You could hackintosh. It's not that difficult, though that statement isn't true on some hardware configurations.
Also, how is Intel underpowered? Seems perfectly adequate for me.
Also, how is Intel underpowered? Seems perfectly adequate for me.
I read elsewhere that desktop computers are much easier to work with, but the OP is explicitly talking about portability and, in that case, it is just better to shell out the money to buy a MacBook... event though they get expensive really quick.
The catch is that I specifically found known-good laptops and then went and bought one. Ditto for the wifi card.
A second hand i5 HP ProBook with 4GB RAM. £126. Add to this a 120GB Samsung EVO SSD for £55 from Amazon, and a £6 wifi card from eBay. Less than £200 all in.
Everything works out of the box on this laptop except the wifi, which you have to replace (or use a USB adapter).
I configured one last week. Mavericks runs perfectly. Quartz Express, Sleep/Wake, all works.
http://www.scctrade.co.uk/prod/hp-probook-6360b-core-i5-23gh...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DELL-DW1520-CN-0KVCX1-LAPTOP-WIREL...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-120GB-Basic-Solid-State/dp/B...
I bought a used Dell Latitude E6520 because it was the only laptop I could find with a reasonable price that had a good full HD screen.
As a bonus, it has an i7.
I didn't want/need discrete graphics because hackbooks don't have discrete graphics support (yet?). The only thing I HAD to replace was the WiFi, but I upped the RAM to 8 GB. Other people have upgraded to 16 GB with no problems.
The one thing you give up, of course, is the guarantee of future compatibility. That said, there is some security in hardware working in 10.9, likely working with 10.10+ (or w/e Yosemite is) just as old Mac's working with future OSX versions, with the additional ability to easily swap/upgrade components.