Where should I buy my Mbp and What should I buy with it?

[jasin]

Amazon.com, Apple.com, Apple store, University tech center in the UW Book store?

Amazon has cheaper pricing, but can you trust buying a MBp off of amazon?

The Apple.com website lets me do more customizing without the hasel of dealing with a person, in person. note: I am Deaf.

I was told its cheaper to customize it yourself though. Just buy the bare essentials and get the ram and ssd separately. Is that true? Also, will that void the warranty? I have heard it will and have heard it wont. I have gotten mixed opinions on that.

Apple store looks good, but what advantage is there to buying my Mbp there Vs. another place? Like I said, there is too, that factor of dealing with a person in person.

If I purchase at the Mbp at the University of Washington Tech center inside the University bookstore I will get free apple care? I have heard they will give me a free 3 year apple care. Is that true or did someone tell me wrong ?

As for what to get. Should I get the i5 MBp 13" and save my money and put it into an ssd and more ram rather than buying an i7?

I will only be using this laptop for University school work and a backup computer. I am a power user though as I am a heavy multi tasker.

Can I get the anti-glare at any store online or brick and motor, that I buy my MBp from? How much extra is the anti-glare? Is there a cheaper way to get anti-glare with a screen filter/protector? I have heard there is.

 

[r0k]

Amazon.com, Apple.com, Apple store, University tech center in the UW Book store?

Amazon has cheaper pricing, but can you trust buying a MBp off of amazon?

The Apple.com website lets me do more customizing without the hasel of dealing with a person, in person. note: I am Deaf.

I was told its cheaper to customize it yourself though. Just buy the bare essentials and get the ram and ssd separately. Is that true? Also, will that void the warranty? I have heard it will and have heard it wont. I have gotten mixed opinions on that.

Apple store looks good, but what advantage is there to buying my Mbp there Vs. another place? Like I said, there is too, that factor of dealing with a person in person.

If I purchase at the Mbp at the University of Washington Tech center inside the University bookstore I will get free apple care? I have heard they will give me a free 3 year apple care. Is that true or did someone tell me wrong ?

As for what to get. Should I get the i5 MBp 13" and save my money and put it into an ssd and more ram rather than buying an i7?

I will only be using this laptop for University school work and a backup computer. I am a power user though as I am a heavy multi tasker.

Can I get the anti-glare at any store online or brick and motor, that I buy my MBp from? How much extra is the anti-glare? Is there a cheaper way to get anti-glare with a screen filter/protector? I have heard there is.

I suggest you try the Apple store. I have to believe Apple is prepared to help customers who are deaf. You might also try asking this at Apple's online store. They now have iPads as display aids in the Apple stores and I wonder if these could help you communicate with a hearing person. As for getting free Applecare in the UW bookstore, can you email them to ask them to confirm it? It sounds "too good to be true" to me. Another option to consider is Microcenter which sells the base MBP for $999 which is cheaper than education pricing. I definitely recommend Applecare on a laptop as laptop repairs are very expensive. My son is a junior at U of M and we had to take his MBP in for service. He is hard on his machine and it needed over $1000 worth of repairs. All free because he had Applecare.

I don't think anti glare is available on the 13 in model. If you are thinking about a sceen protector, that might be a good idea. I have an anti glare screen protector on my iPhone and I really like it. Since the MBP is not a touchscreen, a good quality "cling" anti glare filter ought to last "forever". Avoid anything that uses adhesive as improper screen protector application might void even an Applecare warranty. I doubt you need an i7. I'm making it just fine on a 2008 core duo Macbook. I installed a "hybrid" SSD with a 500 gig 7200 rpm HDD and 4 Gig of SSD. It was just over $100 and my Mac boots a lot faster. I don't think you need the 15 in MBP unless you want more screen resolution. I also don't think you need to bother with SSD or more memory right away. The base 13 in MBP is faster than last year's fastest MBP. You might want to wait a few weeks and see if a new Macbook Air hits. They come with SSD and generally cost less (and are a lot slower) than MBP. In fact, the 11.6 in MBA is slower than my 3+ year old Macbook (2800 geekbench vs my 3300 geekbench).

Depending on your major, you may come across software that only works in Windows and for that reason you may decide you want more drive space so you can waste, ahem I meant allocate some to running Windows. This is something to keep in mind as you might assume "I don't need more than 64 Gig" but later realize you need more.

 

[jasin]

Another option to consider is Microcenter which sells the base MBP for $999 which is cheaper than education pricing.

That sounds good, but what is the Micro center and Where are they?

 

[nhcowboy1]

what is the Micro center and Where are they?

A chain of retail stores (see here), but nowhere near you, unfortunately and they do walk-in business only.

As a student, your options are:

(1) any authorized retailer, at the best price you can find (and the Apple website does provide a list of retailers who are authorized to sell their products)

(2) Apple (either walk-in or online), with the additional advantages of a) student discount (reduces 13" MBP from $1,199 to $1,099); b) $100 rebate coupon for purchase of printer (buy a $100 printer, get all your money back, and then sell it - unopened - for $50 or more); and c) back-to-school rebate on iPod Touch ($229 value). The back-to-school sale is expected to start SOON, but the exact date is as yet unknown. Like the printer, you can sell the unopened iPod to reduce the cost of your MBP purchase.

