Macbook Pro vs Windows 8 Laptop

[robzie 11]

Hello everybody, I am in the market for a new laptop that will fit my needs as well as not break the bank ($1000-1500 range). I like to do some light gaming, but I read that there are much more games for PC then for mac. But isnt it possible to run windows 7 on macbook pros? This is my first post so sorry if I sound like a noob, but i look forward to what you guys think. thanks

[unreal25 786]

Yes, you can run Windows on a Mac. This works by partitioning the hard disk into two partitions (Macintosh OS with OSX and Bootcamp with Windows). Partitioning works pretty fast (few minutes on 128GB SSD) and the "bootcamp" package includes Windows drivers for the Mac. The downside is that the drivers aren't as optimized as they are for OSX, meaning stuff like longer battery life, less responsive trackpad, etc. That said, Windows 7 (at least on Air) work just fine. Typically, if you look for gaming benchmarks on Macbooks, they're done through Bootcamp Windows installation. It's fairly easy to do.

If you do plan to use the bootcamp, it's useful to go with a larger hard drive (I game on my desktop so I have very little use for it, but I like to have game ready there in "case of emergency" ).

I'm not a big fan of Windows 8. I used them, not by choice, for about a month and this has to be one of the worst OS I've ever used (maybe after Windows Millenium). That said, I believe you can install Windows 8 on a bootcamp partition if you really want. In both cases you will need to have an actual Windows installation and a serial key. The whole process of setting up Windows is described on Apple's website. I didn't know anything about this, so I just googled it few days ago. Some other people like Win8, so go figure. IMHO, compared to OSX (and Win7), Win8 looks like a bad joke.

There are lots of good Windows laptops too, my main problem being is that a lot of the new ones come exclusively with drivers and support only for Win8.

[RobBug 11]

Yes for the most part many AAA titles come out for the PC right out of the gate. In recent years, many companies are porting them over to Mac. This was due to Mac going to an x86 architecture making it relatively easy. I personally own a 2011 Mac Book Pro and a Sager P8250. Each laptop serves a specific need/want and each performs their function admirably. I use my Macbook Pro for my normal day to day stuff and for light gaming. When I really want to pull the stops out, I use the Sager.

As to OSs, I have to hand it to Apple for a "tweak/fix" free experience where things just work. The OS is fairly intuitive and working between applications is a breeze. In a productive environment I find the OS just performs much better overall. I am not referring to speed or anything really technical but user usability. Expose is a feature I just absolutely live by when using multiple photo editing and video software.

As to running Win 7 on the macbook - it runs great with no issues that I have noticed. Some people say it runs better but I am inclined to believe the OS is just solid. Win 8 on the other hand will require some time investment to relearn the intuitive system.

Either way, I hope this helps and good luck with your purchase.

[unreal25 786]

I'd like to just add something else. Looking into the future, I disagree with Microsoft and their vision of that constitutes a good OS, based on my impressions of Windows 8 which I found very intrusive and half-assed. On the other hands, OS X Mavericks (the next revision of OS X) actually comes with plenty of useful and functional features (better power management, no popups -- they become notifications that simply slide away, not forcing garbage UI etc.).

Currently, between Win7 and OSX I think you can't go wrong with either. But as RobBug said, Mac does feel extremely polished.

[Altsein 10]

I think it boils down to what Windows laptop you are getting. If it has great specs, you might be able to actually run OSX on your Windows machine just as Macs can run windows.

[Tekgnome 11]

I would go for a Lenovo Y500 they offer Gt 650m's in sli or a Y510 which offers 2 GT 750m's in sli

[marvsiar 10]

if I were you I'd spend the money on a retina macbook pro. youll love the graphics quality and you can always use windows 7 or 8 on the macbook. theres plenty of tutorials on google

[Youssef Tarek Youssef 10]

I would personally choose windows for the gaming, and because you can have more bang for the buck when buying a windows laptop

[dalu 10]

I also chose between PC and Apple. After reading many reviews, I chose the lenovo Y500 - FHD, SLI, 8 gb ram, and i7. Take a look also at Y510.

