Macbook Pro or Sony Vaio AW?

<p>I am needing a new laptop. I will only have one machine and wonder, what in your opinion is the best all round machine for photo processing/editing. I travel quite a bit so portability is also consideration.<br>

Thank you.</p>

<p>It would be an apples to oranges comparison between an Apple laptop with a Sony laptop.</p>

<p>However, if you want to get one of the most tricked out and powerful laptops available other than the fat and heavy gaming laptops, you may want to consider the Dell Precision M6500 mobile workstation for many reasons including:</p>

<p>It has higher resolution than the apple or the sony, at 1920x1200 in a 17inch diag. package, and Dell even has a version of the LCD with LED backlighting.</p>

<p>With the Dell it is possible to choose either an nVidia or an ATI discrete graphics card, with up to 1GB of dedicated video memory.</p>

<p>With the Dell it is possible to have two hard drives of up to 500GB each spinning at 7200rpm for a total of 1GB of storage on board, although it is easy to add an eSATA express card and expand with external drives.</p>

<p>With the Dell it is possible to choose a blu-ray reader / DVD burner drive, while the Apple does not support blu-ray.</p>

<p>The Dell supports up to 16GB of system memory for use with a 64bit version of Windows 7 or Windows XP.</p>

<p>The Dell M6500 is available with great phone support and on-site service that is really good.</p>

<p>The Dell M6500 includes a choice of various Intel Core i7 mobile processors that are more powerful than those available in the Apple or the Sony, up to a i7-820QM quad core or an i7-920XM Extreme Edition (for an extra $690).</p>

<p>However, if you get an M6500, with all the available goodies, it will cost you dearly, as much as $7,000.00 or more.</p>

<p>I own the previous version of the same Dell laptop, and spent about $5,000.00 for it, but I use the thing every day for mobile shoots and in the studio, connected to a Dell 2408 LCD monitor in portrait mode, with my camera tethered to it so that I can review photos on the display instantly as I am working.</p>

<p>So, if you want a truly powerful laptop that is the equal of the most powerful desktops, for imaging working, the best you can get is from Dell, but it will cost you.</p>

<p>Check it out at the following link and click the customize button to walk through all the customization options, don't go with a stripped down package:</p>

<p><a href="http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=bw1s11bd&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&kc=precision-m6500">Link to Dell m6500 customization sequence</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/precision-m6500/pd.aspx?refid=precision-m6500&s=bsd&cs=04">Link to Dell M6500 laptop page</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.dell.com/content/products/superview.aspx?c=us&cs=g_4&l=en&pageoverride=gallery_view1&s=bsd&xdb=Z2xvYmFsOnByb2R1Y3RzOnByZWNuOmZsYXNoOnByZWNpc2lvbi1tNjUwMCNyZWdpb24=">Link to gallery photos of the Dell M6500 laptop at dell.com</a><br>

<a href="http://www.dell.com/content/products/superview.aspx?c=us&cs=g_4&l=en&pageoverride=gallery_view1&s=bsd&xdb=Z2xvYmFsOnByb2R1Y3RzOnByZWNuOmZsYXNoOnByZWNpc2lvbi1tNjUwMCNyZWdpb24="></a></p>

<p>I didn't know Dell advertised on photo.net</p>

<p>Ha Ha Walter!</p>

<p>I think I provided Brent an appropriate, detailed, and persuasive, answer to his question. Plus I neither work for, nor am I associated with Dell in any way, other than being a satisfied customer who is reading this site with a Dell Precision laptop at this very moment.</p>

<p>Hello again Brent. Well Summer is for Dell & i would choose them over Sony, but Summer has some facts wrong about Apple.</p>

<p>The 17'' Macbook Pro is 1920x1200 & you would have an option for Matt or glossy screen for only 50 bucks. Since you are talking about traveling it would be nice to have a Matt screen with almost no reflections.<br>

Apple's battery technology has every one beat right now. Great for traveling. With the Graphics ability the Macbook Pro has 512, but when you don't need it you can town it down to save power. & yes 8 gigs of Ram vs 16 on the Dell<br>

