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Can't decide on which notebook...

Z

zackkmac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
880
129
Denver
So I have an iMac, but the warranty is expiring in 3 days. My mom told me that at the moment, she can't get warranty for it so I will just have to let it expire. But, she also said that if I do that and wait, then when we move [which will be pretty soon], she'll buy a new laptop for me, since I'll be leaving this iMac at my dad's house anyways.

I have no idea which MacBook I want. I like the idea of the Air, but I don't know how it could fit reasonable speakers in it, if it even has any at all. Also, I don't really know how annoying the lack of an optical drive would be.

I like the new MacBook Pro's, but at the same time, I want a "classic" black MacBook. I almost got that instead of my iMac but at the time I wanted the best features I could get with my money.

Guys help me decide please. :(
 
Forgot they have 13" screens. Coming from a 24" iMac, that really won't do. I have a crappy 15.4" Dell and it looks small enough. I like the old style MBP's, the ones that look like PowerBooks. Is there any way to get one sealed with full warranty or would I have to go with the ones with glass?
 
I highly doubt there's a way to get a new sealed one with the warranty still in-tact. That would mean it was never sold until now.
 
They sell previous generation refurbished 15in Macbook Pro's that look like Powerbook G4's on Apple.com. Keep looking everyday if you want one but beware, their GPU's are known to be defective. Just get the new 15in or 17in Macbook Pro's if you want.
 
Does your mom know what you're looking at in terms of a laptop? Or is it possible she was referring to a new Dell? I mean, she can't get you AppleCare (presumably due to cost?), but she can get you a $1800+ laptop "pretty soon"? (Price based on price of the generation of 15" MBP you're interested in on the Apple refurbished store.)

I don't know you or your mother, or how old you are, but I honestly can't imagine you needing anything better than the base 13". You're literally paying hundreds of extra dollars for a few inches of screen. (Again, you didn't give any info in regards to what you use it for, which leads me to believe there aren't any concrete requirements, other than, apparently, screen size)
 
AdamLikesMusic said:
Does your mom know what you're looking at in terms of a laptop? Or is it possible she was referring to a new Dell? I mean, she can't get you AppleCare (presumably due to cost?), but she can get you a $1800+ laptop "pretty soon"? (Price based on price of the generation of 15" MBP you're interested in on the Apple refurbished store.)

I don't know you or your mother, or how old you are, but I honestly can't imagine you needing anything better than the base 13". You're literally paying hundreds of extra dollars for a few inches of screen. (Again, you didn't give any info in regards to what you use it for, which leads me to believe there aren't any concrete requirements, other than, apparently, screen size)
Click to expand...

Pretty soon as in a month or two. When we buy our new house outright, she's going to use the leftover money for furniture and she told me she'd let me buy a laptop since I'm leaving my iMac at my dad's and I'll need a new computer for when I stay with her. But no, she does not mean a new Dell, trust me. She's not a Mac user but she knows how I feel about those phone support lines in India.

You do have a really good point about shelling out extra $$$'s for a few more inches of screen. But when I do that, I'm also getting an upgrade on processor, HD size, and RAM.

Either way I'm going to an Apple Store and checking out the size of the laptops in person. If I like the 13" well enough, then maybe I'll get the base model and throw in AppleCare. :)
 
miles01110 said:
No laptop has "reasonable speakers" in them. Invest in a good pair of headphones if audio quality is important to you.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I'm not a music fanatic as to where I have to have an excellent sound system for my computer, but decent speakers would be nice. Like the iMac's. People say they suck but I don't see it. Also, HP notebooks with the Altec Lansing speakers have the quality I'm looking for.

I'm sure Apple makes good enough speakers, I just wanna be sure they're not like the horrible, quiet ones I had in my VAIO.
 
miles01110 said:
I'm 99% certain that Apple doesn't make their own speakers, rather they just buy them from someone else and stick them inside. The only "Apple-native" parts are the Logic Board and the chassis, really.
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Ahh. Well I guess I meant they select good speakers...? Idk. The only thing I can base this off is my iMac because I think these speakers are amazing. So I'm sure they do the same for their other models. Even the G3 iMacs had Harman/Kardon speakers if I'm not mistaken..
 
zackkmac said:
Pretty soon as in a month or two. When we buy our new house outright, she's going to use the leftover money for furniture and she told me she'd let me buy a laptop since I'm leaving my iMac at my dad's and I'll need a new computer for when I stay with her. But no, she does not mean a new Dell, trust me. She's not a Mac user but she knows how I feel about those phone support lines in India.
Click to expand...

You do realise that Apple too has telephone support based in Asia?

Anyway, if she can't afford to buy you AppleCare (really, why should she?) then how is she going to afford this new laptop?

It's up to her to set the budget if she's going to buy it for you as a gift and you should feel lucky no matter what she gets you.
 
neiltc13 said:
You do realise that Apple too has telephone support based in Asia?
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I see what you mean. But everytime I've called for support, I got someone with an accent that you can understand fully.

neiltc13 said:
Anyway, if she can't afford to buy you AppleCare (really, why should she?) then how is she going to afford this new laptop?
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I have 3 days from today to buy AppleCare. In a month or so, she'll have money from the divorce to buy a new house + furniture. AppleCare obviously can't wait a month, and since I'm leaving this iMac at my dad's, I'll have no computer at the new house.

Basically, a laptop will be part of the new furniture I get in my new room.

neiltc13 said:
It's up to her to set the budget if she's going to buy it for you as a gift and you should feel lucky no matter what she gets you.
Click to expand...

And I agree, I do appreciate her doing this for me. But she's letting me pick, so I thought I'd ask you guys what you recommend.


With that said, I'll include details I should have in the beginning and I'm sorry for not doing so. I'm a 16 year-old with a large music library, I like to watch DVD's, create movies, and I use Aperture for my photos. If you sum it up, I heavily use iLife. I don't mind getting the base model MacBook Pro as long as it could handle all of that.

What is everyone's thoughts on the Air?
 
Talk to dad and see if he will buy applecare for the imac, since it will be sitting around in his house. You don't want to let it expire unless you absolutely have no choice in the matter. If, God forbid, anything goes south on the iMac, it could be hundreds of dollars to have one repair done on it.

It sounds like your parents are splitting up. I'm sorry. Oh, and as for the notebook, a refurbed whitebook with a 9400 nvidia is a heckuva machine for the money.
 
clyde2801 said:
Talk to dad and see if he will buy applecare for the imac, since it will be sitting around in his house. You don't want to let it expire unless you absolutely have no choice in the matter. If, God forbid, anything goes south on the iMac, it could be hundreds of dollars to have one repair done on it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I will talk to him but I don't know if this is enough of a notice for him. Actually what he would probably do is tell me to ask my mom to pay for it. :eek:

clyde2801 said:
a refurbed whitebook with a 9400 nvidia is a heckuva machine for the money.
Click to expand...

Didn't see any on the Refurb Mac page of the Apple Store. Plus I'm sorta hoping I can drive to the Apple Store to get mine that day, after ordering online a few times with Apple I don't really like it. I got an iPod mini in that was already turned on and the battery was almost dead. And my iMac came in and turned out to be a DOA.

I think I like the 13" MBP or maybe the whitebook since they still sell those new. But the backlit keyboard is what really makes me prefer the MBP, though the style of the whitebook looks better. Then when I think of that, I remember the discoloration problems. So I guess I will go with a MBP, most likely a well-equipped 13" with AppleCare. :)
 
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