Got my MacBook and I have a few questions!

[PhaserFuzz]

Alright, first thing.. I bought this at Best Buy and they kept telling me to get their Service Plan over AppleCare. Which do you think I should choose? They made it seem like theirs is so much better, but I know thats probably how they get most sales from Macs. Which would you go with? Also how much is Apple Care for a MacBook? I have a free year of it at the start right?

Another thing.. I want to upgrade my RAM to 4 gigs. I was thinking about ordering this.. LINK. Will that work alright with my MacBook? Best Buy charge a buttload of cash, but they said theirs is "optimized" for Macs and using other kinds is risky. That is a load of bull right?

Thanks for any help!!!

 

[heatmiser]

The memory you linked will work, but I'd save $40 and get the Gskill ram instead. You can read reviews yourself from people who've used it in Apple machines, if you're worried about that...

 

[ripplet]

Congrats on your purchase of your Macbook, hope you'll enjoy it.

The RAM you stated is 800mhz. It won't be fully utilised and will only run at 667mhz. I know you'll say that "the Front Side Bus is 800mhz. But that's a totally different thing altogether. So you might wana buy another 4GB kit with 667mhz (like the link heatmiser gave).

Refer to this article for more info.

As for AppleCare, I suggest getting it from eBay. If you're lucky, you'll find really good deals on em.
And yes, you have a free year of it at the start. You can decide to buy it later in the year when it's ABOUT to run out.

Hope it helps.

 

[Bobioden]

Alright, first thing.. I bought this at Best Buy and they kept telling me to get their Service Plan over AppleCare. Which do you think I should choose? They made it seem like theirs is so much better, but I know thats probably how they get most sales from Macs. Which would you go with? Also how much is Apple Care for a MacBook? I have a free year of it at the start right?

Another thing.. I want to upgrade my RAM to 4 gigs. I was thinking about ordering this.. LINK. Will that work alright with my MacBook? Best Buy charge a buttload of cash, but they said theirs is "optimized" for Macs and using other kinds is risky. That is a load of bull right?

Thanks for any help!!!

The ram site you linked is also 240 pin. You need the 200 pin DDR2 5300 Ram for your Macbook. Get the Ram heatmiser linked to. Great price, and getting good reviews around here.

 

[grailarbor]

the plan

so, about the best buy service plan vs. the applecare

i also got my macbook from bestbuy, and while the best buy service plan is a little more expensive (i think) ill tell you why its worth it to me

if you upgrade to bestbuy's new 'accidental damage' plan, it covers any damage done to the machine. whether manufacturers defect, or personal negligence.

 

[Cyroceon]

so, about the best buy service plan vs. the applecare

i also got my macbook from bestbuy, and while the best buy service plan is a little more expensive (i think) ill tell you why its worth it to me

if you upgrade to bestbuy's new 'accidental damage' plan, it covers any damage done to the machine. whether manufacturers defect, or personal negligence.

I worked at Best Buy for a long time and I was in the PC dept. Let me tell you a few things I hate about the service plan, then I will go from there. First, when you do bring your computer in, most probably (90%) they can't fix the problem in store and have to ship it out. This will yield you a waiting time of 2-6 weeks. Secondly, most of the guys behind the geek squad counter knew less than I did about computers and they were primarily "backup salespeople."

Nowadays, the geeks don't even do most repairs, they just hook your computer up to an intranet connection and a remote agent, usually from India, nicknamed Agent Johnny Utah, fixes the machine remotely. They have a whole program for this. Regardless of what I told you, their service plan is EXPENSIVE. If you truly need ADH(accidental damage from handling) coverage, then get it, if not, then don't and go with AppleCare. **** even if it is accidental, most of the things Best Buy won't cover like water submersion and physical abuse. What if you drop it, who decides whether or not it was physically abused? Well if you were carrying it with one hand, then it was. The list goes on and on.

 

[dj420118]

I've had apple care on my macbook for over a year and let me tell you there is nothing like Apple customer service. Many a time have I gotten my laptop back in 2 or 3 days from the repair center. There is a reason Consumer Reports always rates Apple customer service as number #1.

 

[r-gordon-7]

I worked at Best Buy for a long time and I was in the PC dept. Let me tell you a few things I hate about the service plan, then I will go from there. First, when you do bring your computer in, most probably (90%) they can't fix the problem in store and have to ship it out. This will yield you a waiting time of 2-6 weeks. Secondly, most of the guys behind the geek squad counter knew less than I did about computers and they were primarily "backup salespeople."

My first experience with the Best Buy Geek Squad's Extended Service Warranty (for my HP PC, which my new Macbook replaces... )was a 12 week wait (though that included the extra 4 weeks it took to have the case replaced when they tried to return it to me with deep gouges all over the top and all over the keyboard edge... Luckily, I had photos of it to prove it was in mint condition when I first gave it to them for repair - that & I had happened to insist that they write "mint physical appearance" on the receipt when the took it in.) Unfortunately, the case they used as a replacement was a third-party aftermarket part that didn't have the same finish quality as the case they trashed...

Intermediate experiences with Best Buy Geek Squad repair were all less than satisfactory...

My final experience with the Best Buy Geek Squad (still for the HP PC) was a battery replacement... They used for the replacement some off-brand battery which shorted out every time I even sligthly jostled the laptop. The problem was with their replacement battery, as the problem didn't exist with the factory battery - the factory battery would just no longer hold a charge. I had them replace the repacement battery with another, but it too was an "el-cheapo" off-brand replacement with the same problem as the first - shorting out whenever the laptop was moved... The terms of the Best Buy Extended Service Warranty permit them to use shoddy off-brand replacement parts - which they do...

My solution was to buy a Macbook - and not from Best Buy! I'll be buying AppleCare for it - and avoiding the "Best Buy/Geek Squad" Extended Service Warranty! (I assume with AppleCare, unlike Best Buy/Geek Squad, you get genuine Apple replacement parts...??!!)

r-gordon-7