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Macbook Best Value for Dollar?

SteveSparks

SteveSparks

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 22, 2008
905
31
St. Louis, MO.
IF you were getting a new mac today, what is the best value for the money spent?


With Education Discount:

Macbook $899
Macbook Pro $1099
Macbook Pro $1399
Macbook Air $1399

The only reason I don't get a Macbook today and then wait another year, is the lack of IR on the Macbook. I am the one person that used the IR for presentations and videos.

Thought...

Anyone?
 
If you're choosing between those options... they're all essentially the same machine, and I would choose between 1 and 2 dependent on weather you want the aluminum unibody style. The polycarbonate are fine. Unless you're using virtual machines/emulating windows applications regularly, 2gb of ram should be plenty and is cheaper to upgrade w/ third-party ram and scrap the ram that came-with. They have the same display and graphics. A 300mhz cpu difference isn't going to make a significant difference in most applications, depending on your workload... and since you're looking at the lower end I doubt your workload is too demanding.

as for IR, a third party usb ir reciever can be attained for significantly less than the $200 price difference... that said, I'm waiting for the 17" refresh because a huge distinction can be made there. :)
 
The struggle I am having is that the Macbook seems the best deal, is so close to the Low end pro in computing power and the hard drive is so much bigger. I think when the refresh happens, that the low end MBP will loose a higher % of its value.

The middle $1499 system seems to be a good value considering the memory and the drive space. Its more along the lines of a typicial system I would purchase. I like to keep the price around $1500 out the door.

I do some presentations where I use and Apple Remote, and and extra IR receive might be something to consider. I could get the Macbook and use if for a year, get most of my money back and then upgrade to a MPB later.

It's all food for thought, I'm trying to consider my options as I would really just rather spend $1500 on a MBP .. but as I get closer to a project I need to complete and present in March, I need to have give this some thought in the event nothing happens in the next two weeks. Considering the value of the $1500 system, its a tough call!

As you can tell the 13" screen and size is important to me.

I've used a MacBook Air an it is a nice system but I think it is over priced compared to other systems systems when you consider the battery and computing power.

It is not that I need lots of computing power, but I like to consider the resale value in the 18month range.

Any additional thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Sneakz said:
You must be kidding me. Out of all 6 MBP models, I feel it has the least value.
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree.

I would have to go with the 13" MacBook Pro (Lower end). First of all you get the aluminum unibody which is very nice.

  • 2.26Ghz is PLENTY of power, unless you're going to be doing some serious number crunching, something like Folding@Home. Even while playing a game (EVE Online), using CoolBook I only need to run at 1.8Ghz to get full FPS from the game before the GPU begins to limit it.
  • In my opinion 2GB of RAM is enough to run and keep all my apps open, unless I throw open a game, then I tend to shut most things down. Upgrading to 4GB is easy to do yourself and cheaper.
  • The hard drive once again is easy to upgrade yourself, and you can get something better than Apple provides for cheaper.

The only thing I don't like are things that I couldn't change: Low screen resolution, and no dedicated GPU on the 13" (I would love to give up my CD drive for one)
 
nospeed411 said:
Not to be a dick but since the shoe fits I'll wear it.


Where in his post did you see the entire Macbook line as choices to pick from???????

Exactly..... you didn't
Click to expand...


Well if he says that out of the whole line he thinks is the least value... then obviously from his small choice of picks it will still be the worst... :rolleyes:
 
1099 but I would wait for the refresh...it's really bad time to buy C2D as it's nearing EOL. Normally I am not a proponent of wait for the next best thing but in this case it's very much valid upgrade from C2D to Core i series is significant.
 
If your looking for value, I would say the Macbook would happily suit your needs.

I would also notion the fact that the MBP13 2.53 is the worst value. $300 for 4GB ram ($90), slightly larger HD ($10?), and a minimal unnoticeable increase in clock speed which Apple does not even pay for ($0). You essentially give Apple $200 for free, and thats based on consumer prices.
 
for the best deal, it depends.
if you can keep an eye on refurbs the 13" baseline goes for 999$ plus tax so generally around 1088~1095 (so almost the same price of the non-refurb version, but you save on tax and all that)

so that is an option to look at, no edu discount but theyre still great values & computers; i just picked one up last night.

i plan on swapping in 8gb of memory (selling the old sticks) and upgrade the drive to a 640gb (sell the old drive).

i ran tests on a friends 13" baseline mbp, runs flawless in logic, aperture, and a couple of other games i run.


it has a much nicer display too than the white macbook imo.



hope that helps?
 
The MacBook, because I can get one for $880 after tax and all, store is about an hour's drive, though! :D
 
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