This may be stupid but my grandmother seems to think that you can get a great computer for $600 to $800 for college. Now i'm trying to tell her that it just isn't possible without putting some money into it. She also thinks that my 3.5 year old Dell laptop would be more than enough for college. Now in my eyes she is completely crazy and wrong about this topic. I'm asking because she thinks that a Macbook price is insane for a stock low end model which is pretty cheap. What is the average price for computers now both Apple and Windows? Thanks.
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Average Computer Price
- Thread starter falcon1
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I think the sweet spot is in between yours and your grandmother's perceptions. The cost of well equipped desktops has indeed declined, though still I wouldn't bother with a $600 machine. You can get a starter version iMac for $999, as an example.
Well I need a laptop for school. I got my current computer for $900 and its a pos with only 254MB of ram and it just sucks all around. I thought a good price for a decent machine is around $1,200 to $1,500 for what I will need it for.
Sounds like one of the Macbooks would be ideal then. I've got the 2.0 macbook C2D and it would do just fine if/when I head to graduate school.
You should probably mention this, since a video major will have much different needs than an english major... and so the costs will be different as well.
You can get a Macbook refurb for $800, or a refurb mini for between $519 and $649 dollars.
If you choose to go with Windows, you can get a Core 2 Duo laptop with DVD burner, etc. for about $700.
Your grandmother's budget is totally reasonable.
If you choose to go with Windows, you can get a Core 2 Duo laptop with DVD burner, etc. for about $700.
Your grandmother's budget is totally reasonable.
I'm not in college yet. I start this upcoming fall but I was looking into prices and options for when Leopard comes out. I'm leaning towards political science and then also NROTC if yall know what that means. I think 1GB of ram would be fine for me and maybe a 100GB hard drive would be enough. I'll be using it for iTunes, internet, papers and just school stuff.
Whose money are you spending? Your own or someone else's?
As far an average purchase price... $551 for desktops and $818 for notebooks in Q4/06 according to this.
EDIT: To be honest, yes, a $500 desktop or $700-800 notebook can easily do the things you outline in your post.
As far an average purchase price... $551 for desktops and $818 for notebooks in Q4/06 according to this.
EDIT: To be honest, yes, a $500 desktop or $700-800 notebook can easily do the things you outline in your post.
Well i'm not sure whose money i'm spending. My dad and step mom said that I would have a budget of around $2,000 but my grandmother also wants to get me one and her budget $600 to $800 maybe $900. I'm not sure if my dad is still going to get me one since my grandmother offered. If my grandmother ends up getting me one I may but some of my own money with it to get something with 1GB of memory and different stuff.
You may want to kick in some of your own money and get 2GB of RAM. I have 1GB in both my Vista system and my MacBook, and I wish that I had more in both of them!
You can get a $799 macbook will do just fine. Unless you are wanting to get something that is insanely fast just to waste money you could spend extra money. But dont waste money just get what you need if you dont need a 200 gb hard drive gont get one just to do it.
You can get a good computer for $600-800. I dont' know if it would include a monitor....but it really depends on what you will be doing with it. Latest and greatest games? Definitely not. Web, email, word processing...yes! Will you need anything specialized for your major?
Finally...we aren't really talking about new Macs here...lol
I went to Lenovo.com and selected "students & alumni" and here is an option:
LENOVO THINKCENTRE A60 8700 - SEMPRON 3000+ 1.6 GHZ
LEN 8700A1U 1 x AMD Sempron 3000+ / 1.6 GHz
256 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max), 1 x 80 GB, CD-ROM, Network adapter - PCI - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet $360.05
$379.00
Do you really NEED more?
Finally...we aren't really talking about new Macs here...lol
I went to Lenovo.com and selected "students & alumni" and here is an option:
LENOVO THINKCENTRE A60 8700 - SEMPRON 3000+ 1.6 GHZ
LEN 8700A1U 1 x AMD Sempron 3000+ / 1.6 GHz
256 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max), 1 x 80 GB, CD-ROM, Network adapter - PCI - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet $360.05
$379.00
Do you really NEED more?
