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Original poster

If you had 800 pounds to spend on a laptop what would you get?

23 replies

upatdawn · 11/03/2012 12:22

Or alternatively, what laptop do you have? I've just inherited some money and have decided to spend it on a good laptop for the whole family. The key feature I want is for it to last a long time and be pretty teenager proof! I've been thinking about maybe a macbook (DH works in a university so there is a discount on the apple website) but I want to know if there are any other laptops to fit our criteria. What would you recommend?

OP posts:

jezebelle · 11/03/2012 12:26

Well, i have a Macbook and its fab, no virus's, no de fragmenting, its by far the best computer ever :) and its now 5 years old and never ever had an issue with it :)

mellowcat · 11/03/2012 12:27

Def a macbook, I love mine!

Original poster

upatdawn · 11/03/2012 12:33

Would they be teenager proof do you think?

OP posts:

StuckUpTheFezziwigTree · 11/03/2012 12:35

£800? I'd definitely get a MacBook too. And yes I'm sure it would be teen proof. Although it depends what you mean by this.

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 11/03/2012 21:27

Macbook! We are a mac family apart form my DD1 (her choice) and she spends a lot of time updating virus software/ sorting out bugs and crashes. The macs just work!

niceguy2 · 11/03/2012 21:31

If you can afford a mac, get a macbook.

I'm currently spending hours repairing a friends PC (again) after they've installed some random shite and it appears to have more viruses than a brothel.

Naturally it's just happened and they've no idea how...blah blah.

Mac's are pretty much virus free and it'll last years if treated nicely.

niceguy2 · 11/03/2012 21:32

Oh and all the parental controls come built into the operating system so you can restrict the websites they access, even the times they can login. Result!

GwendolineMaryLacey · 11/03/2012 21:52

MacBook :)

Pusheed · 12/03/2012 11:14

Windows has my vote.

With Macs, like the iPhone and iPad, you pay a premium for it being an Apple product. £800 will get you a bottom of the range Mac. For the same money you will get a top of the range 'normal' Windows laptop i.e a bit heavy and not sexy looking OR one of those new mega thin Ultra laptops (think Mac Air but better speced)

As for Macs being more stable or virus free :o :o

iPads beat other tablets because they have loadsa apps. The same is not true for for their PCs. You are more likely to have lots of apps on your Windows PC and many will be of questionable quality so of course Windows will probably crash more.

As for getting hacked, it comes down to what anti virus software you have as opposed to what operating system.

Once again, if you have a Mac you will most likely be getting your media content from iTunes whereas a Windows user will most likely be downloading from dodgy sites. So of course a Windows user will probably get hacked more.

Plus Windows has 90% of the market so of course you are going to hear more stories about Window users getting hacked.

I have friends who have Macs and they primarily use it for music and photo editing. They

Kellamity · 12/03/2012 11:15

MacBook Pro - sooooo much better than a pc IMO.

Pusheed · 12/03/2012 11:16

... oops. Pressed POST too soon. Macs are great for music and photo editing. If that is 'your thing' then get a Mac.

GwendolineMaryLacey · 12/03/2012 12:33

But my bottom of the range Mac will drive a coach and four through your £800 PC laptop. I've watched my brother in particular get through laptop after laptop in the 6 years he's had his iMac. The iMac is still going strong. I've had one MacBook and it's still a better machine than anything he's had, despite the money he's paid for them.

twolittlemonkeys · 12/03/2012 12:41

Macbook. Without a doubt. Yes they're expensive, but so so soooo much better than running Windows. People just accept all the viruses and crap that come with Windows as a fact of life and use Windows 'because everyone else does'. We run Linux on our PC and (bottom of the range) laptop because we can't afford a Mac and don't get any of the above probs that come with Windows, but I do like Macs :)

CydCharisse · 12/03/2012 12:44

I am still using, most days, a Mac laptop (iBook G4) that I bought in 2004. I have never had a PC that lasted that long.

Some of what Pusheed says is kind of true, but wrong about range of software - you can get software for everything on a Mac, and many industry standard tools in many fields were written for Mac first.

