Considering a Macbook Pro

[jonwilly]

Just having cashed in a UK investment I find myself with a spot of cash to spare.

Time for a treat so a 15 " Macbook Pro is looking good.

Several places in Chiang Mai have on offer or does an on line order seem a better bet ?

Anyone any recent experience ?

 

john

[richard_smith237]

By ordering online you can spec out your machine as you wish. Orders arrive fairly quickly (2-3 days usually) 

 

If buying directly from a dealer you may find yourself compromising, however, the starting spec for Macs is excellent. 

 

Not for everyone, but as they say 'once you go Mac you won't go back'... they are better more reliable machines - I made the switch a number of years ago and only ever get frustrated with computers when using the Windows machines at work !

[Jeffrey346]

I would definitely order direct from Apple. You will find most resellers only provide basic configurations. Most MAC owners keep them for years. One of mine is 9 years young. I upgraded it to an SSD drive and it runs faster and better than when new.

The MAC Pro comes standard wit 8 Gig of RAM. I would max it out to 16 GIG. It's money well spent. Good luck with your purchase

[Jeffrey346]

BTW.. When ordering from Apple, Shipping is free and there are no additional import fees or VAT.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Jeffrey346

[OmarZaid]

See this guy  (non)  .... Mac Service Thailand  093-1563636   in Chiang Mai

[PJPom]

One essential extra is extended warranty,  I have had a MacBook Pro for years and always take the 2 years extra cover, why ? , because MacBooks are beautifully engineered but they still go wrong.

Cost savings for me personally have been in excess of $ 1200 compared to $400 for extra cover.

Having said all that I would still buy another, why? , it’s a Mac.

I would also agree with previous poster that buying it direct from Apple is the way to go.

Edited February 27, 2018 by PJPom
Adding final comment

[Spike1938]

I currently have two MacBook Airs and just recently converted to Mac from PCs.

I am extremely happy with them and glad I changed over.

If you don't need the high power of a Pro check out the Air. Much more portable.

And do order from Apple as someone earlier pointe out, more options available that way.

[Shackleton123]

Be cautious about people saying Mac's are better spec, less trouble, don't get viruses, etc. For the last few years I have had loads of problems with Mac's (I use 3 of them and my wife has a 4th) Mac's are basically 'sealed units' in the sense that you can do nothing with them - you need to get them to the Mac shop for any repairs. My chief annoyance with them at the moment is they will not re-connect with WiFi after sleep. You have to re-boot the machine. Tons of people here will say that's not true - but just Google it. I use Apogee Quartet which ONLY works on Macs, it's my AD converter for sequencing, and I use it with Pianoteq 6. Apogee NEVER connects with Mac first time, and has to be Hot Swapped - which is jargon for pull the plug out and re-connect. Apogee tell me it's the Mac and not the Apogee. Mac's FAIL after a few years (I have another 3 of them that have failed) BUT having said all that - I don't think PC's are much better. My point is do not believe the hype about Mac. They use exactly the same chips, and all that's different is OSX instead of Windows. They are WAY more expensive too. I'm seriously going back to PC's.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

32 minutes ago, Shackleton123 said:

They are WAY more expensive too. I

No they are not. If you get a PC with the same specifications as a Mac the Mac is cheaper. 

 

If you just just want a really cheap (slow) PC you can buy one, Apple does not make that spec.

 

high end computers are where the profit is, Apple is only in that market. Most PC makers make low end stuff as well.

[Travelighlty]

The new models, possibly with 32 GIG of RAM, are rumored to be coming out in June. I'd think a few months wait is worth the trouble for the extra GIGs and whatever improvements come with the new models. 

 

[sfokevin]

Macs are great... I would order from Apple Thailand directly... One thing to watch out when ordering is the keyboard language... (It is an option you can select)... mine has a Thai/English keyboard which I like... but others may not want... 

[JG27]

Bought this Mb/Pro in Bangkok 2013...been using it in Sydney since then.

Was the second one we have owned and our next will be the third.