Non-Base Model White Macbook is perfect for you. 1GB is plenty for what you are doing and this is much faster than you will ever need.
But remember: First rule of thumb of college: Even if you have money that isnt your, you pretend to be a poor college student and buy cheap stuff.
Stock price is $1299.
But wait.... you can ...
USE THE COLLEGE DISCOUNT!
Student price is $1199. Thats for a well equipped machine.
If you go refurb its even cheaper. $1099. You may be slightly off from your grannie's $800 mark. But if you bargain with her that you will pay the rest, $5 says she atleast puts down another $200. So you will only be out of the hole $100. Which isnt half bad for a very nice machine.
Plus she isnt wrong at all. You can get a plenty fast and usable computer for $800. You only need to do word editing, music listening. Now if you want the mac experience then you have another thing coming called a premium. Instead of trying to tell her how out of whack she is, cause she is not. How about trying to come to middle ground.
Or just go brush up your father for a MacBook pro.... cause well you need to play 15 movies in the background while word editing like the rest of us who try to make an excuse for buying such a luscious machine.
You can get a good computer for $600-800. I dont' know if it would include a monitor....but it really depends on what you will be doing with it. Latest and greatest games? Definitely not. Web, email, word processing...yes! Will you need anything specialized for your major?
Finally...we aren't really talking about new Macs here...lol
I went to Lenovo.com and selected "students & alumni" and here is an option:
LENOVO THINKCENTRE A60 8700 - SEMPRON 3000+ 1.6 GHZ
LEN 8700A1U 1 x AMD Sempron 3000+ / 1.6 GHz
256 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max), 1 x 80 GB, CD-ROM, Network adapter - PCI - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet $360.05
$379.00
Do you really NEED more?
i would say that ANY modern operating system (OS X, WinXP, Vista) requires at least 512MB and for decent performance, 1GB. 2GB is optimal, IMO.
i think what this really boils down to is that you don't want your grandmother going out and buying you a computer. i think you should graciously accept her offer, but in the form of the cash amount she'd be willing to spend. then you can add (from your dad or yourself) the appropriate amount to get what you really want.
i'm all for getting the computer you want. i spend most of my day in front of my computer so i think it's important to get something you love, not just something sufficient.
Hell my roomate has a dell inspiron with a 1.4 celeron and 256 ram and it does basic computing needs without must having 512 mb. For school work and just a computer for basics you dont have to have 1gb its not like its life or death. If all you are doing it typing some papers and looking at email.
That was just a barebones example. If you can get that for $360 then spending the extra $440 for $800 worth of computer will get you something good.
Also...no one really needs a Vista Ultimate capable pc. Windows in the end is just Windows lol. As for OS X, newer versions have always made older machines run faster. A lowend MacBook may just be enough.
In the end it is balancing what you want with what you can afford. I know I couldn't afford much when I was in school, staying out of debt as much as possible in those years should be top priority
In the end it is balancing what you want with what you can afford. I know I couldn't afford much when I was in school, staying out of debt as much as possible in those years should be top priority
Especially since it is so hard to get rid of a student loan ... unless you transfer the debt to a credit card before you walk away from it.
I think your want a better computer then you need...You don't need a super computer to type in Word/Pages, iTunes and some internet surfing.
MacBook with harddrive that all all your Media(Music, Vids, Photos) plus 10-20 extra GBS...1Gb of RAM
MacBook with harddrive that all all your Media(Music, Vids, Photos) plus 10-20 extra GBS...1Gb of RAM
I would agree with these averages and they look right to me. I have a 6 year old PC running XP and it's not slow, plays most newer games (upgraded a video card for 70 bucks 2 years ago), and never crashes (since I spend my work day on a computer, and also back home, I do know what's a "fast" enough computer and what isn't).
However, with that said, I would never buy a 600 dollar computer just so I can replace it 2 or 3 years down the road. It's a waste of money and not necessary. I rather have the latest and greatest for a good 6 months and have my computer last at least 5 years. But since you're not paying for this yourself, some compromise should be reached - as noted by others already.