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Affordable Mac.

G

Googon

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 13, 2008
67
0
Hey everyone. I am going off to college! I am 16 years old, and my parents have agreed to buy me a laptop. I already own a Desktop that runs off of Windows Vista, but I need a laptop for mobility and so I can do my work at the college because it is nearly a 50 mile commute.

The problem is that they want to get a laptop running off of Windows because they are far cheaper and the specs are higher. However, I want a Mac laptop becaause of the stability, the fact I can't get a virus on it (I get viruses on my PC all the time :() and the fact that I can't play games on it will help me quit my game addiction >.<! Macs are basically the best for college, I can live in a worry free world, free of viruses and annoying windows' errors...

My problem is that the apple site has a small selection of laptops, and they start at 1099! My parents won't go for that.

Surely there is a wider selection of laptops I can get? I can also settle with an Mac computer that can take the place of my PC, but still run off my moniter and USB mouse/keyboard.


I want a mac so badly.

What do you think I should get? Any suggestions? If I have to I will resort to buying used products on eBay. :p
 
Check out the refurbished store and educational store on apple.com for lower prices. Some people flip out when they hear "refurbished" but they come with the same warranty as the new ones so you don't need to worry about faulty hardware or anything. Also look at your campus' bookstore and see if they sell Apple computers. Those are the biggest discounts.

It looks like you'll be going for the Macbook for the uses you described. They do not have a dedicated graphics chip so gaming will be pretty awkward even in boot camp.

*Whispers* psst... also, if you spring for the pro you can install windows and keep up your gaming habits. With the setup in my sig, i average 30-40 FPS in the HL2 series and TF2 with most everything on high... but don't let your mom know that *end whispers*
 
I was born in 1991 :p. My accumulative GPA is practially 4.0 and I personally don't think my parents spoil me enough for it! I am sort of a predigous savant, seeing how I can see sounds. (synaesthesia)

I guess I will go with refurbished, I do agree that they are good for the money, and because they were reparied and pass inspections, they probably have a lower chane of malfunctioning that a regular laptop. I can afford up to 900 dollars so it sounds great to me! :D


I didn't graduate high school yet, I am jsut tkaing college courses in place of high school ones to count as both high school and college credits. And I get to do it for free :D. I am a junior right now.
 
Oh, and one quick question about the MacBook I was linked too...

How fast would you say it is. I am not too smart in the who Mac OS X operating system... As a matter of fact, the most experience I have had on a Mac was when I installed iATKOS on my PC with many errors.

To give me an idea, how many applications, doy ou think I can open with good system performance? Give me and equivalency?
 
Well, your computing needs determine what you need. Are you just going to be typing papers, listening to music and surfing the internet? You can get a great older mac for cheap these days. 12" Powerbooks are still revered as awesome portable machines.
 
Googon said:
I didn't graduate high school yet, I am jsut tkaing college courses in place of high school ones to count as both high school and college credits. And I get to do it for free :D. I am a junior right now.
Click to expand...

I guess that counts as "heading off to college".... Where do you live? Because where I live that's just too common but yes, I would get a refurb. They will still last you through the actual college days..
 
Googon said:
I was born in 1991 :p. My accumulative GPA is practially 4.0
Click to expand...

what do you want a cookie? a gold star? LOL -- I'm just messing with you

If 1099 is to high then yes ...go refurbished.

Another consideration is getting an ultra portable ... something for Azuz (or whatever they're called) since you already have primary desktop ---

They are great for taking notes -- and generally come equipped to handle most college needs -- it usually comes with Linux and you can install Vista/Xp (I think Vista) -- they go for around $500
 
revenuee said:
what do you want a cookie? a gold star? LOL -- I'm just messing with you

If 1099 is to high then yes ...go refurbished.

Another consideration is getting an ultra portable ... something for Azuz (or whatever they're called) since you already have primary desktop ---

They are great for taking notes -- and generally come equipped to handle most college needs -- it usually comes with Linux and you can install Vista/Xp (I think Vista) -- they go for around $500
Click to expand...

last time I checked Asus doesn't run OSX :rolleyes:
 
I have a heart set on Macs but why do they cost so freakin much! Seriously, Iw as at Best Buy the other day, and for $450.00 I could of purchased a Compaq laptop with 3GB RAM, 2.4GHz processor, and a 300gb hard drive... Why is it that for two times that I seem to get half as much in a refurbished Mac? Can someone list the pros to why macs cost to much more?
 
cause apple is just better.....duh!!

lol

OS is much smoother and reliable, the resale value is much MUCH better on a Mac.

There are a ton of threads on here with tha argument (why should I get a mac vs this cheaper "higher specced" pc)

look man, if you wanna save money and are perfectly comfortable with the pc then get it.

Most of us here are going to be a bit biased in our opinions.
 
Googon said:
Why is it that for two times that I seem to get half as much in a refurbished Mac? Can someone list the pros to why macs cost to much more?
Click to expand...

I'm not getting involved in this -- just do a search --- Like the poster above me said
 
I don't think anyone else mentioned this so here goes:
If you are in college and can prove it, why not just use the educational discount? That'll bring down the new prices to refurb ones.
 
Back when I was 16 I was scraping by just to buy a new video game.
Two years later I got a job and spent 3.5k on a MBP, external HD, FCE, etc.

Since this laptop is essentially free for you, take it and run with it.
 
fleshman03 said:
I don't think anyone else mentioned this so here goes:
If you are in college and can prove it, why not just use the educational discount? That'll bring down the new prices to refurb ones.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the Educational discount also goes for students in K-12, not just college students.

Good suggestion...
 
fleshman03 said:
I don't think anyone else mentioned this so here goes:
If you are in college and can prove it, why not just use the educational discount? That'll bring down the new prices to refurb ones.
Click to expand...


Could I get the discount and purchase a refurbished item for a super discount? o_O
 
Googon said:
Could I get the discount and purchase a refurbished item for a super discount? o_O
Click to expand...

Nice try. :)

Almost forgot, Amazon.com has rebates sometimes too. You can save $100 or so on some models. I don't see any now, but I seem to remember saving $100 off retail on my wife's macbook. No tax or shipping too, which saves over the Apple Store...
 
Googon said:
Okay, can I use the College Student Discount and get a free iPod touch? That's jsut as good because I was planning on getting one of them anyways! :D
Click to expand...

Ummmm not with a refurb.

Otherwise, if you are seriously asking if you can get an ipod with a mac purchase with being a student..../shakes head
 
Thats nice but I feel more comfortable buying from the Apple site! What I really want to know now is if I can buy a MacBook and gett he free iPod touch with the educational discount! :D!

If I could, that would be AWESOME! I almost bought an iPhone 3G but I would pick a MacBook and an iPod touch over an iPhone 3G any day.
 
shdowman said:
Ummmm not with a refurb.

Otherwise, if you are seriously asking if you can get an ipod with a mac purchase with being a student..../shakes head
Click to expand...

Is that a yes or a no? xD.

EDIT-
Are you shaking your head up and down, or left to right?
 
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