Stick with Mac or switch to Windows?

Hi Guys,

Around 6 months ago now I purchased my first every MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) after being a Windows user for over 10 years however I've run into some difficulties;

In the 6 months I've had it, its had to go in for repair twice due to hardware faults which were not caused by myself - the 1st time was for a logic board replacement and the 2nd time was as the keyboard stopped working. These are issues that I was prepared to overlook however recently I was required to re-install OSX which I did with the guidance of an Apple Care specialist...

The only thing is that when I re-installed OSX, it somehow backdated itself to Lion when the system came with Mountain Lion pre-installed. I've spoken to Apple Care about this for over a week to try and resolve the issue and the current update is that they cannot give me a redemption code for Mountain Lion and also cannot explain whats happened. After numerous calls to them about this I've now got 3 options available to me...

1) Purchased Mountain Lion for £14 and Apple Care will give me £60 worth of Apple Store vouchers due to the issue

2) Full refund on my MacBoo Pro Mid 2012 (Spec Below)

15-inch MacBook Pro
With the following configuration:
•2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
•8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
•750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
•SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
•MacBook Pro 15-inch Hi-Res Antiglare Widescreen Display

3) Take the refund and purchase something like this laptop which is almost the equivalent cost of my MacBook Pro;

Chassis & Display
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2 x NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680M - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM (Special Offer)
Memory - Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)

Now don't get me wrong, I have really and still do enjoy using my MacBook Pro - the interface is great, it doesn't feel clunky, everything feels smoother and simpler, it can handle mid range gaming (Which I was surprised about) and although I'm yet to try it - I can only assume its going to be great for Photo, Video and Music Production as well but the fact that a few things have gone wrong so far hardware wise and that that its been difficult for me to get reimbursed for the Mountain Lion loss has obviously been quite frustrating;

I've done countless hours of research online to try and find out what system (Mac or Windows) will be best for what I want and for the most part the overall conclusion is a Mac...

I'm just looking for some final advice on whats best for what I want / need before I go back to Apple in the next 1-2 days with my decision on how I wish to proceed;

What I'm Looking For

I want a system primarily for;

1) General Use
2) Photo and Video Production / Editing
3) Music Production
4) Casual Gaming

Now, as discussed I know that a MBP can do all of the above but for the cost which was circa £1750 in the Christmas sales I can get a Windows specced laptop as above which I was advised would blow my MBP out of the water in terms of power and capabilities. In fairness, the company advised that it is a "Gaming Laptop" but that I will find that top end gaming laptops are almost identical spec wise to what you need for Photo, Video and Music Production / Editing...

I would have considered buying a replacement MBP but as the sale is no longer on it would mean paying an extra £150 - £200 for a system that is ALMOST like for like;

I dont want to ignite a Windows vs Mac war but for what I want I could use some guidance from the more experienced users. If its best to stick with Mac for the stuff that I want then thats what I'll do however if based on the issues that I've had / money and cost of another system with higher specs will be a better option then this is something I'll consider!

I would take the refund and buy a 15in MBP from the Apple refurb store.

If you're asking yourself whether to stay with a Mac or return to the Windows world...it's really entirely your call.

It's like asking chocolate ice cream or vanilla? Get what you like. And what you like/prefer may be different from someone else. So again...your call.

- Nick

RavingMac said:

I would take the refund and buy a 15in MBP from the Apple refurb store.

Click to expand...

I will second this option along with getting AppleCare on it.

If the problem is hardware and you otherwise enjoy using the machine ... then its pretty obvious isn't it? Get another Mac.

+1 with chas_m there... Just if you do go to Windows don`t go 8

Cheers,

Well Elmzeh suggest you have probably made up your mind. Go with what you think best. As suggested if you go Windows stick with Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.

How much do you need Windows?

Hi Elmzeh,

All good advice in the posts below -- I switched from PC to Mac about 5 years ago, and thankfully have never had a serious hardware problem; maybe I'm just lucky. On the whole, I just find it a better, more user friendly machine, and because there aren't so many variations (ie brands of different hardware, and software vendors who don't need to clear their product with the OS developers), getting help is a lot easier. HOWEVER, there is one application I use all the time that only comes in a Windows version, and that is my only complaint with having a Mac. If you are trying to use Windows software on a Mac, Parallels is good but it just doesn't perform like a real PC. In that case, I'd say you have a harder decision, and the best way to decide is probably to test a Mac with the Windows software you need, and see if the performance is adequate. But if you don't have a need for any Windows software, I'd suggest that you just got a lemon, and should get another new or refurbished Mac.

Good luck!