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Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

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Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#11

Post by ypcx »

First, bad apples do happen in both Mac and Windows worlds. I've worked primarily on Macbooks over the last 10 years (while Windows on laptop was still in diapers) and they never failed on me. Now that Windows 10 Pro is getting really good, and the Macs are getting obliterated by horrid design decisions, I see myself switching to Windows.

I personally prefer Windows laptops with UHD/QHD screens because I can put much more info on it (e.g. 3 vertical code windows or two vertical web browsers). The Mac won't let me set that high a DPI, even if the resolution is theoretically there. Also the 4:3 Mac screen ratio many times results in the bottom part of the screen obscured by fingers, e.g. bed coding.

That said, the best I've found is Lenovo Yoga 920 and Dell XPS 15. The Dell can be fitted with 64 GB ram e.g. if you run VMs, and since you mention amazing graphics, the OLED version says Hi to the Macbook Pro, from another universe (in other words the Mac display looks like utter trash compared to it).

In all cases, you need to clean-reinstall from a Microsoft provided Windows installer (to get rid of the massive preinstalled, buggy and inefficient bloatware), and run ThrottleStop to undervolt the machine to avoid the extra heat and boost the battery performance. Write down what you do, and over time you will develop your "install script". Chocolatey is your friend.

HTH

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#12

Post by yoloClin »

emilsedgh wrote: post #8

X1 Carbon is a really nice device. Its pretty reliable, Linux friendly and has no spyware installed like some other Lenovo lines. But no matter what laptop you pick, its gonna take you a couple of weeks until you are comfortable with it. But it will happen eventually. Laptops have the same interface after all. Switching the entire software stack from Mac to any other OS is probably the main struggle. Try a couple of…

I used an X1 for a few months. It took me a fortnight of rage before I discovered you can switch fn and ctrl in BIOS. after that I really liked it.

I'm going to be in the market for a new <= 14" soon but want more ram than the X1 carbon offers. A T490 caps out at 40gb and has decent specs on paper, I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on the model though.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#14

Post by monkeycantype »

muzani wrote: post #3

Slightly off topic, I greatly prefer a touch screen over the touch pad. One downside of switching is that work software for Macs are very well built. Webstorm feels clunkier on Windows than Mac, for example. I wish I could recommend something, but nothing seems to meet the weight, quality, power match. HP Pavilion has the weight and power of a MBP, and the tablet mode is fun. But the touchpad is terrible. Dell XPS ha…

I've been doing a lot of work on windows, so I bought a surface book, and I really like it. But it is fragile. I bought a refurb, and I had to exchange it twice. Fortunately the support is good, when I've had a problem, MS swapped it for me via courier . I've had everything backed up on one drive and really been quite easy. If you find yourself in this position, their online support chat has certain hours in each country, just switch the /us/uk/au path segment in the chat url and you'll get to chat with a person any time of day.

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#17

Post by pkalinowski »

I'm looking for a replacement, too. Had Macbook Pro 2015 and 2018.

I plan to settle on Windows 10 Pro + Ubuntu WSL. I don't need top specs (i5 and 16GB RAM are enough for me), but build quality (touchpad, screen, robustness) and weight are most important.

Playing with Surface Pro 6 in shop I kinda like it, but I can't find XPS or X1 to lay my hands on.

How is the build quality between Surface Pro, XPS and X1? Which one has the best touchpad, screen?

Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

#19

Post by morphar »

I am seriously considering Purism Librem 13 (https://puri.sm/products/librem-13/) as a replacement for my MBP. I haven't had any hands on experience with it though, so if anybody have tried it, I would love to hear about your experience. I like the privacy first approach and I think it is becoming more and more essential to have this kind of alternative.
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