I am going to purchase my first macbook after I had ordered the xps m1330 and ignored the delivery every time it came. My first question is, does Dell give me my credit back now that I told them to return it back? Second, I went to an apple store and saw a little stand with the specs for a black macbook with 2.2 ghz, 160 gb, 2 gb ram for $1649, the specs that I wanted. I came home thinking I couldnt buy it because of my credit limit would be violated if I bought the macbook with my xps charge. I realized I have enough credit to buy another computer. I can use the educational discount at the apple store and it will be $200 cheaper. Should I buy from the apple store or should I order it online? The apple store has the specifications I want on a black macbook so no problems there and I go back to college next sunday after thanksgiving break is over so I want to get an opportunity to play with it over break. Does the apple store have more macbook malfunctions than from an order online? And is 2 gb RAM enough to keep my macbook 'performance happy'? Thanks for any advice.
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Online or the Store?
- Thread starter greenpflyer
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If you can get it from the store, definitely go that route. I'd imagine their stock comes from the same place the online orders come from. So you get to skip the shipping time if you can just grab it at the store.
I have the same model you are considering and so far I have had no issues. I'm not savy when it comes to the specifications, but what I've seen on here is that 2 gigs will perform great with even heavy applications. Plus, you can always upgrade that later, if needed.
Good luck and Happy Turkey Day
I have the same model you are considering and so far I have had no issues. I'm not savy when it comes to the specifications, but what I've seen on here is that 2 gigs will perform great with even heavy applications. Plus, you can always upgrade that later, if needed.
Good luck and Happy Turkey Day
i would recommend buying the stock model (1 gb ram, 160 gb hdd) at the store and upgrading the ram yourself... that way you can have your computer the quickest and save money installing more ram yourself... apple is charging an extra $150 for a 2x1 gb stick of ram instead of getting the 2x512mb of ram... for $150 you can put 4 gb in your macbook
webgoat,
I'm going to be buying a macbook myself in about two weeks. three questions for you:
1. What RAM would you buy? Followup would be where?
2. How hard is it to do on a mac? I've upgraded ram on PC towers, but never on laptops.
3. Would it void my warranty or apple care?
I don't mean to be so picky, but i'm buying a mac specifically because I need to work a lot on the road and don't want to tinker with making it work correctly.
I purchashed from OWC at www.macsales.com. Here is a link to the ram compatible with the macbook you are ordering http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/MacBook/DDR2/ ... I purchased OWC brand for my mbp a couple months ago and it works great. There are other places to find good deals on ram such as crucial, newegg, and frys.
Installing ram on your mac is very simple. Here is a guide http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303721
ram is considered a user replaceable part and it will not void your warranty if installed properly... however you can void the warranty if you damage your computer during the installation, which is very unlikely following the guide
I'll throw this link in as well as it's good reading http://guides.macrumors.com/Understanding_Intel_Mac_RAM
Installing ram on your mac is very simple. Here is a guide http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303721
ram is considered a user replaceable part and it will not void your warranty if installed properly... however you can void the warranty if you damage your computer during the installation, which is very unlikely following the guide
I'll throw this link in as well as it's good reading http://guides.macrumors.com/Understanding_Intel_Mac_RAM
i didn't want to make a new thread
i have a question!
at the apple retail stores...do they only ever carry base model computers? like if i wanted a computer with a bigger hard drive then i would have to buy that through the online store??
i have a question!
at the apple retail stores...do they only ever carry base model computers? like if i wanted a computer with a bigger hard drive then i would have to buy that through the online store??
Are you in the US? If so, the EDU discount on the macbook is generally $100 off MSRP (and about 10% off RAM and HD upgrades). Are you sure you haven't mixed up your numbers? (don't want you to have register shock
).I think the store is better. You'll get it right away, and that can be a very satisfying feeling. Beyond that, Apple Stores are just so much fun to be in.
Where you buy it from will have no bearing on this. Since Apple is the source for all Apple products, the likelihood for malfunctioning parts remains constant no matter where you buy it from.
And yes, 2GB will keep your macbook more than "performance happy."
Yes, this is the standard. It makes it easy to distribute to all stores. However, I believe you can get your HD upgraded in the store before you purchase. Beware, however, that this will render it non-refundable.
I'm sorry for questioning your wisdom, you do seem to know what your talking about but:
Looking at the upgrade for 2.2ghz MB the 4gb ram upgrade is $765. It just seems to good to be true that I can get the same quality performance for only $125. That's quite a leap!
Looking at the upgrade for 2.2ghz MB the 4gb ram upgrade is $765. It just seems to good to be true that I can get the same quality performance for only $125. That's quite a leap!
Yes it is. Apple has always overcharged for RAM upgrades. The upgrade itself is incredibly easy and requires only a little time, so save yourself $600 and just buy RAM online, or at a good electronics store like FRYS.
Wow, that's just unbelievable. Should I just buy the 2ghz and forgo the dvd burner? Wow!
I mean, $200 for a slightly faster processor and dvd burner seems fair to me.
BTW, I'd like to add how you help destroy the stereotype that mac users are all stuck up sophisticates. : )
That's really dependent on what you foresee doing. If you are a simple user, I dare say that a DVD burner is useless, as external drives will do all of your backups for you, and Flash thumb drives will do the rest.
I personally have a pessimistic attitude, so I probably would spring for one
However, the real question is, how tight is your budget? If you can't afford to pay the extra $200, then don't. If you can, then go for it. You don't want to be caught without it the one time it will really matter.
Budget is about $1,600. I think i'll pickup the 2.2ghz then and buy my own ram. The extra money can be used to buy apreture mac office and new socks!
Any thoughts on apple care?
Sounds like a good plan. Socks are always important.
Waste of money. Take the money you would spend and set it aside for any potential problems. If you buy with a credit card, find out if that card has a free warranty policy that extends coverage for up to a year after the standard warranty. Mine did, and that's how I got a free year of extended warranty without paying a dime.
Well, I was comparing it to stores like Best Buy/Circuit City, but I take it someone doesn't like the place?
The prices on stuff like RAM and externals are quite good. If you scope out the paper, you can get some real good deals (usually only for one day though).
Well, I was comparing it to stores like Best Buy/Circuit City, but I take it someone doesn't like the place?
I hafta admit, they have improved in some areas. They have been historically notorious for utterly incompetent employees (including the rotating "Manager of the Day", pushing the RMA process to the customer, reselling returned items--repeatedly, and engaging in questionable business practices.
If you're a gear head and know exactly what you want (and what to look out for), Fry's may be the only brick & mortar shop that has it. I do shop there occasionally now, but their prices aren't all that great anymore.
As an interesting aside, the founders/owners of Fry's Electronics are of the same family (and reputedly the black sheep of same) of the Fry's Grocery chain in Arizona. From Wikipedia: "In 1972, Charles Fry sold the Fry's Supermarkets chain for USD $40 million and gave a cut of the money to each of his sons, John, Randy, and Dave. The Fry brothers had little interest in grocery store retailing. Instead, in 1985, they joined together with a fourth partner, Kathryn Kolder, to open the first Fry's Electronics store at a 20,000 square foot (2,000 m²) site in Sunnyvale, California. Fry's Food and Drug stores (which still share a similar logo) are not affiliated with Fry's Electronics, but are owned and operated by Kroger" \