Trying to decide on a laptop

[MDE]

I should be getting my old laptop replaced under Best Buy's PSP any day now, so I'm looking at replacements. I've got it down to a MacBook (upgraded to 2GB RAM) and this HP. The only musts are that it's under $1300 and from Best Buy. Does anyone know of a better choice? Right now I'm leaning towards the MacBook, more out of curiosity than anything.

 

[Commodus]

You might want to consider getting the next step up in the MacBook range at $1299. The new $1099 model is good, but at the next price level you get much more storage and a DVD burner along with your CPU increase.

Remember: if you're a college/university student, you can get an edu discount. You can also score some serious deals if you go the refurb route. Right now there's a 2GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook with 1GB of RAM and a DVD burner selling for $999.

"Better" depends on what you're looking for, but in my experience Apple has a lot of design touches that you just don't find elsewhere. MagSafe power connector that prevents you pulling your notebook on to the floor by accident? Latch-free magnetic lid? Two-finger, any-direction trackpad scrolling? Those aren't just nice touches - they can make owning the notebook a lot easier!

 

[TheStu]

Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

 

[luminousmidnight]

I echo the MacBook suggestion, and recommend the $1299 version, which gets you a DL DVD burner, 120 GB HD and 2.1 C2D.

The integrated video is apparently better now than it once was, so that's something to keep in mind as well.

 

[MDE]

The bigger hard drive doesn't really bother me since I barely used 40GB on my last laptop and I never used the DVD burner on it either. I'd rather use my desktop to burn a DVD anyway. IMO, the $200 is better spent on RAM and an external USB\FireWire enclosure and a DVD burner.

 

[zig3695]

i only wish i had a 120gb drive in my laptop so it could accommodate my entire music library. for convenience and backup purposes. right now my 55gb library consumes too much of my 80gb harddrive for my liking. i like to leave at least 20% free on my drive for performance reasons.

 

[Commodus]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

That's not true - many schools have deals with Apple and will order the system for you as long as you can prove you are (or will be) a student there.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: TheStu
Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

That's not true - many schools have deals with Apple and will order the system for you as long as you can prove you are (or will be) a student there.

That's a moot point because I'm not a student anymore and I HAVE to get it from Best Buy.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: TheStu
Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

That's not true - many schools have deals with Apple and will order the system for you as long as you can prove you are (or will be) a student there.

So they are ordering the system from Apple right? Directly right? From a Brick and Mortar store, or perhaps Online?

The school ordering it for you is simply a convenience, or they can build it into tuition or something, but it is no different from what I said. The education discount, from Apple, is only valid, at Apple Stores, you cannot get it at a Best Buy or CompUSA or anything like that.

What you are talking about is different, that is a deal that a school is offering, which may or may involve a discount, which they only offer to their students.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: TheStu
Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

That's not true - many schools have deals with Apple and will order the system for you as long as you can prove you are (or will be) a student there.

So they are ordering the system from Apple right? Directly right? From a Brick and Mortar store, or perhaps Online?

The school ordering it for you is simply a convenience, or they can build it into tuition or something, but it is no different from what I said. The education discount, from Apple, is only valid, at Apple Stores, you cannot get it at a Best Buy or CompUSA or anything like that.

What you are talking about is different, that is a deal that a school is offering, which may or may involve a discount, which they only offer to their students.

No, the educational discount applies at Apple Stores and on Apple's website.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: MDE

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: TheStu
Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

That's not true - many schools have deals with Apple and will order the system for you as long as you can prove you are (or will be) a student there.

So they are ordering the system from Apple right? Directly right? From a Brick and Mortar store, or perhaps Online?

The school ordering it for you is simply a convenience, or they can build it into tuition or something, but it is no different from what I said. The education discount, from Apple, is only valid, at Apple Stores, you cannot get it at a Best Buy or CompUSA or anything like that.

What you are talking about is different, that is a deal that a school is offering, which may or may involve a discount, which they only offer to their students.

No, the educational discount applies at Apple Stores and on Apple's website.