& don't forget about Firewire 800. You can get portable external HD's up to 640 GB & daisey chain your 800 card reader to them & need only 1 port & it will power both.</p>

<p>Plus the Macbook Pro comes in 13''15''17'' & all are very Powerful so you can see what kind of power you will need.<br>

& yes no Blue-ray support . & I'm not really happy with that, but i have all my movies on Hard disk when it comes to my laptop anyway.<br>

I have heard & seen friends deal with Dell's support. & it seems to be a good split of good bad. Like lots of support if you know your stuff pretty good it will go better.<br>

With Apple the odds are that you have a couple of stores around you. So you don't have to deal with your problems over the phone. You can make an reservation at the Genius bar at home. They are very helpful. So if you are having a problem with your Mac,software,hardware or you just can't wrap you head around something they can look at it instead of you trying to explain it over the phone.</p>

<p>& about the Intel i7 the Macbook Pro is ready for an update & all apple rumers have them headed there</p>

<p>http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go</p>

<p>http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/</p>

<p>http://www.hoodmanusa.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RAW%2DFW8</p>

<p>Summer . Love the comment ''Dell Precision laptop at this very moment''<br>

Awsome Right back at ya Pal</p>

<p>"It would be an apples to oranges comparison between an Apple laptop with a Sony laptop."<br>

<br /> Sorry, but they are comparable because they are both built around Intel processors. You can run Windows on the Apple, so first decide if there is any Apple-specific software that you require (everything that I need runs on either platform, so I have a PC). Buy the Apple if you want to run Aperture or a version of Apple's video software. And buy the Apple if you don't want to receive tech support over the phone from India. If your software runs on either platform, then just compare specs and build quality.</p>

<p>I had a CD drive break on a Dell desktop while it was under warranty, so they shipped me a replacement drive that I had to replace myself. I have no problem doing it myself on a desktop, but I sure wouldn't want to do it on a laptop. So check on support if you buy a Dell.</p>

<p>If you want technical support from people in the U.S. with Dell, one would need to purchase the "Pro Support" package with "on-site service", which is well worth it, IMO. When last I called, the Dell "Pro Support" group was based in Tennessee somewhere. The four year "Pro Support" only adds $220.00 to the cost the computer, and is a bargain, IMO, sort of like insurance on the hardware. If anything ever goes wrong, they are out the next day with a technician.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/services/prosupport/end_users?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd">Dell Pro Support Description Link</a></p>

<p>Here is the spec page in the MacBook Pro 17"</p>

<p>http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-17inch.html</p>

<p>Another limitation of the MacBook Pro is that the Apple OS is only available in a 32bit version.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The Dell Precision Mobile Workstation laptop model M6500 configuration below contains the features I was describing above, including 12GB RAM, LED backlighting, 4 years Pro Support, MS Office, 64bit Windows Ultimate, docking station, and so on:<br>

total price $7,082.00</p>

<p>PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7-820QM Quad Core 1.73GHz 8MB edit<br /> OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64-bit edit<br /> ENERGY STAR Dell Precision M6500 Mobile Workstation edit<br /> MEMORY 12.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 4 DIMMS edit<br /> VIDEO CARD 1.0GB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 3800M Graphics edit<br /> LCD 17" Wide Screen WUXGA RGBLED LCD Panel w/ integrated camera and mic edit<br /> RAID CONFIGURATION All Hard Drives, Non-RAID, 1 or 2 drive total configuration edit<br /> HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive with FFS edit<br /> SECOND HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive with FFS edit<br /> OPTICAL DRIVE Blu-ray Disc™ with Roxio and Cyberlink PDVD™ edit<br /> WIRELESS CARD Dell Wireless™ 1510 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card edit<br /> WIRELESS-PAN Dell 365 Bluetooth 2.1 and Dell Ulta Wide Band 420 edit<br /> CONTACTLESS SMART CARD READER Contactless Smart Card Reader edit<br /> FINGERPRINT READER OPTION Internal Swipe Fingerprint Reader edit<br /> A/C ADAPTER 210W/240W switchable Slim 3P A/C Adapter edit<br>

