Looking to get a refurbished 13in macbook pro.

gc15 said:

Just a few questions though, im looking for a good computer that will last me a long time for personal use and for school/work. Im just wondering what my other options out there is, this will be my first mac and i very much want one just cause i love the os and want something different. Is the price worth it though, could i get a cheaper computer thats not a mac that will last say 4 years for everybody use with good battery? By the way im looking at the 900$ macbook pro model.

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I would assume that anything you get from Apple will last for quite some time. I say this because I recently purchased an iBook G4(from 2005 that's pre-Intel) and an iMac G5(that's also pre-Intel) and they both work great. The iBook is now my computer for school during long breaks between classes or when I need to do work while my kids are awake.

I still have my 20"iMac that I have been using as my everyday machine for schoolwork, Handbrake, and as a media server since I bought it in March of 2009. I have even had 3 different HDDs in there(one failed, but I then bought a 3TB HDD and no longer need externals), it can be upgraded to Mountain Lion, and I think it might even have one more OS upgrade left.

Just be sure to max out the RAM when you get the chance and other than that, enjoy the machine.

But don't forget what you will be using it for. If your school/teachers don't want laptops in the classroom, then I would recommend a desktop or at least get a display so you're not stuck with the 13" screen.

If you do go through with the purchase, maximize the money you spent by also getting free and open-source apps to go with it! LibreOffice, Handbrake, GeekTool, GIMP, CandyBar, VLC, and VirtualBox are all completely free and awesome apps.

gc15 said:

Thanks for the input! And yea I don't take laptops to class, I'm old school and use paper and pencil lol. I'm already a junoir in college and will be trying to get into pharmacy school this coming year, so I'm just thinking about the future. Plus I'm big with my pictures, and I already have an iPad plus iPhone, so I wanna try to get into the Mac family. I guess I'm just worried that, the money I'm gong be spending on the MacBook Pro is I could get a better deal somewhere else, but idk, guess I'm just cold feet before putting up that much money lol.

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Well I bought my first iMac less than a year after buying a Gateway desktop that I was able to customize(and thought that it would be one of the best machines out there). I spent more on this Gateway desktop than I did on the iMac and the Gateway was not doing very well after a year of continued everyday use. It also had more RAM than the base model iMac that I bought but the iMac performed better and reduced my energy costs since it was more energy efficient. I can tell you that it has been more than well worth the initial expense. I even later bought my wife an iMac as well and she has not had a single issue with her machine in more than 2 years of everyday use from basic tasks to virtualizing Windows 7.

If you're thinking about switching to Mac, then you really should do it. A lot of people wait because of he initial cost and even try other resellers to get better deals, but just get the machine that you were looking at and also get AppleCare for it when you have the chance. You might not need it, but if you do; it's amazing.