

A Macbookpro alternative with similar build quality - aitoehigie

Hi, 
I need to get a new laptop and I wont like to get a new laptop with a build quality thats very similar to a macbookpro. Any suggestions?
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runjake
Thinkpad.

Don't bother listening to some other people recommending a MacBook of some
variety if you really want to run Linux on it. As someone else mentioned, I've
never gotten Linux working on it and not have it heat up to crazy levels with
the fans running constantly. The multitouch features of the trackpad don't
work and so on.

Your best nearest bet is a Thinkpad. Be sure to DDG (DuckDuckGo) the
particular model you're looking at to get a jist of other people's experiences
running Linux on it.

An old X200 here and Ubuntu runs great.

~~~
dromey
Agreed that the model as well as features present are the important issue.
Most thinkpads have either perfect or near perfect linux support, so the main
question is which feature set and known design defects the OP will want to
live with. For example, some keyboards or screens are better than others, some
batteries last longer than others (x220!), and so forth.

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dutchrapley
The price on Apple hardware isn't a premium. It's that price b/c it's top
shelf quality. Even the displays on the Dell Precision laptops don't capare to
those any anything Apple makes.

+1 for the user who suggested a used Mac. I've recommended them that option to
a few friends, no one has ever regretted it.

As far as quality goes, I'm still using a 4 year old Macbook (not even a pro)
on a daily basis. Still very relevant with a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo and 4 GB ram.

~~~
smackfu
Quality isn't just a single thing. If Thunderbolt for instance adds $50 to the
price, and I don't plan to use Thunderbolt, that $50 is a fair premium but not
something I wish to pay for.

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Riesling
Thinkpads. They might not look as nice, but they are very robust.

I have already dropped mine from the table and flooded the keyboard with an
entire glass of diet soda.

If I am out working with other people I always smile when people start putting
their macbooks into special protective sleeves and what not. I just take mine
and throw it into my bag.

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khyryk
Perhaps I can narrow down exactly what you're looking for. What are you
looking for in terms of:

-screen size (any preference toward matte or glossy?)

-weight

-CPU and video card

-battery life

-cost

~~~
aitoehigie
I am looking at 1\. overall build quality i.e. something macbookish 2\.
battery like 6+ hours would be sweet 3\. cost under $1000 4\. screen size -
15" matte (I hate glossy, print magnets) Thanks

~~~
khyryk
Given another reply that you posted, I'm not sure 6+ hours would be reasonable
using Ubuntu without a massive battery slab. Even with a bunch of tweaking,
battery life tends to be lower than what one would get with Windows.

I would suggest you look at HP EliteBooks and Lenovo ThinkPads. For instance,
a ThinkPad W510 or EliteBook 8540w.

I personally own an HP EliteBook 8540p.

-2.53 gHz i5 CPU

-NVIDIA NVS 5100m (equivalent to the GeForce 330m)

-15" matte 1600x900 resolution (quality comparable MacBook: [http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5881&p=...](http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5881&p=2))

-4-5 hour battery life, although I'm still using the original battery

-built like an absolute tank

I got it off of eBay for $600 last summer. The models I mentioned above can
have 1080p configurations, and I know for a fact that the 8540w has the
DreamColor configuration, which is about the best display you can have in a
laptop; they're quite rare, however.

You'd probably have trouble picking up brand-new, refreshed models for under
$1000, but that would be the same case for a MacBook.

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uvTwitch
You're probably looking for this: <http://www.razerzone.com/blade>

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smackfu
Thinkpads have good quality, and may come in cheaper than a Macbook.

~~~
whichdan
They're definitely 30-50% cheaper, but it shows. The ThinkLight instead of
backlit keyboard, smaller single-touch trackpad, heavy 9-cell battery that
quickly loses its capacity, mediocre screen, heavier weight.. but it still
holds its own compared to other laptops in the same price range.