(3) a refurbished 2011 MBP from Apple online at a cost of $1,019. (They're not always available, so you have to check the website frequently.) This deal would not get you a student discount, and probably not a free iPod, either, but you would still get the printer rebate.

I'm not aware of any (non-Apple) retail store in the U.S. that offers rebates, free printers, free iPods or free Applecare with the purchase of a new MBP - but if you find one, let us know!

As previously indicated, the 13" MBP is not available with anti-glare screen - but the non-adhesive screen protector is a great suggestion!

Replacing RAM does not void your warranty, and it's not difficult (and I am the world's biggest chicken when it comes to opening up a computer!) Hard drive is slightly more difficult, but (from what I've been told) can also be done easily. Does not void your warranty, but save the old hard drive so you have it to re-install if you ever have to send the MBP in for service, only because it assures your expensive SSD won't get removed by accident.

Regardless of where you purchase your MBP, you can go to Apple online to get extended Applecare with a substantial student discount. or you can order it for even slightly less from LA Computers.

 

[gaps]

i am a big fan of amazon IF you don't need to customize your laptop (i.e. anti glare and/or hardware options). They usually have the lowest price, no tax, and free shipping. I bought my wife's base model 13" mbp from amazon last year and it was the best deal i could find. I thought about the back to school promotion but didn't need an ipod or printer and didn't want the hassle of selling them when it still didn't come out less than amazon. So if you just need a regular mbp and you don't need an ipod, printer, or want to deal with mail in rebates, go with amazon. Plus they have great customer service! I would also consider the apple refurb store since they sometimes have some custom models that you cant find on amazon.

 

[jasin]

i am a big fan of amazon IF you don't need to customize your laptop (i.e. anti glare and/or hardware options). They usually have the lowest price, no tax, and free shipping. I bought my wife's base model 13" mbp from amazon last year and it was the best deal i could find. I thought about the back to school promotion but didn't need an ipod or printer and didn't want the hassle of selling them when it still didn't come out less than amazon. So if you just need a regular mbp and you don't need an ipod, printer, or want to deal with mail in rebates, go with amazon. Plus they have great customer service! I would also consider the apple refurb store since they sometimes have some custom models that you cant find on amazon.

I plan to customize it myself. So being it does not void my apple care 1 year limited warranty. With Amazon I do not have to pay the high price of ram and ssd from apple. I can get them cheap from amazon at the same time I purchase my Mbp. Which is why I was considering amazon. I am not sure about amazon though. Is it safe to buy a Mbp from there?

 

[agenda893]

I bought mine on amazon

I also got more ram, a SSD and a mounting kit to put a HDD in the optical bay (plus a usb2 enclosure for the superdrive I took out). Everything was easy to install and I saved a ton of money.

 

[jasin]

I also got more ram, a SSD and a mounting kit to put a HDD in the optical bay (plus a usb2 enclosure for the superdrive I took out). Everything was easy to install and I saved a ton of money.

You do not need an optical drive? I think I will need one for watching dvd's. Sometimes we have to watch them for a class.

 

[agenda893]

You do not need an optical drive? I think I will need one for watching dvd's. Sometimes we have to watch them for a class.

I put the optical drive in an external enclosure so I can use it when I need to burn a disk or transcode a DVD for later playback. Having all of my Apps and OS on the SSD and then a 750GB HDD for photos, music and movies works best for my needs.

 

[McGiord]

The Apple Store do have deaf and speech impaired employees and they do use iPads to communicate.
Your best option to save some $$ is to use your student discount.
Other good site for buying your mac is www.macmall.com and for the RAM and SSD and HDD www.macsales.com , you can get the right tools there also.
When doing the upgrades use an anti-static mat and a wrist band, I fried some RAM modules to learn the importance of them, so avoid doing dumb things like I did.

 

[anschnaller]

If you are going to get the anti-glare the only place you can get that is on the website. it is an extra 200-250 dollars i can not remember, but it also bumps your rez 36 % i think. i got the bumped rez on my mbp i got last month i was going to to go to the nearest apple store so i didn't have ot wait but they told me that you can only get the screen options online.

 

[jasin]

The Apple Store do have deaf and speech impaired employees and they do use iPads to communicate.

NOT at the one here. Ipads are a bit over sized for communication like that. Iphone is probably better for that. Neither one can replace voice or signing anyways. Besides, there are just those who do not understand the Deaf regardless of technology that can help bridge communication gaps.

Your best option to save some $$ is to use your student discount.

Student discount is only $100. it helps, but its still not a lot.

Other good site for buying your mac is www.macmall.com and for the RAM and SSD and HDD www.macsales.com , you can get the right tools there also

That looks like a good option too. I will check them out.

When doing the upgrades use an anti-static mat and a wrist band, I fried some RAM modules to learn the importance of them, so avoid doing dumb things like I did.

I worked as an Electrician for 10 years and I took an electronic Engineering and Computer repair class in college. So I already know about static electricity and computer memory. Thanks for the advise though

 

[gmans46]

If you are going to get the anti-glare the only place you can get that is on the website. it is an extra 200-250 dollars i can not remember, but it also bumps your rez 36 % i think. i got the bumped rez on my mbp i got last month i was going to to go to the nearest apple store so i didn't have ot wait but they told me that you can only get the screen options online.

It's a 100-150$ upgrade (extra 50$ for antiglare)