maddux31 Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 i actually just went through this whole ordeal myself. I just bought a sony vaio centrio-duo processor with 1 gig hard drive and i gig sdram? anyways it is capable for vista, it says it right on the box. definitely get your laptop now....vista is going to take some work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAM Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 i always say spend as much as you can afford. it will pay off down the line. if you get a chance to go to an apple store go and try all the flavors. they usually have really great customer service and can answer everything you ask. just remember they are in the business to sell the units so keep that in mind before you plunk down your cash. as far as dell goes; they're fine for the average, everyday, web browsing, email checking, word doc making end user. but, almost all prebuilt off the shelf desktop pc's are kind of iffy. unless you go with say a falcon northwest or MAYBE an alienware. it's always best to build your own for the best quality. but, that's not something an everyday user can do and get be really expensive if you're going for a pure quality rig with no shortcuts. most people don't realize it's not cheap to build a quality machine and think just because it's self built it's only a couple of hundred of $'s. that's why if i have a client that's just an average small business user i'll send him to dell or whatever because they can't handle the price of quality. then again i have clients like the guy i built a tower for 2 weeks ago. he spent about $3000 just on components for the tower to game and edit video- dream customer. you can build a strong pc that will pump power just as good as a mac- maybe better. but in order to do that it gets really expensive. and it still won't be as stable as a mac. however you can't build your own laptop so in that sense a dell will work. if you had to go with a windows based notebook i would really only consider a toshiba. moral of the story- you get what you pay for. so if you have to wait a couple more months to save up any extra dough do it. you'll be happier in the end i think it's nuts how merchants are touting vista ready pc's. but, it figures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted July 19, 2006 Share Posted July 19, 2006 I've always found the Apple customer service people to be very good - they're not trying to get you to buy everything in the store and pushing you to make a choice. They let you take your time and even suggest sitting on the decision and coming back another day. -dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted July 19, 2006 Author Share Posted July 19, 2006 i live in the country, about two hours from miami, so i won't be going to that one. i do however live about 20 minutes from another apple store at the local mall, and i'm going to stop by there today actually. no way i was going to get a dell. i know they blow up. i only put it on there to dispute between prices of the macbook and the dell. i also know about their lame buisness pratices, like putting useless programs you will never use on there. i was just trying to see if the cheapie laptop was going to be of any use, i want my laptop to last a good while, 3-5 years, not just 1-2 years before it's a has been product. and the cheapie has a lame processor, probaly not much use. just for basic things. i want more out of my next computer than just that. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted July 20, 2006 Author Share Posted July 20, 2006 went to the apple store for a bit today. the macbook is awesome. i've fallen in love with it. i don't think another computer will do anymore...lol. still will be another six months or more though. too late to cash into that student discount...grr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted July 23, 2006 Author Share Posted July 23, 2006 came to a descison. i'm going with the macbook. not sure of the exact specs, but i'm going for the mid range one for 1300. i think vista and it's ilk pushed me alot into making this descion. with it coming out in six months (i think), and xp being pushed out afterwards, a budget laptop with xp would be worthless within two years, and i want this laptop to last me at least three years before it's deemed also ran techology, ideally 5 years, as my current desktop is 4 years old, and probaly can't run vista too well without some upgrades (i doubt i will run vista on the desktop), and i'm not sure if it has another four years. you probaly heard all the vista bloat and complaints by now, and it looked awful. now way i'm running that. and if xp was to die off as soon as vista comes around...i would be in major trouble. and i think for the first time, i'm kinda excitied in using a new computer with the macbook. i sure wasn't with my parents cheapie laptop. there was nothing to do with it without getting lots of extra software which would push the price to over 1000 bucks. the laptop at that point seemed just as a net surfer...boring. with the macbook, it seemed like there was endless fun to be wating. i'm really revved up, and i think this pushed me over the edge to get a mac. it's not the icky macs i saw at school, that's for sure. thanks for all your help. i think i went a complete 180 since i posted this about two months ago. the first vista doubts on this thread prompted me to look into it more, and it was nasty. i think i would have been caught into the vista trap if i didn't ask about it first. i'll post the specs shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 here's the specs as of now: 13" white macbook 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo (may be a core 2 duo before i buy) 512 MB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM 80 GB Serial ATA 5400 rpm HD 4x Superdrive (DVD+RW/CD-RW) Intel Graphics Media Accelarttor 950 64 MB of DDR2 SD RAM video memory shared with main memory extras intended to buy with: a case (still looking) a labtop lock midi interface mic for podcasts iwork undercover voice recorder under 50 bucks that can connect to the mac (need suggestions) i intend to buy the macbook sometime between black friday and super bowl sunday, although i probaly see myself buying it in mid-late january, as my first major projects with the macbook will come in febuary. just a few questions... 