[robertson468]

2 hours ago, Shackleton123 said:

Be cautious about people saying Mac's are better spec, less trouble, don't get viruses, etc. For the last few years I have had loads of problems with Mac's (I use 3 of them and my wife has a 4th) Mac's are basically 'sealed units' in the sense that you can do nothing with them - you need to get them to the Mac shop for any repairs. My chief annoyance with them at the moment is they will not re-connect with WiFi after sleep. You have to re-boot the machine. Tons of people here will say that's not true - but just Google it. I use Apogee Quartet which ONLY works on Macs, it's my AD converter for sequencing, and I use it with Pianoteq 6. Apogee NEVER connects with Mac first time, and has to be Hot Swapped - which is jargon for pull the plug out and re-connect. Apogee tell me it's the Mac and not the Apogee. Mac's FAIL after a few years (I have another 3 of them that have failed) BUT having said all that - I don't think PC's are much better. My point is do not believe the hype about Mac. They use exactly the same chips, and all that's different is OSX instead of Windows. They are WAY more expensive too. I'm seriously going back to PC's.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with Macs.  I have had MacBookPros now for over 15 years and during that time have tried other computers, but in the end came back to my MacBookPro.  I also run MacKeeper about once a week to clean things up.  Personally I would not work with anything other than Apple products and systems.  But each to their own.

[USNret]

3 hours ago, sfokevin said:

Macs are great... I would order from Apple Thailand directly... One thing to watch out when ordering is the keyboard language... (It is an option you can select)... mine has a Thai/English keyboard which I like... but others may not want... 

It is easy to configure any Mac for any international keyboard; we have Thai installed on our 2 Macs (just a control panel setting).  Then the wife buys stickers to show the Thai characters along with the English alphabet (buy online for about US$4).  This is because we buy our Macs in the States; bought in Thailand is probably pre-configured. 

[AjarnMartin]

I’m a Mac devotee with various devices, including a MacBook Pro. Bearing in mind that Apple are going to open their own store in Bangkok later this year, I would definitely order direct from Apple WITH the extended warranty.

 

The major preferred Apple supplier in Thailand (Com7) are already feeling the effect of the imminent Apple presence and have already laid off a great number of staff. They were pretty useless on all fronts like repairs, which had to go to Singapore so Apple BKK is like a breath of fresh air.

[quandow]

Consider what you wish to do with your computer. Are you into video editing, or are you a simple email/Facebook kind of user? Do you plan on using any business applications? I have used both Mac and Windows machines and my experiences are as follows:
 

Macs don't do Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) very well. Their iTunes is VERY intrusive, and it seems almost impossible to do much without initially giving Apple a credit card number. Video players are limited and not user friendly. The flagship audio recording software Logic is one of the BEST on earth.

 

Windows machines integrate well with the Office package. Either GOM or VLC video players are very user friendly. Pro Tools audio recording is one of THE WORST on the planet, rife with glitches (i.e., the M-Audio FastTrack interfaces cannot be plugged into a USB 3.0 port - THAT information cost me a bit of time!).

 

I have found Photoshop works well on either platform, but video editing SCREAMS on a Mac where Windows rendering takes MUCH longer.

 

As a general rule of thumb (again based on my personal experience), Windows machines are better at business and watching videos, Mac machines are much better at creative artwork.

[gmac]

5 hours ago, robertson468 said:

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with Macs.  I have had MacBookPros now for over 15 years and during that time have tried other computers, but in the end came back to my MacBookPro.  I also run MacKeeper about once a week to clean things up.  Personally I would not work with anything other than Apple products and systems.  But each to their own.

MacKeeper?  I always thought MacKeeper was a spam/virus program, is your experience with it good?  I have recollections of problems with it many years ago and eventually got rid of it.  I just looked this site at random about problems with it. https://www.imore.com/avoid-mackeeper

[Jeffrey346]

From what I recall, Apple does not recommend MacKeeper. I also feel their marketing is underhanded.  JMO

[PJPom]

Just a further idea, do you only want a laptop? I have finally bought an iMac with retina screen, unbelievable quality. Cost in Australia, where I bought it compares to MacBook with it having a much higher spec.

movies played on this are great and for elegance of design nothing can beat it, bit hard to carry but never mind.

