iMac or MacBook!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Ok all! I want to get a computer but don't know if i should get the MacBook or iMac. I have an iPad but want a computer to do the things I choose not to do on the iPad. Please help!

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

Prior to switching to going to school to work on my prerequisites for an RN program, I was in I.T. for almost 30 years. To my knowledge, almost all of those years had Apple receiving the highest marks for quality, support, etc.

Over the years, I've seen Dell support drop to where I would be hard pressed to buy from Dell again. Lenovo was king for a while, and it's also dropped severely. HP scared people away when they stated they were getting out of the market only to change their mind. Gateway appears to maintain a middle of the pack gate. All through that time, I cannot remember a single Consumer Report where Apple was not on top -- quality, support, repairs not needed due to quality, warranty support quality when needed, etc.

As for games, the more I get into my classes striving to do the absolute best I can do - not just for a good grade, but also to be able to carry the knowledge into the future where hopefully I can apply it, the less time I have for any form of gaming.

While I do understand Window and now Android-based computers are cheaper, and some work out well being cheap, I've also had time periods where I went through computers (mainly Dell) where they would last a year or less. A similar Apple-based product would probably have survived several years making up the investment.

Please note, I would never discourage anyone from building their own machine (I did; but I don't ever ever plan on doing it again) or buying a PC. I would like to encourage a long term view that it is not always about the initial investment. Support, warranty, quality of the crafting, etc. go a long way.

Thank you.

Good day, juan.ramirez0426:

And that Macbook Pro travels with you where the beastly PC doesn't ;-)

I did build the PC I'm using using newegg and a lot of help (I'm not too mechanically inclined). I'm not sure how much money I saved vs. buying a store-based PC. I do know that if I had to do it all over again, I would consider a Macbook Air or Pro.

Why? Mobility.

Thank you.

Mobility is now worth $3000? :sarcastic:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152443

Here you go. Took maybe a minute to find. That has a GTX 670 btw so it's technically a gaming laptop. What does that mean? That a laptop that suits your needs and still has higher specs than your Macbook PRO would cost less than $1500.

You can't get a Macbook with those specs but do you have any idea how much it would cost for a Mac desktop to come close to that. It would be over $6000 dollars. The aforementioned PC I built? It's already spec'd higher for CHEAPER than the MSI laptop I linked.

I'm giving this example as a sort of insight. You will always get screwed for going expensive on a laptop. They charge premiums on the same hardware, by the same companies, that is not worth that much and which will inevitably be limited because the heat-sinks and components in a laptop cannot physically handle the heat from better tech. (P.S the heatsinks in Macs are very low quality stuff.) I just hope you know that Apple is world famous for the most outrageous premiums of any company.

You don't want to get screwed? Get a 500 dollar Vaio, wipe that sucker, and throw OSX Mountain Lion on it.

To sum it up and i was making this point before everyone jumped on the "mac is better and pay $3k for a laptop because its better!" bandwagon. Your going to nursing school. If you have $3k to spend on a laptop then go for it, and in 3 years when its obsolete and not pretty and your spending another $3k to upgrade then go for it. Also, if you drop it once and break it then living with that blunder will suck. You wont notice a difference between a high end mac and a low end pc because you dont do anything that requires power or graphic ability. Maybe im not thinking the same way, but if a $400 laptop will do the same as a $3000 one, why is that an argument.

Hit the nail on the head.

The problem is people that go and spend that much money on a laptop will look for excuses in justifying the money they spent. They feel that there is a special type of "techno-magic" involved that only the exorbitantly priced machines offer.

For you and me it is not so. We can look objectively at a computer's specs and understand how much it should be worth.

We measure speeds in Ghz, memory in RAM, Size in TB's and GB's, and we get SSD's vs. HDD's along with many other things. And until someone else learns to do the same that person will continue to get screwed.

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day:

Or they read consumer reports for why they purchased a MAC. Or they have friends who have their MAC for years when you or other PC users go through them like crazy because of quality of workmanship.

As for the specs, Macbook Air is how much compared to $1,899.99?

