New MacBook pro 15" for gaming?

I think there's a misunderstanding, my question is simply how good a macbook pro is for gaming. I want a macbook, gaming or not, but I just wanna know if it can handle it. If not, then I'll just forget gaming. But I DON'T want a laptop specifically for gaming. And those laptops in the links still don't compare to macs, there's still heavier and bulkier with an average battery life. Yes I realize macbook batteries aren't magical but they still last longer, and I'm probably gonna be using an outlet if I were going to play games anywayPapaya69

The hardware in your laptop is good, but bottlenecked by that OS.

QWITBEATINTHEDEADDOGIE - Just spend yer money and think about why later - Macs are made to look good and may run their software great but all in all you can do it cheaper and faster and do more with a Win/Linux os. I know I can build a desktop equivalent for almost 1/3 the price and maybe even better quality hardware and slap on it the Mac OS but why oh why. Macs are really a niche market and they always will be - they had to dual boot just to survive. You don't see Win machines wanting to be Macs.

There is a bite outa the apple for a reason you gotta pay for the privilage to get BOHICA (just google it) if you have to ask you probably have already had it done already.

I think there's a misunderstanding, my question is simply how good a macbook pro is for gaming. I want a macbook, gaming or not, but I just wanna know if it can handle it. If not, then I'll just forget gaming. But I DON'T want a laptop specifically for gaming. And those laptops in the links still don't compare to macs, there's still heavier and bulkier with an average battery life. Yes I realize macbook batteries aren't magical but they still last longer, and I'm probably gonna be using an outlet if I were going to play games anywayPapaya69

Your right, my m17x cant compare to a mac since it crushes it in every way for less money. Your macbook is average for gaming, if you install windows then you will run most games on medium probobly and the newest games like the witcher 2 on low. Have fun with your trend.

[QUOTE="Papaya69"]I think there's a misunderstanding, my question is simply how good a macbook pro is for gaming. I want a macbook, gaming or not, but I just wanna know if it can handle it. If not, then I'll just forget gaming. But I DON'T want a laptop specifically for gaming. And those laptops in the links still don't compare to macs, there's still heavier and bulkier with an average battery life. Yes I realize macbook batteries aren't magical but they still last longer, and I'm probably gonna be using an outlet if I were going to play games anywayryangcnx-2

Your right, my m17x cant compare to a mac since it crushes it in every way for less money. Your macbook is average for gaming, if you install windows then you will run most games on medium probobly and the newest games like the witcher 2 on low. Have fun with your trend.

[QUOTE="ryangcnx-2"]

[QUOTE="Papaya69"]I think there's a misunderstanding, my question is simply how good a macbook pro is for gaming. I want a macbook, gaming or not, but I just wanna know if it can handle it. If not, then I'll just forget gaming. But I DON'T want a laptop specifically for gaming. And those laptops in the links still don't compare to macs, there's still heavier and bulkier with an average battery life. Yes I realize macbook batteries aren't magical but they still last longer, and I'm probably gonna be using an outlet if I were going to play games anywayadamlovesu

Your right, my m17x cant compare to a mac since it crushes it in every way for less money. Your macbook is average for gaming, if you install windows then you will run most games on medium probobly and the newest games like the witcher 2 on low. Have fun with your trend.

And will die in about a year and probably cost more money. Along with having about 2 hours average battery life lmao.... M17x starts at around 1500$. Less money my arse. The guys asking a question yet you blind ignorant fanboys respond with this crap? You guys need your own forum..adamlovesu

The M17X costs 1500$. The 2500$ MacBook Pro model has much weaker hardware and costs a grand more. You should l2math and stop saying "blind ignorant fanboys" to others.

[QUOTE="adamlovesu"]And will die in about a year and probably cost more money. Along with having about 2 hours average battery life lmao.... M17x starts at around 1500$. Less money my arse. The guys asking a question yet you blind ignorant fanboys respond with this crap? You guys need your own forum..Mograine

The M17X costs 1500$. The 2500$ MacBook Pro model has much weaker hardware and costs a grand more. You should l2math and stop saying "blind ignorant fanboys" to others.

