Is a macbook pro worth it?

Did you read the article?

"The metrics (see image at top) include crashes per week, hangs per week, Blue Screens (of Death) per week, and average boot time."

At least two of those meaningful categories seem quite unrelated to "bloatware" loaded into OEM releases. But really, that was just an aside - I'm not interested in getting into petty fanboy arguing. I find that Macbooks are incredibly designed products, inside and out, in a way I haven't really seen in a Windows machine, and that's why I recommend them.

From my personal experience I haven't had a single Apple device that has worked beyond the two year warranty period, whereas my then $300 Compaq laptop still works reasonably well after 6 years.

All Windows software that would run on equivalently spec'd Windows laptop will run the same on a Macbook using Bootcamp. All Bootcamp is is a way to easily install Windows on a Mac and a set of tools for configuring the keyboard, USB ports etc. It's not some layer of extra software that Windows has to run on top of that would cause compatibility issues.

I feel like theres some misconception that a Mac running Windows is different to any other computer running Windows. It isn't. It's the same.

I bought a Macbook Pro a 5 months later I bought a convertible Windows 8 laptop/PC i pretty much only use my Windows 8 machine. My Macbook Pro just sits on my coffee table i haven't turned it on in about a year, you can get a better Windows laptop for the price that will run all the Engineering software you need.

I run AutoCAD and Solidworks on my Windows 8 machine but i'm a ME not sure what programs EE's use.

My MacBook Air 13' 2013 is the best computer I've ever owned. It's a joy to use.

Do it!

All of them sound like symptoms of bloatware to me. There is no logical reason why a macbook should inherently run windows better than a regular old laptop. That's pure garbage, it's the same hardware. It also doesn't surprise me that the Thinkpad is at the bottom because, while they're extremely solid laptops, they come pre-loaded with monumental amounts of crap. A clean install is basically required.

For me yes it is. If you don't like Macs then NO.

It's a reliable, elegant and fast laptop.

It'll do everything you want. It'll do all the extra stuff too. It's expensive, but not a huge amount more than it's closest competitors. Despite the build quality rumours, all my previous MBPs and MBAs have never had any hardware (or software for that matter) problems.

Simple decision really.

@snail: Just going to chime in, that they do actually sound like bloatware issues. I've seen some pretty bad cases of this. In fact I visited a friend in March and he took me PC shopping with him because he knew I knew computers. He wanted a cheaper PC (AKA garbage - impossible to find something good in that price range of $500), and when we got it home it was so full of junk that the thing would crawl, it was a nightmare to get rid of, and even then there were all these random programs that did nothing like an ASUS HUD that would crash the PC. Not to mention, that stuff takes a LOT out of start up times. You can see their effect in the task manager and they're usually always high.

That article itself says that the fact that the MacBook's Windows installation was clean was the main factor in its ranking. If they had tested new Windows laptops with clean installs I guarantee you you'd have the same results, if not better because you're not running it from bootcamp.

I actually have no idea why that list is even a thing. If they used clean installs on some machines and used existing, bloated installs on others, obviously the clean installs would win hands down, even if it is on a Mac.

@evilsbane said:

Again, I reiterate my question: What can't Bootcamp handle that a normal Windows laptop of the same specs could? If you have a Windows laptop, any brand you'd like, that has the same specs as a MBP, they are going to run the same, possibly even better on the Mac as it isn't loaded with crap. Obviously a laptop with better parts in it is going to run better, but that isn't Bootcamp's fault. You made the point that "Bootcamp doesn't cut it for everything" and I am trying to figure out what an equivalent Windows laptop can run better than a Bootcamp'd Mac. I'm going to say...nothing.

Also, I'm seeing lots of "you are paying a markup" or "I can get something better for $1300." You probably can get something that beats it in terms of raw numbers. But if you can find me a laptop that provides a display that is as good as the "Retina" MBPs, with similar build quality, a non-shitty trackpad, AND better performance, I would be surprised. There may be one out there, but I haven't seen one.

At the end of the day, your choice in computer is going to be based on your usage. You seem to want to play games on your laptop, so a Mac was never going to be your ideal pick. But the OP does not, and as such I say a MBP is perfect for what he needs to do.

@aegon: Haha yeah, me and @bobbarker created it. Also actively develop some open-source tools based on it (http://therealtakeshi.github.io/jefflr/) because we're nerds.