Which is what I have been saying.... or did you quote the wrong guy?

 

[Kodiak31415]

Originally posted by: MDE
I should be getting my old laptop replaced under Best Buy's PSP any day now, so I'm looking at replacements. I've got it down to a MacBook (upgraded to 2GB RAM) and this HP. The only musts are that it's under $1300 and from Best Buy. Does anyone know of a better choice? Right now I'm leaning towards the MacBook, more out of curiosity than anything.

Be careful with the PSP thing from Best Buy. They are likley going to give you a computer with 'similar performance' to the one covered under your PSP. If your laptop is new enough that it is still in stock they will just give you a new one of the same model. If you are doing this online and not at a store I don't know how the process works but I wouldn't be suprised if they found a way to mes with you there as well.

Either way, good luck. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to hear your opinion of best buy and their PSP policy. (former employee)

 

[gus6464]

Originally posted by: Kodiak31415

Originally posted by: MDE
I should be getting my old laptop replaced under Best Buy's PSP any day now, so I'm looking at replacements. I've got it down to a MacBook (upgraded to 2GB RAM) and this HP. The only musts are that it's under $1300 and from Best Buy. Does anyone know of a better choice? Right now I'm leaning towards the MacBook, more out of curiosity than anything.

Be careful with the PSP thing from Best Buy. They are likley going to give you a computer with 'similar performance' to the one covered under your PSP. If your laptop is new enough that it is still in stock they will just give you a new one of the same model. If you are doing this online and not at a store I don't know how the process works but I wouldn't be suprised if they found a way to mes with you there as well.

Either way, good luck. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to hear your opinion of best buy and their PSP policy. (former employee)

It is up the managers discretion of the specific store you go to for them to give you a new machine based on the price you paid. The thing is that technically under the psp policy they are only obligated to give you something similar spec'ed. Most mangagers will give you something based on what you paid but thing is that it could hurt them at the end of the year once inventory time comes along and also hurts their year end bonus. I worked at best buy geek squad when i was finishing college so I know all their psp loopholes. If they already told you that they were going to replace it based on what you paid then you are good to go. Most of the time they will give you problems when the item is pretty old (2+ years) when it comes to replacement. I used to see it all the time with digital cameras. Best thing to do is to get a young geek squad guy to help you on going the paperwork for any thing you bring in because for the most part a lot of the times the manager will never even know they did a replacement.

Ohh yeah heres a thing some people dont know when it comes to game consoles which is very handy to know. You can get a replacement plan for xbox360 and ps3 and whatnot but the salesguy will tell you that once you get one replaced you gotta pay again to get the new one covered. That is completely false. As long as the console itself is still under manufacturer warranty best buy has to replace it as many times during the 1 year period at no charge. It is after the manufacturers warranty has expired that they can recharge you for another replacement plan. This is because when systems are still under manuf warranty all best buy does is send back the broken machines back to microsoft and they get full credit for them. If you repay for PRP after machine has been replaced and its still under the 1 year manuf warranty you are basically giving best buy 60 bucks for nothing.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: MDE

Originally posted by: TheStu

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: TheStu
Unfortunately, the education discount is only valid at Apple Stores. Be them Brick and Mortar or Online.

That's not true - many schools have deals with Apple and will order the system for you as long as you can prove you are (or will be) a student there.

So they are ordering the system from Apple right? Directly right? From a Brick and Mortar store, or perhaps Online?

The school ordering it for you is simply a convenience, or they can build it into tuition or something, but it is no different from what I said. The education discount, from Apple, is only valid, at Apple Stores, you cannot get it at a Best Buy or CompUSA or anything like that.

What you are talking about is different, that is a deal that a school is offering, which may or may involve a discount, which they only offer to their students.

No, the educational discount applies at Apple Stores and on Apple's website.

Which is what I have been saying.... or did you quote the wrong guy?

I just quoted the whole confusing mess .

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: MDE
I just quoted the whole confusing mess .

Ok, cool