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MacBook Pro Alternatives

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Like Apple's sexy MacBook Pro, but can't afford it? Here are our top picks for laptop alternatives that are cheaper and come with many similar features.

Sony Vaio FW

The Sony Vaio FW is definitely a laptop for people who want something that looks nice and performs well. It weighs in at an affordable $1,499, and like the XPS 16, it can be configured $200 cheaper by going with the P8600 instead of the only slightly faster T9550. Also, you can save an additional $100 by choosing the standard 1600x900 screen instead of the 1920x1080 add-on.

The most notable feature of the Vaio FW is its keyboard. While it isn’t backlit, it has nearly the exact same “pebble” design as the MacBook Pro (Sony had the style first, so don’t say Sony stole it from Apple), and perhaps most importantly, it has little to no flex, which plagues so many notebooks. The second thing you’ll notice about this laptop is the gorgeous lines and curves and tranquil matte-white finish (I personally like white the best). It really stands out as an elegant machine. Performance takes a negligible hit because the computer is limited to DDR2 memory, but DDR3’s benefit is mostly its power savings, although with the nine-cell Li-Ion, it, can achieve up to eight hours of run time, and weighing 6.5 pounds, you can stay mobile.

Unfortunately, you can’t expect perfection to come at such a low price. The Vaio FW lacks a few things compared to the MacBook Pro, especially when it comes to build quality. Having a plastic chassis may keep the cost down, but it does make the notebook feel less stable when torque is applied. Also, there are those unique looking hinges, which are reportedly fragile, although I personally had no trouble with them.

The Vaio FW gets top marks in aesthetics, as well as high marks in performance and battery life, but the plastic construction just can’t cut it, yielding low points for build quality.

Sony VAIO FW
Processor
Core 2 Duo T9550 (6 MB cache, 2.66 GHz)
Memory
4 GB DDR2-800
Hard Drive
320 GB 5,400 RPM
Video Card
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 512 MB
Display
16" LCD 1920x1080
Relevant I/O Ports
3x USB, HDMI, SD/MC reader, 34 mm, Express Slot, IEEE 1394a
Dimensions
15.1 x 10.3 x 1.14-1.46"
Weight
6.5 Lbs
Price
$1499
70 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 29 April 2009 05:50
    So essentially, Pay more for a MacBook Pro for equal or lesser performance, but my farts will smell better?
    Reply
  • quantumrand 29 April 2009 06:07
    Sleepless in BostonSo essentially, Pay more for a MacBook Pro for equal or lesser performance, but my farts will smell better?
    No, you'll just think your farts smell better, and then tell everyone about how good they smell.
    Reply
  • norbs 29 April 2009 06:33
    Who cares what little kids think, you could not afford a mac book or the cheaper PC alternative, your opinion doesn't matter... ;)
    Reply
  • quantumrand 29 April 2009 06:54
    I want to know why all the crap ware you get with PC manufacturers isn't mentioned. I mean sure, you could just reformat when you get the thing, but for some people, that's a complicated task.
    Reply
  • touchdowntexas13 29 April 2009 07:48
    That's like saying, I want to know why the article didn't take into account the range of compatibility with games/applications that the other systems have. If you want to start a whole mac vs. pc thread, then go ahead, because you will probably get plenty of responses. Unlike the title suggests, the author of this article was obviously trying to keep a level playing field. He even threw in a refurbished mac to show a cheaper solution that would be almost just as good as the real thing.

    If we are going to be nitpicky, he didn't compare the hdd's, which some of the other systems either had a faster or a bigger hdd than did the macbook pro.

    And before someone says "you could always just dual boot with windows", that would be an expense that would need to be taken into account, because windows is expensive. And that would be just as complicated as removing the crapware off of those pcs...

    Very nice article by the way. I can't say i needed to be told that there are cheaper/faster alternatives to macs, but it's good to see this site acknowledge people that can't afford them.
    Reply
  • shurcooL 29 April 2009 13:00
    Sony Vaio Z is a sleek sexy 13.3" machine weighing at only 3.5 lbs. It looks kinda similar to the FW series, except smaller.

    It seems like a nice competitor to the regular MacBook, no?
    Reply
  • andy_newton 29 April 2009 14:45
    It all comes down to what you are going to use this laptop for and for how many years.

    If you intend to buy a new laptop once a year just for Casual Gaming, Facebook, and other non critical things or just because you easily get bored then it's pretty obvious: Don't buy a Mac.

    If you do tons of color critical work such as prints, movie, special effects, & CAD then it's quite obvious too: Among all the choices in the article, Macbook Pro is the only one that comes with a Monitor suited for those specific tasks even if your choice of OS is Windows.

    Another thing: those 8 hr battery life claims--is it with Vista doing nothing? How do you get 8hrs?

    I've never come across any Vista Premium notebooks (including any Apple) that lasts more than 4 hrs running Vista doing nothing with all hardware turned on (Wifi, bluetooth, 50% LCD Brightness, 50% Volume, 50% Backlit )

    I'd appreciate it if someone can enlighten me.

    -ND
    Reply
  • quantumrand 29 April 2009 15:21
    Yeah, I'm skeptical about the 8 hours of battery life thing too, but it seems to be about the average laptop manufacturers are claiming for their 9 cell batteries. I seriously doubt any of them, including the macs, get 8 hours.
    Reply
  • quantumrand 29 April 2009 18:52
    Andy_NewtonIf you do tons of color critical work such as prints, movie, special effects, & CAD then it's quite obvious too: Among all the choices in the article, Macbook Pro is the only one that comes with a Monitor suited for those specific tasks even if your choice of OS is Windows.
    I just have to say, the 15.4" MacBook Pro doesn't have that great of a screen. True, it's LED backlit, so it gets a uniform brightness. But, at 1440x900, it's held back considerably. The XPS 16 would be a much better choice screen wise, being LED backlit and 1920x1080. The Vaio also has a supperior display.
    Reply
  • cadder 29 April 2009 22:12
    I just now configured a Dell Latitude E6500 as closely as I could to the MBP and it came out at $1291. I picked the E6500 because it has the all metal chassis. A few months ago I bought an E6500 for myself, spec'd out a little higher than the MBP but I bought it with a coupon from the Dell outlet and got it for a LOT less money.

    I also picked the same resolution as the MBP and it is known that of the 3 manufacturers that make these display panels Dell sometimes uses the same one that Apple uses. So the Dell display would not be inferior to the MBP, it would be IDENTICAL. I've checked and my own E6500 has the identical display panel that the MBP uses.

    I am not an Apple fan in any way, for several reasons, but I'm learning that part of the price difference between Apple and "the others" is that Apple uses premium hardware. You can get a budget 15" laptop for around $600. You just have to decide if you are willing to spend more money for that and for their other features. I didn't want a budget laptop so I spent a lot more, but still far short of the MBP.
    Reply