Thank you.

Specializes in Oncology, Critical Care.
Good day:

Or they read consumer reports for why they purchased a MAC. Or they have friends who have their MAC for years when you or other PC users go through them like crazy because of quality of workmanship.

As for the specs, Macbook Air is how much compared to $1,899.99?

Thank you.

I have a dell thats been running for 8 years and ive never had an issue with it besides a battery. Got it for $600 too. I have a 6 year old alienware thats never given me a problem. I dont run anti-spyware or back up my pc either.

I have a Macbook (2008) and it's treated me well through school thus far, except since the software is older I cannot update Adobe or Quicktime Player. This has not interfered with any homework thus far, though. Personally, I love my Mac because I can sync my iPhone's calendar to it seamlessly and that has been a lifesaver for juggling a busy schedule. If you aren't super familiar with Macs, getting a regular Windows laptop would be just as good and less expensive. If you do get a Mac, make sure to get Office for Mac.

Good day:

Or they read consumer reports for why they purchased a MAC. Or they have friends who have their MAC for years when you or other PC users go through them like crazy because of quality of workmanship.

As for the specs, Macbook Air is how much compared to $1,899.99?

Thank you.

I have to admit I went through them the same way. Back when I was a total noob. :down: Want a tip? :writing: It's the USER, not the hardware (unless you got some really cheap garbage from a brand like Rosewill.) Either way you're talking software not hardware so this is off topic. Surely being in IT for so long this is elementary, right? :sarcastic: Get smarter friends or teach them like I did.

But more onto what you were saying. Quality of workmanship? The internals in a Mac are made by Intel, AMD, Seagate, Kingston, Crucial, etc. All the major brands that PC builders know and that are in my system right now. You think somehow overpaying for it to be in different case with an Apple on it suddenly makes it better?

And don't even get me started on the freaking Air series. One look at the specs for that thing fills me with rage because I know people like you don't know any better. Pmabraham my friend, I'm on a cheap 500 dollar Sony Vaio right now. EVERY single piece of hardware in that Mac is lower. Even the screen resolution! And it's a Mac! That's one thing where they usually excel! Although it does have one more USB slot. That's worth $500 dollars right? :)

So let me ask u a question Juan, I need to buy a laptop for my daughter who is in high school. This will be used for school work and Internet. I am not trying to spend a lot of money on this, but I do want something decent. What would be the best brand to buy for her? Thanks!

Specializes in Oncology, Critical Care.
So let me ask u a question Juan, I need to buy a laptop for my daughter who is in high school. This will be used for school work and Internet. I am not trying to spend a lot of money on this, but I do want something decent. What would be the best brand to buy for her? Thanks!

Asus

I swear by that brand because they have by far the best internals and pretty good support. Never had a problem with any of my 3 of them. im even on one now thats about 6 years old

So let me ask u a question Juan, I need to buy a laptop for my daughter who is in high school. This will be used for school work and Internet. I am not trying to spend a lot of money on this, but I do want something decent. What would be the best brand to buy for her? Thanks!

I don't pay much attention to brands, I look more at the internals. Although I agree with Fireman767 that Asus is a pretty good brand that keeps their prices low. And if you're merely doing school work then you really don't even have to go over $500. Unless you want a metal frame and fancy things like that which could drive the price up a little. Just post the laptop you are considering and I can tell you more about it.

Thanks Fireman and Juan, I will look into the Asus.

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, juan.ramirez0426:

As I shared, I was in I.T. for almost 30 years, built my own P.C., etc. Since I was in the industry for so long, I think I have the ability to say I know what I'm talking about. So save the noob user comments.

The PC quality continues to go down hill. Consumer Reports does a good job at being accurate.

Yes, some people have both sides -- PC and MAC -- for a while, but on a macro scale, things shake loose in favor of the MAC.

In the end, each person will pick what works best for them. For some, it will be a PC, others a MAC. As for me, when my PC desktop goes or it otherwise fits the bill to buy, I'll be going the MAC route.

Thank you.

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