xterm wroteI'm not saying that we should lie, you're mentioning the exact price that was given to you, so even if they do call each other, they're fighting over a percentage that shouldn't be there to begin with.

Retailers are shoving an increased price on parts ranging from 5% to 20%. Most start with either 15% or 20% and that's incredibly high. You, as a consumer should not be paying more than 5%, because you're getting slapped with V.A.T. as well, so you should keep bargaining until you're sure that you're not being ripped off.
xterm still i believe that it is cheap to do it, it is like blackmailing someone for a minor difference
it is in the end warranty , warranty & warranty
i believe that you should go for the supplier that you trust with the warranty, with the way you are suggesting you will end up with a cheap warranty service and risking too much for nothing

in the end it seems that VAT is the biggest winner from every thing you buy
Again that my opinion :)
Avoid the Dell too--quality is cr@p. I would second the Toshiba if you want a windows system, but if that's not important, go with the Mac's. Almost everyone I know who has bought one, is really really happy with it.

Question to the OP: what are you going to be using the computer for? That may help everyone narrow down the best choices.
Go gateway.com they are cheaper than competition with very good built. I am their 17' gaming laptop p7801 (which I think is about 3 years old now) and it is still working great.
@xazbrat: I have no specific work, I do everything (except media stuff like transcoding and what not).

@babum: I saw all their models, nothing fit with what I had in mind. I have decided on the macbook pro even though I consider it very expensive in terms of specs and raw numbers.
if i were i would pay less then half of what i would pay for mbp, but still get the sames specs or even better and in a year or 2 most of the laptops available today with the current specs would be considered old and i wont feel guilty when i upgrade to a new model
I believe it's less about the specs and more about the OS and build quality. I think it's flawed to compare specs without thinking about the software that is running on it. But let's not turn this into a flamewar.

Ali, I recommend the MacBook Pro. I have had mine for three years and did not have any problems with it. I recently replaced my optical drive with an SSD and things went smoothly. The speed bump was noticeable :)
haidcar wroteif i were i would pay less then half of what i would pay for mbp, but still get the sames specs or even better and in a year or 2 most of the laptops available today with the current specs would be considered old and i wont feel guilty when i upgrade to a new model
We're getting Alienware laptops in around a month. If you can wait and come check them out...
ali.koubeissi wrote@Tigerheart.Hackers who are you?
This should help.
samer wroteI believe it's less about the specs and more about the OS and build quality. I think it's flawed to compare specs without thinking about the software that is running on it. But let's not turn this into a flamewar.

Ali, I recommend the MacBook Pro. I have had mine for three years and did not have any problems with it. I recently replaced my optical drive with an SSD and things went smoothly. The speed bump was noticeable :)
haidcar wroteif i were i would pay less then half of what i would pay for mbp, but still get the sames specs or even better and in a year or 2 most of the laptops available today with the current specs would be considered old and i wont feel guilty when i upgrade to a new model
Yes, but when the MacBook has just a 9400M GT, and a laptop with half its price has a 9600M GT, then it's simply an unfair comparison. Also this: Why get a MacBook and run Windows on it? Isn't the whole point of the MacBook the hardware - software bundle you get, as is with all apple products?
yasamoka wrote
samer wroteI believe it's less about the specs and more about the OS and build quality. I think it's flawed to compare specs without thinking about the software that is running on it. But let's not turn this into a flamewar.

Ali, I recommend the MacBook Pro. I have had mine for three years and did not have any problems with it. I recently replaced my optical drive with an SSD and things went smoothly. The speed bump was noticeable :)
haidcar wroteif i were i would pay less then half of what i would pay for mbp, but still get the sames specs or even better and in a year or 2 most of the laptops available today with the current specs would be considered old and i wont feel guilty when i upgrade to a new model
Yes, but when the MacBook has just a 9400M GT, and a laptop with half its price has a 9600M GT, then it's simply an unfair comparison. Also this: Why get a MacBook and run Windows on it? Isn't the whole point of the MacBook the hardware - software bundle you get, as is with all apple products?
Even if you run Windows on a Mac, its faster than Windows on a PC. After installing Windows using BootCamp, you will need to install special drivers from Apple for BootCamp, so that Apple will insure that Windows runs smoothly, confirming the point of "hardware-software bundle".

You can't remove Windows from your life, there are many programs are just available for Windows. Also, if you are a gamer, you will find a hard time searching for games for Mac, although now it became much easier after getting your games via App Store, but you will find old versions, like Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare and Call of Duty 8 Modern Warfare 3 is on its way for PC, however, downloading the game is big issue.