[MyFriend You]

On 2/23/2018 at 11:59 AM, richard_smith237 said:

By ordering online you can spec out your machine as you wish. Orders arrive fairly quickly (2-3 days usually) 

 

If buying directly from a dealer you may find yourself compromising, however, the starting spec for Macs is excellent. 

 

Not for everyone, but as they say 'once you go Mac you won't go back'... they are better more reliable machines - I made the switch a number of years ago and only ever get frustrated with computers when using the Windows machines at work !

I have been using the same Macbook Pro 15" for 7 years, it has travelled the world over with me, hundreds of thousands of miles........can beat the hardware.  The only upgrade I made is installed an 750gb SSD and bumped up the RAM 10 16Gb, everything including battery is original.   How many people can say this about their Windows based machines, I know people that have changed their computers three times in a year.

[Shackleton123]

20 hours ago, robertson468 said:

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with Macs.  I have had MacBookPros now for over 15 years and during that time have tried other computers, but in the end came back to my MacBookPro.  I also run MacKeeper about once a week to clean things up.  Personally I would not work with anything other than Apple products and systems.  But each to their own.

Thanks! I can only speak from my own experience, and it hasn't been good. I have also had bad news with iPods - My wife never seemed to use hers, and she eventually gave it to me. The WiFi was not working, "Oh it never has worked" she said casually. By then of course the warranty was out, but it had never worked, and she only used it as a camera! Recently I upgraded the OS an my MBP to Sierra - Instantly I lost touch with some of my firewire stuff, which is being phased out by Apple! Don't even get me started on iTunes!!

[Shackleton123]

8 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

I have been using the same Macbook Pro 15" for 7 years, it has travelled the world over with me, hundreds of thousands of miles........can beat the hardware.  The only upgrade I made is installed an 750gb SSD and bumped up the RAM 10 16Gb, everything including battery is original.   How many people can say this about their Windows based machines, I know people that have changed their computers three times in a year.

How did you miss the exploding batteries? My MBP battery forced the back plate off the computer by swelling up like a melon. Apple replaced it with another one that did exactly the same thing! They refused to replace the second one - even after they admitted it was a faulty batch of batteries (tens of thousands of them) Delighted for you that you never faced that BS.

[Dario]

I have in the past looked at buying an Apple MacBook Air to replace my ageing Acer notebook, my budget is 30-40'000 Baht, because I use the laptop only to travel. When I look at the MacBookAir 13.3" the lowest priced model gives me an 1.8 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of DDR4 Ram and 128 GB SSD hard disk. That'll cost me 34'900 Baht. The specs are not all impressive to me.

I have looked around and my eyes fell on a 2018 HP Pavilion 15C Series laptop with the following specs: screen size 15.6" vs. 13.3", 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, screen resolution 920x1080 Full HD IPS, 12 GB SDRAM DDR4 2133MHz and a 1TB SATA Hard Drive (I will replace that one with a 500GB SSD).

This laptop is available on Amazon.com and it will cost me $718.78, shipping and Thai VAT included. Taking the US$ at 33 Baht via credit card, this comes to 32'100 Baht. Much better specs for a lower price.By the way, customer reviews rate this machine very high.

I will then replace the 1TB SATA hard drive with a SSD 500GB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 (MZ-V6E500BW) (H) which will set me back 8'380 Baht, but I will have 500GB of the fastest SSD vs. 128 GB only on the MacBook Air. The whole will cost me 40'480 Baht for a nice travel laptop. I then still have a 1TB SATA hard drive with (a genuine) Windows 10 Home installed on it.

 

I know, now I might have to "suffer" heavy artillery from Apple aficionados. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Dario

[Hupaponics]

On 27 februari 2018 at 6:34 PM, quandow said:

Consider what you wish to do with your computer. Are you into video editing, or are you a simple email/Facebook kind of user? Do you plan on using any business applications? I have used both Mac and Windows machines and my experiences are as follows:
 

Macs don't do Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) very well. Their iTunes is VERY intrusive, and it seems almost impossible to do much without initially giving Apple a credit card number. Video players are limited and not user friendly. The flagship audio recording software Logic is one of the BEST on earth.