And what are macs for? Gaming specifically?

This is relevant how? It doesn't change the FACT that MacBook Pros have underpowered and heavily overpriced hardware.

No... Not even a little macs are buildt to run off of the CPU for editing purposes and such. Gaming is merely a sweet spot.

[quote="Thread Title"]New MacBook pro 15" for gaming?adamlovesu

Weaker hardware? You guys seem to think that a video card is all that's in a computer I suppose...

Comparing the M17X with the 2500$ MacBook

1500GB@7200RPM HDD or 500GB SSD vs 750GB@5400 or 500GB@7200 RPM HDD

5 USB ports vs 2 USB ports

Intel i7 2630QM vs Intel i7 2720QM

Same memory

HD6870M vs HD6750M

Idk who's been feeding this forum the crap like how macs are only there to look cool....That's the most bogus statement I've heard in a long time,,,,

Because they are. It's not really debateable, as I proved above. Anyone with a clue about hardware will tell you that when talking of performance for price ratios.

they have software specific for doing certain things elegantly and without hassle.

Is that so? Then why is Bootcamp so popular?

MacBooks are for people who aren't planning to upgrade throughout the years... There for people who don't have insane amounts of time on their hands to build a comp and manage it.

I've had my 700€ HP laptop since last fall, never had to manage or build anything after the first-time configurations.

I have absolutely no idea what's hard to understand about this.

Because it's false.

Just because you see every college student using one doesn't mean it's a trend... Trends don't cost an excess of 2000$... Trends aren't electronic.

I'll add "clueless" to that college students. I'm in my last year of high school, I study computer science and can tell you none of the students who have a MacBook has a solid reason for owning one.

My 700€ HP is on par with 1200€ MacBook pros and craps on cheaper MacBook models.

And what you just stated is once again evidence that Macs are mostly bought just to look cool. And yes, they cost an excess of 2000$ as I just proved above.

[QUOTE="Mograine"]

[QUOTE="adamlovesu"]And will die in about a year and probably cost more money. Along with having about 2 hours average battery life lmao.... M17x starts at around 1500$. Less money my arse. The guys asking a question yet you blind ignorant fanboys respond with this crap? You guys need your own forum..adamlovesu

The M17X costs 1500$. The 2500$ MacBook Pro model has much weaker hardware and costs a grand more. You should l2math and stop saying "blind ignorant fanboys" to others.

Ok, apparently since you haven't gotten it yet:

Macs and games: NO!

Bootcamp price= price of the windows OS

Do you understand now?

Ok, apparently since you haven't gotten it yet:

Macs and games: NO!

Bootcamp price= price of the windows OS

Do you understand now?

DoomZaW

@mograine, I apologize for the title? Maybe THAT'S why there's so much digression? Look I know I said "for gaming" in the title, but I just wanna know how much the new macbook pro can handle gaming as a sweet spot, not specifically for gaming. I already have another laptop that can handle games pretty well, but after going through this year of school, I've learned macs are much more suitable for me, and I would prefer if I don't have to give up games, but if I do, no big deal.Papaya69

No ****ing, don't talk as if I'm the one responsible for this outrage. adamlovesu is defending Macs as if he is willing to put his life on the line despite the fact that Macs CAN NOT meet the prompted criteria.

Ever considered why macs are so "hype?" maybe the people who buy them had little reason to but in the end, many of them find that they are quite satisfied and many of my friends in college who are mac owners don't regret it. Seriously, go to college and you'll realize its usefulness; you're probably not gonna see its value in high school. Fact is, macs are made to be laptop of the future, and that is coming sooner than you think. gaming for macs is gonna be a sweet spot at best, but I just wanna know how sweet. I'm only posing a question; I want a mac for many reasons, and gaming is NOT among them. But I wanna know its gaming capability and maybe enjoy it as an extra feature. And I'm not an idiot guys; I've know for a while macs suck at gaming. But I also notice the graphics cards on macs suck until recently when they released the new ones with enhanced graphics cards, which is why I'm even asking this question now. Can digressing please cease?Papaya69

When making comparisons only cold hard facts matter.

