Macbook Pro vs Sony Vaio Z

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Hi there!</p>

<p>I am looking to purchase a laptop for college and planning to major in engineering. The two contestants for today is the Macbook Pro and the Sony Vaio Z:</p>

<p>For the sake of argument, screen size, resolution, and cost is NOT an issue as long as its not insane.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>While Macbooks have superior appearance, battery life, the reason I'm siding with Mac at all is the entertainment software that comes along with OS X 10.6 -- including iPhoto, iMovie. I'm sometimes organizing my music, photos (and making them into) books, and movies and I think a Macbook will offer me a superior experience in that respect.</p></li>
<li><p>However, the Sony Vaio Z beats the Macbook in all other respects. Hardware, Operating System (for engineering at least, Windows still has the slight edge), and I will probably be gaming a bit in college (so i need a slight hardware plus + PC > Macs for gaming) . In addition, its extremely light and portable and offers the latest in ultraportables.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I guess this ultimately ends up to be a Mac vs Windows debate, but I was just wondering if anyone would like to share their experiences. I think editing movies and music on Macbook is the only plus, so I dont want to be left in the dark if I buy a Sony and have no where to do that sort of thing.</p>

<p>And yes, I'm aware that I can do the same thing with Audacity, Windows Movie Maker and Sony Vegas, etc but its a relatively big hassle compared to Mac OSX's tools.</p>

<p>So all in all, the final question is that I wanna use Sony 95% of the time, and Mac 5% of the time. But the 5% part of the Mac i want to use isnt available on Sony. While buying a Macbook can offer me 100% of my software needs, it is at a greatly reduced hardware quality (256 GB SSD, i7, anti-glare will cost a billion dollars on Mac + twice the weight).</p>

<p>Another question, will the computer labs (if Macs are available) let you do this stuff? Maybe edit a few movies, burn a DVD, those sort of things, or is it restricted to the useless "student accounts." Any personal insight on this is appreciated!</p>

<p>PS: wow I just read this over and it's so confusing -_-"</p>

<p>Hope you know what I'm saying! Thanks for helping!</p>

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<p>It sounds like since cost is not an issue, get the Sony and buy iMovie and whatever software you want from Mac and run it on Windows. I do believe you can do that.</p>

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<p>Unfortunately, iLife is only for Mac OSX : /</p>

<p>I think I’m starting to lean towards Sony though haha</p>

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<p>I just ordered a Sony Vaio EA after seeing it in stores (i got a better deal online) and I’m absoutely in love with it.</p>

<p>I know a lot of people think iLife is the best program out there or whatever, but there are plenty of good ones too that run on Windows. In the OP’s case, I really see no good reason to get the Mac.</p>

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<p>I’m just curious, what is your budget?</p>

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<p>@theReach</p>

<p>I don’t really have a budget, but i DO want something that is worth the cost and would last me at least four years, maybe more and I think a Sony Vaio Z/Macbook would do the job well</p>

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<p>Out of curiosity, any reason why the HP Envy isn’t up there? They’d by my choice compared to the MBP.</p>

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<p>@r31ncarnat3d</p>

<p>Yea, I did look up the Envy, but I’m not really into the laser etched design on the cover and inside. And after customizing it, it actually turned out a bit more expensive then the baseline Sony Vaio which was around $2000 (still freaking expensive i know lol, maybe I should get a netbook >_>"). Since I’m already spending a crapload of money on it, I’d rather just get a sturdy 3lb ultraportable laptop that would be useful for college. Something about the Sony design and backlit keyboard just made it more interesting to me than the Envy. I guess its a personal preference though. </p>

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

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<p>What did you stick in there to get the price up to $2,000? I mean, the CPU I can see as an i7, given how media editing-oriented your OP is, but wow, $2,000? :P</p>

<p>I’d actually go with the Sony then. Believe it or not, Windows has amazing support for media editing now. Of course there are those tools you mentioned, but if you ever want more professional tools, Adobe CS4/CS5 works just as well on Windows as it does on Mac (and I can accurately say this as I’ve used InDesign+Photoshop CS4 on both platforms). This kinda negates the Mac’s “advantage” over the PC. Throw in the fact that you mentioned engineering and the superior hardware, and the Sony is my choice.</p>

<p>Truthfully, the only reason I’d ever suggest a Mac to someone is if they’re unknowledgable with computers (I highly doubt any media editor is though), and need ease-of-use over everthing.</p>

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<p>@r31ncarnat3d</p>

<p>haha yea, I’m starting to think I should buy the Sony now. I wanted to use the Mac because I just needed something to throw a bunch of stuff together in a few minutes (Movie Maker was always a pain, and once i start using anything to do with Adobe, I get stuck either wasting time trying to do something simple or waste time trying to make everything perfect) </p>

<p>Nevertheless, Sony is definitely the superior computer here by far. And yea I agree with the “the only reason I’d ever suggest a Mac to someone is if they’re unknowledgeable with computers.” Funny story, I went to the Apple Store a few days ago to look at the Macbooks they had, and the people who worked there seemed to know nothing about actual computers. No offense to any Apple Geniuses (I think thats what the people who work there are called), I’m sure some are very hard working, but they seem to be trying to promote the “perfection” of Macs rather than actually informing customers of how it actually works. I caught one person trying to tell the customer that the Ipod touch came with a solid state hard drive. hahaha</p>

<p>And to answer your first question, Sony Vaio Z has a 256 GB SSD Raid 0 configuration included in the ~2000 cost. When I added that to the Envy, it basically doubled the price ■■■■■. So I guess it was the SSD. </p>

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

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<p>Apple Geniuses are like Fry’s Salesmen; there’s no real technical knowledge required to get the job, so it’s a hit and miss. I’ve had great talks on the use of technology with applications to real life and Mac vs PC in a civilized manner with the Genius Bar, just as how I’ve been exposed to baseless brainwashing. The same goes for every brick-and-mortar computer retailer, truthfully.</p>

<p>And a bit incorrect, but the iPod Touch does come with the same flash memory scheme as solid state drives, just not solid state drives themselves xD But yea, I’d be pulling my hair out at that too.</p>

<p>In all honesty, unless you really want to spend $1000 just to boot up Windows in under 20 seconds, I’d get a single 128GB or 64GB SSD for all your programs, and add on a second harddrive or an external HDD (they make 1TB laptop drives now) for all your files. Just my two cents :)</p>

<p>On a side note, you should check out student discounts for programs. I know that Adobe had a special deal with my high school; maybe they can do the same with college students too? It’s worth checking out.</p>

<p>Hope that helps, and best of luck with your new machine :)</p>

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<p>@r31ncarnat3d</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure the guy meant to say “flash memory” instead of “solid state” since there’s no point in confusing the customer about drive configurations and what not but anyways </p>

<p>You’re right, I’m not shelling 500+ bucks for a 256GB SSD – I’ll probably just use a portable hard drive of some sort. The 256GB SSD is just what comes default with the Sony, since I just grabbed the price as a comparison to the Envy. SSD costs are bound to come down in a few years so I can wait : )</p>

<p>At any rate, somehow I do feel that people at stores like Best Buy know a bit more than those at the Apple Store. From personal experiences, it seems to me that these at the Apple Store just repeat Jobism word for word :stuck_out_tongue: But, yes you do make a few good points and I completely agree.</p>

<p>Thanks so much again!</p>