Macbook Pro Alternatives?

[pdubs]

I am starting graduate school in the fall for engineering and am looking for a new laptop. I have a preference for Macs (been using macbooks for the last 8 years and have iPad, iPhone, and watch) but do not like the new keyboard very much (loud and shallow), so I am looking into alternatives. I am actually using the 2017 15" pro to type this but am considering returning it. My requirements are 4+ hour battery (not while gaming), under 5.5 lbs/2.5 kg, 13.9-15.6 inch screen, discrete graphics, and under $3500 (US). I think that I can deal with an ok-ish trackpad and carrying a small mouse but I cannot say that for sure since I have never used a non-macbook for very long. I do need a good keyboard since carrying a keyboard around is not an option . It may be a stupid concern but I would like a quiet keyboard because I would be hesitant to use a keyboard that might bother other people nearby and a laptop that I am not comfortable using outside of my apartment does not seem worth having.

 

As for gaming, I have a desktop for that and have found that this macbook's radeon pro 560 is enough for anything I would play on the go, but I definitely do not want to go weaker than it. I can deal with loud fans while playing games as long as it is not loud during light use.

 

For operating systems, I checked with some students who are already there and macs are fine, especially since I have the windows desktop and am fine with using bootcamp/parallels on macs. 

 

Any recommendations?

 

Edit: I would like the option of a resolution higher than 1080p even if it hurts battery life.

 

[Max_Settings]

XPS 15 hands down

[pdubs]

1 minute ago, Max_Settings said:

XPS 15 hands down

A lot of reviews make it seem like it would be great for me but I have seen a lot of stuff about quality control with screens and wireless connections.

[TheDankKoosh]

1 minute ago, pdubs said:

I am starting graduate school in the fall for engineering and am looking for a new laptop. I have a preference for Macs (been using macbooks for the last 8 years and have iPad, iPhone, and watch) but do not like the new keyboard very much (loud and shallow), so I am looking into alternatives. I am actually using the 2017 15" pro to type this but am considering returning it. My requirements are 4+ hour battery (not while gaming), under 5.5 lbs/2.5 kg, 13.9-15.6 inch screen, discrete graphics, and under $3500 (US). I think that I can deal with an ok-ish trackpad and carrying a small mouse but I cannot say that for sure since I have never used a non-macbook for very long. I do need a good keyboard since carrying a keyboard around is not an option . It may be a stupid concern but I would like a quiet keyboard because I would be hesitant to use a keyboard that might bother other people nearby and a laptop that I am not comfortable using outside of my apartment does not seem worth having.

 

As for gaming, I have a desktop for that and have found that this macbook's radeon pro 560 is enough for anything I would play on the go, but I definitely do not want to go weaker than it. I can deal with loud fans while playing games as long as it is not loud during light use.

 

For operating systems, I checked with some students who are already there and macs are fine, especially since I have the windows desktop and am fine with using bootcamp/parallels on macs. 

 

Any recommendations?

 

Get this with a larger ssd and liquid metal option so you don't have to deal with loud fans in the first place.

http://www.xoticpc.com/gigabyte-aero-15w-bk4.html?startcustomization=1

This has very similar build quality to the go-to pro notebook (xps 15) with a better gpu.

[Septimus]

Just now, pdubs said:

A lot of reviews make it seem like it would be great for me but I have seen a lot of stuff about quality control with screens and wireless connections.

I've got an XPS 13 and never had an issue. Guess it depends on if you're willing to take a chance or not. It's pretty simple to just return it and get a new one, although a hassle none the less. 

[Enderman]

XPS15 IMO.

I have the 13 and it's great.

I recommend clean installing windows though, every time you get a new laptop or PC.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, pdubs said:

A lot of reviews make it seem like it would be great for me but I have seen a lot of stuff about quality control with screens and wireless connections.

Never heard that about XPS line up. I have heard that on inspiron devices. The XPS 15 is perfect for you. i7, GTX 1050, 4K display, PCI-E SSD, HUGE battery, great build quality.

[Septimus]

2 minutes ago, TheDankKoosh said:

Get this with a larger ssd and liquid metal option so you don't have to deal with loud fans in the first place.

http://www.xoticpc.com/gigabyte-aero-15w-bk4.html?startcustomization=1

This has very similar build quality to the go-to pro notebook (xps 15) with a better gpu.

Never seen this lineup before, looks great. Bit more expensive than the XPSs though. 

[TheDankKoosh]

Just now, Septimus said:

Never seen this lineup before, looks great. Bit more expensive than the XPSs though. 

The Aero 15 is pretty much a more powerful xps 15, but it also has a larger battery to boot (99wh I believe) so it'll keep up or have better battery life than the xps.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

The Dell Latitude and Lenovo ThinkPad series gets my vote every time.

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, TheDankKoosh said:

The Aero 15 is pretty much a more powerful xps 15, but it also has a larger battery to boot (99wh I believe) so it'll keep up or have better battery life than the xps.

It's also thicker and heavier.

You can get the XPS15 with 97Wh which is almost identical, and the battery life is much longer due to lower power hardware.

 

OP said that the 560 in the macbook is good enough for the games he plays so there's no point in buying a laptop with an unnecessarily powerful GPU to just suck up battery life.

[Max_Settings]

2 minutes ago, TheDankKoosh said:

The Aero 15 is pretty much a more powerful xps 15, but it also has a larger battery to boot (99wh I believe) so it'll keep up or have better battery life than the xps.

