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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?

#31

Post by jordanthoms »

hdbsbv_shdbfb wrote: post #26
propercoil wrote: post #16

Macbook Air > Macbook Pro just because of the keyboard

I have MBP ‘18 and an Air ‘19 and I was surprised how much better the keyboard is. I didn’t buy it for that reason — I just like to have a second, more portable laptop for backup and convenience. It is much nicer to type on and feels more rugged. I agree with the general consensus here however — Apple needs to get its shit together and stop pursuing meaningless marketing metrics and start making great computers again…

Yeah, Lenovo is almost there with the X1 Carbon/Extreme and Razer's ones look good too - if they'd just fix the trackpads and have officially supported Linux with the Optimus problems fixed they'd be a great alternative.

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

#34

Post by gherkinnn »

drevil-v2 wrote: post #5

Slightly OT however for what it’s worth the new 16inch MBP with a redesigned non-butterfly keyboard is supposed to be available soon. I would suggest you hold off any laptop decision until then.

Waiting for that announcement myself. Plus a few months to see just how reliable they are.

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

#35

Post by Doubleslash »

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…

X1 is a nice laptop. The problem is it's weak CPU. Apple manages to crunch a whole different tier of CPU (h(q) series vs. U series for Lenovo) in the same form factor.

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

#37

Post by longtom »

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 currently IMO, and Apple deserves some flak for their provocative product policy, e.g. selling the MacBook Air with the same crappy low-res screen up until 2017 which is still available in some stores.

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

#38

Post by marmaduke »

The Dell business laptops run really well on Linux. I ha e a 5290 (x280 equivalent) on CentOS 7.7 and everything just works.

Higher end stuff like their xps 15 or 7530 are also very good.

Getting Retina to not eat battery life has been a little tricky though. On a non retina system, I got down to 1W idle, whereas it was 15W idle on a retina system. With Firefox, 2-5W non Retina, but 25-35W for Retina. This will inevitably improve, but it's something to watch out for. On Windows, it's less of a problem, as they seem to run a lot of the graphics on the Intel GPU, only switching to discrete when required.

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

#40

Post by supernes »

Varriount wrote: post #10

The Dell XPS line is pretty decent, and the newer models have fixed some design flaws (like camera placement). The higher-end models have discrete graphics cards, fingerprint readers, and a decent resolution display.

Bought an XPS a couple of months ago and had to return it because of the inexcusable ghosting and slow refresh on the 4K panel and the frankly inadequate thermal design. Outrageously bad for the asking price.
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