My PC is on the verge of dying, thinking about getting 13" basic MacBook Pro student

[andyACEcandy]

Well, I have never owned a mac before. I am 22 years old and have used PC all 22 years it feels like.

I went into the mac store today and saw a deal for the 13" base model macbook pro with free ipod touch 8gb and free HP all in one printer scanner for $1100 after rebates.

I own an 8gb ipod touch 1st gen already so would probably sell the one I get and I have been in need of a scanner printer.


My question is... if all I really plan on doing is surf the web, watch movies and tv shows, and chat... am I dumb in spending $1100 on a mac and not $500 on a PC?

The size, portability, and battery life are what turn me on the most about the macbook pro. I just wanna get some opinions of other mac users who have made the switch.


Thanks!

 

[phillipsteak]

I bought a 13" basic recently and am planning on using it as a student...can't really offer feedback on the usefulness in the classroom, but i don't regret my decision and think it's an awesome computer.

p.s. if you can, buy it online, you get education discount and much larger selection of printers (at least compared to my apple store)

 

[Surely]

It's all about what you want. People here will give their opinions, but ultimately, YOU have to decide if it's worth the money to YOU.

If it were me, I would buy the MacBook Pro. I'm on my 3rd Mac laptop in 10 years (2 iBooks and now the MacBook), and I have enjoyed them, and they have helped me be productive both as a student and as a professional (and now as a student again).

The laptop I had prior to my 1st iBook was a Compaq Presario laptop. I had constant problems with it, blue screen, freezing, slowing down, etc. I can say that in 10 years, I've only had one major problem with my Mac laptops (my hard drive died, but I had everything backed up).

It's your money. To me, $1100 minus whatever you get for the iPod sounds like a great deal.

 

[andyACEcandy]

Phillip, I am online at the applestore and the student discount is $1099 (without the discount it's $1199)

It is the same as in the store as well. The only printer they have for the $100 rebate is this HP all in one printer/scanner which is what I'd need anyway.


I'm going to go to the apple store tomorrow and check out the MBP before I make any hasty decisions.

I think it will be worth it as I have purchased 2 PCs in the last 18 months or so and both have pretty much died on me.


Also, is it a bad move if a lot of this is just me wanting something new? And by new, I mean not the same old PC I have been using my entire life? You know what I mean?

 

[Ryuukumori]

Phillip, I am online at the applestore and the student discount is $1099 (without the discount it's $1199)

It is the same as in the store as well. The only printer they have for the $100 rebate is this HP all in one printer/scanner which is what I'd need anyway.


I'm going to go to the apple store tomorrow and check out the MBP before I make any hasty decisions.

I think it will be worth it as I have purchased 2 PCs in the last 18 months or so and both have pretty much died on me.


Also, is it a bad move if a lot of this is just me wanting something new? And by new, I mean not the same old PC I have been using my entire life? You know what I mean?

I'm a PC user right now, and I'm just curious... what kind of notebooks did you buy within the past 18 months? I'm shocked after a year and a half... 2 PCs? :O

Back to the Mac idea, I think you are smart to try something new. I will definitely try Mac later on in my college years (I'm just a high school grad, off to the University in a month). I already bought a PC, but I'm gonna test this to the college elements. Luckily, my University has cheaper edu discounts than the apple store and apple.com. Maybe you can try your campus?

In 3 years, HOPEFULLY, I can upgrade. So no, you're not foolish for trying something new. It's what life's all about!

(Coming from a PC user all my life.)

 

[Surely]

Nothing wrong with that.


What school do you go to? The reason I ask is that where I go (UCLA), the student pricing in the UCLA book store is even better than the student pricing that you can get directly from Apple. Might be worth checking out at your school....

 

[andyACEcandy]

I bought an HP which just ended up getting very slow and sluggish and the battery life... wow maybe an hour? if I were lucky


Then I got a Lenovo which was ok and still is but the physical build of it is so poor. The hinge has broken so I must lean it up against the wall.


I am not a PC hater by all means. I just want something new and perhaps more reliable both physically and internally.

 

[Ryuukumori]

I bought an HP which just ended up getting very slow and sluggish and the battery life... wow maybe an hour? if I were lucky


Then I got a Lenovo which was ok and still is but the physical build of it is so poor. The hinge has broken so I must lean it up against the wall.


I am not a PC hater by all means. I just want something new and perhaps more reliable both physically and internally.

Well I own an HP now, but I can't say anything just yet, as it's only 3 months old. I have all the necessary "cleaning tools" to keep this sucker speedy and running, and have run Windows 7 perfectly, with no hiccups.

Same as you, I am definitely not a PC hater. Any desktop I plan on buying, I'd build one. Notebooks... well I'll try Apple on my next purchase.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck. If you're comfortable, by all means, go for the Mac!

 

[rcf-dds]

we're basically in the same boat!

i'm 22 as well, used PCs all my life and decided it's time for something that won't crash / have to factory restore so often.

i had a dell inspiron throughout college and over the 4 yrs i probably factory restored it over 10 ten times.

i'm starting graduate school in the fall and needed a new laptop. took the plunge with a 13" MBP and havn't looked back. Just like you, i don't use it for anything super-heavy/intensive: e-mail, safari web browsing, word/excel/powerpoint, occasional torrenting / music downloads, itunes, etc. Almost exactly what you said you'd be using yours for. But man, even for doing things like that, you really see the difference btw apple and MS... it's unbelievable.

