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i have a spending limit and was wondering, which macbook pro should i get?

mikereal said:
thank you very much for the replies, i really appreciate it.

what would you guys say about something like this

which one would you go for? knowing that i need it mostly for music stuff... i really want to get the best out of apple:

Configuration
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
iWork preinstalled
Logic Express preinstalled
Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

or

Configuration
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard (Local) & User's Guide (Local)
iWork preinstalled
Logic Express preinstalled
Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

thanks again!:)
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Antiglare display?

And you can buy a mini displayport to VGA adapter from monoprice.com for under $10; why pay apple $30 + tax?

Then you can buy 8GB of Ram from OWC.com for $370, why pay apple $800?

I am guessing the 500 GB HDD is also an upgrade?

Your money, do what you want, but just know you not only are not getting the most for your money by buying last years hardware but now are paying apple prices on upgrades.
 
kny3twalker said:
Antiglare display?

And you can buy a mini displayport to VGA adapter from monoprice.com for under $10; why pay apple $30 + tax?

Then you can buy 8GB of Ram from OWC.com for $370, why pay apple $800?

I am guessing the 500 GB HDD is also an upgrade?

Your money, do what you want, but just know you not only are not getting the most for your money by buying last years hardware but now are paying apple prices on upgrades.
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i'm not asking whether it is cheaper or not...with this post i'm just thinking about which specs you guys think are better for what i want to use it...
i wont be paying more money for upgrades. i just want to know what you think of those specs :D
but then again, thank you for your reply dude
 
kny3twalker said:
$2300 for a used computer???

You can say it is refurbished or whatever you want, but the fact is it is a used computer! No different than buying a used 2010 car. It is probably in great shape and whatever else, and the dealership probably checked everything out. But it is USED!
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Substantially different imo.

I was under the impression that all refurbed Macs they sell look 99.99% new. There is no distinction other than the packaging was opened and it was returned.

Also, many of the computers they sell in the refurb store are just a case of damaged packaging.

Not to mention that the computers are rechecked more thoroughly than the "factory fresh" variety.

Add on top of that the fact that brand new "sealed" computers have also had physical interaction before they are packaged and sealed, it really is so similar.

A better comparison would be a car that was test driven before you bought it. Guess what? Those cars are still sold brand new with no discount.
 
I wouldn't trust ebay for anything more than $400 :p...Just too much money and too much of a hassle to deal with if anything goes wrong. I wouldn't mind going through refurb store...still gives you a quality laptop...and you have a full year warranty :]
 
highscheme said:
Substantially different imo.

I was under the impression that all refurbed Macs they sell look 99.99% new. There is no distinction other than the packaging was opened and it was returned.

Also, many of the computers they sell in the refurb store are just a case of damaged packaging.

Not to mention that the computers are rechecked more thoroughly than the "factory fresh" variety.

Add on top of that the fact that brand new "sealed" computers have also had physical interaction before they are packaged and sealed, it really is so similar.

A better comparison would be a car that was test driven before you bought it. Guess what? Those cars are still sold brand new with no discount.
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what proof do you have of this? I still stand behind my comment that this is like buying a used car which is the same year as a new car.
Test drives are with the sales associate, meaning only in their care. I doubt these refurbished laptops were only used while in the care of the apple sales people.
 
mikereal said:
i'm not asking whether it is cheaper or not...with this post i'm just thinking about which specs you guys think are better for what i want to use it...
i wont be paying more money for upgrades. i just want to know what you think of those specs :D
but then again, thank you for your reply dude
Click to expand...

I think your money would be better spent on the 2.66GHz model with discrete graphics and an antiglare display.
If you upgraded to 8 GB of memory, it would be $100 more than the refurbished 3.06GHz model.
 
6-0 Prolene said:
I agree, FWIW.
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Yep. The problem with the calculation of those who insist on putting off a purchase because something new, better, faster, etc. is "imminent," is that we never know precisely what "imminent" means. It could mean tomorrow, next week, or, God help us, next year, we just don't know. That's why I think the only sensible solution is to determine what you need and can afford to pay. Then, buy it and move on.
 
gwsat said:
Yep. The problem with the calculation of those who insist on putting off a purchase because something new, better, faster, etc. is "imminent," is that we never know precisely what "imminent" means. It could mean tomorrow, next week, or, God help us, next year, we just don't know. That's why I think the only sensible solution is to determine what you need and can afford to pay. Then, buy it and move on.
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Well I believe Intel will quit making the Core2Duo sometime in the summer, so Apple would have no choice at that point.
 
elpmas said:
I wouldn't trust ebay for anything more than $400 :p...Just too much money and too much of a hassle to deal with if anything goes wrong. I wouldn't mind going through refurb store...still gives you a quality laptop...and you have a full year warranty :]
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I couldn't agree more. The only time I tried to buy a major item on ebay a scammer tried to rip me off. Fortunately, the fraud was so obvious I didn't get trapped by it. It seems to me to make more sense in the long run to buy major items only from established vendors. That's easy enough to do at a reasonable price these days because of how many well known vendors have a Web presence.
 
