One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is M5 Pro now supporting 64GB ram . I believe prior gens you had to go Max to get 64. m5 Pro 64GB is $3000 meanwhile to upgrade ram on the max you need the 40 gpu core variant with 64GB is $4300. $1300 dollar mark up for twice the gpu compute and 50% higher mem bandwidth isn't great value imo.
Anyone who cares about value isn’t getting a non-base model Mac. They are buying the silver shiny thing or their company is paying.
For example, grab yourself an Omen Transcend 14, spec it to 64GB RAM and the RTX 5070. You’re under $2000 and getting better graphics performance for anything that isn’t AI, and you’ve got an upgradable 1TB SSD and removable WiFi card.
You’re also getting an OLED screen which most people would prefer.
This model in particular I’ve chosen because it’s just as quiet as the M4 MacBook Pro models within 3dB during high intensity usage and gets very similar battery life, actually better battery life than the M4 Pro/Max models for light tasks.
> Anyone who cares about value isn’t getting a non-base model Mac. They are buying the silver shiny thing or their company is paying.
Or they value things differently than you do.
Like screen brightness. Or external IO. Or more than 64GB of memory. Or not being stuck with Windows. Or an SSD larger than 2TB.
> removable WiFi card
I could stick my hand into a wood chipper and still use the stump to count the number of people I've ever seen mention much less desire a removable wifi card in the decision making process about a laptop.
It's hilarious to me that you are acting like these features you are bringing up are exclusive to Mac!
SSD larger than 2GB? That's not a differentiating feature of a Mac. As a completely random example, an HP Omen Transcend 14 has DUAL M.2 SSD slots and that's not even a high end PC laptop. Macs are the only systems on the market where you can't upgrade the storage after purchase and you're doing so at insane markups.
More than 64GB of memory, yeah, that's also available on other PCs. Numerous PCs. I found multiple models from multiple manufacturers that support the same 128GB maximum. My Framework 13 supports 96GB and it's socketed DDR5 so I can just buy it at a store after purchase, or you can look at the new Lenovo T series Gen 7 (10/10 iFixit Repair Score) which has LPCAMM2 memory, allowing for BOTH repairability/upgradability AND high memory speed.
External IO, again, Apple isn't the gatekeeper of Thunderbolt 5. Where is the MacBook Pro with Oculink for the best external GPU performance? My Framework 13 has four fully customizable ports, I can literally put whatever ports I want on the machine and switch them out. Apple can't be bothered to put a USB-A port on a device despite the fact that it's still widely used and it would be convenient to just have one on there.
Apple doesn't make their own display panels. You can get a PC laptop with a wide variety of panels including the same mini-LED technology. Where is the MacBook Pro with a tandem OLED panel? You don't really get a choice with a Mac, you are stuck with the two different panels that they sell.
On Mac you're stuck with macOS. On a PC laptop you have more choices, Windows or a wide variety of Linux and BSD derivatives. Linux on Mac hardware is not fully functional and compatible with the hardware. Being stuck with Mac means you are unable to run a far wider array of software than being stuck with Windows or Linux. Imagine it this way: you just bought a top of the line MacBook Pro with the M5 Max chip, you've got a beast of a machine! You just spent your day crushing high intensity productivity tasks. Now you'd like to leverage the insane speed of your MacBook Pro playing some AAA video games. Oops! The macoS game library is miniscule, and CrossOver ($ annual license fee) is not ideal compared to Steam on Windows or Steam/Proton on Linux. I guess I can just play Cyberpunk 2077 or Rise of the Tomb Raider for the 10th time on my Mac!
Nobody mentions a removable WiFi card until their WiFi/Bluetooth stops working and they're stuck with an astronomical repair bill and now because they're Apple customers they are buying an entirely new system and "recycling" their old laptop. On a system like a Framework or a Lenovo T series 7th gen, components like USB-C ports are removable in case they are physically damaged, and you can buy parts directly from the manufacturer. Apple's strategy is to upsell you on an extended warranty/insurance plan to try and avoid astronomical repair bills.
It seems like you are now trying to walk back your own statement, and I find that facetious. There is no other way to read your original comment: you were saying that someone might choose a Mac over a PC because they prioritize screen brightness, more than 64GB of memory, or SSD over 2TB.
I responded to that with ample evidence that PCs deliver all of that and more.
Your response is to dismiss and insult my comment as being lengthy musings of a crazy person. You’re not reading “all that” just like Fox News isn’t going to put a socialist on the air without talking over them.
Dismissal is the stage you get to when logic and reasoning can’t sufficiently defend your point.
This is what Mac zealots do: they put blindfolds on and pretend like Mac hardware is above and beyond the laws of physics and PC laptops can’t possibly satisfy the same priorities that Macs do. Customer-hostile design is just a manifestation of consumer priority.
> This is what Mac zealots do: they put blindfolds on and pretend like Mac hardware is above and beyond the laws of physics and PC laptops can’t possibly satisfy the same priorities that Macs do.
And this is what people with some kind of irrational obsession with hating Apple do: they work themselves up into some kind of fever pitch because other people have different priorities and choose a different computer.
Enjoy your HP. Or your Lenovo. It's a bit hard to keep up with which one it is you want.
I know, it’s hard to keep up with having choice. Much easier to just pick the brand with the best marketing, stick with it forever, and assume that nobody else could possibly make anything as good.
