Trying to find lowest price on i7 MBP

[gumbyx84]

Hey all. I am starting a new job soon and have been told I am expected to bring some work home with me. My current MBP is from early 2008 (last model before unibodies) and runs well, but I'm worried it might not be able to handle the workload. Right now, I have issues just having a single VM and Firefox open at the same time. I was thinking of getting a i7 MBP as it should have enough horse power to handle the level of multitasking I need and, as a side benefit, be able to play the handful of games I've picked up recently (mostly Valve stuff). I'm trying to figure out where I can get one the cheapest. Amazon has slightly lower prices then Apple Store (brick-and-mortar and online), but I can't seem to find one with a matte screen. I might be able to swing an education discount from Apple as I still have access to my old college email account (only graduated about a year ago), but not sure if it that would work.

Basically, my questions are as follows:

1. What would Apple double-check if I was a student before giving me the educational discount? Would giving them a college email address suffice?
2. If I bought the MBP from Amazon, would I be able to get one with a matte screen?

Random questions I know, but just trying to do my research before I make a decision. If anyone can help me out, I would appreciate it.

PS Forgot to mention: The job is software engineering. I would need to run VMs for development and testing as I will be working with .NET (yes, not happy about that). I also need to VPN into the office, but I should be able to do that in OS X without a problem.

 

[uPhone]

they'll ask for school ID.. or some email or form from your university.. just don't make it obvious that you graduated.

you can also find sealed macbooks on craigslist for cheap.

for example you can find sealed macbook pro i5 for about $1500..

 

[re2st]

Hey all. I am starting a new job soon and have been told I am expected to bring some work home with me. My current MBP is from early 2008 (last model before unibodies) and runs well, but I'm worried it might not be able to handle the workload. Right now, I have issues just having a single VM and Firefox open at the same time. I was thinking of getting a i7 MBP as it should have enough horse power to handle the level of multitasking I need and, as a side benefit, be able to play the handful of games I've picked up recently (mostly Valve stuff). I'm trying to figure out where I can get one the cheapest. Amazon has slightly lower prices then Apple Store (brick-and-mortar and online), but I can't seem to find one with a matte screen. I might be able to swing an education discount from Apple as I still have access to my old college email account (only graduated about a year ago), but not sure if it that would work.

Basically, my questions are as follows:

1. What would Apple double-check if I was a student before giving me the educational discount? Would giving them a college email address suffice?
2. If I bought the MBP from Amazon, would I be able to get one with a matte screen?

Random questions I know, but just trying to do my research before I make a decision. If anyone can help me out, I would appreciate it.

PS Forgot to mention: The job is software engineering. I would need to run VMs for development and testing as I will be working with .NET (yes, not happy about that). I also need to VPN into the office, but I should be able to do that in OS X without a problem.

Edu discount with iPod rebate (and printer rebate) is your best bet. You get the discount, the rebates, plus you can sell the iPod and the printer.

No, they don't verify student ID if you buy online.

 

[old-wiz]

you can also find sealed macbooks on craigslist for cheap.
for example you can find sealed macbook pro i5 for about $1500..

The sealed macbooks tend to be either stolen or purchased with stolen credit cards.

 

[gumbyx84]

The sealed macbooks tend to be either stolen or purchased with stolen credit cards.

Was thinking this. Would rather make sure it is legit.

No, they don't verify student ID if you buy online.

I'm probably going to buy it in a brick-and-mortar store since I am not getting a customized machine. i5 2.53 or i7 2.66 with matte screen is all I want. Can buy and install my own RAM for cheaper then Apple will charge and don't need a hard drive larger then 500GB (actually would have liked a 320GB and saved some money).

Edu discount with iPod rebate (and printer rebate) is your best bet. You get the discount, the rebates, plus you can sell the iPod and the printer.

I don't really care about the free stuff I would get as I just really want the discounted price. Also, I'm a bit of a pack-rat, so I doubt I would ever get around to selling the printer or iPod Touch. Getting an iPod touch would be a nice bonus though, espcially now that it might be possible to run Flash on them (Engadget: How-to: Install Flash on your jailbroken iPad (for real)).