sadiqhassan

Hi,

I am looking to buy a computer / notebook for university next year. I love USING computers, but have no clue what to look for when buying them. My budget is about $1600 USD, but I am flexible. I don't play too many games but have tons of music etc. and I have trouble typing on those small keyboards so a large keyboard is a must.

My friend has suggested that I buy a MAC but load Windows Vista / XP on it. I am terrible at learning new operating systems and have only just become comfortable with XP, so using a MAC OS would be out of the question.

My question is: is it possible / realistic to buy a MAC and load XP on it? Would this be a good idea? I can't really see the benefit

Would this potentially result in some problems since I will have a MAC keyboard etc?

Thanks so much!

SRQ Guy

If your main goal is to run Windows, you shouldn't buy the Mac laptop. They're much more expensive than comparable PC's, and only necessary if you wish to run Mac OS.

Palal

OP -- you can do what you are suggesting, but I'd buy something cheaper if you want windows on it.

Braindrain

For school, I'd suggest a Tablet PC. Depending on your courses, the ability to capture diagrams may be a must.

Peetah

Yes, you can buy a Mac, and run Parallels which can run XP inside of it. But why bother? You know your way around a PC already so just buy a decent laptop with XP already loaded on it.

I just got one of my sisters a Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505 (same computer, different model numbers depending on the business unit you go through) earlier this year and she loves it. I configured it with the top of the line CPU and display, plus an extra power adapter so I know it'll last her more than a few years.

Once you're in school, buy the academic version of Office 2003/2007... it'll be cheaper than buying the full version.

Good luck with your studies!

cpx

As they say.. once you go Mac.. you don't go back.
Macs are fairly easy to use and lot less hassle compared to Windows...
not to mention they are not affected by viruses as much like windows.

I'd say go and try one at one of the apple store.. and decide for your self.

njxbean

i think the bottom line is, do you wish to learn Mac OS X? If so, get a mac book pro with windows on it as well and have fun. You will probably find its easy to use and be happy you made the switch. If you get confused, you can always go back to windows. It cant hurt to learn something new. If you have no interest in learning a new OS, then get yourself a PC. For your budget, you can get the top of the line laptop with all of the frills! Either way, you cant go wrong. Enjoy!!

sadiqhassan

Thanks for the replies. I don't think using a MAC OS would work for me - I'll just stick with Windows for now.

I was wondering it if would be better to purchase now or wait till the summer? The advantage of purcashing now would be that I would have time to transfer all of my documents from this computer + install all the programs I need.

Cheers

SpaceBass

I think you should try the Mac!
To answer your original question, there are tons of retailers who sell macs pre-loaded with windows. There are two ways to run windows on a Mac, one (Apple's offical solution) is called BootCamp. You basically split the hard drive space in half and when you boot up you can pick windows or OS X. The other option is virtualization. The leader of the pack is a program called Parallels which allows you to run Windows XP or Vista in a window itself (and you can go full screen too of course). To me its the preferable solution b/c you can run both OS X and Windows at the same time...best of both worlds.

I give this pitch all the time b/c I'm a little evangelical about OS X and Macs... in fact I just finished instaling Parallels and XP on a friend's new Macboook... and what I always say is that I'm willing to bet with in a month you stop using XP all together (assuming you dont have some crucial app that only runs in windows). I really wouldn't worry about learning a new system.... if you can use a mouse you can use OS X or Windows or Linux or whatever...besides everything is moving to the online expirence anyway

To the folks who pointed out the costs of the Macs vs PCs you have you to remember to compare apples to apples (pardon the mixed metaphor). What I mean is this, if you 'spec out' a dell or thinkpad that is comparable (talking parts, memory, options, etc) then they are usually about the same (or often with the PC being more expensive). Then factor in the build quality, which I can personally say is much higher than a Dell (that should draw some flames) and the fact that Macs come pre-loaded with iLife software which a lot of people consider to be fairly valuable in and of itself.

Anyway...that's my pitch... see if you can find someone who sells a Mac pre-loaded with XP or Vista in Parallels... you should be under $1,600.00 easily. Frankly if you buy it from apple you can get a refurbished one for under $1,000.00 and then try taking on the Parallels thing yourself, or ask or nerd friend (every circle and family has at least one).

SpaceBass

Since your a student, I wanted to add a plug for some free software.
Check out OpenOffice ... its a free office suite.

I think its comparable, if not superior to Office 2003...but its not quite as slick as the new Office 2007 interface (yet). Nevertheless, its free and it is fairly compatible with Microsoft office.

My goal for 2007 is to Microsoft Free (at home) by the end of the year. So I've removed MS Office from all 8 of my personal computers and put OpenOffice on...I've been able to open every file I have or that anyone sends me....easy transition.

BDLORD

Go to a Mac store and play with one. I have both PC's and a Mac. I love the Mac, it is so simple.
Don't University's use Mac's?

sany2

I understand the reasoning behind not purchasing MS office (its very expensive) but I don't understand the rational behind removing Office 2003 from computers that already have it.

sadiqhassan

I use Open Office right now I also have MS Office 98 loaded just in case some files don't open with Open Office - this has happened 2 or 3 times.

SpaceBass

That's another tread.... Mostly when I say I'm getting rid of MS in 2007 I mean on the desktop which also means no more office. I have 7 Macs currently and I do own Office 2004 for the mac, and technically I have 3 licenses... but I still pulled it off all but one of the Macs and the only reason its still there is b/c I guess I'm too lazy to drag it to the trash.

What I am really trying to accomplish is to get rid of my last XP box (laptop running uTorrent) and my 2 windows 2003 domain controllers. I replaced one DC with Linux (I won't say which distro b/t the irony is just too painful). That leaves me with one 2003 DC and the XP box... My 2003 DC is functioning basically as a LDAP master... Anyway...once I get that taken care of, I'll be MS free....

SpaceBass

See, you're already a Mac kind of person and you didn't even know it!