a laptop for school...I'm painfully debating between the Macbook Pro and the HP dm4. I'm a pretty heavy computer user and will be doing all the normal things (internet, itunes, etc.) plus some video and photo editing.</p>
<p>Here's the stats:
Macbook Pro 13"
500 GB (upgraded) 5400 rpm
dual core 2 processor--2.4 GHz
2 USBs
10 hour battery
$1235 (but free ipod and printer--both of which I would buy anyways)</p>
<p>HP dm4
14"
500 GB 7200 rpm
either i5 (2.4 GHz) or i7 processor (2.88 GHz) (depends on the coupons available...I could probably get the i7 for the same price)
3 USBs
6.5 hour battery
$950</p>
<p>Overall, the HP obviously has better specs, but I think the Mac has better software, battery life, and service (macstore on campus) and I've heard most students have macs. I've always used PCs though.</p>
<p>Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Being a MBP 13" owner, I would go with the mac. The Macbook Pro can handle almost anything you throw at it and its a durable machine, as apposed to most windows machines that are cheaply made and get viruses which add to the total cost. Also, the bundled items you get with your particular deal are a nice perk. Battery Life on the MBP are great too so if you’re going to take it with you all day, you’ll be able to get 6-7 hours of medium usage out of it easy. In other words, that extra $300-400 will more than pay for itself in the long run.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on you. Schools (at least the ones around here) these days provide security solutions for FREE anyways so it doesn’t really add to the total cost. </p>
<p>Sometimes people forget AVG is a FREE AV program that most people I know use. </p>
<p>What you pay is what you get with any laptop. If you really wanted more battery life, an extra battery wouldn’t hurt (outside sources are cheaper than HP of course).</p>
<p>Very true. My university offers symantec which does a great job on my windows desktop and as said above, AVG works just about as good as anything and is free. The only snag would be that Macbook Pros don’t have user replaceable batteries which could be more reason to get the windows machine. redfedora711 made a great point, this laptop is a big invest, so it depends on you. Remember to get what you want, but most importantly what you feel comfortable with. Don’t spend the extra money on a mac if you don’t want to mess with learning the Mac Operating System because it does take time to learn (this is coming from experience). Both computers are more than up to the task of meeting your goals so its whatever you want and whatever you feel comfortable spending the money on.</p>
<p>Do you think there is a speed difference between the two computers? My big concern with the Macbook is that it only uses a Core 2 Duo instead of a more modern i5.</p>
<p>My son bought the 13 inch MacBook Pro about 2 weeks ago and speed is definitely not an issue. He chose the MacBook Pro with the 2.66 processor. It’s fast. As far a taking time to learn the Mac’s OS, don’t worry about it.
My son had only used windows based computers before buying this MacBook. Within a couple days, he was confident using the Mac (and he is not very tech. savy). He is very happy that he made the switch.</p>
<p>The fact that there is an Apple Store on campus is a big plus. </p>
<p>of course each one has their cons.
I heard the current hp touchpads suck a lot. HP is claiming that they are fixing it, but reviews out there state frustration. But the dm4t’s power and graphics are better.</p>
<p>The macbook pro is a perfected machine throughout its 3 year existence. An all rounder. Both machines can handle photo/video editing perfectly. You will never see the difference since you are an undergrad (I assume).</p>
<p>So decide: Are you a cutting-edge power lover or a content all-round user?</p>
<p>I am also a very common Windows User and despite what anybody says I LOVE IT! But to help answer your question I am also the owner of a HP Pavilion DM4-1160us. I love it, everything about it runs smoothly, I also love the Wireless Display on it. It also has a great feature called eSATA this allows easy access to internal hard drives and certain external hard drives. Unlike macbook you do not have to buy an adapter for HDMI output that only works for video, all that is built in. You also have to put into the equation that the 500 gig hard drive is an upgrade on the mbp and not the DM4. I do have knowledge on macs as well because my mother is is a proud owner of a mac book pro and let me tell you, they take a while to get used to. but the mac does have a wonderful OS and i do love it but i have always been a windows user and i can do anything on windows so it is your decision…
My I also add the the DM4 is a very easy laptop to do hardware repairs on. I have just recently replaced my keyboard with a backlit keyboard and also upgraded my screen to LED/LCD instead of LCD (very expensive upgrade) and these replacements i did my self with no use of special tools and in the comfort of my own home. And if the standard 6 cell battery isnt enough for you then you may easily upgrade to the 12 cell battery which feels like it never dies.</p>
<p>As someone who does heavy video and photo editing, the big factor is not the CPU but the hard drive - try to render half an hour’s worth of video from HD capture source on a 5400 RPM laptop drive and you’ll be waiting for a while regardless of what fruit is on the cover. The laws of physics can’t be overcome, bandwidth is the limiting factor. </p>
<p>If the MBP 13" has integrated graphics, it won’t be of much help in heavy photo editing - but photo editing is not as CPU intensive as video editing.</p>
<p>It also depends on what software you use for video editing. The Apple software is not as sophisticated as, say, Pinnacle 14 Ultimate, but is very easy to use and quite fast.</p>