Macbook Air or Macbook Pro for Nursing School?

OK, one of my things on my resume is that I'm A+ certified as a IT technician. Mac computers don't magically work better or last longer. They're computers. You're using the same Western Digital hard drive, on the same B series motherboard, using the same DDR3 RAM, all running on the same intel i5 CPU. Literally the only difference is the operating system, which for the average user makes no noticeable difference.

The HP equivalent of a macbook air is a few hundred dollars cheaper for 100% identical hardware. For a student, go with the HP. Don't waste your money on a logo. Also, for useful software as a student, Windows is the way better choice because if it's not designed for both OS's, it's more likely going to sell to windows users because there's just that many more of them, so as a result, you tend to get more choices of software.

Don't listen to the apple fanclub's hype. Buy anything that's not designed as an "e machine" and you'll be fine.

Various manufacturers use different components in their own product lines, let alone comparing different manufacturers.

Could the same foxconn component end up in a PC as a Mac product? Sure. That PC also isn't going to be half the price. The big PC players sell laptops that cost 2K+, they cost more than their budget lines because they use more expensive components.

I also wouldn't understate the value of Mac OS. I used to build my own PCs, overclocking, doing water cooling, the whole bit. My computers ran like a dream and I didn't have any hardware longevity issues. I easily spent more money than if I had bought a power mac, but I enjoyed working on it myself. I was constantly messing with software to it fast and get rid of the junk. Part of the reason that I love my Mac is that I don't have to mess with it constantly, it just works. I'm now at a point where time I used to spend messing with my PC could be spent with family or being productive at work, both of which are more valuable than the increased purchase price of my Mac.

What's different about using a Mac vs a PC is you're probably not pushing your mac as hard. People typically don't buy Apple computers for gaming. Know what people LOVE to buy for gaming, though? The budget PC/laptop that lacks the hardware to actually handle gaming without stressing its components. That stress on your RAM and CPU for something that a cheap GPU would very easily handle cuts down on your computer's life by a lot. Hardware wears out the more you use it. Taking notes and listening to itunes tends to be very light on the resource load... meanwhile the average PC user is probably playing games, or clicking things they shouldn't, depending on the age. THAT is why your mac seems to last longer. Use the thing for what their OS is designed for, and render and edit movies 5 days a week for the next 2 years, and that thing will barely turn on anymore, just like the budget PC that's been playing games for the last 2 years.

Come on, use that nursing school style of thinking and diagnose why so many PCs don't keep up the same life span of so many macs... 99% of the time, it's the user behind the PC.

There is absolutely nothing about Apples products that make them superior to a PC. It's a logo of a company who is amazing at marketing (they literally convinced people to buy an iphone, an iphone without the phone part, and a giant iphone without the phone part, and actually have all 3 of them). They're just priced a little higher. Equal setup and configured macs and PCs used identically will last just as long as each other. For the average user, it's just personal preference. May laptop is going on 5 years and still goes on the road with me during time off school for work, and I have no plans of replacing it. You'll never see any REAL difference between the two systems until you're pushing the limits of what their OSs are designed to handle. And even that difference is pretty minimal.

While there may always exist horror stories of HP computers being unusable in a few short years, I have learned a few things. I personally don't like Apple's computers.....I just think HP is more user friendly. However, you need a bit of knowledge about computers. I agree when another poster mentioned that you may need to reinstall your operating system. Give your computer a complete reboot and you most likely won't need to buy an entirely new computer. My laptop used to overheat a bunch, until I found out that my processor was set to run at %100 all the time. My other half set it up to that it only uses what it needs to use for various reasons, and it works fine now. There are usually simple fixes for a computer that is running slow, try to check that out before spending the money, unless that will be no issue for you. Still, people are right when they talk about the costs of nursing school.

I go to a community college and even though the cost of classes isn't bad at all......I am having to spend a bunch of money prior to the start of our first official semester of nursing school. Between scrubs, emblems, shoes, stethoscope, BP cuff, name tags, coursey kit, books, the HESI codes, I am going to be out a couple grand by the time I am all set up for classes. Luckily I was awarded a couple of scholarships that will help with costs of the books.....but damn. I would say don't spend any money you don't absolutely have to spend! I know many buy used books, but I know my school recommends to buy them new just because of certain ones they like you to have the online access codes that only work when you buy the book new. I also intend to keep my nursing books anyway, just in case I'd like to look back for reference :) Good luck on whatever you may choose.

What's different about using a Mac vs a PC is you're probably not pushing your mac as hard. People typically don't buy Apple computers for gaming. Know what people LOVE to buy for gaming, though? The budget PC/laptop that lacks the hardware to actually handle gaming without stressing its components. That stress on your RAM and CPU for something that a cheap GPU would very easily handle cuts down on your computer's life by a lot. Hardware wears out the more you use it. Taking notes and listening to itunes tends to be very light on the resource load... meanwhile the average PC user is probably playing games, or clicking things they shouldn't, depending on the age. THAT is why your mac seems to last longer. Use the thing for what their OS is designed for, and render and edit movies 5 days a week for the next 2 years, and that thing will barely turn on anymore, just like the budget PC that's been playing games for the last 2 years.

Come on, use that nursing school style of thinking and diagnose why so many PCs don't keep up the same life span of so many macs... 99% of the time, it's the user behind the PC.

