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Afraid to leap...Please Help

C

cbell86

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 8, 2007
15
0
I scan in my school ID for authentication, take out my credit card and configure the high-end 2.4 ghz 15" MBP with applecare and the 7200rpm hard drive. I tack on the free ipod and the free printer and hit 'check out'. With tax and shipping, I'm now staring at a $3000 price tag (after rebates)......so i choke.
here's my final thread. i've made about 5 in the past two weeks and i'm starting to feel like a troll. Please Help

In the next two years (junior/senior) I will be enrolled in a fast-paced upper division design program at my university. We will be doing mostly illustration/conceptart/print/packaging/web design/etc. I will be working in Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Corel, Maya, 3DsMax, Motion, and will be doing light video editing in Final Cut (no full-length videos or AAA shorts here).

After my senior year, I plan on attending grad school for a 2-year degree in game design (graduating four years from now), where I will likely have an elite studio to do more heavy-duty work.

*In my own time, I will be continuing to prepare for game design by teaching myself to code, model, and animate while also gaming when i can...WoW, bootcamped Starcraft2, Crysis, etc.

Do i....
A) Buy the 2.4ghz with 2G RAM, 256mb 8600, 7200 rpm, applecare and still purchase a display afterward
B) Purchase a refurbished 2.33ghz with 2G RAM, 256MB ATI1600, 5400 rpm w/ applecare at $2417. Buy a display and possibly get some more RAM. (with the $526.96 difference)

Note that I'm losing an ipod with option 2

Please not too many benchmarks, I've seen 'em all. What I really need is opinion from experience.
What is the better option and schedule-wise (my calender for the next 4 years), what would each of you do? I promise I'll go away after this :eek:
 
One thing to note is that the AppleCare on the MBP also covers a display, but only if it's purchased at the same time as the computer.
 
The new MacBook Pros are a vast improvement over the older ones, do not go with an older one even with the price difference. Go with option A.
 
Based on your use predictions, buy the best one you can, which is option A. Assuming you can afford the $3K, which it sounds like you can.

You won't need an external display right away.
 
emw said:
Based on your use predictions, buy the best one you can, which is option A. Assuming you can afford the $3K, which it sounds like you can.

You won't need an external display right away.
Click to expand...

Buy it enjoy it and never look back. I have done the same you are doing but my dilema is that i want to wait until the new iMacs.
 
cbell86 said:
I scan in my school ID for authentication, take out my credit card and configure the high-end 2.4 ghz 15" MBP with applecare and the 7200rpm hard drive. I tack on the free ipod and the free printer and hit 'check out'. With tax and shipping, I'm now staring at a $3000 price tag (after rebates)......so i choke.
Click to expand...


The price shown online does not include the rebates, it shows the full price of the ipod and printer. This scared me too, since my MBP + ipod cost about $2800 and I have to wait on that rebate. Stupid sales tax just about revoked my student discount!
 
Thanks for all the help this week guys. Great community here. Wild and ibookG4user specifically, you guys probably don't realize how many times you've helped me these past two weeks :cool:.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR ORDER"

Option A is on the way...

omg time to freak out :eek:
 
I'd go over your needs one more time and ask yourself if you could go with a 2.2 Ghz MBP, the only *real* difference is the Video RAM, which probably won't matter unless you want to play ultra-modern games on the most RAM devouring settings.

Personally, I'd go for the base line, and then add in a large hard drive, upgrade to 4GBs of ram, and then get whichever display you may need. Also, the display is simply gorgeous, it's blindingly bright and overall excellent. I haven't loaded up photoshop or done design yet, but I don't think I could be any happier with the actual display.

Edit: Too late
 
cbell86 said:
Thanks for all the help this week guys. Great community here. Wild and ibookG4user specifically, you guys probably don't realize how many times you've helped me these past two weeks :cool:.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR ORDER"

Option A is on the way...

omg time to freak out :eek:
Click to expand...

Glad I could help you out :), enjoy your MacBook Pro!
 
You'll be fine. Purchases this size while on a student budget are always a source of second guesses. Think of it this way: just like the tuition you're going to have to pay, this purchase is a good investment in your education and your future.

Enjoy the new gear!
 
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