Mac OS plays an important role of running smoothly even on lower hardware specifications. So you want high hardware specifications like 8GB RAM, Quad-Core i7.....You will find the battery life is soo helpful, running your laptop for 8 hours on a single charge is AMAZING!

As a conclusion....GO for the MacBook Pro! You will never regret it. In technology, what you get is what you pay for, especially if you are investing in Apple products! ;)
AMDeeb wrote
yasamoka wrote
samer wroteI believe it's less about the specs and more about the OS and build quality. I think it's flawed to compare specs without thinking about the software that is running on it. But let's not turn this into a flamewar.

Ali, I recommend the MacBook Pro. I have had mine for three years and did not have any problems with it. I recently replaced my optical drive with an SSD and things went smoothly. The speed bump was noticeable :)

Yes, but when the MacBook has just a 9400M GT, and a laptop with half its price has a 9600M GT, then it's simply an unfair comparison. Also this: Why get a MacBook and run Windows on it? Isn't the whole point of the MacBook the hardware - software bundle you get, as is with all apple products?
Even if you run Windows on a Mac, its faster than Windows on a PC. After installing Windows using BootCamp, you will need to install special drivers from Apple for BootCamp, so that Apple will insure that Windows runs smoothly, confirming the point of "hardware-software bundle".

You can't remove Windows from your life, there are many programs are just available for Windows. Also, if you are a gamer, you will find a hard time searching for games for Mac, although now it became much easier after getting your games via App Store, but you will find old versions, like Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare and Call of Duty 8 Modern Warfare 3 is on its way for PC, however, downloading the game is big issue.

Mac OS plays an important role of running smoothly even on lower hardware specifications. So you want high hardware specifications like 8GB RAM, Quad-Core i7.....You will find the battery life is soo helpful, running your laptop for 8 hours on a single charge is AMAZING!

As a conclusion....GO for the MacBook Pro! You will never regret it. In technology, what you get is what you pay for, especially if you are investing in Apple products! ;)
Nice! But what about Mac running Windows smoother? I mean, Toshiba has specialized drivers, HP has specialized drivers, Alienware has specialized drivers. Don't these produce drivers that are at least decent? I mean, the difference in smoothness of Windows between laptops nowadays is barely noticeable especially after the core i3 / i5 / i7 series (i3 / i5 with their better integrated GPUs) started becoming common on laptops.
Nice! But what about Mac running Windows smoother? I mean, Toshiba has specialized drivers, HP has specialized drivers, Alienware has specialized drivers. Don't these produce drivers that are at least decent? I mean, the difference in smoothness of Windows between laptops nowadays is barely noticeable especially after the core i3 / i5 / i7 series (i3 / i5 with their better integrated GPUs) started becoming common on laptops.
A Mac needs completely different drivers from Apple so that Windows can run. You will need to install the package of drivers as soon as you install Windows through BootCamp, otherwise you Mac will not be able to Boot to Windows, you have to reinstall Windows.

I agree with you that the difference in smoothness is barely noticeable, but if you are running several Apps for a long time, Windows can crash easily. On the other hand, you can run Mac OS for 24 Hours with no problem at all!
Also, Windows consumes more CPU usage than Mac OS, which will lead to a more battery life consumption. I can tell you that from my experience with my MacBook, I can run up to 8 hours on Mac OS 10.6, but barely 5 hours on Windows 7 HomePremium 64-bit.

YES, software does matter.
Am no expert but i think this is the best price for money laptop ^_^
btw its from PcandParts

Acer AS5742G-484G50MN
15.6" LED CB
core i5-480
2GB dedicated graphic GT540M
1x2 GB DDR3
1x500GB
NSM8X
802.11bgn
6 cell 2.2
1.3MP HD CrystalEye
BT
Linux
$675.00
Depending on your needs, I still think a Toshiba or MacPro are your best bets. I know some people here don't recommend the HP, and I would be one of them UNLESS you can a clean install of Windows 7 and office if you need it. The biggest issue I have with HP's is the software that they preload. It really slows down your computer after a while. Other than that, HP's are traditionally a good value for the money. The multimedia components are usually more than adequate for your need.

My brother bought an HP a couple of years ago, and until he got a clean install of Windows 7 done (he had Vista), he had all sorts of problems. Now it runs flawlessly (at least according to him).
ali.koubeissi wroteacer? really? what happened to quality ??
minus quality :P
that looks like a good laptop features for a good money :P
if you are lucky it will work for more than 1 month :P
5 days later