Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 628 posts

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

#51

Post by mcv »

With all the bad reviews about Apple, I didn't want to replace my old 17" MacBook Pro with a new Macbook (also, they don't do 17" anymore), so I just ordered a Thinkpad X1 Extreme instead.

Thinkpad has had a stellar reputation for sturdy quality since forever, and the X1 Extreme seems like a fairly good compromise between power, size, and other concerns. It's not 17" because the only 17" Thinkpads are the monstrous P73s.

According to reviews, it's quieter than my old Macbook (which was extremely noisy), but I intend to make it quieter by repasting and undervolting, which seems to be a fairly common procedure for Thinkpads.

Also, if it breaks down during the first 3 years, I get on-site support, so I don't have to go anywhere when it breaks down; they come to me.

(My specs: 32 GB (still upgradable to 64GB), i7-9850H, 2x 1TB SSD (one for Windows, one for Linux perhaps) and the 4K OLED screen. I expect this to last me for quite a while.)

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

#52

Post by chillee »

longtom wrote: post #37
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 also moved to Windows 10 and X1 Carbon (6th Gen) after using Apple products all my life and I've never looked back. That being said, my X1 also went three times to repair. I guess people have simply unlearnt how to manufacture reliable products due to the immense complexity that is involved by now, combined with a planned obsolescence mentality. It is shitty wherever you go; it's just a bit more shitty with Apple c…

IMO, if you're buying a higher end laptop it's worth shelling out for the on site warranty/accident protection. They'll send a technician to your location (typically within the week) and replace whatever parts needed for free. So you'll have essentially 0 time without your laptop.

It's been excellent (used it twice: fixed a broken keycap, and a spilled drink), and gives me a ton of peace of mind.

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

#55

Post by disposedtrolley »

yoloClin wrote: post #12
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.

I recently purchased a T490 and it works reasonably well with Linux. My model has the base 1080p display rated at 250 nits, and while resolution and colour are no match for an MBP, the display surprisingly gets bright enough for some outdoor use.

Build quality is solid and keyboard is great. Speakers sound pretty rough but get decently loud. I got maybe 7-8 hours of use with the screen at 60%, and alternating between coding in Emacs and watching some videos.

I've tried Manjaro and the latest Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and have had no issues that would be a deal breaker. The only annoyance is jittery movement with the TrackPoint, but I've had that on every modern ThinkPad running Linux. I've been leaning towards using the trackpad more often and it seems to work okay.

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

#56

Post by dhruvkar »

I switched from a 2012 MBP to Thinkpad P52S with Pop_OS! I had a year with Ubuntu and Lubuntu in the middle. Pop_OS! however is so similar in usability to macOS, that I can't imagine going back to macOS even if the hardware got better.

The P52S has two batteries, all major hardware ports (including ethernet) and a SIM card slot. It had a (lower end) Nvidia card. Conveniently Pop_OS! comes bundled with Nvidia drivers.

Closest replacement for macOS/MBP I've found.

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

#57

Post by Un1corn »

mherrmann wrote: post #48

I switched from MBP to a Dell XPS 13 with Ubuntu. I compare the experience to living in a hotel vs. living at home [1]. In a hotel (=on Mac), everything is stylish and cared for, but you have very little freedom to change things. At home (=on Linux), you need to do the dishes yourself but there's no external agenda. It's simply yours. I'm very happy with the switch. Though I'm on (Debian+) Xfce now instead of Ubuntu…

> the XPS's camera is placed at the bottom of the screen instead of at the top, so people you have video calls with look up your nostrils.

The camera is no longer placed at the bottom of the screen in the newest model (9380), they moved it up top

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

#58

Post by mherrmann »

Un1corn wrote: post #57
mherrmann wrote: post #48

I switched from MBP to a Dell XPS 13 with Ubuntu. I compare the experience to living in a hotel vs. living at home [1]. In a hotel (=on Mac), everything is stylish and cared for, but you have very little freedom to change things. At home (=on Linux), you need to do the dishes yourself but there's no external agenda. It's simply yours. I'm very happy with the switch. Though I'm on (Debian+) Xfce now instead of Ubuntu…

> the XPS's camera is placed at the bottom of the screen instead of at the top, so people you have video calls with look up your nostrils. The camera is no longer placed at the bottom of the screen in the newest model (9380), they moved it up top

Ah, okay! That's great.

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

#59

Post by burntoutfire »

mcv wrote: post #51

With all the bad reviews about Apple, I didn't want to replace my old 17" MacBook Pro with a new Macbook (also, they don't do 17" anymore), so I just ordered a Thinkpad X1 Extreme instead. Thinkpad has had a stellar reputation for sturdy quality since forever, and the X1 Extreme seems like a fairly good compromise between power, size, and other concerns. It's not 17" because the only 17" Thinkpads are the monstrous P…

> I intend to make it quieter by repasting and undervolting

>Also, if it breaks down during the first 3 years, I get on-site support,

Aren't these two statements mutually exclusive?

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

#60

Post by fcurzel »

I got a Xiaomi Notebook Pro, display is not excellent, but great value for the money. 16gb ram, decently new i7, Nvidia 960M, 256gb PCIE M.2 SSD, and an extra M.2 slot! It was 1080€ shipped. Seems to be a good option also for building an hackintosh. I am using a vm for Xcode and such and it does the job.
Post reply on HN