Your kids will love the iWork suite of programmes for every kind of school project.

Kellamity · 12/03/2012 12:52

My The DCs school projects/posters have been brilliant and so easy to do on the Mac. We recently went on a holiday to Australia and I set up a web site for the family to track where we were, what we were up to, so easy and even if I say so myself it looked really professional!!!

dreamingbohemian · 12/03/2012 12:53

Although keep in mind, if you're not used to using Macs, you'll need some transition time as they do work a bit differently.

I use PCs as I do freelance work, all my customers use PCs, so it makes life easier.

I have not had any problems with my Dell laptops (touch wood!!) but then I use them wisely, I don't visit dodgy sites or download weird things, I imagine this helps a lot.

I would look at the best Mac you can get for 800 and the best PC and see which has more of what you want.

Pusheed · 12/03/2012 16:43

A big deal has been made about how x has had his mac for 6 years and its still going strong. 6 years is a life time as for as PC innovation is concerned. So to me its a bit like saying my VHS player is still going strong so what a cool piece of hardware it is.

niceguy2 · 12/03/2012 19:54

Pusheed, I used to be an Apple naysayer like you. In fact I was aghast when my best mate opted for a shiny imac rather than spending less on a decent PC. What was he thinking.....

Well like most people he uses the computer as a tool. What he wants is to open it up, use it to surf the web, look at some photos, check his facebook/email and that's about it.

The mac fits that bill brilliantly. Like most people he really doesn't care for installing antivirus, running spyware scans, firewalls. He really doesn't understand why if he puts his PC to sleep, sometimes it doesn't wake up! Blue screens? WTF are they! He just wants it to work!

Eventually I saw his logic. It's easy to forget when you are a techy how little some people know or even care about how computers work. It's a tool and the equivalent of telling me which brand of dishwasher has a better motor and how I should be regularly servicing the motor to get best life out of it. Frankly I don't care. I want it to be reliable, wash my dishes and look nice in the kitchen. If that means I have to pay a bit more then I'm happy to do so.

GwendolineMaryLacey · 13/03/2012 12:34

Yes it's a lifetime. But there's a difference between changing a computer because you want an upgrade and changing a computer because it won't reliably do what you need it to do. if its the former then great. The latter and you have a problem.

lazydog · 13/03/2012 19:29

I would never choose to buy a Mac for myself because they are overpriced for the hardware. I repair computers for a living and I do regularly get Macs here to repair so the "they never break" line is bollox!

BUT I do often recommend them for people who can afford to spend more for less processing power and who just aren't able to keep their PCs clean.

Basically what niceguy2 said... I get a lot of repeat custom for virus removal from people who have been given all the advice they should need repeatedly but either they or their kids cannot follow it or ignore it. In their cases, a Mac is generally the better choice as they do get far fewer infections. It's not simply a factor of them not downloading illegal/pirated content (as they continue to do so!) It's because (a) the OS is more secure and (b) there are still far fewer people creating Mac malware.

Original poster

upatdawn · 13/03/2012 20:07

Really interesting, thanks. I'm really un-techy so this might be a stupid question but can you not open pages that have viruses or do they just not infect your computer?

OP posts:

RedBlanket · 13/03/2012 20:14

I'd buy a lowish spec laptop and an iPad. But we do already have a PC which we use for office and the like. The laptop and the iPad would be just for Internet browsing and games.

niceguy2 · 13/03/2012 20:58

@upatdawn

There are malware/viruses for mac's but the risk of infection is incredibly low compared with a PC. Now some will argue it's because mac's are more secure and there is an element of truth to that. But personally I think its simply because people haven't really bothered to target the mac. That will change in a few years but right now the risk of infection is so low that most (myself included) don't bother with any sort of antivirus software.

Computer viruses have to be written for the specific type of operating system. Windows is by far the largest market so the hackers target them first. So what happens when a mac stumbles onto a virus infested page is nothing. The virus simply can't run.

The thing with Mac's is people are paying more for style and ease of use. People are willing to pay more for that and Apple exploit that perfectly.

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