Bitcoin speculation laptop? Mac book pro vs ASUS Zen book (Halp!)

[El Cabron]

Hi guys, I very much need a new laptop. I want something decent and I think I have my top 2 but I'm not sure what one to go with. Money is not an issue but if the two are more or less equal I will go with the cheaper one.

Here they are

#1
Mac Book Pro

15-inch: 2.4GHz
with Retina display

    2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
    Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
    8GB 1600MHz memory
    256GB flash storage1
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
    Built-in battery (7 hours)2

    $2,199.00

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro

#2
ASUS N56VJ-DH71 15.6-Inch Full-HD 1080P Laptop


    Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.4 GHz Processor
    8 GB DDR3
    1.0 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
    15.6-Inch 1080P Full-HD LED Screen, Nvidia GT 635M 2G Graphics
    Windows 8

http://www.amazon.com/N56VJ-DH71-15-6-Inch-Full-HD-1080P-Laptop/dp/B009M2X8OW/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1363936399&sr=8-13&keywords=asus+zenbook



I am not fully sure on this model of the the Asus ZenBook but something like this seems to be good enough.

I will be using this for mobile speculation. It will have to be able to display charts quickly. It will also need to load the bitcoin client with the quickness.

Windows 8 sucks and I must need it to dual boot. The Mac OS I have no idea as I have not a MAC in well over 20 years but I assume I will need to dual boot as well.

Mint 13 or 14 would odds are what I load on but that is not set in stone.

So, what should I get and why? These look equal to me so the Asus seems like a win but clearly cuz of the price I am missing something.

Thanks for the help.

p.s i know the main differance is the SSD and I can buy one for less than $1,000 I'm sure.

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[BasementMiner!]

I have the former laptop (macbook pro retina with 16 gb ram), and it is really nice. Things are zippy with the included SSD.

The retina display can be set to give you 2880x1800 resolution; you could put the Bitcoin client and a browser side-by-side with no problems.

Dualboot: You can use OS X's included Bootcamp to switch between Windows and Mac on boot. Windows runs natively.

[BasementMiner!]

I have the former laptop (macbook pro retina with 16 gb ram), and it is really nice. Things are zippy with the included SSD.

The retina display can be set to give you 2880x1800 resolution; you could put the Bitcoin client and a browser side-by-side with no problems.

Well that is a plus for sure. Thanks for pointing that out.

Can this dual boot Mint with out issues do you think?

You'll have to jump some hoops installing anything but Windows. Its not as simple as opening Bootcamp and going through the wizard. I haven't tried so I don't know much, sorry.

Alternatively, VMWare is a nice solution. I use it to run Windows/Ubuntu development setups. The SSD in this case really helps. It also utilizes the retina display unlike VirtualBox.

The MB is more heavy than I'd like it to be. I don't like carrying it around. You might consider an i7 Macbook Air model.

[El Cabron]

I have the former laptop (macbook pro retina with 16 gb ram), and it is really nice. Things are zippy with the included SSD.

The retina display can be set to give you 2880x1800 resolution; you could put the Bitcoin client and a browser side-by-side with no problems.

Well that is a plus for sure. Thanks for pointing that out.

Can this dual boot Mint with out issues do you think?

You'll have to jump some hoops installing anything but Windows. Its not as simple as opening Bootcamp and going through the wizard. I haven't tried so I don't know, sorry.

Alternatively, VMWare is a nice solution. I use it to run Windows/Ubuntu development setups. The SSD in this case really helps.

Well honestly I don't even know what I would be missing if I just formatted the SSD and installed Mint. That should be fine right?

Thanks

[BasementMiner!]

I have the former laptop (macbook pro retina with 16 gb ram), and it is really nice. Things are zippy with the included SSD.

The retina display can be set to give you 2880x1800 resolution; you could put the Bitcoin client and a browser side-by-side with no problems.

Well that is a plus for sure. Thanks for pointing that out.

Can this dual boot Mint with out issues do you think?

You'll have to jump some hoops installing anything but Windows. Its not as simple as opening Bootcamp and going through the wizard. I haven't tried so I don't know, sorry.

Alternatively, VMWare is a nice solution. I use it to run Windows/Ubuntu development setups. The SSD in this case really helps.

Well honestly I don't even know what I would be missing if I just formatted the SSD and installed Mint. That should be fine right?

Thanks

I think it can be done. 

[glitch003]

I will be using this for mobile speculation. It will have to be able to display charts quickly. It will also need to load the bitcoin client with the quickness.

No question, go with the Macbook if only because it has an SSD.  The Macbook pro retina has a really fast one too, perfect for loading the bitcoin client very quickly.  You're just not gonna get that kind of performance with a HDD.