 

Windows machines integrate well with the Office package. Either GOM or VLC video players are very user friendly. Pro Tools audio recording is one of THE WORST on the planet, rife with glitches (i.e., the M-Audio FastTrack interfaces cannot be plugged into a USB 3.0 port - THAT information cost me a bit of time!).

 

I have found Photoshop works well on either platform, but video editing SCREAMS on a Mac where Windows rendering takes MUCH longer.

 

As a general rule of thumb (again based on my personal experience), Windows machines are better at business and watching videos, Mac machines are much better at creative artwork.

 

Im running MS Office on my Mac via Parallels with great success. You can have Windows in your Mac, but never the other way around. Actually the best of two worlds;) I also run Windows based bookkeeping program not available for Mac (the ones I use) on my Mac

 

Regarding OP's dilemma where to buy, I'd like to inform that there are no Apple Store in Thailand as we know them. Check the link ant choose country. Thailand is not on the list.

https://www.apple.com/retail/storelist/

 

However, there are resellers and I found a list of them in CM. Only one shop is recognized by Apple.

https://locate.apple.com/th/en/sales/?pt=4&lat=18.788185&lon=98.987934&address=Chiang mai

 

As other recommended to purchase online to get the config as you want/wish and it will be safer (personal opinion). 

 

Had Macbook pro for years and I really abusing the computer. Filthy environments, dusty, humid, hot and cold. Take it to the beach, dropped it several times and still going strong. 

Just opening the lid, put the password and in an instant I can start doing what I need to do. 

 

2 year warranty, yes, buy that option.

 

Cheers

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Hupaponics

[unblocktheplanet]

On 2/27/2018 at 1:21 PM, robertson468 said:

I also run MacKeeper about once a week to clean things up.

OMFG! More spam from Mackeeper! Seriously you are the first Mac guy I EVER heard of who had anything good to say about it! There are seriously better alternatives!

[JepSoDii]

On 2/27/2018 at 6:34 PM, quandow said:

 

 

I have found Photoshop works well on either platform, but video editing SCREAMS on a Mac where Windows rendering takes MUCH longer.

 

As a general rule of thumb (again based on my personal experience), Windows machines are better at business and watching videos, Mac machines are much better at creative artwork.

I'm someone who loves Mac and dislikes Windows, but you can't say Mac is fast at video editing and Windows takes much longer; it's untrue because it's just not that simple. Yes, Mac can be blazingly fast but if you really mean scream, then that's primarily because of how Final Cut is optimized for AMD GPUs and to take maximum advantage of Intel QuickSync, something also available for Windows as well since it's an Intel chip-based feature.

 

Mac will not be fast to render in editing programs that don't do hardware acceleration, and other programs like Premier and Resolve are reasonable at render speed, but a lot slower than Final Cut. At the same time, while I know of no way to render on Windows as fast as using FinalCut on a Mac with AMD cards, get a good Nvidia GPU on a Windows machine and it should chew through video on Premier or Vegas pretty darn fast. 

 

And again, I don't like Windows because I think the Mac experience is so much nicer, but I just don't buy the dated 1990s notion that Mac is better for creative work and Windows is better for business and that's all we need to know. Personally, I prefer to edit in Sony Vegas and I can't do that on Mac. And I know there's a lot of business and commercial software I have to use on Windows, but in the real world, I manage just fine doing business on a Mac.

 

[DMC1]

I have in the past looked at buying an Apple MacBook Air to replace my ageing Acer notebook, my budget is 30-40'000 Baht, because I use the laptop only to travel. When I look at the MacBookAir 13.3" the lowest priced model gives me an 1.8 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of DDR4 Ram and 128 GB SSD hard disk. That'll cost me 34'900 Baht. The specs are not all impressive to me.
I have looked around and my eyes fell on a 2018 HP Pavilion 15C Series laptop with the following specs: screen size 15.6" vs. 13.3", 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, screen resolution 920x1080 Full HD IPS, 12 GB SDRAM DDR4 2133MHz and a 1TB SATA Hard Drive (I will replace that one with a 500GB SSD).
This laptop is available on Amazon.com and it will cost me $718.78, shipping and Thai VAT included. Taking the US$ at 33 Baht via credit card, this comes to 32'100 Baht. Much better specs for a lower price.By the way, customer reviews rate this machine very high.
I will then replace the 1TB SATA hard drive with a SSD 500GB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 (MZ-V6E500BW) (H) which will set me back 8'380 Baht, but I will have 500GB of the fastest SSD vs. 128 GB only on the MacBook Air. The whole will cost me 40'480 Baht for a nice travel laptop. I then still have a 1TB SATA hard drive with (a genuine) Windows 10 Home installed on it.
 