WARRANTY & SERVICE 4 Year ProSupport for End Users and 4 Year NBD On-Site Service edit<br>

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office 2007 Professional and Adobe Acrobat 9.0 STD edit<br /> MODEM No Modem edit<br /> VIDEO CARD ADAPTERS DisplayPort to DVI (Single Link) Adapter for E-Family edit<br /> VIDEO CARD ADAPTERS DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter for E-Family edit<br /> DOCKING SOLUTIONS E-Port Plus, Port Replicator edit<br /> SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION Resource DVD and Quick Reference Guide edit<br>

ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SERVICE 4 Year CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection edit<br /> ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM<br /> BATTERY OPTIONS 9 Cell Battery <br /> INTERNAL KEYBOARD Internal English Backlit Keyboard</p>

 

<p>Summer... Apples OS has been 64bit for quite some time....Get it right. Robert bad talks your Dell support so you go off half cocked with wrong info</p>

<p>http://hothardware.com/News/Apples-64Bit-Snow-Leopard-OS-Installs-32Bit-Kernel-By-Default/</p>

<p>Changing the CD/DVD drive on a laptop, is totally easy and involves removing a single screw from the back of the unit, sliding one drive out and the other drive in, and replacing the screw. It is actually easier than trying to do that with a desktop.</p>

<p>Changing hard drives is equally easy. In fact, I keep two sets of primary hard drives for my Dell laptop, one with Windows XP and one with Windows 7. Since you can't directly upgrade between them, I decided to setup an alternate hard drive with the newer OS. I can turn off my laptop and swap hard drives within under two minutes, although I don't do it that often. Changing the primary hard drive involves two screws instead of one, and the hard drive slides in/out on a cute little chassis. Dell support even sent me a second hard drive chassis for free after I purchased an additional WD 7200rpm hard drive on my own.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>"Another limitation of the MacBook Pro is that the Apple OS is only available in a 32bit version."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not true. OS-X (10.6) Snow Leopard is a 64-bit OS (64-bit core kernel). That was the primary reason for the upgrade from Leopard (the rest was some UI tweaking). OS-X has supported some 64-bit applications since Tiger. Basically, if the processor supports 64-bit, it can run at 64-bit. This includes all current MacBook Pros. Certain other Mac laptops (that are 64-bit capable) are shipped with 32-bit selected as the default OS mode, but they can be tweaked to run 64-bit. For example, newer iMac users can hold down on the 6 and 4 keys while booting, and Snow Leopard will start in 64-bit mode. For all Macs, however, there are still a very few built-in applications (like iTunes) that run at 32-bit regardless.</p>

<p>All Mac users with Snow Leopard and a 64-bit capable machine will be <em>capable</em> of using 64-bit Photoshop with the next PS release (CS5), as well as 64-bit LR3 when it's released. Apple's late notification to developers of their change in core OS programming languages (from Carbon to Cocoa) for the 64-bit OS-X update (Leopard to Snow Leopard) is the reason PS CS4 is written in 32-bit-only for Macs.</p>

<p>I have owned Dell products and I now own both Apple and PCs machines and here are some observations based on my personal experience:</p>

<p>In the event you need repair there may not be an Apple store near you. They are not as accessible as people are led to believe. You should verify whether or not one is really conveniently close to you.</p>

<p>Dell offers advance exchange on such items as defective hard drives, etc. If you are traveling and in a remote location, and a hard drive fails on a Dell, your chances of getting an advance exchange overnight are pretty good. Getting an advance exchange from Apple is like pulling hen's teeth, in spite of having Apple Care. It's doubtful they'll overnight one to you. Instead, they will likely insist you to take the product to an Apple Store, an authorized service center or return it to Apple. That would be a show stopper for me if I traveled extensively. My experience with a locally authorized Apple repair station was very negative. They stocked no repair parts, were going to charge me labor in spite of having Apple Care (because I didn't buy the machine from them) and they were clueless in terms of proper diagnosis of the problem, and my machine would have been tied up at least two weeks. I finally actually had to finally travel 250 RT, twice, to take my machine to an Apple store. After ten days they still had not repaired it properly. I subsequently retrieved it and repaired it myself.</p>