"Not regretting it" and "being satisfied" are completely irrelevant here and only show worms are the most vocal group, not that Mac laptops are better. It's pretty much common knowledge by now that Apple fanboys will never shut up even when in denial, and what you said is more solid evidence of that.

Macs laptop of the future...I'd choke while laughing if I didn't know you were serious with that.

Ever considered why macs are so "hype?" maybe the people who buy them had little reason to but in the end, many of them find that they are quite satisfied and many of my friends in college who are mac owners don't regret it. Seriously, go to college and you'll realize its usefulness; you're probably not gonna see its value in high school. Fact is, macs are made to be laptop of the future, and that is coming sooner than you think. gaming for macs is gonna be a sweet spot at best, but I just wanna know how sweet. I'm only posing a question; I want a mac for many reasons, and gaming is NOT among them. But I wanna know its gaming capability and maybe enjoy it as an extra feature. And I'm not an idiot guys; I've know for a while macs suck at gaming. But I also notice the graphics cards on macs suck until recently when they released the new ones with enhanced graphics cards, which is why I'm even asking this question now. Can digressing please cease?Papaya69

As a college student I have seen other students and teachers use macs and I have never seen any difference between a mac and my gaming lap top.Any programsthat classes use work on both pc's and macs. As for battery life a see poeple using both pc's and macs going the whole class or spending hours in the student union or libary without plugging it in. Can you give some examples of how a mac is more useful in college?

One interesting thing I have noticed is that at my community college I hardly ever saw macs. I may have maybe saw1 or 2 the entire time I was there. When I got to the state college I noticed more students had macs and the book store sells them. They have this banner that says "put a mac in your pac. Buy theonly computer you will need for college at a discount here" The discount is only a few hundred less then if youwent to bestbuyand bought a mac book. I've also heard teachers say "I don't use pc's because microsoft is an evil coperation that only cares about money, unlike apple who cares about its peoplebefore money". Theirony is college students always talk about how they are free thinkers and don't let the coperations control them.

@ryangcnx-2, according to tomshardware.com, this mac's graphics card ranks higher than my current one, and my current one runs games just fine.Papaya69

But you don't seem to get the point everyone is making, I gave an example of a laptop that is about 200 bucks less with a config that exceeds that macbook. You could even go with a $1200 asus with a 5870m in it and it still beats out that macbook.

But you seem determined on the macbook, it is ultimately your choice, we are just stating our dislike for macs being Gamers, (I'm also going into 3-D design, so I despise macs more than most too), these are an example of two things that macs don't do well.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1102639

Here is a link to someone doing some benchmarks on one.

Its ok for gaming with windows installed, but for the price of it there are just better options. But eitherway, this will give you an idea of what to expect for gaming.

Well the things is I want a Mac for school (not required) because of quality, portability, and battery life. But at the same time I'd like to play some gamesPapaya69

[QUOTE="ryangcnx-2"]

[QUOTE="Papaya69"]I think there's a misunderstanding, my question is simply how good a macbook pro is for gaming. I want a macbook, gaming or not, but I just wanna know if it can handle it. If not, then I'll just forget gaming. But I DON'T want a laptop specifically for gaming. And those laptops in the links still don't compare to macs, there's still heavier and bulkier with an average battery life. Yes I realize macbook batteries aren't magical but they still last longer, and I'm probably gonna be using an outlet if I were going to play games anywayadamlovesu

Your right, my m17x cant compare to a mac since it crushes it in every way for less money. Your macbook is average for gaming, if you install windows then you will run most games on medium probobly and the newest games like the witcher 2 on low. Have fun with your trend.