[Jaxeen 10]

I used to own a mac with a partitioned drive for PC gaming. It was amazing to have all my editing tools at hand and the Apple OS, but when it came to gaming, the high end mac still just wouldn't satisfy. Also take into consideration your temps. Apples are not built for gaming and are prone to high temps if your gaming, which put your system at risk.

[Jaxeen 10]

I ended up trading my mac in for a PC, MSI GT60, and don't regret it one bit. I'm running Windows 7, no need to run 8, and it's a beast when video/photo editing, plus it can game! Way more bang for the buck. Its heavy though

[BAKED 211]

The only reason for me to understand why anyone would buy a macbook is because of the high res retina display. Other than that it's just overpriced hardware with the shittiest OS ever ;D

I have to admit I'm kind of a apple hater as I think they're just pure crap.

[sorinacio 10]

I strongly recomand to buy a lenevo y500. I have the version with one gt750m graphic card and is amazing even with just one card. If you want you can get the sli version .

[Altsein 10]

The only reason for me to understand why anyone would buy a macbook is because of the high res retina display. Other than that it's just overpriced hardware with the shittiest OS ever ;D

I have to admit I'm kind of a apple hater as I think they're just pure crap.

But then the GPU would not be able to handle most games at that resolution.

[Niao 12]

Without going into any fights you can't just say to someone "don't buy a mac because of the OS"... Give some reasons and not just "I think it's crap"...

Os's are different even if they all have the common functionalities and it suits you or not! A lot of people have migrated to Mac OS for the simplicity of it,

and all the haters are most of the time HC Gamers and because they don't like Apple's policy! Remember that for some people, that kind of "control" policy

they like it as long as is it simple and works.

Anyway if you are looking to play casually, own a light computer, huge battery life, and you like the OS then I would go for the MB Air with OS X/bootcamp duo.

I have played years on bootcamp without any drivers issue and with almost latest game. But yeah dont think playing at max settings.

I like my mac because im so much more productive with it than with a windows PC and thats the main reason for me. After that you can add the fact you own an "iSomething"

which will be easier to sync with your mac.

Try to think of the pros and the cons for YOURSELF thats the best advice I can give you.

Regards.

[qwerty13 10]

I am Team PC. Then my boyfriend wanted a notebook. I bought him a MacBook Pro for Christmas, That little bugger was heavy. I was so smug about the OS being so foreign and all. Um, no. It is a breeze to learn, renders video like wildfire and gorgeous graphics that are bright but not overly saturated. I am less Team PC. I have to say it impressed me enough to switch teams.

[Tech Inferno Fan 20]

I am Team PC. Then my boyfriend wanted a notebook. I bought him a MacBook Pro for Christmas, That little bugger was heavy. I was so smug about the OS being so foreign and all. Um, no. It is a breeze to learn, renders video like wildfire and gorgeous graphics that are bright but not overly saturated. I am less Team PC. I have to say it impressed me enough to switch teams.

Macbooks set the lead but the PC notebooks are catching up. You can now find some with retina screens, Thunderbolt ports and i7-quads in *lighter* chassis than the MBA/MBPs. See the Haswell list at http://forum.techinferno.com/diy-e-gpu-projects/4109-egpu-candidate-system-list-%5Bthin-light%5D.html#post57159 for true PC alternatives to Macs.

[Caro0 12]

If u plan on gaming then i would strongly sugget to step away from macbooks..... what u would need is a clevo with decent stats.

But well in terms of optic and haptic there isnt much equal to an (overpriced) macbook :x maybe a dell xps or an alienware would be the number one choices then.

[Amgdust 12]

Understanding that the OP wanted to perform 'light gaming' on his Mac Book Pro running windows, I would almost be willing to reccommend using Parallels for Mac to run WIndows 8 inside of a virtual machine.

Assuming you have sufficient system resources, this is a viable method for 'light gaming' while maintaining the ability to fully use the applications you need inside of the Mac OS.

[Pathfindercod 13]

I need to know what light gaming is for you. Light gaming as in solitare and minecraft or light gaming as in 30 minutes of Battlefield 3 or COD here and there? I have a 15" Retina Macbook pro. You can not play a light game of Battlefield 3 on it, it just runs to hot and locks up. I love my Mac and use it for photography. Yeah you get sub-par hardware compared to a mid-level to high-level windows machine. The beauty or the Mac and OSX is Apple controls every aspect of it, updates of hardware and software. Simply it all just works . Its nice getting os update, firmware and drivers all at one touch of a button and it just works.

