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donklaus

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 6, 2011
69
10
I just scored a brand-new November 2011 15" MBP with the 2.5GHz i7 quad core, hi-res anti-glare screen 7200 RPM 750GB hard drive, HD 3000 and and Radeon 6770M (1 GB) graphics for U.S. $1,699. This machine listed originally for something like $2,600+. Cheapest similar in the refurb store is about $1,799, but lesser in a few details like a 5400 RPM hard-drive speed.

On another note, I now have an early 2011 13" MBP with 8GB RAM and a 750 GB 7200-RPM Scorpio Black hard drive for sale.

I'm stoked.
 
donklaus said:
I just scored a brand-new November 2011 15" MBP with the 2.5GHz i7 quad core, hi-res anti-glare screen 7200 RPM 750GB hard drive, HD 3000 and and Radeon 6770M (1 GB) graphics for U.S. $1,699. This machine listed originally for something like $2,600+. Cheapest similar in the refurb store is about $1,799, but lesser in a few details like a 5400 RPM hard-drive speed.

On another note, I now have an early 2011 13" MBP with 8GB RAM and a 750 GB 7200-RPM Scorpio Black hard drive for sale.

I'm stoked.
Click to expand...

How much for the 13"?
 
With a student discount, you pay $300 more for a much faster Retina MBP... no brainer here IMO.
 
Jacooch said:
How much for the 13"?
Click to expand...

I don't know, most Macbooks are $200+ off there, mine was $500 off.

I was there earlier today picking up a DP/DVI adapter and Vmware Fusion 4. The Mac corner of the store was pretty busy; word is getting around....
 
Tea-Aholic said:
2012 model adds:

Ivy Bridge
- 22nm so better performance watt ratio
- USB 3.0
- HD 4000 graphics

for graphics
- NVIDIA GT 650M vs ATI 6770M.

That sum it up whether these are important to you.
Click to expand...

I'm not a graphics professional. Should it matter to me? (I do mess around with movie and photo editing once in a while.)
 
mzjin said:
With a student discount, you pay $300 more for a much faster Retina MBP... no brainer here IMO.
Click to expand...

more like $425 after taxes....i don't know where you come from, but even $300 dollars isn't something to just throw around. I know I gave up some other upgrades like the USB 3.0 and HDMI, but I also need the optical drive at this point. SOOOOO IMO it was beyond a great deal for my needs and given that just three months ago I would have paid $2600 for the exact same computer, I know I can sleep tonight.
 
Just snagged one! : )

First of all, the high res matte screen, if you desire it, was originally an extra priced option, so you need to factor that in. If you don't like or desire that screen it's a different scenario on your budget. I just hate the uber reflective nature of what Apple calls "glossy" on their laptops. Also, the latest MBPs did not get a huge speed bump. There is much to like about Ivy Bridge but the new MBPs are NOT that much faster than these in use. And the rMBPs have the burden of pushing the retina processing, which, if you've used one, you may be slightly disappointed at the responsiveness, wonderful as the visual may be. There is still a bit of v1/early adopter showing in the rMBPs.

With the optical drive bay you have the ease off popping in a third party SSD of your favor. And although the spec says 8 gig RAM max (so dumb) in fact they support 16 gigs. So toss in third party RAM and you have a fantastic machine for the cost.
 
My niece can purchase using ed discount. As I remember she gets 8% off. But, she has to pay 6% tax. I ordered my rMBP from MacMall and got 3% off with no tax or shipping. So I got mine cheaper than a local ed discount plus sales tax. Try to find someone out of state who will do ed discount, no shipping and of course...no tax.
 
1999Gustie said:
more like $425 after taxes....i don't know where you come from, but even $300 dollars isn't something to just throw around. I know I gave up some other upgrades like the USB 3.0 and HDMI, but I also need the optical drive at this point. SOOOOO IMO it was beyond a great deal for my needs and given that just three months ago I would have paid $2600 for the exact same computer, I know I can sleep tonight.
Click to expand...

It was a great deal, don't let people like this get you down.
 
Microcenter also seems to have a ton (judging by the in stock numbers in all the stores in the NY area) of the glossy screen 2.4 i7 MBP for $1,399.99, new not refurbs. Great deal, if you ask me. With the money you save on aspects of the 2012 models that you don't need you can load up on RAM and SSD and have a killer laptop for much less than a current gen.
 
mzjin said:
With a student discount, you pay $300 more for a much faster Retina MBP... no brainer here IMO.
Click to expand...

Not that it matters, but I'm not getting a $300 difference between similarly tricked out models, apples to apples except for the screen and processor. Also, I'm assuming you're talking about the Apple student discount, which, IIRC, wasn't so much anything off but rather gift credits toward the App and iTunes stores. If that's the case I don't really consider it the same as paying less with a discount/rebate. I was seeing a legit $100 off from Best Buy for an edu address but only gift credits for Apple's student discount.

The rMBP is great, but these Sandy Bridge decent Ghz models at these prices are far enough away in total cost to make them an attractive alternative. The new non retina models are definitely not worth considering given how the lines are priced.
 
rboy505 said:
Not that it matters, but I'm not getting a $300 difference between similarly tricked out models, apples to apples except for the screen and processor. Also, I'm assuming you're talking about the Apple student discount, which, IIRC, wasn't so much anything off but rather gift credits toward the App and iTunes stores. If that's the case I don't really consider it the same as paying less with a discount/rebate. I was seeing a legit $100 off from Best Buy for an edu address but only gift credits for Apple's student discount.

The rMBP is great, but these Sandy Bridge decent Ghz models at these prices are far enough away in total cost to make them an attractive alternative. The new non retina models are definitely not worth considering given how the lines are priced.
Click to expand...

Actually you're wrong. The edu discount is $200 off base rMBP. So yes, that's a legit $200 off from Apple.
 
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