Funny because I actually own one, when I need to just to "Everyday tasks, I can turn off my 6970m and use the sandy bridge gpu and get 5 hours on power saver mode, 4 on balanced. (No one cares about gaming on battery, because you just plugs it into an outlet) The build quality is excellent, and the cooling is superior, the gpu never goes above 80-85c when overclocked to desktop 6850 speeds. So how is it going to die in a year exactly? And yes less money, mine came out to 2k before the warrenty, I have a vastly better graphics card, a 2720 sandy bridge i7, 750gb 7200 rpm hdd, 8 gb 1333 ram, a 17" screen, all for 2k, the 15" macbook which is 2200, has a way lesser gpu, slower hard drive, half the ram and I can't tell if the Macbook has a sandybridge i7 because it just says 2.2 i7 and thats it. Also, the weight isn't that big of a difference, around 2 pounds? I have no problem carrying around this with my text books in a bag. In fact, the books are heavier. You good sir, are the fanboy, when I just proved you pulled every statement out of nowhere.

Now I must go play the Witcher 2 on ULTRA settings, lets see that macbook do that.

[QUOTE="adamlovesu"][QUOTE="ryangcnx-2"]

Your right, my m17x cant compare to a mac since it crushes it in every way for less money. Your macbook is average for gaming, if you install windows then you will run most games on medium probobly and the newest games like the witcher 2 on low. Have fun with your trend.

ryangcnx-2

Funny because I actually own one, when I need to just to "Everyday tasks, I can turn off my 6970m and use the sandy bridge gpu and get 5 hours on power saver mode, 4 on balanced. (No one cares about gaming on battery, because you just plugs it into an outlet) The build quality is excellent, and the cooling is superior, the gpu never goes above 80-85c when overclocked to desktop 6850 speeds. So how is it going to die in a year exactly? And yes less money, mine came out to 2k before the warrenty, I have a vastly better graphics card, a 2720 sandy bridge i7, 750gb 7200 rpm hdd, 8 gb 1333 ram, a 17" screen, all for 2k, the 15" macbook which is 2200, has a way lesser gpu, slower hard drive, half the ram and I can't tell if the Macbook has a sandybridge i7 because it just says 2.2 i7 and thats it. Also, the weight isn't that big of a difference, around 2 pounds? I have no problem carrying around this with my text books in a bag. In fact, the books are heavier. You good sir, are the fanboy, when I just proved you pulled every statement out of nowhere.

Now I must go play the Witcher 2 on ULTRA settings, lets see that macbook do that.

[QUOTE="ryangcnx-2"]

[QUOTE="adamlovesu"] And will die in about a year and probably cost more money. Along with having about 2 hours average battery life lmao.... M17x starts at around 1500$. Less money my arse. The guys asking a question yet you blind ignorant fanboys respond with this crap? You guys need your own forum..adamlovesu

Funny because I actually own one, when I need to just to "Everyday tasks, I can turn off my 6970m and use the sandy bridge gpu and get 5 hours on power saver mode, 4 on balanced. (No one cares about gaming on battery, because you just plugs it into an outlet) The build quality is excellent, and the cooling is superior, the gpu never goes above 80-85c when overclocked to desktop 6850 speeds. So how is it going to die in a year exactly? And yes less money, mine came out to 2k before the warrenty, I have a vastly better graphics card, a 2720 sandy bridge i7, 750gb 7200 rpm hdd, 8 gb 1333 ram, a 17" screen, all for 2k, the 15" macbook which is 2200, has a way lesser gpu, slower hard drive, half the ram and I can't tell if the Macbook has a sandybridge i7 because it just says 2.2 i7 and thats it. Also, the weight isn't that big of a difference, around 2 pounds? I have no problem carrying around this with my text books in a bag. In fact, the books are heavier. You good sir, are the fanboy, when I just proved you pulled every statement out of nowhere.

