Buying a Macbook? Pro or no?

[akasixcon]

So i'm going to be a college student this august and i'm planning on buying a macbook. They have $600 rebate thing ($300 in cash and $300 for an iPod touch) so take that into consideration. The prices of a macbook is $1100, $1300 and $1500 and for the macbook pro is $2000, $2400, $2800.

Basically all I'll be doing with a computer is some schoolwork, warcraft 3 (the only game i play), and some applications like Photoshop. As you can see I don't buy new computers nor a laptop every year. Look at my signature, I had that computer for 5 years now.

What will be a good laptop to buy? Should i settle for the $1100 macbook? or the $1500 one? When would I need a $1500 compared to the $1100 one?

thanks

[Mak213]

Hello,

While it is a good idea to get a MacBook if it suites you needs we really can answer which one you should get. We can give you the info you want but you have to decide which one is right for the tasks at which you wish to accomplish. Will the $1100 one do what you want? If so then get that. Do you think you will need the extras that the $1500 one offers? Then get that. It all depends on your needs.

The main differences i see is that hte 2nd tier MacBook Pro has 50GB more Hard Drive space and a more powerful video card. If you want that go for it. Worthy investment. But make sure you can run what you want on it.

Cheers,
Mak

[KurrentEweser]

Any model you choose should play Warcraft 3 with no problems. A model with powerful graphics would be overkill.

[Ric0h]

Search for MicroChip on google.

They make custom made laptops, for 1700 you can probably get a super high end laptop.
Much better than mac, unless you are a show off, then sure get the mac, its stupid proof, so I dont know how good you are at computers, but if you know preety much everything about it, get a pc,

Microchip is the way to go!

[akasixcon]

Yeah I'm not much into the building the computer thing. I've never built a computer but I am booksmart about it.

Anyway back on topic, I need someone to compare the % difference between the following. Meaning I want to know how much difference it would make. The price from $1800 to a $2300 ($500 jump) is this:

Processor

Originally Posted by Apple.com

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
3MB shared L2 cache

vs

2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
6MB shared L2 cache

Originally Posted by Apple.com

200GB Serial ATA, 5400 rpm

vs
250GB Serial ATA, 5400 rpm

Originally Posted by Apple.com

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM

vs

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM

p.s. what is glossy vs nonglossy laptop?

Please note that I'm just a college student working at $8 an hour so yeah, is it worth the $500 jump? If i were to buy those parts separately, will it add up to that $500 mark?

[Mak213]

Hello,

Again i state you will not see a big percentage increase. Maybe 5%. in the CPU area. I dont understand why you would ask the difference between a 200 and a 250GB drive. 50GB as i have already stated. That can be anywhere from 5% difference to 500% depending on what you fill your drive with.

The card you will see a bit of a difference from 256MB to 512MB.

But as i have already stated YOU have to choose. Not us.

Cheers,
Mak

[j12]

I would recommend the refurbished Macbook Pro from apple's refurbished section. It should be 1500 for a 2.2ghz with 2gb ram, 120gb hdd, 256mb 8600m gt. It is not worth getting the 512 card as opposed to the 256 because of the slow memory interface. So 256 should be enough. I was considering the refurbished mbp but i went with the refurbished macbook instead for $949. Whichever one you pick, you will be satisfied with it.

[akasixcon]

Yes I admit that was kind of stupid of asking the 50gb difference. What i meant to ask was the difference between a 7200 rpm and 5400 rpm.

I was thinking of buying a refurbished but since Apple has the student program thing the cost of the MBP would only be 2300 plus a $300 rebate and a $300 iPod Touch. Which, in a way, lowers the price down to $1700.

[Mak213]

Hello,

They are both 5400 RPM. So there is no difference.

In all honesty you are better just getting the cheaper one as it will serve you just fine.

Cheers,
Mak

[tehdigit]

Originally Posted by Mak213

Hello,

They are both 5400 RPM. So there is no difference.

In all honesty you are better just getting the cheaper one as it will serve you just fine.

Cheers,
Mak

I agree. Nothing you will be doing requires anything special.
Regular macbook will be perfect for ya.
Hard drive is the only thing you would be looking at upgrading and that, again, is based on your needs. If you are just using it for documents, wc3, and photoshop you wont need a hard drive with alot of space.

the difference between 7200 and 5400 is the speed at which you will be able to transfer, save, and so forth. According to your post they are both 5400 so no change at all except in space available. 5400 should suite you fine but you cant go wrong upgrading