elpmas said:
I wouldn't trust ebay for anything more than $400 :p...Just too much money and too much of a hassle to deal with if anything goes wrong. I wouldn't mind going through refurb store...still gives you a quality laptop...and you have a full year warranty :]
Click to expand...

gwsat said:
I couldn't agree more. The only time I tried to buy a major item on ebay a scammer tried to rip me off. Fortunately, the fraud was so obvious I didn't get trapped by it. It seems to me to make more sense in the long run to buy major items only from established vendors. That's easy enough to do at a reasonable price these days because of how many well known vendors have a Web presence.
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I purchased my 2.8 MBP from eBay. It is a brand new machine and purchased from a reputable seller. It has a full year warranty and I opted for Apple Care as well. If you want to buy a refurbished machine for the price of a new one on eBay then go for it. You will save money going the eBay way but you also have to do your homework. There are scammers but use your brain when buying from the site. I have never experience a bad transaction on eBay in the 13 years I have used it.

There are established vendors selling through eBay so please do not jump to conclusions.
 
6-0 Prolene said:
The post I quoted mentioned an "eminent" update. That's just a teensy bit different from "imminent." That was my only point. I'm not sure what the "other side of the story" has to do with anything.
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I just don't want the OP to think that an update will definitely come soon, which is an impression that one might get from some posts. That's all. I'd hate to see someone wait for an update based on the advice of others and be disappointed when that update doesn't happen soon, or imminently :)

The "other side of the story" was just me saying that it's totally possible we might not see an update for months.
 
phrint said:
I purchased my 2.8 MBP from eBay. It is a brand new machine and purchased from a reputable seller. It has a full year warranty and I opted for Apple Care as well. If you want to buy a refurbished machine for the price of a new one on eBay then go for it. You will save money going the eBay way but you also have to do your homework. There are scammers but use your brain when buying from the site. I have never experience a bad transaction on eBay in the 13 years I have used it.

There are established vendors selling through eBay so please do not jump to conclusions.
Click to expand...
Any purchasing decision is a matter of using one's own best judgment. My own best judgment coupled with a bad experience, has convinced me that ebay presents unacceptable risks where major purchases are concerned. Buying on ebay carries with it a bigger gamble than I, and I believe most other prudent shoppers, are willing to make. Ebay is the wild west and most of us don't carry six-guns.:)
 
gwsat said:
Any purchasing decision is a matter of using one's own best judgment. My own best judgment coupled with a bad experience, has convinced me that ebay presents unacceptable risks where major purchases are concerned. Buying on ebay carries with it a bigger gamble than I, and I believe most other prudent shoppers, are willing to make. Ebay is the wild west and most of us don't carry six-guns.:)
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You shot yourself in the foot for making assumptions about "prudent shoppers" when you said it is everyone's own judgment. I consider myself to be prudent but not horrified to buy from eBay. You make your choice but don't go making blanket assumptions about everyone else. There are tons of safety features on eBay and I only pay with Paypal so that is added protection. I have transacted several hundred purchases and never had one problem. You had one problem on one purchase.

From your post, prudent sounds like paying full retail price for products and services. Have fun with that one. Again, you are entitled to your opinion, I just think it is a little short-sighted and naive.
 
phrint said:
You shot yourself in the foot for making assumptions about "prudent shoppers" when you said it is everyone's own judgment. I consider myself to be prudent but not horrified to buy from eBay. You make your choice but don't go making blanket assumptions about everyone else. There are tons of safety features on eBay and I only pay with Paypal so that is added protection. I have transacted several hundred purchases and never had one problem. You had one problem on one purchase.

From your post, prudent sounds like paying full retail price for products and services. Have fun with that one. Again, you are entitled to your opinion, I just think it is a little short-sighted and naive.
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We disagree. Live with it. I'll just leave it to others to decide whether what I have said about ebay makes sense.
 
gwsat said:
We disagree. Live with it. I'll just leave it to others to decide whether what I have said about ebay makes sense.
Click to expand...

phrint said:
That's the whole point guy. What you are saying makes no sense.
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At least one other poster to this thread has already agreed with me with that it's unacceptably risky to buy something as expensive as a computer on ebay. I quote:

elpmas said:
I wouldn't trust ebay for anything more than $400 :p...Just too much money and too much of a hassle to deal with if anything goes wrong. I wouldn't mind going through refurb store...still gives you a quality laptop...and you have a full year warranty :]
Click to expand...

I for one respect your opinion that buying a computer from an ebay seller makes sense. I would have expected, then, that you would respect my opinion and the opinion of other posters that buying a computer on ebay is unacceptably risky.
 
mikereal said:
I have USD2400(i could get up to 2600 in the last case scenario) and i'm looking forward on buying a new macbook pro at the apple website, a magic mouse and also one of the remotes.
Click to expand...

