PLEH, I mean Help...

[Pliablemoose]

I want to use the cash back live with buy it now for 20% off...

I know jack shit about Apples, except they're pretty and some of the software she wants is a hell of a lot better on Macs (she's a music major-god help me, I'll be paying for her to go to burger flipping university in 3 more years I suspect...)

Anyway if one of you Apple type folks could help...

I'd like something fairly new still in that first year warranty so I can transfer the warranty and get either an Apple Care or Square Trade warranty on the thing...

 

[leglez]

How much are you looking to spend? Also are you able to upgrade RAM/Hard Drive?

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: leglez
How much are you looking to spend? Also are you able to upgrade RAM/Hard Drive?

Definitely able to upgrade components, just don't have the time to brush up on WTF to buy for her, except I want to get a warranty for it as she'll have to use it for a couple 3 years...

I've torn apart several PC notebooks and they even ran afterwards


Will be putting a 500GB HD in my Vostro this week as soon as I get it, and I've done numerous memory upgrades...

I considered making a hackintosh notebook for her, but I wouldn't be around to support it for her so it has to be warranty eligible.

I'd like to keep it ~$1K or less if possible.

I have to crash, am working nights, hopefully the 20% Cash Back sticks around (has to be Buy it Now for the Cash Back offer BTW...

 

[Keitero]

Any of the recent MacBooks or MacBook Pros (ones with Core 2 Duos; 2nd gen or higher) should serve you well. Having AppleCare is a huge bonus as from experience, it pays for itself when you need it. That being said, they are not known to have major problems. If you can find a current generation MB for cheap, go with that and she should be good for at least 2 to 3 years. Since she's going to be a student, you can see if you can get the Student Developer Hardware Purchase Program. For example, the mid range MB retails for $1299.00. With a student discount, it drops to $1249. With the Developer Discount, it drops to a nice $1169.00. eBay may offer more discounts but may not be valid for warranty service though Apple. Amazon.com and MacMall.com are also two good dealers to find laptops and when Steve and Co. announce new lines, the last gens are offered at some pretty nice prices.