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I'm wanting a Mac Laptop of some sort but maybe they cost to much?

K

Kane Hart

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 27, 2008
57
0
I'm wanting a Mac Laptop of some sort but maybe they cost to much?

I was thinking 500-800 Budget but from the looks of it even if I could get 500 one it be 13" lol.. I wanted 15 and even more 17"

Now not going play the game blah beats apple but when u can buy a laptop from ibm dell hp for like 10 times more stuff vs a mac it hurts me a lot..

I just got into Mac I run a windows pc but have played with a mac and since I don't game just watch movies and maybe xcode and such?

Well I just though a mac would be a great laptop for me and school.
 
Mac Laptops cost allot yes, but when you get one in your hand you will understand why, It's allot like driving a BMW/Mercedes, if that makes scene to you.

Cheers
Gary
 
You could probably buy an older Macbook for $800 (the Core Duo or one of the first Core 2 Duos) but you'd be stuck with a 13.3" screen. If you want a bigger screen, you could pick up a G4 iBook or PowerBook in your price range, but you won't be able to run windows. However, for things like surfing the internet, word processing, etc. they will work fine. I am typing this on a 7 year old PowerBook G4 that still going strong.

Remember that Macs tend to last longer and have a higher resale value than other notebooks when you are looking at your budget. I could probably sell my computer still for $200 or $300. I don't know anyone with a Windows notebook that has retained value like that. In fact, I don't know anyone using a 7 year old Windows notebook.
 
Riiiight...

Try writing Apple a letter and explain your situation. I'm sure they are open to haggling.
 
savvos said:
You could probably buy an older Macbook for $800 (the Core Duo or one of the first Core 2 Duos) but you'd be stuck with a 13.3" screen. If you want a bigger screen, you could pick up a G4 iBook or PowerBook in your price range, but you won't be able to run windows. However, for things like surfing the internet, word processing, etc. they will work fine. I am typing this on a 7 year old PowerBook G4 that still going strong.

Remember that Macs tend to last longer and have a higher resale value than other notebooks when you are looking at your budget. I could probably sell my computer still for $200 or $300. I don't know anyone with a Windows notebook that has retained value like that. In fact, I don't know anyone using a 7 year old Windows notebook.
Click to expand...

I love stories like yours. I hope to keep my Macbook for seven years as well. So far, I've had it for six months. Seventy-eight to go.

Is it your primary computer, or do you use another machine for the majority of your computing?
 
Try to push yourself to buy a core 2 duo - you'll want to leverage the advances coming in Snow Leopard next January...

As for Mac your 'computer life' will change significantly for the better. Just yesterday we had a customer with a brand new Vista Toshiba laptop running AVG. The thing was barely capable of web browsing and the complexity of trying to fix it was shocking - three guys ( experienced techs ) were baffled. We see this all the time - somethings just not right with Vista.
 
Buy MacBook for $999 + tax with students discount.
Get the free iPod Touch with it under the promo. Sell it for $250 sealed. 999-250 = $749.
 
Kane Hart said:
I'm wanting a Mac Laptop of some sort but maybe they cost to much?

I was thinking 500-800 Budget but from the looks of it even if I could get 500 one it be 13" lol.. I wanted 15 and even more 17"
Click to expand...
You can't buy a new Mac laptop for under $1100, without an edu or other discount. If that's too much, then you need to buy refurb, used, or not get a Mac.

That's the Apple lineup; they don't sell low-cost laptops.
 
heatmiser said:
I love stories like yours. I hope to keep my Macbook for seven years as well. So far, I've had it for six months. Seventy-eight to go.

Is it your primary computer, or do you use another machine for the majority of your computing?
Click to expand...

This is still my primary computer. I had to replace the HDD a few years ago, but other than that no problems. Sadly, it works better than the Dell at my work for a lot of things. I miss not being able to play modern games, but this computer was a big step up from my 233Mhz G3 PowerMac, so it wasn't like my computing experience was suddenly downgraded. And I love playing some of the old classic mac games like Space Rogue.

The OP should max out the RAM when he gets his laptop because there is a shift to DDR3 and after that happens the DDR2 that is out there now will go up in price.

I second the idea of taking advantage of the free iPod and selling it to get the laptop in your price range if you can afford it.
 
You can always find deals if you just shop around. Just put the effort in and keep your eyes out online.

I recently used a promotion done by eBay and Microsoft that gave 20% cashback on any Buy It Now purchases and also used a 10% off coupon eBay emailed me. This gave me $285 off the purchase of a MacBook, which was already listed cheaper on eBay ($665 my final price vs. $1099 retail, both brand new).

You can PM me if you want help purchasing with this deal. It's going on right now.
 
lol

seems like a pc fanboy trying to go mac
in the world of mac a 17 inch laptop is top of the range unlike wit pcs you can get them piss cheap(doesn't mean their any good)
 
There was a time when a Mac laptop was infinitely better than one from another manufacturer. These days though, with a choice of great operating systems (Mac OS X, Ubuntu or Windows Vista) things are really much more level.