1. i will probaly upgrade to 1 gb of ram, is it better to do it at apple, or get it elsewhere and install myself? i'm not taking this approach with the hard drive though, i'm getting 80 gb, as there's a good chance the macbook becomes my primary computer in the next year or so, and i intend to take alot of pics. 1a. i know i can buy an external drive later, but i would like a 80 gb to hold all my stuff now, and also a dual layer external dvd burner i may get compabtle with the mac. i will problay not buy ethier for several months after i buy the macbook. 2. will the core 2 duo be coming into the macbook before january (my intended time of purchase)? it can do 64 bit processing and that is the future. 3. is there a compact charger system avabile for the battery, like the ac apapter or something, so i can charge away from home? 4. will mac os x 10.5 be full of errors on first release? (anticpating that will be out before the end of 2006) 5. anything else major i should be aware of before buying? no, i'm not playing games on the laptop, so the graphics won't be too much of a concern. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bama Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 just a few questions... 1. i will probaly upgrade to 1 gb of ram, is it better to do it at apple, or get it elsewhere and install myself? i'm not taking this approach with the hard drive though, i'm getting 80 gb, as there's a good chance the macbook becomes my primary computer in the next year or so, and i intend to take alot of pics. Buy it yourself and do it yourself. It's really easy. 1a. i know i can buy an external drive later, but i would like a 80 gb to hold all my stuff now, and also a dual layer external dvd burner i may get compabtle with the mac. i will problay not buy ethier for several months after i buy the macbook. Not really a question 2. will the core 2 duo be coming into the macbook before january (my intended time of purchase)? it can do 64 bit processing and that is the future. I doubt it, but don't take my word for it. 3. is there a compact charger system avabile for the battery, like the ac apapter or something, so i can charge away from home? Probably, did you check the apple store? 4. will mac os x 10.5 be full of errors on first release? (anticpating that will be out before the end of 2006) Errors and glitches yes, but not as many as Windows XP has even now. Nothing that would seriously detract from the system. 5. anything else major i should be aware of before buying? no, i'm not playing games on the laptop, so the graphics won't be too much of a concern. thanks. It's up to you man. You'll probably find out what you need as you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 should have clarifed on one of the questions, how much extra is a 80 gb hard drive compared to a 60 gb hard drive? i know notebook hard drives are genrally more expenisve than regular hard drives, and is the extra 20 gigs worth the buck, as i may use 60 up fast, and plan to eventually get a extenral hard drive for archiving eventually. and bama, you doubt that the mac book will have core 2 duo or that it will do 64 bit? i don't care too much, but if there's specluation that it will be in the macbook around januaryish, if not before then, i will probaly postpone like a few weeks, but not too long. will core duo and core 2 duo be a major diffrence? i think that's it for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted August 4, 2006 Author Share Posted August 4, 2006 grr....windows is irratiing a bunch out of me this week...i guess they don't like apple. i'm tempted to buy one this month so i can dump windows, but i don't really need it till febuary. options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravesj858 Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 final update for a while, i'm getting the macbook sometime in the fourth quarter 2006, close to my orginal intended time of purchase of my laptop, which was december. i won't be able to buy the macbook anyway before october, and hopefully merom gets put in the macbook by then or right after that. so i'll be a proud owner of a macbook in about 3-4 months. i was hoping lepoard was coming out before febuary, but since it's not, i'll just buy the meorm book whenever it comes out, becuase i'll need to use the macbook in febuary. i'm probaly just going to upgrade the hard drive to 80 gb, since it's only 50 dollars extra, and buy a external hard drive before the end of 2007. i'll get a 512 mb ram stick from elsewhere, don't know where yet, and probaly hold off on iwork until january, since i won't really be using the macbook too much until after the new year. anything else i should be aware of? i'm going to get education discount becuase i'm still a student though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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