Now I must go play the Witcher 2 on ULTRA settings, lets see that macbook do that.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/alienware-m17x-2011.aspx

Take that, you don't anything your talking about

@adamlovesu

Now that I have time to correct your statement

If you were paying attention you would have noticed that I said (EVERY DAY TASKS) not gaming. No one games on battery, even the TC said he would be plugged in when gaming. What was important was battery life using internet and word processing and such which is around 5 hours because of the new i7 Sandy Bridge chipsets, you turn off the Radeon Card. I'm guessing you have never heard of sandy bridge.

Also, Magnesium Alloy isn't plastic, and the plastic that is used for the palm rests is a very durable plastic, feels very solid and even that sites review backs that up. Also, Dell/Alienware are one of the very last companies to offer in home tech service, they will come out and repair. I know the temp doesn't get above 85c because I myself have been watching it using Sapphire Trix while gaming. You have never held a macbook either i'm guessing because they are no lightweight laptop either, but really, if 10 pounds is to heavy maybe the gym should be in your future.

Ever since Alienware has been fully absorbed by Dell, the quality of their laptops have improved tenfolds, using alluminum and Magnesium chassis.

Also, EVERY LAPTOP ON THIS PLANET uses TFT LCD, none use superior IPS or PVA LCD panels, but for overall quality they are rated decently. As for paying for HD... what? If you mean the 150 extra to get 1920 x 1080 then yes, but honestly 1600 x 900 is more than enough for a laptop, but then again, it still is better hardware for the same price then.

None of that was a lie because I am typing on it right now, also, you wanna pull your imac into this, my CUSTOM made Desktop would destroy your petty little imac.

I'm not saying that macbooks are poorly build, or crap in quality. What I and many other members are pointing out, their are many other Windows based laptops that perform better with equal quality for the same cost or less. With apple you pay a bigger premium than you do with any other brand.

[QUOTE="adamlovesu"][QUOTE="ryangcnx-2"]

Funny because I actually own one, when I need to just to "Everyday tasks, I can turn off my 6970m and use the sandy bridge gpu and get 5 hours on power saver mode, 4 on balanced. (No one cares about gaming on battery, because you just plugs it into an outlet) The build quality is excellent, and the cooling is superior, the gpu never goes above 80-85c when overclocked to desktop 6850 speeds. So how is it going to die in a year exactly? And yes less money, mine came out to 2k before the warrenty, I have a vastly better graphics card, a 2720 sandy bridge i7, 750gb 7200 rpm hdd, 8 gb 1333 ram, a 17" screen, all for 2k, the 15" macbook which is 2200, has a way lesser gpu, slower hard drive, half the ram and I can't tell if the Macbook has a sandybridge i7 because it just says 2.2 i7 and thats it. Also, the weight isn't that big of a difference, around 2 pounds? I have no problem carrying around this with my text books in a bag. In fact, the books are heavier. You good sir, are the fanboy, when I just proved you pulled every statement out of nowhere.

Now I must go play the Witcher 2 on ULTRA settings, lets see that macbook do that.

ryangcnx-2

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/alienware-m17x-2011.aspx

Take that, you don't anything your talking about

@adamlovesu

Now that I have time to correct your statement

If you were paying attention you would have noticed that I said (EVERY DAY TASKS) not gaming. No one games on battery, even the TC said he would be plugged in when gaming. What was important was battery life using internet and word processing and such which is around 5 hours because of the new i7 Sandy Bridge chipsets, you turn off the Radeon Card. I'm guessing you have never heard of sandy bridge.

Also, Magnesium Alloy isn't plastic, and the plastic that is used for the palm rests is a very durable plastic, feels very solid and even that sites review backs that up. Also, Dell/Alienware are one of the very last companies to offer in home tech service, they will come out and repair. I know the temp doesn't get above 85c because I myself have been watching it using Sapphire Trix while gaming. You have never held a macbook either i'm guessing because they are no lightweight laptop either, but really, if 10 pounds is to heavy maybe the gym should be in your future.

Ever since Alienware has been fully absorbed by Dell, the quality of their laptops have improved tenfolds, using alluminum and Magnesium chassis.