If you're just starting University, the last thing you need is a new operating system to learn. If you're used to Windows, stick with that. You'll find that Windows is much better supported by technicians at Universities, and you'll also find that if you need help, it's much more readily available.

I've been looking at the cost of many laptops recently and Apple's line is completely and utterly overpriced. I can get an Acer Gemstone laptop which has roughly the same power as a MacBook Pro for £499 or I can buy a MacBook Pro for £1299. It really is no contest here.

While there are still some areas where the Apple laptops have others beat (build quality, design being the two main ones) I think that Dell and many other manufacturers are really getting their act together. The latest Dell Inspirons and XPS machines are really great and are well constructed.
 
Change the word 'Apple' to 'Mercedes', 'Dell' to 'Ford', up the prices a bit and you have your answer - you get what you pay for.
 
neiltc13 said:
There was a time when a Mac laptop was infinitely better than one from another manufacturer. These days though, with a choice of great operating systems (Mac OS X, Ubuntu or Windows Vista) things are really much more level.

If you're just starting University, the last thing you need is a new operating system to learn. If you're used to Windows, stick with that. You'll find that Windows is much better supported by technicians at Universities, and you'll also find that if you need help, it's much more readily available.

I've been looking at the cost of many laptops recently and Apple's line is completely and utterly overpriced. I can get an Acer Gemstone laptop which has roughly the same power as a MacBook Pro for £499 or I can buy a MacBook Pro for £1299. It really is no contest here.

While there are still some areas where the Apple laptops have others beat (build quality, design being the two main ones) I think that Dell and many other manufacturers are really getting their act together. The latest Dell Inspirons and XPS machines are really great and are well constructed.
Click to expand...

Why don't you sell your macs ( if you even own any which I doubt), get an Dell or an Acer POS, go run Vista and not come back if you dislike Apple and OS X so much.

Seriously, Why do you come here to spread NOTHING but anti-mac sentiment ?

Do you realise you are just selfishly screwing with peoples dreams, pleasures, aspirations,ambitions and personal desire to try something different...
 
Hmm...

neiltc13 said:
There was a time when a Mac laptop was infinitely better than one from another manufacturer. These days though, with a choice of great operating systems (Mac OS X, Ubuntu or Windows Vista) things are really much more level.

If you're just starting University, the last thing you need is a new operating system to learn. If you're used to Windows, stick with that. You'll find that Windows is much better supported by technicians at Universities, and you'll also find that if you need help, it's much more readily available.

I've been looking at the cost of many laptops recently and Apple's line is completely and utterly overpriced. I can get an Acer Gemstone laptop which has roughly the same power as a MacBook Pro for £499 or I can buy a MacBook Pro for £1299. It really is no contest here.

While there are still some areas where the Apple laptops have others beat (build quality, design being the two main ones) I think that Dell and many other manufacturers are really getting their act together. The latest Dell Inspirons and XPS machines are really great and are well constructed.
Click to expand...

If you're not able to learn another operating system at the same time you head off to university, maybe the university should rethink their entrance requirements.

Who cares about IT support? What would a university IT dept be able to do on a PC that they couldn't on a Mac? Biggest problem I ever had was getting an IP address through DHCP.
 
surferfromuk said:
Why don't you sell your macs ( if you even own any which I doubt), get an Dell or an Acer POS, go run Vista and not come back if you dislike Apple and OS X so much.

Seriously, Why do you come here to spread NOTHING but anti-mac sentiment ?

Do you realise you are just selfishly screwing with peoples dreams, pleasures, aspirations,ambitions and personal desire to try something different...
Click to expand...

This is absolute nonsense. I made a switch to an iBook in 2005 when Windows XP was unstable and the feature set of Mac OS X was way out in front. Now we've got Windows Vista and in terms of features, both are neck and neck and it's much more stable.

Yes, there are benefits to getting a MacBook. Superior design and good build quality are the main ones, but when you compare Apple's current lineup with that being offered by other manufacturers, you'll see that every single computer in the line (with the exception of perhaps the Mac Pro) is grossly overpriced. As a student myself, I know how important it is to be frugal. There's also the fact that across the board, all PC manufacturers (well, except from Apple, who continually release ugly looking products like the new iMac and MacBook Air) are making huge advances in their design of their computers. Dell's XPS line for example is stunning to look at.

Spending extra cash on lesser hardware and also facing a challenge in using that new equipment (at least for a while) all while trying to undertake a degree is not a good plan in my opinion. My point is nothing to do with competency, it is about time. If you're spending time in class, time revising and time socialising, it doesn't leave much left for learning a new OS.

The biggest problem I faced at University with my Mac laptop was getting it to play nice with the WiFi network. It uses 802.1X authentication and the certificates required were packaged up in a .exe file. I then had absolutely no idea how to get those installed and the networking configured using my usenername and password because there were no instructions provided by my university for Mac OS X. Had I been using a Windows machine I would have had it up and running in a matter of minutes.
 
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