Decisions, Decisions...

[bigben2wardpitt]

From Macmall

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz, 15" TFT, 2GB DDR2, 250GB SATA, Nvidia GeForce 8600 512MB, 8x SuperDrive, Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR & iSight, OS X 10.5 Leopard GLOSSY

+2 more gigs of kingston memory (total=4)

and the servicenet laptop protection deal (accidental damage and more)- http://tinyurl.com/42gxf3

$3,161.84

from school

15.4-inch TFT display with 1440x900 resolution
2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
with 6MB shared L2 Cache
2GB (2 SODIMMs) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)
250GB 5400rpm Serial ATA Hard Drive
8X double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
with 512MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
Multi-Touch TrackPad

+2GB of memory (4 GB total)
AppleCare for three years and
Safeware (accidental damage protection)

$3,206

it also comes with: however, I don't care about any of this, i just included this in the equation for you to see where the numbers come out. I already have a office 08 for mac license, flash drive, ethernet cable, and surge protector. the security lock and bag can be bought.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Laptop Carrying Case
2GB Flash Drive
Surge Protector
Security Lock
25' Ethernet Cable


question 1. Will that protection deal from macmall be just as good as applecare - plus accidental damage? Don't you get one year of applecare no matter what? So if i got a defect, I could return it and get one that worked, and from then on, if i had problems i would use the servicenet protection? opinions on this?

The macmall macbook pro is cheaper.. and better specs.. as long as I like glossy... which i will have to check out...

Now i thought about the benefits from buying through my school, I could always go to them for help, but to be honest, I know what I am doing with computers (i run my own tech support business on the side), if i had issues, it would be hardware issues, and they probably wouldnt be able to do anything with that - i'd just have to send it to apple.

Let me know what you think!

Money isn't really a factor either.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Have you considered buying directly from Apple & upgrading the RAM yourself? With Student discount, the base Macbook Pro is $1800 USD, and get Apple care for $239 (st. discount rate) so you'd end up $39 above the original $2k price.

Get your RAM from Newegg or something similar, its super simple to install, I got 1x1GB stick for $29 I think.

Also, the 1 year warranty is not the same as applecare, you only get 30 or 90 days of phone support, then you need to go into the store. I've used my applecare enough to warrant its purchase (bad superdrive, battery, etc) and everything was replaced quickly, for no charge, with no hassles.

 

[bigben2wardpitt]

yes. I understand that applecare is great, but the accidental damage is really key for me. Maybe this means it would be better to stick with my school's package because I can get applecare and the accidental damage.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: bigben2wardpitt
yes. I understand that applecare is great, but the accidental damage is really key for me. Maybe this means it would be better to stick with my school's package because I can get applecare and the accidental damage.

If that's a big deal for you, I'd urge you to do _everything_ through your school. One place to deal with, one (probably local) administrator in case of a problem, worlds easier throughout. Easily worth paying the extra tax/etc. if you feel there even might be a problem.

If not, buy the laptop from Apple, do without the accidental damage protection (and Applecare, honestly), upgrade the RAM yourself, and save $1000. That's what I'd do. I'm OK with managing that risk, and Macs don't break that much. Basically you've increased the price by 50% on the off chance (at least in my eyes) that you'll break it in 3 years.

 

[Kmax82]

Yea.. the funny part is that money isn't an option, but you're worried about breaking it? I have had my Macbook Pro for about a year now, and done tons of stuff to it and it's still chugging away. The only thing I could foresee would be you dropping it, or possibly leaving it out and somebody else knocking it over during class.

I say go the cheaper route and if it does break, then you have an excuse to get a newer model..

 

[bigben2wardpitt]

well, what about spilling - i mean, thats what i worry about. Dropping it, not so much. spilling a beer, i mean, soda, on it. Well, then what?

Anyways, i will discuss it with the parents - which brings up my next point about money - money isnt a problem now, its my graduation present, i can get what I want. However, spending another 2 grand two years from now? My parents aren't going to be happy.

kmax you said have done tons of stuff to it.... like what? Just curious to see what it has gone through : )

I have heard some people accidentaly damage things and get away with getting it fixed through applecare too...

I am starting to lean the way of getting my school's bundle, because I can get a printer, and all that extra stuff - no glossy, no extra 100 mhz. but I think I can survive. I am sitting at a non-glossy screen right now, and it does seem more... authentic.

I can get applecare for 3 years at 2537 with all that other stuff... at that price, i'll easily take it. Plus they can give me an actually good printer for $30 ( i know, i know, cheap printers mean expensive cartridges - but i've done my research, this printer is actually ok).

They charge me $120 for an extra 2 gigs of ram. But if anyone knows where I can find a better deal (with a link) i'll take it. Typically I would think spending about $100 on 2 gigs would make sense.. $20 more? Fine. However, if you want to find me some killer awesome deal, I might think about it. At this point at a final charge of 2731 (well plus tax which will be alot) - I am happy.

Now, off to the apple store to make sure I can live with non-glossy.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: bigben2wardpitt
well, what about spilling - i mean, thats what i worry about. Dropping it, not so much. spilling a beer, i mean, soda, on it. Well, then what?

Well, if that's your concern, it would probably be good to get the accidental protection.

My post was a bit more sarcasm about the money bit. I don't care how much money you have, you definitely don't want to frivolously spend it.

The things that I've done with my laptop so far isn't a lot, but I did manage to spill water into the keyboard at one point. I immediately shut it down, cleaned it out with paper towels and compressed air, and it hasn't had any issues. I've also opened it up to replace the HDD, which was fairly straight forward and I didn't break anything. Did it twice actually...

So I don't know. They definitely are hardy beasts, but again, with the whole spillage factor, I would grab the extra security. Also, I tend to go back and forth between Matte and Glossy. Colors look nicer on the glossy, but I think they are more accurate on the matte.. but you can calibrate the display and that fixes that.

I would probably go with the deal through your school, but just read the fine print. Sometimes accidental protection doesn't include everything that could happen to the computer.