tips on buying a macbook?
 

im looking to buy a new macbook for school. ived always been a pc user and am not familiar with mac at all. any tips on buying a used macbook without getting ripped off for a noob?

just get a cheaper laptop.. (PC) and install MAC OS.
i have a macbook, 8 months back, ,,
ur pretty much paying for OS, if u buy macbook.. now the OS runs on Intel cpu/hardware..
good luck.


buying any used laptop is risky, specially with HD, that could be going or have bad sectors. try running a HD test.

iono about used macs.... but there's some refurbished macs on apple website that are for cheaper.... apple have a good reputation for good refurbished products... i believe

refurb and get the student discount bought one last semester 1074.xx shipped.

get one now (w/o student discount) before sept and get a 8gig i-touch :D

whats an HD test?

yeah that is true but there usually only about a hundred cheaper, im looking to spend $800 at most

^ have you looked at the white (previous generation) mac books new?

I believe that they have upgraded the internals to the new standard but retain the older looks at significantly less cost.

I think the white macbooks are 1149.00 on their site and if you buy before school starts you get a ipod touch free which you can either keep or sell for about 200 and that might work for you!

http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/hom...K-INDEX-CONFIG

Why do you need a macbook for school? Afraid you won't score any pussy chillin in the study hall with a regular laptop? LOL

ya mac books or any apple product are more of a fashion accessory to be honest ...

FYI, you can get the free itouch and still apply your student discount.

i dont think they do refurbs on older macbooks and change the inside hardware.


what would you recommend i should get then if not a macbook? to be honnest i thought getting a mac would be a good idea because i thought they dont have as many problems as a pc, especially if all you want to do is just do simple things.

is there someway to tell what model/generation is the macbook?

if you know how to go on revscene and open a thread and ask questions then you can handle a pc just as well you can handle a macbook .... macs have problems too just not as frequent i think ...

if its just for school use.. get a netbook .. those are cheap and serve its purpose ... but get one wit ha decent keyboard ...
there are some HP 11 inch netbook/laptop going around .. u can look in to those .. if u want a real laptop .. there some hp laptop with decent price too

why a mac over pc? edit: nvm you answered.

i have a macbook. It's nice. But i'd only get it with the new hardware + osx, not just for osx without the big one button touchpad.

Why do PC's get such a bad rap? I've been a PC for life along with my many of my friends and neither have encountered any problems with them. And we game and download porn like any other people.

I'm beginning to believe that this "PC = junk" sentiment is just all mac propaganda. Honestly, Mac owners make it seem like buying a PC over Mac is like buying a KIA over the likes of Honda/Toyota.

^
Not really. PC owners thinks they're the shit and vice versa for Macs.

They want to prove that they didn't make the wrong purchase/decision.

I believe if you buy them off apple, they give you a free ipod (touch i think don't quote me on that) lolol

The only time you have trouble with PCs is when you start doing dumb shit like going to sites that end in .cc etc... Or when you are running specialized applications that require special hardware drivers...

In any case, if you just want to surf the web and write some papers, why pay more to do it on a macbook? Just get a netbook from Dell or Acer and call it a day.

because companies like acer and emachines make shitty quality laptops
keyboard/screen flex, acers common screen ribbon cable defect, shitty service i actually had acer fix my screen and it came back with the little peg that turns of the backlight when the lid closed broken off and they said i did it!

but yea alot of laptops are easy to install os x on!, avoid laptops with 8400s or 8600s gpus (design is defective) I have a hp notebook with osx on it

Apple has one of the highest rates of laptop hardware failure. And the Macbooks are produced by Asus. You are not paying out the ass for the hardware, you're paying a lot for OSX. Components are the same as regular laptops.

I have a macbook and have no complaints, it runs really well, doesnt get viruses, comes with software such as iweb - web site building, iphoto, imovie, iDVD, garage band, and ichat which once you do the math, still puts a loaded up pc in the same price range as an entry level macbook.

In terms of a buying a used macbook, see if u can find one with the apple care warranty still remaining. When you buy a macbook brand new it comes with 1 year of warranty free on everything, and you have the option within that first one year to buy an additional 2 years coverage. Its not just a gimmick and can actually save your ass.

Go try out a macbook and see what you think and then make your decision after that, but they do tend to speak for themselves!

Thanks for feedback renthal. Is the apple warranty on a seperate piece of paper showing the starting and ending dates?

You can check online using the Macbook's serial number here: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do

Thanks u guys been really helpful. One last question this is probably the most noobiest of them all but how do you find all the info on the specs of the MacBook? Do you click on the apple above top left and click about or do you click+crtl the hard drive, then info?

Easiest way is click on the Apple, then About, the in the About box click More Info. It'll bring up System Profiler which gives you the nitty-gritty.

just go down town to the apple store

talk to an apple genius they will help you thru

what I've gotten from your reasoning to buy a Mac, is that they have fewer problems. That is a lie. Mac's are more vulnerable to viruses, and if you end up wanting to use some speciality software for school, you're usually hooped.

Like someone said, if you honestly want OSX for whatever reason, get a laptop and get OSX dualbooted with XP or Vista. IMO anyone buying a Macbook is just being a drone trying to "look cool," or they've gotten tricked by Apples B/S marketing.