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Buying a laptop for university (September)

R

RedJeans

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 27, 2010
93
0
I have been a PC user all my life but was considering purchasing a Macbook for university next Fall. I have always wanted a 13" Macbook or Macbook Pro because it seems to be really portable (compared to the 15" and 17" machines).

Now that the Macbook Pros have recently been refreshed, what would you recommend?

Also, I don't want to start with the PC vs Mac debate but what are your thoughts on purchasing a PC with better specs for less price?
__

What I will be doing with my laptop:
- Surfing the internet
- MSN
- Email
- MS Office
- Listening/downloading to music
- Watching/downloading movies
- Maybe a bit of image editing (Photoshop)

So basically, the simple daily tasks.

Any advice?
 
miles01110 said:
The 13" will be fine for you if you don't mind the small screen size.

You should wait a month or two for the Back To School promotion to start; you'd get a rebate that covers the cost of an 8 GB iPod touch.
Click to expand...

I was definitely going to wait but I heard that they weren't offering the free iPod Touch promotion this summer?
 
The MB and MBP will be more than enough for your needs.

And to your Mac or PC question: It comes down to using Mac OS X or Windows. That simple. Specs aren't everything.
 
spinnerlys said:
The MB and MBP will be more than enough for your needs.

And to your Mac or PC question: It comes down to using Mac OS X or Windows. That simple. Specs aren't everything.
Click to expand...

I've never used Mac OS X - only Windows. I just like that the Macbooks are very portable and have a great battery life.

Are you saying that even the MB will work fine for me? Would you recommend the MBP over the MB though?
 
RedJeans said:
I've never used Mac OS X - only Windows. I just like that the Macbooks are very portable and have a great battery life.

Are you saying that even the MB will work fine for me? Would you recommend the MBP over the MB though?
Click to expand...

As I'm a Firewire user, I recommend the MBP, but I'm also using it, so I'm prejudiced anyway.

Have a look at the following links to see what Mac OS X does how, and if you like the change in the GUI and behaviour.








Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

Mac Beginner's Guide
 
In the past the printer and Back to School promotions have coincided, however they usually don't have the same end dates. Last year the printer noted a tad bit earlier then the iPod deal. All of this could obviously change.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
In the past the printer and Back to School promotions have coincided, however they usually don't have the same end dates. Last year the printer noted a tad bit earlier then the iPod deal. All of this could obviously change.
Click to expand...

On the Apple store at the moment there is a £70 printer rebate but I think that can only be used on printers that cost over £150, and I just want it because it's free and it will mean I won't have to turn on my mums computer (connected to the printer) to be able to print off school work and stuff. I'm not familiar with Apple as I have only just become interested in them
so I wouldn't know about previous offers and promotions.
 
Ash9414 said:
On the Apple store at the moment there is a £70 printer rebate but I think that can only be used on printers that cost over £150, and I just want it because it's free and it will mean I won't have to turn on my mums computer (connected to the printer) to be able to print off school work and stuff. I'm not familiar with Apple as I have only just become interested in them
so I wouldn't know about previous offers and promotions.
Click to expand...

In the past they have offered a coupon that makes at least one printer free, although that may not be case overseas.
 
Does anyone remember when the back-to-school promotion (free iPod) started last year? Was it May or June?
 
RedJeans said:
I'm just hesitant about getting the 13" (which I want) because of the old CPU.
Click to expand...

The current 13 inch will be more than enough for your needs. Don't worry about it so much - generations of university students have survived just fine with less! Just because it's 'old' doesn't mean that it's useless.

Best of luck with your studies.
 
Shirotai said:
The current 13 inch will be more than enough for your needs. Don't worry about it so much - generations of university students have survived just fine with with less! Just because it's 'old' doesn't mean that it's useless.

Best of luck with your studies.
Click to expand...

I just want my computer to last as long as possible. 3-4 years at least.

Do you think the 13" C2Ds will last that long - and still work well?
 
RedJeans said:
I just want my computer to last as long as possible. 3-4 years at least.

Do you think the 13" C2Ds will last that long - and still work well?
Click to expand...

Of course it will last long, it was not produced last year or even longer ago.
Unless it has no failure in its hardware, the CPU will last as long as any other current CPU.

My six year old iBook still works, not as fast though, because today's technology is far ahead, but that will be the same in four years with all the is and C2Ds.
 
alphaod said:
It's "free" until you realize the replacement ink that you have to pay for is 20 quid and only prints a hundred pages. ;)
Click to expand...

I can print large, colour intensive documents at my school so that doesn't matter. I just want it in case I need it sort of thing, so that it is there if I ever forget to use the printer at school. :)
 
RedJeans said:
I just want my computer to last as long as possible. 3-4 years at least.

Do you think the 13" C2Ds will last that long - and still work well?
Click to expand...

C2D is perfectly fine. Most people would never know the difference between that and the new i5s, and people are still using their 4 year old MBPs now. The processor isn't going to just up and quit on you, and it certainly isn't going to get any slower. Now if you compare it to a top end MBP 4 years from now, you might see a difference, but for what you are doing, the current 13" is plenty.
 
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