~~~
martey
This is a difficult comment to respond to, because it is not clear whether you
are trying to describe a specific ThinkPad model, or trying to justify the
fact that some Apple laptops cost more.

For example, I am writing this on a T500, which does have a single-touch
trackpad, but it is also 4 years old. Its successor (the T510), as well as the
present model (the T520) both have multi-touch touchpads. If you have
experience with an older model of ThinkPad and are trying to compare it to the
current generation of Apple laptops, I would argue that you do not have enough
data to make a comparison.

~~~
whichdan
The last one I used was a T400; I should have mentioned that. I wasn't aware
that the newer models have multitouch trackpads - are they nice?

------
kentpalmer
The HP Envy has similar design to the Mac Books

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MarlonPro
Take a look at Dell XPS 15Z

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blktiger
Get a macbook pro! (sorry, couldn't resist)

~~~
aitoehigie
dude, I am considering cost and also the fact that I am more of a Ubuntu user.

~~~
aeontech
Similar build quality is going to demand a similar price. Apple memory
upgrades are about the only thing remaining that really is overpriced, but
their base hardware is pretty reasonable. And you can definitely dual boot it
or just wipe the OS and reinstall :)

Also, if you're not dead-set on having a brand new machine, you could get a
used one on craigslist and save a couple of hundred.

Other than that, the only laptops that I've seen come close have been Sony's,
and they tend to be even more expensive.

~~~
aitoehigie
How many people here have installed any linux distro on a macbook pro after
wiping OSX? how was the experience like? I would really like to know. And how
much does the OS cost contribute to the overall price of a macbook pro? would
buying one and wiping it clean make economic sense?

~~~
jayferd
I tried installing Ubuntu on a MBP my office bought for me. It was a while
ago, but the killer for me was that the fans didn't work properly. It would
overheat within 5 minutes of use.

I highly recommend a Strata from ZaReason (zareason.com). Unless you're going
to be doing a lot of graphics-intensive stuff, definitely go for one with an
Intel graphics card, b/c nvidia is a pain on Linux.

~~~
Zancarius
> I highly recommend a Strata from ZaReason (zareason.com). Unless you're
> going to be doing a lot of graphics-intensive stuff, definitely go for one
> with an Intel graphics card, b/c nvidia is a pain on Linux.

I'm assuming you meant to qualify that as NVIDIA's _mobile_ chipsets. Though,
I can't say I've had much trouble with them. I've certainly never had much
trouble with their desktop products under Linux--I currently dual boot my home
desktop between Linux and Windows with an NVIDIA card, and it runs just as
well under either (ironically, Minecraft plays more smoothly under Linux...).

Certainly there are some general complaints related to NVIDIA's Linux drivers,
but to be completely honest, I've run many NVIDIA cards--including mobile--
under a variety of Linux flavors over the years and had few troubles. I even
tried installing Arch on an ancient Dell laptop of mine for fun which is
equipped with one of the early GeForce Go chipsets, and it still works quite
well (KDE4 not so much, but LXDE is perfect); however, it requires installing
an older driver.

I'd like to know where you got your information from, because I've run Ubuntu,
Gentoo, and Arch all on top of fairly recent NVIDIA hardware. The only
relatively minor difficulties I've had have all involved minor tweaks to
xorg.conf but even those have greatly diminished in necessity.

~~~
jayferd
Good points all. I can only speak from personal experience. With my laptop,
I'm usually plugging in to various monitors of different sizes and in
different positions. In order to configure the monitors, you have to use
NVIDIA's proprietary configuration tool, which "works", but fails consistently
in weird patterns. For instance, when I first try to configure a new monitor,
it consistently freezes up for about 30 seconds, reverts to the old display,
and then magically works when I try it again. And heaven forbid I want to
align my monitors along the bottom edge (or "absolutely positioned"). There's
a bug somewhere between the card, the configuration software, X, and Gnome
that leaves half of one of my monitors black and inaccessible.

As long as I leave my monitor setup as is and don't stir up too much dust,
though, it works great.