There is absolutely nothing about Apples products that make them superior to a PC. It's a logo of a company who is amazing at marketing (they literally convinced people to buy an iphone, an iphone without the phone part, and a giant iphone without the phone part, and actually have all 3 of them). They're just priced a little higher. Equal setup and configured macs and PCs used identically will last just as long as each other. For the average user, it's just personal preference. May laptop is going on 5 years and still goes on the road with me during time off school for work, and I have no plans of replacing it. You'll never see any REAL difference between the two systems until you're pushing the limits of what their OSs are designed to handle. And even that difference is pretty minimal.

It's funny that you say to use the nurse style of critical thinking, yet your entire argument hinges on a completely subjective fact that people are playing strenuous games on their PC that the person mentioned nothing about. You can't just assume a rationale and then act is if that's true, haha. Also, if a computer can't handle you playing SIMS or GTA, it's a crap computer.

While Mac uses similar components as PC's, the Mac components are optimized to works specifically with the OS, something that is not done with a budget PC (essentially anything under $800). Whether you are anti-Mac or not, you can't deny the fact that the hunks of metal last. It could be because Mac doesn't make budget units. Mac is associated with quality. If every HP was on the level of the Spectre, we might be having a different conversation.

Let's be realistic here. Macs last, a cheap basic computer won't. The moral of the story isn't pushing to buy a Mac, it's to buy a quality computer that will last and not cheap one that'll last 2 years.

So, you're literally comparing a midrange laptop to an e machine. WoW, can't argue with that logic. Yeah, in that case, the mac better last longer.

No. You have to compare the equivalent HP laptop to that macbook. When you do that, the average user will never notice a difference in performance, and computer life will be pretty equal. But again, windows users tend to stress their machines more than mac users. You can't leave the user out of the equation.

I promise you that Intel Core i5 isn't somehow magically better when it's in a mac. It's the same processor that's in PCs, and that's true for literally every single piece of hardware. It's all hype and marketing. There is nothing magically different about a computer with an Apple logo on it. It's just a different OS. That's all.

And with way more PC users out there, there's a higher chance that you're going to run into beat up PCs. But again, it's the user that makes the difference when you're comparing same hardware configurations.

It's terrible advice to tell someone to buy a mac "because they last longer." because that's nothing but a complete BS lie. There ARE differences between macs and PCs, but for 99% of people who are ever going to read this post, those differences don't apply to them, because you're never going to use your computer at that level. Seriously, how many macbook owners do you know that are doing live multimedia editing? Because that's where Apple shines. IOS is just better programmed for it. Oh, right, they're using it to take notes, watch Media, and type essays, something they can do with a $200 used PC from ebay.

Had a Mac Air (2013) prior to nursing school and it's working fine for 5 years now. that being said if I didn't get it as cheap as I did back in high school, I would definitely not splurge on a Mac. For that amount of money I definitely would prefer a laptop that could be turned into a tablet and was lighter and smaller.

I've had my MacBook Pro for almost 8 years and I love it. I'm finally looking to buy a new one but only cuz mine is so old it doesn't run the newer software. NO REGRETS on buying a MAC. And 95% or more of the students in my nursing school are on MAC's. ❤️

I had PC's before that and the hard drives kept burning out right after the 1 year warranty expired. MAC for sure!

22 hours ago, brandi737 said:

I had PC's before that and the hard drives kept burning out right after the 1 year warranty expired. MAC for sure!

Yeah, so that doesn't just happen, even with the cheapest HDDs out there. I would have replaced the power strip for good measure and maybe had an electrician check the outlet you're using, while rearranging the room to plug your computer into a different outlet.

The problem mostly likely wasn't your PCs. I'd bet on it being either your house or your power strip. You're only noticing the HDD problems because they stand out, but probably also had memory and CPU issues too.

On 7/16/2018 at 1:55 PM, tonyl1234 said:

Literally the only difference is the operating system, which for the average user makes no noticeable difference.

I've used both OS and left Windows for macOS because of Windows 10. Windows 7 was the last good windows. Microsofts update is crap in that they need to release patches to fix patches. Sometimes you need to use a stand alone updater to get past failed updates. Constant driver updates is also a huge issue especially when Microsoft pushes an old bad driver in Windows update that instals over your current working driver. It also sucks when an update is pushed while the PC is in use. Then there is the huge bloat of things you will never use. Those should be an option not the norm and not installed without your consent. The next thing is that you can run Windows 10 on your Mac though Bootcamp. Windows runs OK on the Mac because most of the hardware is the same. The only real advantage that windows has is DirectX for gaming but Macs are not for gaming. And even then Windows 10 sucks because you have to turn off things like sticky keys and shortcuts so that you don't get popups in gaming.

All that being said, PC is much cheaper. If you have the money get a Mac if you want one, you'll like it.

I love my MacBook pro and it's survived a severe insult, My cat pee'd on it. I lost some ports and the charging system is a wee bit dodgy.

My thoughts are as follows, talk to your nursing program to make sure they don't have specific ideas as to which OS you'll want, unless they heavily favor Apple, I would recommend buying an inexpensive windows computer with a solid state hard drive. This is because, if you are going to drag it hither and yon it's going to take a beating, My husband's laptop gets taken back and forth to work every day and he's had to replace it every 3-4 years, they usually take the worst moment to utterly plotz too.

When you finish nsg school buy yourself a snazzy new macbook pro.