Also, EVERY LAPTOP ON THIS PLANET uses TFT LCD, none use superior IPS or PVA LCD panels, but for overall quality they are rated decently. As for paying for HD... what? If you mean the 150 extra to get 1920 x 1080 then yes, but honestly 1600 x 900 is more than enough for a laptop, but then again, it still is better hardware for the same price then.

None of that was a lie because I am typing on it right now, also, you wanna pull your imac into this, my CUSTOM made Desktop would destroy your petty little imac.

I'm not saying that macbooks are poorly build, or crap in quality. What I and many other members are pointing out, their are many other Windows based laptops that perform better with equal quality for the same cost or less. With apple you pay a bigger premium than you do with any other brand.

ryangcnx-2

Laptops and gaming is generally a no go, unless you mean Facebook and Flash games. You can get some good gaming laptops like the ones from MSI but thats about it. Macs are for insecure people who sit in coffee shops to try and look cool.

[QUOTE="ryangcnx-2"]

@adamlovesu

Now that I have time to correct your statement

If you were paying attention you would have noticed that I said (EVERY DAY TASKS) not gaming. No one games on battery, even the TC said he would be plugged in when gaming. What was important was battery life using internet and word processing and such which is around 5 hours because of the new i7 Sandy Bridge chipsets, you turn off the Radeon Card. I'm guessing you have never heard of sandy bridge.

Also, Magnesium Alloy isn't plastic, and the plastic that is used for the palm rests is a very durable plastic, feels very solid and even that sites review backs that up. Also, Dell/Alienware are one of the very last companies to offer in home tech service, they will come out and repair. I know the temp doesn't get above 85c because I myself have been watching it using Sapphire Trix while gaming. You have never held a macbook either i'm guessing because they are no lightweight laptop either, but really, if 10 pounds is to heavy maybe the gym should be in your future.

Ever since Alienware has been fully absorbed by Dell, the quality of their laptops have improved tenfolds, using alluminum and Magnesium chassis.

Also, EVERY LAPTOP ON THIS PLANET uses TFT LCD, none use superior IPS or PVA LCD panels, but for overall quality they are rated decently. As for paying for HD... what? If you mean the 150 extra to get 1920 x 1080 then yes, but honestly 1600 x 900 is more than enough for a laptop, but then again, it still is better hardware for the same price then.

None of that was a lie because I am typing on it right now, also, you wanna pull your imac into this, my CUSTOM made Desktop would destroy your petty little imac.

I'm not saying that macbooks are poorly build, or crap in quality. What I and many other members are pointing out, their are many other Windows based laptops that perform better with equal quality for the same cost or less. With apple you pay a bigger premium than you do with any other brand.

adamlovesu

5 pages of hate from windows fanatics, amuses me how geniunely upset people get when someone mentions mac on these forums.

5 pages of hate from windows fanatics, amuses me how geniunely upset people get when someone mentions mac on these forums.

kate_jones

Lol, I've got him so riled up he can't even type, that or he has no clue what sentance structure is..... Beware of wall of jumbled text.

@mograine You still have absolutely no idea what I'm saying here why? Because your blind and all pc fanboys do is say well mines got the powers for cheapz!!!! No. Macs are all ( eqxceot pro which has a processor that's so overpowered I've never seen one in a desktop other than it before) about CPU power usage... So by your logic all recording studios and movie makers and sound artists only use Mac because it looks cool? Lol...... No sir it's because the os is built around the hardware and CPU so editing is fast and processing is a breeze. Would you like to goodpgle yourself a race between final cut pro and movie maker racing to see who renders quicker? There are many vids on the Internet showing macs smoking higher end pcs in rendering and editing speeds. Why? Because of what I just stated. Now yu can go ahead and say it's false with no proof again up to you lol.there's a vid on the Internet of an ASus predator ... The highest end consumer pc available worth over 7000 getting slammed by a Mac pri which only had 8 cores in video rendering and processing speeds.adamlovesu

All about CPU power usage? I just showed you two PCs whose prices are HUNDREDS of dollars apart and the cheaper one has a SLIGHTLY inferior CPU and much more raw power on other parts.