That being said, I moved to Mac's when Vista came out. I built a $3500 gaming PC with Vista and it ran like CRAP! Looked at a Mac at the Apple store and said forget it and sold the PC and moved on. I missed gaming overtime and really wanted to get back into gaming so i had no real choice but to get another PC.

Hate windows 8 as much as i did vista. Windows 8 is worse than the combination of Windows Millenium and Vista combined! So i built my desktop with windows 7 and made sure to choose a manufacturer that allows the purchase of windows 7 still.

Mac's do what they are designed to do VERY WELL. Less maintenance and "tweaking". I have a 17" macbook pro I use for work. Bought it new in 2009 and it is still running the same hardware, newest OS and has never been reloaded. Just upgraded. Runs like new.

[unreal25 786]

The only reason for me to understand why anyone would buy a macbook is because of the high res retina display. Other than that it's just overpriced hardware with the shittiest OS ever ;D

I have to admit I'm kind of a apple hater as I think they're just pure crap.

[58elrond 10]

theres loads of youtube vids to enable windows on mac software, it should be easy enough,, id go with one of mac gameing computers it fits needs for everything and is a very sexy machine, should play most games @60fps

[unreal25 786]

You don't "enable Windows" on a Macs. You install them like on any other computer (you do need your own copy), it's just that they can't be installed on the same partition as OSX (so you make an NTFS partition). So the hard drive needs to be partitioned and you lose some disk space in the process. The obvious disadvantage is rebooting to Windows every time you want to play a game (it's really not that convenient even with PCI-e SSD). On top of that Apple's Windows drivers for some components like touchpad aren't that good, so it doesn't behave equally smooth and great as it does in OSX. The game performance in terms of FPS is quite better, tho.

[Tech Inferno Fan 20]

You don't "enable Windows" on a Macs. You install them like on any other computer (you do need your own copy), it's just that they can't be installed on the same partition as OSX (so you make an NTFS partition). So the hard drive needs to be partitioned and you lose some disk space in the process. The obvious disadvantage is rebooting to Windows every time you want to play a game (it's really not that convenient even with PCI-e SSD). On top of that Apple's Windows drivers for some components like touchpad aren't that good, so it doesn't behave equally smooth and great as it does in OSX. The game performance in terms of FPS is quite better, tho.

Worth noting that the Haswell Sony Vaio Pro 11/13" ultrabook also uses a pci-e SSD just like the Haswell Macbook Airs. Scores nearly 1GBps CDM sequential reads at Sony Vaio Pro 13 Review - Ultrabook Reviews by MobileTechReview .

These pci-e SSDs use a x2 2.0 (10Gbps) Southbridge port rather than the 6Gbps SATA-III port to get greater throughout. You'd need to run RAID-0 SSDs across two SATA-III ports to equal or better that performance. Ivy Bridge HP 2570P's bios allowing such a configuration.

That new Haswell Sony ultrabook boots Win8 in 7 seconds according to Sony VAIO Pro 11 Review - Lightest Ultrabook - Haswell TouchScreen . I've played with one and was amazed at the boot time. Hit the power button and it felt like 5 seconds passed before I was on the Win8 desktop.

[Rob87 10]

I personally use a mid 2009 15'' macbook pro. I will agree that mac OSX is pretty flawless and it has some pretty fantastic features (when will windows get expose?). I started out in the light gaming camp, but am slowly moving to heavier stuff. I've done gaming on VMs with parallels, and bootcamp both. I will say that video driver support for virtual machines (with VM ware or parallels) leaves something to be desired. So I opted to run Windows 7 on bootcamp, with better results. I can at least game with some almost new titles at min settings...

Bottom line, my opinion is that if you go with a macbook, game with bootcamp not, with a virtual machine. As has been said earlier, though, you may find yourself spending more and more time in your windows partition, just because you can't be bothered to restart. That's the position I'm in anyway.

[scribbles311 10]

You can definitely run instances of Windows on a Mac, and you can do the opposite as well, running Apple OS on a PC. Just need that partition.