Actually that is not true, because the aero 15 has way more power and it is a gaming laptop, gaming laptops have horrid battery life, while it is 99wh the battery life will be bad. The XPS 15 has a 97wh battery which is only a little bit smaller than the Aero 15, the XPS will have much longer battery life.

[Septimus]

8 minutes ago, TheDankKoosh said:

The Aero 15 is pretty much a more powerful xps 15, but it also has a larger battery to boot (99wh I believe) so it'll keep up or have better battery life than the xps.

Unless the XPS has adaptive GPU software, allowing the CPU's built-in iGPU to do the processing, I think the Aero 15 would definitely have a better battery life top. (comparing it to the XPS 15 version with the lower capacity battery). 

 

@pdubs, if you are looking for performance and being able to play some heavier games, go with the Aero. It'll be good in classes with battery life as well. On the other hand, the XPS offers a sleeker form factor and less "gamery" aesthetics, hile still having the kind of graphics power you need  its up to personal opinion at this point. Thinner and more business-like, or more "gamery" and more powerful. 

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Septimus said:

Unless the XPS has adaptive GPU software, allowing the CPU's built-in iGPU to do the processing, I think the Aero 15 would definitely have a better battery life top. 

 

@pdubs, if you are looking for performance and being able to play some heavier games, go with the Aero. It'll be good in classes with battery life as well. On the other hand, the XPS offers a sleeker form factor and less "gamery" aesthetics - its up to personal opinion at this point. Thinner and more business-like, or more "gamery" and more powerful (with a larger battery life). 

XPS does have adaptive GPU software

[TheDankKoosh]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

It's also thicker and heavier.

You can get the XPS15 with 97Wh which is almost identical, and the battery life is much longer due to lower power hardware.

 

OP said that the 560 in the macbook is good enough for the games he plays so there's no point in buying a laptop with an unnecessarily powerful GPU to just suck up battery life.

The aero 15 has terrific battery life for the hardware considered, and will easily compare to the macbook pro, only difference is that the aero 15 doesn't throttle itself down to crap performance under load. 

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, Septimus said:

Unless the XPS has adaptive GPU software, allowing the CPU's built-in iGPU to do the processing, I think the Aero 15 would definitely have a better battery life top. 

 

@pdubs, if you are looking for performance and being able to play some heavier games, go with the Aero. It'll be good in classes with battery life as well. On the other hand, the XPS offers a sleeker form factor and less "gamery" aesthetics - its up to personal opinion at this point. Thinner and more business-like, or more "gamery" and more powerful. 

Also Aero only has a 1080p display, and the OP wanted >1080p display, and the Aero doesn't have the build quality that the XPS has. The XPS build quality is on the level of Apple's

[Septimus]

2 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

Actually that is not true, because the aero 15 has way more power and it is a gaming laptop, gaming laptops have horrid battery life, while it is 99wh the battery life will be bad. The XPS 15 has a 97wh battery which is only a little bit smaller than the Aero 15, the XPS will have much longer battery life.

I don't agree with the fact that gaming laptops all have poor battery life, but rather the hardware inside them makes the battery life shorter. I agree since the XPS 15 has a more conservative GPU allowing for less power consumption. 

[Max_Settings]

To the OP, if you want what would be the Windows equivalent of a Macbook Pro then you have 2 choices, the XPS 15, or the Razer Blade. I personally would go with the XPS 15 because the build quality and styling is very similar to a Mac which you are used to. It also has the power and features you requested.

[Septimus]

Consensus seems to be XPS 15? 

- Has the build quality similar to a MacBook

- Necessary hardware, including superb battery life and high resolution screen

- Slim & fairly light form factor

[TheDankKoosh]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

Also Aero only has a 1080p display, and the OP wanted >1080p display, and the Aero doesn't have the build quality that the XPS has. The XPS build quality is on the level of Apple's

A 15" display with anything more than 1080p is a huge gimmick unless you have better eyesight than I do, and if the xps had the build quality of apple then I wouldn't even suggest it at all. Just saying if some extra graphical horsepower is wanted then the Aero is the best choice of them all. The xps is best in terms of price though.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Septimus said:

Consensus seems to be XPS 15? 

- Has the build quality similar to a MacBook

- Necessary hardware, including superb battery life and high resolution screen

- Slim & fairly light form factor

Yep, like I just said only other thing that checks all those boxes is the Razer Blade

[Septimus]

Just now, TheDankKoosh said:

A 15" display with anything more than 1080p is a huge gimmick unless you have better eyesight than I do, and if the xps had the build quality of apple then I wouldn't even suggest it at all. Just saying if some extra graphical horsepower is wanted then the Aero is the best choice of them all. The xps is best in terms of price though.

I agree with the DPI argument, but since the OP wants a higher resolution screen, we have to take that into account. 

[TheDankKoosh]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

Yep, like I just said only other thing that checks all those boxes is the Razer Blade

The razer blade is a piece of garbage that was designed by primates.

[Septimus]

Just now, TheDankKoosh said:

The razer blade is a piece of garbage that was designed by primates.

Most of it is good, some of it is bad. 

#Bezels 

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, TheDankKoosh said:

and if the xps had the build quality of apple then I wouldn't even suggest it at all

WTF are you smoking? As much as the PC community hates Mac, literally no one denies Apple's incredible build quality