None of the comparisons will hold...you must be completely clueless about how computing power works if you even remotely think you can compare Mac software with non-Mac software and Mac hardware with non-Mac hardware just by videos. Sorry to say it, but that's just the way it is.

You're the one with no proof whatsoever just like you've been all thread long. The more claims you make the more they sound ridiculous...you realize that, don't you?

@adamloveu

Wait, wait, wait. I just re-read your statement, you are comparing Final Cut Pro to windows movie maker? You are so full of fail, try actually comparing it to a real video encoding program such as Adobe Premier, which is on both PC and Mac. I can ensure you, that the encoding speed is dependent of the parts in the computer, so how exactly is the cpu of the macbook pro which I believe is a 2.2/3.3 2720 Sandy bridge, going to be any faster than the 2.2/3.3 2720 Sandy bridge in my m17x?

Adobe Premier is also better fit than Final Cut Pro because it is intergrated better with Adobe After Effects as well as photoshop. Many studios use Adobe Premier over Final Cut Pro due it being a less expensive program and isn't restricted to the mac platform.

Sure, some studios have preferences and maybe most of their employees have really only used macs and would be less efficient using programs/Os's that they don't know as well, and if the studio is willing to spend the extra cash then thats up to them.

Many other studios use PC's too, any studio that has to do 3-d graphics rendering will more than likely use a PC over a mac due to compatability. Macs can't natively run 3DS Max, the only way is through bootcamp.

Ultimately you pulling in studios isn't a prime example as they tend to use workstations with Firepro or Quadro graphics and usually have two processor chips equipped and more ram than any home computer than even contain.

Also, your "bad review" you know that every laptop manufacter has some duds right? When your on the internet you hear much more negatives than positives. From personal experience I have never had a bad experience with Dell, my family has had nothing but dell computers (my custom desktop being the first non-dell pc), and none of us have had power bricks going out, compenents frying and the such. The only thing I ever had happen was on my old m15x the hindge cracked, all I had to do was call them up and they replaced the hinges, never had the problem again. So I don't know I personally haven't had any problem other than theres about a 50% chance the person you speak to doesn't speak English at their first language.

Yes, I have heard of the m11x hinge problem, all that is required is to call them up and they will fix it. So if Dell is fixing them, how exactly is Dell not doing its part. They just released the r3 version so it is yet to be seen if the hinges still crack.

But as for their 17" and larger laptops, I have never heard of faulty powerbricks, hinge cracking as these are the machines that use some form of metal chassis, be it aluminium or magnesium. Also since you love Cnet, look up the review for the m14x, notice the 5 star rating? They haven't reviewed the m17x r3 or the m18x yet.

The only recall I have heard of was the sandy bridge recall back in Jan/Feb, which was for all manufactures using the intel sandy bridge chipset, including Dell, HP, Toshiba, Apple and any other manufacturer using the chipset.

how can the m18x have so many problems according to you when it's only been available for a month? So far on the notebookforums.com some people are finally getting their machines, so how can there be come widespread problem exactly?

I can also search the internet and find people with problems with their macbooks, but I take those as small cases and more than likely the majority of people won't have those problems.

Alienware was only one example of a notebook manufacturer that was given, Asus and Sager also make good laptops as well. All three are similar in price when comparing equal models, and all three end up being a better price than any apple computer, and are all three are better at gaming since they all have superior graphics chips and use Windows 7. There also the Hp Envy (remember Voodoo PC, uses an all aluminum body too), which again ends up being cheaper than the macbook and has a 6850m gpu and the same processor as well.

Apple is a fashion statement, it's like every hip-hop merchandise that being sold. Hipsters buy them, because they think it's "in". These people usually don't care about gaming, and usually don't know a whole lot about computers in general. Also yes were are talking about laptops because when your in college, laptops usually tend to be more benificial as they are portable and take up less space. Desktops aren't even an argument because if your going for a desktop then the only good solution is to build it yourself.