<p>Having to deal with the workarounds to burn and view BluRay discs on a Mac is a PITA and not practical on an Apple laptop. BluRay may go away in 5-10 years but for now it is the best consumer format for the highest quality transfer of HD material, regardless of what Steve Jobs thinks and BluRay drivers/burners are becoming standard on most medium and high end PC based laptops.</p>

<p>Admittedly, my Apple experience has not been the greatest. The most common comment I hear from other Apple owners is that I am an exception. Possibly, although when I get this comment and quiz the person making it, I usually find their Apple experience has not been silky smooth either. Your mileage may vary but for photo editing a high end Dell laptop would be my choice over either a MacBook Pro or a SONY VAIO.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I've been using both, and as an educator have been using Apple products most of my teaching career. So it will come as a surprsie when I say get the SONY Vaio! The Interface between Mac OS X and Windows 7 is uncannily similar....so much so that Windows 7 looks like a Mac ripoff! So be it. Apple has always had the best GUI around. However Apple really seems to be "Dumbing Down" their interface. No hard drive icon on the desktop anymore in OS X.6, and trying to move your itunes purchased music between a Mac and another Mac is an excercise in frustration. <br>

Whichever one you get, make sure the screen does not have the STUPID glossy covering which all the companies seem to be using. That makes seeing the screen difficult, under any amount of bright ambient lighting...and editing photos for contrast and color nearly impossible. Remember running on battery power Laptops screens are dim and crummy. So always do critical editing running on AC current plugged in. Getting some decent color calibration gear is a must too.</p>

<p>Okay, I've seen threads hijacked before, but never have I seen one as badly as this one has been. The question was Sony Vaio or Macbook Pro - Dell is not part of that question, so I suggest that no matter how much someone loves or hates their Dell, it is irrelevant. </p>

<p>That said, if someone knows me at all, they'd know that I consider the Macbook Pro just about the perfect laptop. If we are talking about photo editing, that becomes even more apparent. </p>

<p>One problem that Apple has is that due to there being a lot of people who have switched, and a lot of people who have over the years declined to fully understand the structure of OS X, there is quite a bit of misinformation out there. For example, Russ, your hard drive icon is simply not on the desktop because by default Apple leaves the preference for this unchecked. If you'd like it there, go to the Finder/Preferances/General pane and check the box. Another is the 32 bit versus 64 bit question. Of course OS X is 64 bit. Moreover, one of the main purposes of the Snow Leopard update was to rewrite much of the code to become more efficient in how it operates - some of which makes existing programs operate faster, some of which is to lay the ground for new program development as they migrate to 64 bit support. </p>

<p>Finally, as I'm sure someone will feel obliged to compare today's lineup of MBPs with some model that just came out - I'd advise holding off for a few months. Apple is expected to refresh the MBP lineup shortly - with new processors that have just been released (sort of, though not quite in flow) from Intel. http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#MacBook_Pro </p>

<p>How important is battery life?</p>

<p>Is Cost an important factor?</p>

<p>Do you have a preference between Mac OS and Windows? - if the laptop will be mostly for Photoshop, maybe this isn't such an important question, as you'll be working in an image editor anyway. Also, you can install Windows on Macs.</p>

<p>Does weight come into the equation?</p>

<p>Do you need a CD/DVD burner, or are you happy emailing your pictures (or using USB drives). If you can do without a CD drive, you can reduce weight and increase portability.</p>

<p>Do you want a built in CF/SD (and what else not) card reader? - or will you be happy to carry around an external one (or use the Camera's USB cord)</p>

<p>Will you do most of your final editing on the go, or are you planning to do just the initial sorting, and maybe some extensive photoediting while travelling, and can save the bulk of your editing for when you can return home and use an external big lcd screen</p>

<p>I used to store all my images on the internal hdd, but then my computer got stolen, and the only pictures I have are the ones I uploaded to picassa and facebook. Now, my system is to only keep the 'currently working on' images on the laptop, and everything else backed up on external hard drives.</p>

<p>Are you a working pro? - Is this an investment for work, or just for your passion?</p>