Also one of my friends has the Zenbook and the trackpad on it is terrible, IMO.

Edit: You're gonna want to install rEFIt if you get the mac, as it makes dual and triple booting super easy.  If I were you I'd leave OS X on there just for emergencies or something.  But I'd resize it's partition to be like 20GB or something tiny like that.  I suppose though if you ever REALLY needed OS X for something and you didn't want to save the OS X install, you could just download an OS X ISO and put it on a USB stick and boot to it, since this isn't your only computer.

[flower1024]

just got the asus zenbook last week and i love it

[Seth Otterstad]

I have had the 13" Zenbook UX31A for 6 months.  When I compared it to the Macbook, the zenbook had:

Better screen (only 13" laptop with 1080p)
Same weight
Cheaper
Thinner
Looks better
Smaller footprint
Longer battery life (6.5hr or so with screen on lowest brightness and browsing internet)

If you are going to dual boot, don't get a macbook.  Mac's completely suck when they don't run mac OS.  They have tiny batteries, and the power management won't be optimized.  The Mac battery will last like half as long as the Zenbook if they are both running windows.  Check the watt-hours on the Mac's battery.  Linux also has terrible power management and will suck the battery on both of them.

Issues with Zenbook:
it has randomly rebooted twice in 6 months.  Other people have had this problem too.  It may have been fixed in an updated version.
They keyboard connector became loose internally, and I had to open it up and reconnect it to get a couple of my keys to work again.  That is like a 10min fix with guides on the internet.

[Nemesis]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

[flower1024]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

he has much less ignores than you

[Nemesis]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

he has much less ignores than you

Can you help me pick a keyboard? not sure what to get, maybe i will make a thread here.

I dont come to this section to see crap like this. Ignores? pls

[flower1024]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

he has much less ignores than you

Can you help me pick a keyboard? not sure what to get, maybe i will make a thread here.

I dont come to this section to see crap like this. Ignores? pls

let me rephrase: a thread about a new laptop is a bit more interesting than reading a post from a guy complaining about it.

but neverthless: you're right in saying that it does not belong here... he should add something like "i will run a miner for 5 minutes on it" if you feel better that way. but as the title says all about this thread: why did you even open it?

[Nemesis]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

he has much less ignores than you

Can you help me pick a keyboard? not sure what to get, maybe i will make a thread here.

I dont come to this section to see crap like this. Ignores? pls

let me rephrase: a thread about a new laptop is a bit more interesting than reading a post from a guy complaining about it.

but neverthless: you're right in saying that it does not belong here... he should add something like "i will run a miner for 5 minutes on it" if you feel better that way. but as the title says all about this thread: why did you even open it?

Because.... its Goat.... OMG. The wannabe scammer that failed miserably.

[flower1024]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

he has much less ignores than you

Can you help me pick a keyboard? not sure what to get, maybe i will make a thread here.

I dont come to this section to see crap like this. Ignores? pls

let me rephrase: a thread about a new laptop is a bit more interesting than reading a post from a guy complaining about it.

but neverthless: you're right in saying that it does not belong here... he should add something like "i will run a miner for 5 minutes on it" if you feel better that way. but as the title says all about this thread: why did you even open it?

Because.... its Goat.... OMG. The wannabe scammer that failed miserably.

i still like him...
but just for reading...

[Nemesis]

Ppl take this joker seriously?

Wow....

This is so related to bitcoin to be here huh?

he has much less ignores than you

Can you help me pick a keyboard? not sure what to get, maybe i will make a thread here.

I dont come to this section to see crap like this. Ignores? pls

let me rephrase: a thread about a new laptop is a bit more interesting than reading a post from a guy complaining about it.

but neverthless: you're right in saying that it does not belong here... he should add something like "i will run a miner for 5 minutes on it" if you feel better that way. but as the title says all about this thread: why did you even open it?

Because.... its Goat.... OMG. The wannabe scammer that failed miserably.

i still like him...
but just for reading...

I wonder where his avatar goes.... LOL tried to pose like a pimp, yet.... looked retard. Still more serious than his current avatar.

[Nemesis]

I need the computer for this forum and trading. Btc is my life. It is very on topic. If i mined with it i would need to be in the hardware sub forum. Thanks for the ideas. Im leaning towards the asus with ssd. Sent from phone

lol at failed scammer attack.

Great logic you have there.
I'm waiting for your furniture selection question, you know about the chair you sit for trading btc.

[Dabs]

I'd go with the Asus. More options there. You could probably install two hard drives too. That 1 TB of space can come in handy.

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