I have no suggestions as far as the MacBook is concerned, but I would strongly advice against getting the magic mouse. The only thing that's "magical" about it is the rate at which it consumes batteries...
 
gwsat said:
At least one other poster to this thread has already agreed with me with that it's unacceptably risky to buy something as expensive as a computer on ebay. I quote:



I for one respect your opinion that buying a computer from an ebay seller makes sense. I would have expected, then, that you would respect my opinion and the opinion of other posters that buying a computer on ebay is unacceptably risky.
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I will second, or third, your feelings about ebay. I think its unnecessarily risky for high priced items.
 
kny3twalker said:
I will second, or third, your feelings about ebay. I think its unnecessarily risky for high priced items.
Click to expand...
Silencer said:
I agree its way too risky. Even if they use paypal.
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Over the past 30 years I have used mail order and, later, the Web to buy computer equipment and home theater components. Fortunately for us, the Web is a competitive marketplace, so good bargains are there for the careful shopper. Ebay, though, is, indeed, a risky place. I was serious when in an earlier post I equated it to the wild west. It's possible to make good deals there on big ticket items, I suppose, but to me, and apparently you, too, the risk of loss outweighs the potential savings.

Back to the OP's question, though. I liked the recommendation made to the OP by sharkzfanz to get a refurbished machine from Apple. I understand that they are essentially brand new and qualify for AppleCare, if you decide to get it. I also think that kny3walker's suggestion made sense. He recommended that instead of buying the 2.8Ghz refurbished MBP, the OP should instead buy a brand new 2.66Ghz machine with discrete graphics and a matte screen and get third party RAM modules to bump the new computer's memory to 8 gig. I agree that a matte screen and 8 gig of RAM would have far more utility than a 2.8Ghz processor would provide.

The foregoing just goes to show what most of us here knew anyway, that buying a high end computer can be a complicated business.
 
gwsat said:
Any purchasing decision is a matter of using one's own best judgment. My own best judgment coupled with a bad experience, has convinced me that ebay presents unacceptable risks where major purchases are concerned. Buying on ebay carries with it a bigger gamble than I, and I believe most other prudent shoppers, are willing to make. Ebay is the wild west and most of us don't carry six-guns.:)
Click to expand...

I have to disagree as well. I've sold and bought on eBay for 15 years (mainly items around the $1500-4500) with no problems whatsoever.

The best rule to follow is to buy from reputable sellers usually 100+ feedback with 98-100% positive feedback. If the op wants to buy a big purchase on eBay make sure to buy from a seller with over 1000 feedbacks and he should be fine.

I think all you people who are disregarding eBay for high priced purchases are missing out BIG time. IMO I think high priced items is even better to purchase on eBay as it is hundreds of dollars cheaper and cash back savings on top (even on new items) and you get the exact same item as if you bought it from apple itself or any 3rd party vendors.

All you have to do is buy from reputable sellers 1000+ feedback with 98-100% positive feedback. You can also buy from sellers with 100+ feedback with 100% positive feedback. Always pay with paypal and make sure you've verified your account and confirmed so that you can be protected. As a selle and buyer this rule has never failed me.

Also if you see an item that's wayyyy too good to be true with a seller that only has 1-50 and feedback usually is 50% is someone to stay away from (this is what I think that has happened to you in your bad transaction and I wouldn't be surprised).

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience but you can't speak for millions of other just from your one mistake you might have made on eBay.
 
jjahshik32 said:
I have to disagree as well. I've sold and bought on eBay for 15 years (mainly items around the $1500-4500) with no problems whatsoever.

The best rule to follow is to buy from reputable sellers usually 100+ feedback with 98-100% positive feedback. If the op wants to buy a big purchase on eBay make sure to buy from a seller with over 1000 feedbacks and he should be fine.

I think all you people who are disregarding eBay for high priced purchases are missing out BIG time. IMO I think high priced items is even better to purchase on eBay as it is hundreds of dollars cheaper and cash back savings on top (even on new items) and you get the exact same item as if you bought it from apple itself or any 3rd party vendors.

All you have to do is buy from reputable sellers 1000+ feedback with 98-100% positive feedback. You can also buy from sellers with 100+ feedback with 100% positive feedback. Always pay with paypal and make sure you've verified your account and confirmed so that you can be protected. As a selle and buyer this rule has never failed me.

Also if you see an item that's wayyyy too good to be true with a seller that only has 1-50 and feedback usually is 50% is someone to stay away from (this is what I think that has happened to you in your bad transaction and I wouldn't be surprised).

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience but you can't speak for millions of other just from your one mistake you might have made on eBay.
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Please understand that I did not presume to speak for everybody. Obviously you and at least one other poster to this thread don't think that buying on ebay is unacceptably risky. I have said before and will say again that I respect your opinion. My one and only point is that many of us, several of whom have posted here, do think that buying on ebay is unacceptably risky. I reported my bad experience with an ebay seller for the same reason you have reported your good experience, to help others make an informed decision. We simply have a good faith disagreement about the issue, which others will have to resolve for themselves.
 
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