Help chooseing a macbook pro

I've been shopping for apple's specifically the MBP for a couple weeks now and from what I've seen unless you find a deal here... (I don't trust ebay to much) I would just go to apple.com/store or to a local apple retailer to purchase it. You get your discount at both I believe.

apple is one of the only companies i am aware of that offers a 1 year warranty on their refurbed stuff. so i guess if u have any problems you have a safety net.

Apple refurbs are still somewhat of a gamble. You never know why the system was returned and exactly how well it was repaired (if needed). I've seen their refurbs come in perfectly pristine condition and I've also seen them with scratches and dents. If you don't mind the chance of getting a slightly worn or scratched unit, then it may not be a bad deal to save a couple hundred $$. Although, if you're looking at some of the standard configurations or something very close, you could probably do just as good or better from other dealers or through various discount programs. IMO, the best place to buy a Macbook is from Amazon.com. After factoring in the no-tax incentive and their regular discount, you can get a brand new black Macbook still cheaper than Apple's refurb price. The best deal I've seen for refurbs is the 2GHz MBP 15" w/80GB HDD and 1GB RAM. $1699 from Apple. I've almost bought one of those several times and would have if the Merom CPU and promise of 3+GB in the system weren't making me wait.

FWIW, my G5 Quad PowerMac was bought as a refurb unit last November. I got a brand-new looking unit that had a manufacture date of Oct. 25, and I honestly don't think it was ever sold to a consumer. Probably a system that didn't initially pass internal quality-control or something and had to be repaired. It's been a perfect system... One of the best computers I've ever owned.

I would suggest that you buy this notebook from Apple Store. Depending on where you live if you are lucky to have an Apple store in your city then great go there and buy it.

With regards to a refurbished computers you can even ask at the Apple store where you go to see if they have any so you can take a look at it before you make the purchase. I bought an iBook like that. It was in great condition. One thing you should note here though is that you will not get any student discount on refurbished products.

If you are going with a new system then you can get student discount that is usaully around 10%. Get the Apple Care on you rnew system. So you will know that you are covered for next 3 years because things happen no matter how Good they are. Apple care does not cover accidental damage.

Good luck with your purchase and I know you will love the machine.

truth is a 3 year warranty is really overkill and is very profitable for apple if you do buy it. if your laptop has any kinks they are most likely to come out within the first 1-year period which is covered by the standard warranty. However... since the Macbooks don't have the greatest reputation for quality (heat, discoloration, mooing, buzzing)... so maybe it is in your best interest to cash in on the 3-yr warranty.

also i 2nd Amazon as probably *the store* but to my knowledge Amazon only carries stock or next to stock configs, which might be an issue for you.

Depending on the gaming you want to do the MacBook may or may not be good for you. For everything else it'll be great.

As far as FinalCut and Aperture: The MacBook runs them just fine. They're NOT supported on the MacBooks but they run just as well on the MacBook as they do on the MacBook Pro.

I agree with Kakaze... The macbook should fit the bill for those tasks just fine. Probably 1GB RAM -- 2GB isn't a whole lot more and would probably be overkill, but then you also wouldn't have to worry about not having enough for most Photoshop and video editing tasks. The only weak point of the macbook is the integrated graphics... But the newer Intel graphics chips aren't all that bad for most general things and it's powerful enough to handle games like Halo or Quake3 and even some of the newer stuff. Unfortunately, not too many games are available as universal binaries just yet, so gaming on the new Intel Macs is somewhat of a sketchy proposition. Of course, you can always dual-boot Windows and play games that way... Games don't really work through Parallels, or at least not any that require direct access to video functions outside of the Windows GDI.

I'd recommend stopping by an Apple Store or CompUSA or some place that sells Apple systems and taking both the Macbook and Macbook Pro systems for a test drive. Most Apple Store locations are very good about demonstrating various applications, even third-party software (to some extent) and you should be able to determine if the Macbook will handle your needs. If the Macbook fits the bill, then go for it. It's a lot less expensive for the same amount of CPU power, all you're sacrificing is 2" of screen real estate, an Expresscard slot and a dedicated graphics chip. Sounds like a lot to give up to save a few hundred $$$, but if you don't need them, then the macbook is a great deal.

The only thing for him about going to an Apple store to check things out is that, because Final Cut and Aperture aren't supported on the MacBook, they will not demo it for you unless you can find a sympathetic employee who has some time to kill and isn't afraid of potentially getting into trouble.

I didn't think of that... I wonder why Apple doesn't support those apps on the Macbook? It's probably because they're "pro" applications and the macbook is not in their "pro" line of computers.

Exactly. Since Final Cut and Aperture don't rely on the video card if they were supported on the MacBooks a lot more people would go for the cheaper computer and an external monitor over the more expensive computer with the bigger screen and dedicated video.