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Need some help on buying a Macbook If you all dont mind

S

SnackGuy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 27, 2009
14
0
I want to buy my first Apple Laptop but im not to well informed about the technical spec.

I only use my laptop to:
- surf tha web
-Download Music (For my iPhone)
-Type papers for my classes (currently in college)
-I also need a laptop to print

Options that i thought of:
-Buy a refurbished MBP
-Buy 2011 low end MBP 15" (Way to expensive)
-Buy a new 2010 MBP 15"(Does Apple still sell them?

I can get the student discount but its still to high. I want to buy the new 2011 MBP but by payments. I dont want a small screen, 15" will do fine.

Any suggestions?
 
Honestly you only need the white Macbook. Save some money. I don't think you should spend $800 more just for the screen. Don't pay in payments. In my opinion, getting into debt for a computer is dumb as is debt for most things.
 
SnackGuy said:
Im going to look into that, gonna research a little bit more.
Click to expand...

What's your budget?

Personally I would take the 13" mbp over the 15" for college (assuming you spend many hours on campus and have it in your bag the whole day). You also didn't list anything that can't be done with a 13" screen so I think it would be a good way to get a better fit computer for less money (over the 15").
 
Techfreak is right, you really only need a macbook. Buying a new MBP 15" for your needs is ridicules. Things to keep in mind:

- The 15" is a pain in the ass to carry around, you wouldn't think it would make much of a difference but it does. A lot of my friends with the 15" always say they wish they had mine the 13"
- Don't pay for beefed up tech that you don't need. Lol for your needs you could almost get by with an iPad!
- 13" have better battery life.
- Macbook/mbp 13" AppleCare warranty is $100 cheaper than for 15" MBP
- If you can't afford it, you CAN'T afford it. Don't make payments, don't get into debt.
- I may be wrong, but I don't think you can get a student discount on top of refurb price.

I know it's hard not to get caught up in the glitz and go out and buy a bad ass 15" MBP, but you really don't need it, and it sounds like money is a major factor so be smart and think about what you really need. ENJOY YOUR  !
 
I wouldn't touch the $999 macbook and its older C2D tech. While more than adequate it just doesn't make sense compared to the base MBP13 for $200 more. Plus, last time I checked there was only a $50 education discount for the white macbook vs. $100 for the pro (I think?)

Fully agree with the advice against financing though.
 
Personally, I am planning on getting the 13" i5 with 128GB SSD. The 15" is a bit heavy to carry around from class to class. I plan to buy an external 25" monitor and enjoy the screen real estate that way.
 
SnackGuy said:
I want to buy my first Apple Laptop but im not to well informed about the technical spec.

I only use my laptop to:
- surf tha web
-Download Music (For my iPhone)
-Type papers for my classes (currently in college)
-I also need a laptop to print
Click to expand...

No laptops can print (except to the screen). However, what's wrong with a 13" MBP or just a MB (or even an MBA)? How much real estate do you really need to type a doc, surf or download music? I can't see you needing more screen space unless you need to view everything zoomed to 250x.

You can use 'Spaces' on OSX for more real estate which is quite handy.
 
I had this same dilemma in 2008 and went with a standard white MacBook Core2Duo and it has doe everything i needed until now i use my laptop for a lot of video conversion, photoshop, video editing etc. so have got a high end 13" but for the first year or so when i wanted a new laptop i used it for all of the things you want a laptop for and it was plenty so i would advise going for that.

Also 100% agree that financing is a bad idea. Plus i always found that the 15" was too big to lug around campus :) if you are desperate for the glitz of a Pro, which i see the appeal as im sure we all do, go with a refurb, but i woud say even that seems unnecessary :)
 
Use the education discount and get the base 2011 13" MBP i5. Size and weight are just right for portability, and it comes with a free wireless printer ($100 rebate). Best bang for your buck.
 
Refurb or craigslist the 2010 13" for sure. I've been using a 15" since 2005 and currently have the 2010 i7 15", but am downgrading to a used 2010 13" because even that is more than I need (im doing the same stuff as you on it).

I hate trying to bring my 15" places, it's bulky and awkward. My girlfriend has the 13" and she lifts it and carries it with one hand with ease and just throws it in her purse.
 
I bought the 2010 15" MBP, put a speck hard case on it, put it in my back pack, and carry it to class every day. It's really not that bulky or heavy, and it fits perfectly in my backpack. If you're having trouble lugging a 15" MBP around...it might be time for you to hit the gym lol.

In all seriousness though, I would probably recommend the OP get the Macbook Air. The new ones that come with SSD are blazing fast, my girlfriend just bought one and she loves it. Plus it's super light weight so no matter how little time you put in at the gym, the weight will be a non factor here. And if all you're doing is writing notes, downloading music, surfing, etc. the MBA is more than enough for that.
 
a $400 netbook?
if all your going to do is type up some work and download some songs and sync to your ipod, then thats all you need surely?
Is there much point paying $1000+ to type a word doc?
buy a pen and paper and connect your ipod to wifi.
 
rossmadden said:
a $400 netbook?
if all your going to do is type up some work and download some songs and sync to your ipod, then thats all you need surely?
Is there much point paying $1000+ to type a word doc?
buy a pen and paper and connect your ipod to wifi.
Click to expand...

If I where in your situation, OP, I would consider this. If you are feeling adventurous, you could even hackintosh it.
 
for your use . . .

Honestly a Macbook Air would be ideal if you could put up with the screen size. You'd love everything else, and you can find a perfectly serviceable external monitor to connect it to for a couple hundred bucks, and hopefully it already has DisplayPort, or else you can pay $30 for the adapter to connect to DVI or HDMI. (Don't get a VGA-only monitor) Don't forget that with the 11-inch Macbook Air you don't have to drag it out of your bag at airport security. That's a nice touch.

Otherwise, I like the base 13 inch MBP with its cool-running 25-watt processor and not too expensive price. The plastic Macbook will also do the trick and it's worth considering that the case does not dent. I actually think the cases on the Macbook Air are a bit sturdier than on the Pro.

The 15 which I use is great as long as you keep power supplies in multiple places. It's fine for me having a secure office at work and an office at home. If you lack access to a locked place at work, however, you're carrying the power supply around and it really does make a difference to portability.
 
Personally I was in a similar dilemma. I wanted to get a MacBook, but was unsure which one would be best. In the end I ended up getting the 13" MBPi5. Have not regretted it at all and except for a few things have not turned on my Windows 7 laptop since. The only things I use the Windows laptop for now are a few programs that are not available on the Mac and even one of those I found a great replacement in Bento 4.

The Windows laptop i was using was a 15.6" Gateway and carrying the 13" MacBook Pro is SO much easier than lugging around the 15". As for screen size, I don't really miss the larger 15" screen at all. The battery life on teh Mac is a lot better than the Windows system as well. I've had the Mac going almost a full 7 hours as advertised and the Windows laptop would last at most not even half that time.

If you want the portability I would absolutely agree that the 13" is better than the 15" I see a lot of people at work with laptops in the break rooms and the majority of those with Macs have the 13" models.

I also have an iPad and since getting the MacBook a month ago, I've been bringing the Mac along with me more than the iPad. I'm sure part of that is just the newness of it all. I would rarely bring my Windows laptop to work with me because on my breaks it would take most of the break time just starting up. The MacBook starts up in a fraction of that time and I could actually read and answer emails on my break. Could never do that on the W7 laptop, after the time it took to startup and then the time Outlook would take to start, my 15-20 minute break would be done.

So, if ease of portability is important, go 13"
 
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