Computers & Networking

[DSteiert]

So I'm going to be going into college in the Fall and my parents are buying me a laptop of my choosing as a graduation gift. I've looked around a bit and narrowed the choices to either a Sony Vaio that I customize on Sony's site, or a Mac Pro. I'm really not sure what to go with, though. I've looked through all the specs and they look good, but I don't exactly know in depth the difference between a Pro and a Vaio. The Vaio I can get for just under $900, but for the Pro, 13" starts at $1200 while 15" starts at $1700..why such a large jump with just screen sizes?! The laptop I get will be used for a long part of my life unless it breaks and I'll be majoring in Computer Science so I'll need a fast, compatible laptop that can run software programs and I know the programs that my college sells will work with Apple, but I'm not sure if it'll be good in the long run. I currently have an iMac, so I know how to use Macs and all their fancy tools. If anyone can think of reasons why the prices vary so much and which to get, please tell me! Thanks!

[pinkzroxor]

since you currently have an iMac, I won't explain so much about the Mac.

Sony Vaio is a PC, a total different OS from Mac. It's a bit more complicated than the Mac but it'll get much more done. The reason why I say that is because it has a lot of options and it's compatible with more programs than the Mac. However, you may experience a few lags here and there because of the flexibility. When Mac focuses to suit one OS, the PC tries to work with a lot of different OS, making it unstable.

[xl]

My first advice...

• don't worry about this until August/September when the back to school sales kick in.  Prices will fall and the machine gets more powerful
• What software do they use in Computer Sciences?  Is there a programming component?  Can a Mac do .NET programming?
• think about screen size... do you want something small and portable to take around?  Or do you crave a 17" desktop replacement to see all your programming tools.

With regards to screen sizes and price relations...

• competition.... the more competition, the lower the cost
• popularity.... the higher the sales, the lower the cost
• you get what you pay for.... I love my 18.4" Sony!

[NoNoBadDog]

Sony Vaio computers are not even good PCs.  They are barely middle of the road, and are made of inferior parts.  I would recommend most other brands over Sony.

[DSteiert]

Well, I'll probably get my laptop within a month or so, I can see if Apple will have any sales. But I don't know what programs we will be using because I know the iMac doesn't support Visual Basic or QBasic, but the programs we do in school are C++ and Java and other various ones, but the school sells the programming thing (not sure what they call it) and it's compatible with Macs. 

[JuanGuapo]

For quality and support, Apple tops all other PC makers.

[NoNoBadDog]

I have to be fair here and say that ASUS and HP make some very good products, some of which match Apple.  Sony, on the other hand, is just the opposite....inferior quality, inferior parts, and possibly the worst customer service in the industry.  Repairing one of their products is a nightmare. 

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

If performance is what concerns you, you'll almost always get more value out of a PC for the money you spend. In other words, if you spend $1000 on a Mac, it'll probably be slower than if you spent $1000 on a PC.
Everyone has had issues or heard a story from a friend about how "X" brand makes bad computers. Honestly, they're all pretty much the same and your chance of getting a defective one is almost equally as high. Personally, I'd say Asus makes some good products, however, they can fail just like any other brand.

If you have the extra money to spend on the shiny metal casing and neat-o packaging, then go for it. Just realize that you're not paying for performance at this point.

[RealGeorgeW Emerging Expert]

I won't say either way, because as has been pointed out, it'll mostly come down to price, and what you want out of it.

I will just say that I'm slightly surprised that someone who is going to be majoring in computer science isn't sure on the differences between Mac/Windows.

[DSteiert]

That's not always the case about performance, though. Apple makes one of the fastest computers whereas if you look under many PC's their processor speeds will be under 2 GHz. Of course you can find other PC's that go into the 2's for GHz, but then they usually lack something that the Macs do not. I do know the main differences between Macs and PC's, but I would like a direct, more underlying difference that is not known...preferrably from someone in the computer industry, not Best Buy. Just because I will be majoring in it (in 5 years) doesn't mean I know the difference now, as I'm young still. I have not owned a laptop, I just currently use an iMac, and it's proved to be fine, except for the minor struggle of compatibility which occurred once and we fixed it. If Sonys aren't supposed to be any good, then what are some superior PC brands I should look into?