I know, now I might have to "suffer" heavy artillery from Apple aficionados. 

Yes, you go with what’s best for you. I’ve had the same MacBook Pro since 2011. I put a 500 gb SSD in it a couple of years ago and it runs great. Very well built, and still looks like new. I run MS office for the Mac, without any issues. I don’t do any video editing or gaming stuff.

I do think that the current MacBook line up is a bit pricey but I do believe they will outlast a windows computer. I’ve gone through 3 x windows laptops at work in the same time that I’ve had the same MacBook Pro.

It all depends on what you need it for, as I find that nowadays I can do a heck of lot just on my iPad.

[Shackleton123]

On ‎03‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 3:18 AM, JepSoDii said:

I'm someone who loves Mac and dislikes Windows, but you can't say Mac is fast at video editing and Windows takes much longer; it's untrue because it's just not that simple. Yes, Mac can be blazingly fast but if you really mean scream, then that's primarily because of how Final Cut is optimized for AMD GPUs and to take maximum advantage of Intel QuickSync, something also available for Windows as well since it's an Intel chip-based feature.

 

Mac will not be fast to render in editing programs that don't do hardware acceleration, and other programs like Premier and Resolve are reasonable at render speed, but a lot slower than Final Cut. At the same time, while I know of no way to render on Windows as fast as using FinalCut on a Mac with AMD cards, get a good Nvidia GPU on a Windows machine and it should chew through video on Premier or Vegas pretty darn fast. 

 

And again, I don't like Windows because I think the Mac experience is so much nicer, but I just don't buy the dated 1990s notion that Mac is better for creative work and Windows is better for business and that's all we need to know. Personally, I prefer to edit in Sony Vegas and I can't do that on Mac. And I know there's a lot of business and commercial software I have to use on Windows, but in the real world, I manage just fine doing business on a Mac.

 

Excellent response! I have Macs (4 in our house) and PC's (3 of 'em) and it's is indeed old hat to simply claim Mac's are better and that's that! I use pro recording software (Nuendo, ProTools) and for some genres I use Reason 10. No difference - either platform.

I have fallen for the hype for the last time. The only real difference is the price. You be the judge. And by the way iTunes is Horrible. It assumes you have criminal intent, and prevents or makes difficult the way you want to organise your material. 

[DMC1]

https://9to5mac.com/2018/03/03/more-affordable-13-inch-macbook-air/

[jackdd]

Don't buy the current MBP 15 inch, i have it myself since it's release so personal experience:

- The touch bar sucks (Waiting probably doesn't solve this, most probably the next model will have it again)

- The made the keyboard too flat / too precise. I had it several times already that some dust got stuck in / under a key and blocks the key. It's still working, but feels very strange. After "massaging" the key for a while the piece of dust gets somehow out and the key is working normally again.

- The ventilation and throttling of the current model just sucks. The specs say 2.8GHZ. This is only achieved if the room temperature is somewhere at 20 degrees. There is a serious performance break down at around 27 degrees room temperature which is a serious issue in a warm country like Thailand. If my room is above 27 degrees the CPU doesn't go higher than about 1.8GHZ, and usually is more at 1.6GHZ under load. If i open the Aircon and the temperature in my room falls below 27 degrees the CPU runs at about 2.4GHZ. You definitely "feel" this throttling, all apps get laggish when using the laptop while it's under load and throttled to this extent. It's not the CPU temperature itself that limits this, it's definitely dependent on the room temperature. There is a tool called "Intel Power Gadget" with which this is easily to spot.

If they don't change the design of the Macbook Pro the CPU issue is probably gone in the next model anyway because the current version of Intel CPUs consume way less power than the version that you currently get in the Macbooks

Edited March 5, 2018 by jackdd