<p>I believe (not sure about all manufacturers/models out there) Macbook pros come with better LCD screens (also have matte option) than most Windows based laptops. How important is that to you?</p>

<p>------- This is the laptop I chose (got this baby 2 weeks ago): Acer Aspire 1810TZ, you can check up on its specs.</p>

<p>It meets all my needs. It's very light, has good battery life, plenty of computing power for both my matlab needs and my Elements usage. The screen is small, but I have a bigger screen at home, that I can hook it up to, when I need it for editing or watching movies.</p>

<p>The laptop doesn't have a CD bay, but that hasn't been a problem for me yet. All software these days is available online, and if I really need a CD/DVD drive, I can just share my flat mate's over the home network. (There are other workarounds, such as virtual drives) So far, I haven't had that need. Since I'm a student, and price is a big factor, I leaned towards this over other models out there, which are also good.</p>

<p>Hope this helped.</p>

<p>I have a 3 year old MPB 15". Were to replace it today I'd certainly look hard at the Sony for the better case design and ergonomics. A MPB I tried a few months back had a very annoyingly sharp edge where my wrists would abrade on it while typing.</p>

<p>I have an older macbook with the matte screen before they went to that all glossy screen which I cannot stand. If screen glare bothers you then the macbook might be a problem. Apple claims the glossy glass produces better contrast for blacks, but honestly the matte screen is better on my eyes and I don't have to worry about finger smudges showing up.</p>

<p>First, if you are thinking about a MacBook Pro wait. There are rumors that Apple is going to introduce new systems with the i5/i7 processors soon.</p>

<p>Second, what software do you have? You may be able to cross grade from PC to Mac with some software/suites but not with others. Changing platforms can be more of an investment than you think.</p>

<p>Lastly, having been a very satisfied Mac user for a couple of decades, I don't want to get into the tit-for-tat. I would mention that with the new Mac systems (Core processors or later) you can run any version of Windows on your Mac. All you need to do is buy the OS (XP if you can find it, Vista or Win7). If you want to be able to run both Mac OS and Windows at the same time you will need a virtualization app (Parallels, Fusion). If you want to run one or the other, but not both at the same time, you can use Apple's free Boot Camp. It's like getting two computers for the price of 1 1/8 (at the prices that have been discussed here).</p>

<p>Your question basically comes down to ... Apple vs Windows. Similar to ... Chevy vs Ford, Colt vs Kimber, whiskey vs bourbon, etc. etc.</p>

<p>I have been a Windows user for more than 20 years. I must admit, I never liked them, I consider them to be a "patch-work", not a real Operating System. I switched to Mac in January 2009. Never looked back, never plan to go back. Why?</p>

<p>My Toshiba notebook with Windoze XP needs about 8 minutes to fully boot (with all the anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-fishing, anti-malware, anti-you-name-it) software that it needs to run without problems. My Macbook boots up in 2 minutes and I have only one anti-virus program running in it. Even that, according to some Apple users is not necessary.</p>

<p>Photography-wise, I am a very recent user of the various image editing/managing/organizing programs, but basically whatever is available on Windoze is also available for Mac. On the other hand, my prefered image program, Aperture, is not available on Windoze. So for me, the answer is clear, Mac OS.</p>

<p>Oh yes, and I drive a Jeep.</p>

 

<p>If you like to upgrade every year or so, a PC might be a better bet because they are so much cheaper. </p>

<p>We finally got our daughter a MBP at my wife's urging. She thinks the kids should have a computer as good as my iMac which i've had for a few years without problems. Both of my daughters had Sony Vaio laptops which kind of fell apart after about a year. We'll see how she does with her new 13" MBP with the rigors of college work and carrying it around campus. </p>

 

<p>XP is ancient.<br>

My 3 year old Fujitsu 17" boots windows 7 to desktop in 65 seconds.<br>

It cost 1/2 of a MBP and it has 2x500GB drives and 4GB ram, and it runs CS3 justfine.<br>

I spent the rest of the money on a lens.</p>

<p>I wouldn't trade my MacBook for 3 Sony Vaio's.</p>