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MacBook for College

A

Andy348

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 18, 2009
423
0
Montreal
My sister is going into international studies or something like that and my parents are buying her a MacBook. Shes hired me (not actually hired ;)) to spec it for her. She wants a white one like mine. The specs I'm looking at are:

2.13Ghz
2GB Ram
160GB HD
new Nvidia graphics
iWork pre-installed
Canon printer
iPod Touch (back to school promo - is this on now?)
Mini DVI adapter

I'm only 15 so I'm wondering if there are any college students out there who regret not getting that extra ram or hd space. Are these specs worthy?

Thanks

:apple:
 
Thats almost definitely adequate for what she would need. Extra HD space is always good but 160gb is a decent amount any more ram than 2gb for that notebook would be overkill.
Look at refurbished notebooks from the apple store. They are always a good buy.
 
That kind of program is really not computer intensive so the white macbook would cover everything she needs.
 
doucy2 said:
Thats almost definitely adequate for what she would need. Extra HD space is always good but 160gb is a decent amount any more ram than 2gb for that notebook would be overkill.
Look at refurbished notebooks from the apple store. They are always a good buy.
Click to expand...

I looked at the refurbs but she wants a white one really badly and it needs to be ordered ASAP.. there aren't any white ones in the refurb store right now.

Not to mention that she thinks that refurbs are crap even though mine was refurbished -.-

Thanks for all the input guys. Can anyone tell me if the back to school promo is still on? Can I get the iPod Touch + Printer (with mail-in rebate) online?
 
Andy348 said:
I looked at the refurbs but she wants a white one really badly and it needs to be ordered ASAP.. there aren't any white ones in the refurb store right now.

Not to mention that she thinks that refurbs are crap even though mine was refurbished -.-

Thanks for all the input guys. Can anyone tell me if the back to school promo is still on? Can I get the iPod Touch + Printer (with mail-in rebate) online?
Click to expand...

I'd say just get a new base white MacBook. Like others have said, you can always upgrade RAM to 3 or 4 GB later. Hard drive as well. The "free" iPod touch and printer deal is still on. You actually don't have to get an iPod touch. What they do is give you back $229 in a rebate you must do online. Make double sure you do it though. It comes in extremely fast–usually 2 days. But if you don't you could be waiting around for weeks wondering where your money is. :rolleyes: So you could get a touch, nano, or classic. I got an iPod classic though. It's like I only paid $20 for it.
 
I think hundreds of questions of this kind exist here....
Please do a search, like typing "macbook for college" in search bar.
 
Depending on the program, she might have to do some number-crunching (some poli sci/IR departments are quant-heavy). PASW (nee SPSS) suggests 1+ GB of RAM, so that configuration should work for her. The free iPod Touch promo is still going on in the US. I don't know about Canada (of course, if she's enrolled in a US university, she'd qualify for the program).
 
Make sure you check the education store. There will be additional discounts for the purchase if she is currently associated with a place of higher education like a University.
 
Yes it would work and the ipod promotion is still going on. However i would almost just go for the base 13" macbook pro. It is only 150 more, there is a slight bump in processor speed, ddr3 ram instead of ddr2. And a much better screen. Although the specs arent much better, i think the difference lies in the build quality.

I have a macbook pro(it is almost 3 years old now) it is still running strong and have never really had a problem with it. My mom has a white macbook and the top case cracked where the lid makes contact with it and has some discoloration issues. They may have fixed these issues, but i still think for the $150 difference the macbook pro has the potential to last you longer than than the regular macbook
 
hypertc13 said:
Yes it would work and the ipod promotion is still going on. However i would almost just go for the base 13" macbook pro. It is only 150 more, there is a slight bump in processor speed, ddr3 ram instead of ddr2. And a much better screen. Although the specs arent much better, i think the difference lies in the build quality.

I have a macbook pro(it is almost 3 years old now) it is still running strong and have never really had a problem with it. My mom has a white macbook and the top case cracked where the lid makes contact with it and has some discoloration issues. They may have fixed these issues, but i still think for the $150 difference the macbook pro has the potential to last you longer than than the regular macbook
Click to expand...

My sister hates the new MBP looks.

Oh well, its ordered with the free touch + printer.

Thanks for the advice guys.
 
I bought a Whitebook a few months ago for school with the exact specs you stated, and couldn't be happier.
 
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