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redwolf

#1 January 26, 2009, 06:39:03 pm

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So I'm off to a different uni this coming fall and I need a good laptop for college. I'm sick of windows, and I figured I'd try a mac this time around.
Which should I get? At the moment I can get the 13.3" new macbook for around $1,100 at my local computer store, and the last generation 15.4" macbook pro for $1350 @ clubmac but it's open box.....

I'm mostly going to use the laptop for writing papers, research, web design (photoshop & quarkexpress)..

so what would you recommend? (and dont tell me shit like macbook pro cuz its faster for photoshp zomg) ... thats not really important to me.

I need some good opinions on build quality, which is better tiger or leopard? as well as the best deal for my money...

and with open box does that mean I need to buy the extra cables, power cables, and stuff separately?

Last Edit: January 26, 2009, 06:42:02 pm by redwolf

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Warlin

#2 January 26, 2009, 07:04:55 pm

I did ok on this one but his feet are kinda wierd!
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Most of the time when you buy open box you'll be missing the manuals, cds, and occasionally the power cords. Basically anything that can be considered an accessory.

Macs are pretty reliable computers for doing papers and what have you. I don't think you'll need the Pro, and personally, open box deals are a major turnoff for me. As for the OSes, I don't really follow mac that closely, so I wouldn't know what to tell you on that. But you honestly don't need the pro.

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Vellfire

#3 January 26, 2009, 07:10:50 pm

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If you're willing to put down the extra money, go for the Macbook Pro. If you don't have the money to spare, go for the Macbook. You won't be disappointed for going for the Macbook, but you might get some extra frills if you have the cash for the Pro. Besides that, it's your call.

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redwolf

#4 January 26, 2009, 07:36:03 pm

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Well.. I want the pro... but if I can buy ram upgrades for the regular macbook... I don't think it would matter in application performance? maybe the processor in speed... but is that negligible with mac OSes?

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Alec

#5 January 26, 2009, 08:08:46 pm

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the processor speed is never negligible, but since the macbook is a new one and the pro is an old one there might not be that big a difference.do you know what they have in them?

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redwolf

#6 January 26, 2009, 08:55:05 pm

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here's the specs for the pro I want:
Apple 15.4" MacBook Pro Glossy Screen - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 2GB Memory, 120GB Hard Drive Notebook (Open Box Product, Limited Availability, No Back Orders) MB074LL/A-OB - $1,350 (onsale.com)

the older gen macbook (Before new aluminum one): WHITE; Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 4GB DDR2, 120GB SATA/100, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, 13" TFT 1280x800, Super Drive (DVDR/CD-RW), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth, OS X 10.5 Leopard $1,144.00 (clubmac.com)

new aluminum macbook for $1,223.99 (clubmac.com):
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 2GB DDR3, 160GB SATA/100, 256MB DDR3 Nvidia GeForce 9400M, 13" Display 1280x800, Super Drive(DVD+-R/CD-RW), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth, OS X 10.5 Leopard

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Warlin

#7 January 26, 2009, 09:32:24 pm

I did ok on this one but his feet are kinda wierd!
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Quote

new aluminum macbook for $1,223.99 (clubmac.com):
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 2GB DDR3, 160GB SATA/100, 256MB DDR3 Nvidia GeForce 9400M, 13" Display 1280x800, Super Drive(DVD+-R/CD-RW), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth, OS X 10.5 Leopard

That looks like a good middle road to me. It has DDR3 memory, but it only has 2 gigs of it. It also has a slightly bigger hard drive than the pro and I don't think you'd see an amazing difference between it and the open box macbook pro.

I'd still recommend getting the cheapest out of the three considering it isn't a much less powerful workhorse.

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something bizarre and impractical

#8 January 26, 2009, 10:48:00 pm

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Aside from buying a random notebook and putting linux on it, I'd probably go for the older gen macbook. It's slightly cheaper than the third one you listed and has 2GB more RAM (although you may not need this ever??). True, it is DDR2 rather than 3, but the speed difference is entirely dependent on what frequency it is running at. DDR2 and 3 overlap at the extremes.

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Barack Obama

#9 January 26, 2009, 11:15:55 pm

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Get the macbook. The only reason you'd need the pro is the bigger screen, firewire, or a slightly better video card. You don't sound like you need any of that so save the extra couple hundred.

Stick with the aluminum models though cuz the white plastic ones aren't that rugged and can get dirty if you don't wash your hands every time before you use it.

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redwolf

#10 January 27, 2009, 12:41:24 am

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Quote from: DietCoke on January 26, 2009, 11:15:55 pm

Get the macbook. The only reason you'd need the pro is the bigger screen, firewire, or a slightly better video card. You don't sound like you need any of that so save the extra couple hundred.

Stick with the aluminum models though cuz the white plastic ones aren't that rugged and can get dirty if you don't wash your hands every time before you use it.

Well I don't think i'll be using the firewire... external hard drives are usb 2.0 too.... and a bigger screen is nice but i dont really NEED it...

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big ass skelly

#11 January 27, 2009, 02:24:36 am

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If you're pro get the pro, if you're noob get whatever the other was I'm not scrolling up *fposts*U

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