New Mac Book Pro worth it?

Apple prioritizes form over function. They refuse to cut vent holes into the bottom of their laptops. This means they can't pump as much heat out of the interior of their laptop, limiting the CPU and GPU they can use. The MBPs have historically used Intel's lower power CPUs (one of the reasons they're never a launch partner for new CPUs), and mid-grade GPUs.

So yeah, you're going to get better performance at a lower price from a PC laptop. The primary reason to get a MBP is because Apple does a decent job color calibrating all their screens at the factory. If you do graphics or photo or video work and need color accuracy, you can just buy a MBP and be done with it. With the PC laptops, you have to scour reviews to find a screen which hits close to 100% sRGB color gamut, then buy a colorimeter to calibrate the screen on your own. A high-end Sony laptop was the only one I've owned which came pre-calibrated (probably because its screen hit about 130% sRGB, so a profile was needed to dial the colors back down to normal).

Apple has also been on a crusade to eliminate your ability to upgrade the system. If you want x GB of RAM, or a y GB SSD, you have to buy it that way (paying Apple's exorbitant prices). You used to be able to upgrade those on your own in older MBPs, but since about 2 years ago they've both been soldered to the mainboard.

If you can find a MBP which meets your now and future needs at a reasonable price, it's definitely easier to buy it than look for an equivalent PC. But if your requirements might change in the future, or you want better performance, and/or you don't want to pay as much, a PC laptop will be better. Unfortunately you caught me between laptop upgrades, so I don't have a ready list of PC laptops with 100% sRGB screens and decent gaming GPUs.


The brand doesn't really matter except for warranty service. The vast majority of laptops are built by ODMs - they're like an OEM except they also design the laptop. Most brands use multiple ODMs, so a particular HP model may actually have more in common with a Dell model than it does with other HP models. The Macbooks and MBPs are made by Quanta, who also happens to make most of HP's and Dell's laptops (I suspect the high-end models, though the industry is very secretive about ODMs so it's tough to be sure).

https/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laptop_brands_and_manufacturers#Original_design_manufacturers_.28ODMs.29

Acer used to be an ODM, but they spun off that division as Wistron back in 2000. The Acer brand now gets its laptops from multiple ODMs, so quality varies depending on model (and which ODM build that model).