No more crashes, blue screens of death, now have lightning fast boot times / sleep / waking from sleep, great battery life. Everything just runs so smooth and fast and you don't have to wait for ANYTHING (booting up, loading up applications)

yeah it's expensive, but you have the student discount (you could possibly look in the refurbs if you're really looking to save $$), but you really do get what you pay for. apple knows what their doing, trust me you won't regret it!! do yourself a favor and get that unibody 13"!!

there is NOTHING wrong with wanting something new. clearly we have outgrown and gotten tired of windows (esp considering you've bought 2 PCs in 18months). it's time for a change

 

[andyACEcandy]

as if I weren't already sold


I'll prob be getting it at the end of the week. I am currently working now so I can afford it... and even if I couldn't my birthday is coming up haha.


I do the EXACT same things you just said so that is great to hear.


$1100 for MBP seems very good to me considering I get a free ipod touch and printer. I'd have no problem selling the ipod touch for $200 brand new so $900+tax for a macbook pro.

I think my decision has already been made. Very... very excited

 

[rcf-dds]

sorry another add-on...

the widgets/dashboard i find extremely useful... especially as a student

calendar / planner , checking the weather, stickies / to-do reminders, sports scores, etc. just nice to have a quick glance at these things with one push of a button!

 

[rcf-dds]

as if I weren't already sold


I'll prob be getting it at the end of the week. I am currently working now so I can afford it... and even if I couldn't my birthday is coming up haha.


I do the EXACT same things you just said so that is great to hear.


$1100 for MBP seems very good to me considering I get a free ipod touch and printer. I'd have no problem selling the ipod touch for $200 brand new so $900+tax for a macbook pro.

I think my decision has already been made. Very... very excited

i'm so happy for you. glad to nudge you in the right direction, you WILL NOT REGRET IT I PROMISE!!

$1100 really is not bad at all for a computer... i spent around $2000 for my piece of crap dell inspiron 6000 4 yrs ago; what was i thinking?!

 

[LedCop]

Well, I have never owned a mac before. I am 22 years old and have used PC all 22 years it feels like.

I went into the mac store today and saw a deal for the 13" base model macbook pro with free ipod touch 8gb and free HP all in one printer scanner for $1100 after rebates.

I own an 8gb ipod touch 1st gen already so would probably sell the one I get and I have been in need of a scanner printer.


My question is... if all I really plan on doing is surf the web, watch movies and tv shows, and chat... am I dumb in spending $1100 on a mac and not $500 on a PC?

The size, portability, and battery life are what turn me on the most about the macbook pro. I just wanna get some opinions of other mac users who have made the switch.


Thanks!

Surfing the web - Windows is the superior platform with Google Chrome, an optimized and speedy Firefox, Safari and I.E. (for those websites still mainly coded for I.E.).

Watching movies and TV shows - Not sure about DVDs, but if you're talking about video files from the internet, codec support on Windows is sooooo much better if you want to use the native media players rather than VLC. Unless they're from iTunes? Then there's no difference.

Chatting - For MSN the latest client is only available for Windows. Adium for the Mac comes is a good substitute but you'll miss out on some features like multiple computer login.

If it's really just those three things that you'll be using, I'd go a with a windows machine.

 

[RiCEADDiCTBOY]

I've built and used pcs for many moons now and have only encountered one blue screen and zero viruses. I find it unlikely that most users that say their pcs "died" are the result of the entire pc crapping out. Most likely and often is the harddrive or lack of care (defrag, going to websites and downloading harmful files from illegal downloads and etc).

The Mac experience isn't all golden. It runs off the same components as pcs do and is subectable to failing just as much. And even though OSX doesn't slow down as Vista does OSX does eventually. You still at some point will need to maintain your computers ecosystem.

Too often users run their machines into the ground and blame the computer. Would you drive a car and not maintain it only to say the car sucked?

All in all I hope your next purchase is a joyous one. Make sure you take care of your investment.

PS - I'm quite certain that to fix what is "failing" on yours or anyone computer is much easier to replace AND vastly cheaper than buying a new computer.

 

[IBradMac]

I switched over a year ago and I'll never go back to PC. Mainly because of aaples cs. They are the best bar none! I was a little afraid at first because of the differences in the OS but once it all clicks it's a better experience!
I'd say go for it and if you don't like it sell it on eBay. They seems to get pretty good resale.

Well, I have never owned a mac before. I am 22 years old and have used PC all 22 years it feels like.

I went into the mac store today and saw a deal for the 13" base model macbook pro with free ipod touch 8gb and free HP all in one printer scanner for $1100 after rebates.

I own an 8gb ipod touch 1st gen already so would probably sell the one I get and I have been in need of a scanner printer.


My question is... if all I really plan on doing is surf the web, watch movies and tv shows, and chat... am I dumb in spending $1100 on a mac and not $500 on a PC?

The size, portability, and battery life are what turn me on the most about the macbook pro. I just wanna get some opinions of other mac users who have made the switch.


Thanks!