Hello I am a freshmen in college and looking to buy a laptop my pc desktop takes up to much space and is a hassle when going back and forth places. It is a AMD 64 bit 1.8ghz 1500mb geforce 6800fx with my current computer I type alot of papers listen to music and play games like warcraft 3 quake 3 arena and world of warcraft on occasion. So my question is I am going to get a laptop and decided on a mac but I dont have alot of money. I will probaly be spending about $1400 max with office 2004 but would like something for about $1200 or less. I know I cannot get a power house or anything for this. I want something no larger than 15.4" I do game some but nothing more than WoW graphics wise type alot of papers internet youtube take pictures. I cannot decide on what to get I have been looking around and have seen g4 ibooks for like $900 which sound really good but I am a noob to mac so I would like some advice. Also I will probaly need it to run smoothly for around 3 years.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Buying first mac need advice
- Thread starter acoustics940
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Have you looked at the Macbook? It's quite a splendid little machine and prices start around $1099.99... plus I am sure you can get a student discount!
I'm not sure how it would handle the gaming.. though i bet it could play WoW, the onboard graphics would be a limitation. Maybe someone who is doing this will chime in with their experience.
If a refurbished machine is an option consider the 15.4 MacBook Pro... they are around 1299.99 on the Apple site. You won't get a Core2, but you will still get a fast machine with a dedicated video card.
As much as I love my g4 powerbooks... I couldn't recommend spending $900 bucks on a g4 iBook at this point in the game! I am looking into selling my 12 inch powerbook and would be pretty happy to get a price in that range for it ($900).
The g4 machines are nice and capable, but I can't deny the performance jump with the intels inside... if you want a machine to get you through school you are probably best with an intel mac.
Also, I'd say get the base memory in the machine and then upgrade down the road (or right away) but you will most likely save some bucks that way too.
My 2 cents
I would get a refurbished MacBook Pro. If that's too pricey, a new C2D MacBook would do nicely--Quake 3 Arena and World of Warcraft are no problem on these machines.
Whatever you do, spend any extra money on RAM. I'd buy it from apple- no hassle, not much more expensive.
and here's a vote for the MacBook - it's better than the MBP for college life. It's more portable and durable (and feels less like a $2000 urn that must handled with care).
and here's a vote for the MacBook - it's better than the MBP for college life. It's more portable and durable (and feels less like a $2000 urn that must handled with care).
Yea I think I might go with a refurbished macbook the refurbished pro is to expensive it would be like 1500 with tax and extra 150 for office applications but the g4 ibooks still look appealing to me for about $800
I think you should go with a MacBook. It is nice and portable and has lots of power. The only downside is the graphics card.
If you do game occasionally I would aim for a Refurbished MacBook Pro as it features a much more powerful GPU than the MacBook.
You shouldn't worry whether or not it has a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo, either way, it will be plenty fast.
As far as I can see, they go for $1349 but will probably only become cheaper in the nearest future.
You shouldn't worry whether or not it has a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo, either way, it will be plenty fast.
As far as I can see, they go for $1349 but will probably only become cheaper in the nearest future.
I'd go with a refurbished Macbook. At $799 it's quite a still and in fact I am working to try and sell my Dell for one and trying to find a job to have even more money to enhance my future setup.