Buying MBP have questions

[dvpetrenko]

Hi everyone,

what are the disadvantages of buing the refurbished? Do they replace the battery?

the memory is cheaper elsewhere, but how do i which one is right? ie not just for the mbp, but the speed is different too right?

Thanks

 

[dvpetrenko]

No help anyone??

 

[johnsy]

Refurbished will not have an original box (not a deal breaker). There is some similar posts like yours and people state in them that laptop can have some minor cosmetic flaws- scratches and small dents (if it is MBP). What is not a deal breaker either, however for such imperfections you would expect bigger price savings.

I see major disadvantage not so big price difference- you can find better deals on macmall.com or amazon.com for NEW laptops ( especially when you calculate a whole price- including taxes, shipping, handling charges).

I don't know about battery, I believe probably it is brand new, because it is one of the first components to deteriorate.

 

[dvpetrenko]

Thanks, that makes sence - i though 200$ off doesn't sound too great..

What about memory, is there any advantage at all to buing all 4 gigs from apple... performance wise..

- not considering the work to actually change it..

 

[Watabou]

Thanks, that makes sence - i though 200$ off doesn't sound too great..

What about memory, is there any advantage at all to buing all 4 gigs from apple... performance wise..

- not considering the work to actually change it..

Never buy RAM off apple. Don't. Just don't And its too easy to replace the memory. You can buy the memory for a cheap price too. Its around 75-100 for 4GB.

And Apple Ram is not going to give you better performance than the memory you buy from say, crucial, newegg, or owc.

 

[agentphish]

Never buy RAM off apple. Don't. Just don't And its too easy to replace the memory. You can buy the memory for a cheap price too. Its around 75-100 for 4GB.

And Apple Ram is not going to give you better performance than the memory you buy from say, crucial, newegg, or owc.

I second that emotion.

I buy from OWC (their brand) or Newegg (g.skill or AData) and have never had any issues with either.

A good friend of mine just got a refurb blackbook and it works great and looks great, not an imperfection on it. I think it was a good deal for the price.

 

[dvpetrenko]

Invisible shield heat?

thanks guys!

i've been reading up here, and some people isntall invisible shields on theirs...

mostly because of scratching, i would really apreciate the grip though, more than protection..

Anyone can say anytihng about heat problems, i mean the metal must desapate heat better? So would that be a problem?

 

[johnsy]

thanks guys!

i've been reading up here, and some people isntall invisible shields on theirs...

mostly because of scratching, i would really apreciate the grip though, more than protection..

Anyone can say anytihng about heat problems, i mean the metal must desapate heat better? So would that be a problem?

I saw yesterday lady with Razor (old phone by todays standards), she had some kinda plastic encasing on it. Looked terrible. Personally I am not so paranoid about all such protection, the only things I would consider are case (sleeve, backpack) to transport safely from place to place and palm rest sticker, because it seems it is quite prone to discoloration. All other scratches- who cares, it is a thing, meant to use it, after 3- 4 years you will switch to something better anyway. Resale value? Well I personally believe Apple is becoming more main stream computer brand and prices will fall at least a little bit. Probably not so fast on laptops, but eventually. And that will affect resale value too (or if I am wrong, would you even consider 2.16 Ghz laptop with 80Gb hard drive, when you have let's say 5.26 Ghz and with 2TB hard drive and some other interesting features in a 3-4 year future). Also when you work with a laptop what do you do- drop it on a floor, or keep tossing on a table? I think you handle it gently enough, so the only problem is just carrying it from place to place.
I even have no case for my ipod shuffle and ipod nano and carry them just in a pocket, with keys, cell phone. Seems they holding pretty good. Surprisingly nano's screen is not scratched at all.

As far as memory, I think Apple's memory totally not worth the price. Get upgraded processor or better graphic card for the money, because you will not be able to upgrade them, but don't waste your money on easily upgradable memory and not so easy upgradable hard drive.

 

[mBurns]

I bought my MacBook Pro new. I've purchased two refurbished MacBooks from Apple. When I first bought my MacBook, it was DOA (this was when they were first released) so it took one or two more tries to get a good one. With the MacBook, the first Blackbook I purchased had keyboard issues so it was returned and then I got a replacement with no issues. The other refurbished Blackbook I purchased has been perfect as well. If there are major aesthetic issues on the machine you purchase refurbished, just call AppleCare up. There is no reason (even refurbished) that the machine should come with a dent.

The only issue I've ever had with Apple Refurbs not coming perfect is when I purchased my iPod Mini. It came with a blemish on the case which they said they would replace with another refurbished Mini. The only issue was... they had no more Gold Minis and I wanted the Gold color so I was willing to live with the imperfections.