I tried to make the thread title as specific as I can. I'm a college student, but I'm what one would call a "late bloomer". I'm 25 years old and trying to get a degree kind of late in the game. Because of that, a lot of what I do and pay for is on my own. That being said, I've learned from a lot of financial mistakes I made in the past. Now I save money.
I need a laptop for school. I have trouble studying at home, I'm studying film production. I have a powerful Windows computer at home, but I need a laptop. It would also be nice to use Final Cut instead of Premiere/Vegas.
Here's the thing: The store I work at has a lot of 2007 Macbooks up for grabs and my financial aid check comes next week. Because they want to move the 2007 models out to have room for the new ones, they're letting the old ones go to employees for amazing prices. The standard price drops are nice, but the employee prices are just insane.
Macbook 403: 2gb, 2.4ghz, 160gb, white, x3100 = $700-750, open box 600-650 if there are any.
Macbook 404: 2gb, 2.4ghz, 250gb, black, x3100 = $850-900, open box $700-750.
Macbook Pro with 256 vram : $1200. They have an open box display model with scratches on the case and they'll let us have it for $600.
Or I could get the standard $200 off a new Macbook.
I have maybe roughly $2500 to spend in total expenses this semester. That's clothes, travel, commuting, extra activities, dates, games. Whatever stuff I need besides food and bills. The thing is, I get financial aid again next semester.
I talked to my mom about it, because your mom is always a good source of advice in situations like this and she basically told me that I'm an advanced user so I should invest the money into a good laptop to make sure it lasts. I knew getting an Apple off the bat makes sure of that, so the question becomes, do I get something with power? Do I take advantage of the deal on 2007's? Do I get a new Macbook? I really like the new designs and the battery life. The 2007 Pro is amazing and the deal I'd be getting is even more so amazing. But the battery life of the 2007 Pro compared to the 2008 Standard Macbook or even the 2008 Pro is atrocious. Something like 3.5-4 hours compared to 5-6 on the Pro and 6 on the standard?
I sat up for a few hours thinking it through. Trust me, this has been a 2-3 month decision in the making and I keep looking at advantages of one machine over the other. I know the only advantage of the new Macbook or the 2007 Pro over the 403/4 is the better video card, which doesn't matter for Final Cut Pro or Photoshop or Premiere, but it would give me the ability to play a game every now and then.
But then, the problem with me studying at home is that I get distracted by those games. Having a laptop that can't play games, means that if I take my laptop to school, the only thing I can do is study or watch movies. When I make conclusions like that, I realize that there's no solid advantage of the new Macbook or a Pro over a 2007. But it's a 2-3 year investment. I don't want to have to take a hit on my expenses a year from now just to get the Pro that I ended up needing or vice versa.
I need a laptop for school. I have trouble studying at home, I'm studying film production. I have a powerful Windows computer at home, but I need a laptop. It would also be nice to use Final Cut instead of Premiere/Vegas.
Here's the thing: The store I work at has a lot of 2007 Macbooks up for grabs and my financial aid check comes next week. Because they want to move the 2007 models out to have room for the new ones, they're letting the old ones go to employees for amazing prices. The standard price drops are nice, but the employee prices are just insane.
Macbook 403: 2gb, 2.4ghz, 160gb, white, x3100 = $700-750, open box 600-650 if there are any.
Macbook 404: 2gb, 2.4ghz, 250gb, black, x3100 = $850-900, open box $700-750.
Macbook Pro with 256 vram : $1200. They have an open box display model with scratches on the case and they'll let us have it for $600.
Or I could get the standard $200 off a new Macbook.
I have maybe roughly $2500 to spend in total expenses this semester. That's clothes, travel, commuting, extra activities, dates, games. Whatever stuff I need besides food and bills. The thing is, I get financial aid again next semester.
I talked to my mom about it, because your mom is always a good source of advice in situations like this and she basically told me that I'm an advanced user so I should invest the money into a good laptop to make sure it lasts. I knew getting an Apple off the bat makes sure of that, so the question becomes, do I get something with power? Do I take advantage of the deal on 2007's? Do I get a new Macbook? I really like the new designs and the battery life. The 2007 Pro is amazing and the deal I'd be getting is even more so amazing. But the battery life of the 2007 Pro compared to the 2008 Standard Macbook or even the 2008 Pro is atrocious. Something like 3.5-4 hours compared to 5-6 on the Pro and 6 on the standard?
I sat up for a few hours thinking it through. Trust me, this has been a 2-3 month decision in the making and I keep looking at advantages of one machine over the other. I know the only advantage of the new Macbook or the 2007 Pro over the 403/4 is the better video card, which doesn't matter for Final Cut Pro or Photoshop or Premiere, but it would give me the ability to play a game every now and then.
But then, the problem with me studying at home is that I get distracted by those games. Having a laptop that can't play games, means that if I take my laptop to school, the only thing I can do is study or watch movies. When I make conclusions like that, I realize that there's no solid advantage of the new Macbook or a Pro over a 2007. But it's a 2-3 year investment. I don't want to have to take a hit on my expenses a year from now just to get the Pro that I ended up needing or vice versa.
