Coming over to the dark side and I could use some guidance
First, thank you for taking the time to read this. I am a lifetime PC user and I want to come over to Mac.
Let me give you some background here. I have always appreciated the beauty of the MacBook but being able to afford it was another matter. I never wanted to settle for anything but the best MacBook and that is the 17inch Pro. Now that I have some cash, graduation money to be exact, I am looking to purchase this refurbished MacBook Pro. I still can not afford a new one haha.
Computer: Processor \t2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache \t6MB shared
System bus \t1066MHz
Memory \t4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB
Hard drive1 \t320GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive \t8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics \tNVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory2
Graphics Memory \t512MB GDDR3
Please let me know what you think of this system given my needs. I do not edit video or make websites or play games on my laptop, at least, not really serious games. I intend to use this Mac for listening to music, viewing movie on line and flash content, and as a personal media center for watching my dvd's and downloaded movies.
1.) Will I be happy?
2.) I really cant afford the Apple Care for three years, its freaking over $300 bucks. Are my odds good that If i treat the Mac well, it will survive and has higher quality than non Mac brands? Basically I just want you tell me it's ok not purchase the apple care if I handle the system gently and with care.
3.) I do not understand the graphics and RAM information. It says I have 4gigs of RAM and 256MB of RAM and 512MB of RAM, what does this mean exactly.
I can not thank you enough for taking the time to read this. I feel I am so very close to actually owning a 17inch MacBook Pro. I just need to know I am getting a good deal now. THANK YOU!
Let me give you some background here. I have always appreciated the beauty of the MacBook but being able to afford it was another matter. I never wanted to settle for anything but the best MacBook and that is the 17inch Pro. Now that I have some cash, graduation money to be exact, I am looking to purchase this refurbished MacBook Pro. I still can not afford a new one haha.
Computer: Processor \t2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 Cache \t6MB shared
System bus \t1066MHz
Memory \t4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB
Hard drive1 \t320GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive \t8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics \tNVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory2
Graphics Memory \t512MB GDDR3
Please let me know what you think of this system given my needs. I do not edit video or make websites or play games on my laptop, at least, not really serious games. I intend to use this Mac for listening to music, viewing movie on line and flash content, and as a personal media center for watching my dvd's and downloaded movies.
1.) Will I be happy?
2.) I really cant afford the Apple Care for three years, its freaking over $300 bucks. Are my odds good that If i treat the Mac well, it will survive and has higher quality than non Mac brands? Basically I just want you tell me it's ok not purchase the apple care if I handle the system gently and with care.
3.) I do not understand the graphics and RAM information. It says I have 4gigs of RAM and 256MB of RAM and 512MB of RAM, what does this mean exactly.
I can not thank you enough for taking the time to read this. I feel I am so very close to actually owning a 17inch MacBook Pro. I just need to know I am getting a good deal now. THANK YOU!
Comments
2) If you can't afford it now, you can pick it up any time within the first year. You won't have a whole a lot of software problem, but hardware problems can and do happen. Take the chance you could wind up with spending two grand on brick. Also, buy an external hard drive for backup. Nothing is reliable as it used to be, Mac included.
3) 4GB system memory. 256mb of system memory shared for the GeForce 9400M GPU (better battery life), 512mb dedicated video memory for the 9600M GPU (better performance)
First, thank you for taking the time to read this. I am a lifetime PC user and I want to come over to Mac.
Look it's not cub scouts, you want to buy a Mac, buy one. You won't get brownie points either way. Buy a Mac if you can afford to, otherwise don't. For most people that would be my recommendation.
Will you be happy? How do I know. It it easier to use and generally more stable? I think so. Can things go wrong which could piss you off? Potentially, yes. Generally speaking most do not regret it, but you can never know what might tick you off.
Look it's not cub scouts, you want to buy a Mac. Go for it. You won't get brownie points either way. Buy a Mac if you can afford to, otherwise don't. For most people that would be my recommendation.
Will you be happy? How do I know. It it easier to use and generally more stable? I think so. Can things go wrong which could piss you off? Potentially, yes. Generally speaking most do not regret it, but you can never know what might tick you off.
sad
Because the answer to "will I be happy" is, of course, how on earth would anyone here know? As has been mentioned, some people coming to the Mac from PCs get very bugged by the fact that the Mac doesn't do everything exactly like a PC and they have to learn a few new habits. Such people regard the OS X way of doing things as "wrong", and stubbornly cling to what they have been used to. Such people are generally not "happy" with the platform, at least not for a while.
Are you such a person? I don't know. No one here knows. Pointing that out isn't "sad", and the fact that you think it is suggests that maybe you have some unstated issues that will interfere with getting good advice.
You know, as a new poster coming onto a forum asking for help and guidance, your best strategy might not be to immediately label the first person that expresses slightly terse indifference and an inability to read your mind as "sad."
Because the answer to "will I be happy" is, of course, how on earth would anyone here know? As has been mentioned, some people coming to the Mac from PCs get very bugged by the fact that the Mac doesn't do everything exactly like a PC and they have to learn a few new habits. Such people regard the OS X way of doing things as "wrong", and stubbornly cling to what they have been used to. Such people are generally not "happy" with the platform, at least not for a while.
Are you such a person? I don't know. No one here knows. Pointing that out isn't "sad", and the fact that you think it is suggests that maybe you have some unstated issues that will interfere with getting good advice.
Ok, you make a valid point. I could have done better than "bad", i will admit that. For the record, my questions was asked in the context of will this computer make me happy in terms of its performance given my stated needs. I was not asking anything about the nature of the OS specifically.
Can you help me with an answer regarding that angle?
Please let me know what you think of this system given my needs. I do not edit video or make websites or play games on my laptop, at least, not really serious games. I intend to use this Mac for listening to music, viewing movie on line and flash content, and as a personal media center for watching my dvd's and downloaded movies.
1.) Will I be happy?
17" laptops are pretty big so not good for portability and they still have TN panels. You'd be much better off getting a 15" laptop with an external display.
e.g:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB...co=MTA4MzI2Nzk
and an IPS screen like this:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...s=04&c=us&l=en
If the games aren't that intense, you can even go for this laptop:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC...co=MTA4MzI1OTk
and you can possibly afford Apple Care too.
2.) I really cant afford the Apple Care for three years, its freaking over $300 bucks. Are my odds good that If i treat the Mac well, it will survive and has higher quality than non Mac brands? Basically I just want you tell me it's ok not purchase the apple care if I handle the system gently and with care.
I would buy it but you can wait up to a year before doing so. Laptops can have logic board failures or display failures and you don't want to be caught out say a year and a half down the line with a $600 repair bill. Your resale value is higher with Applecare too.
3.) I do not understand the graphics and RAM information. It says I have 4gigs of RAM and 256MB of RAM and 512MB of RAM, what does this mean exactly.
The system has 4GB of Ram for running programs. You have 2 graphics chips inside, one dedicated and the other integrated. The dedicated one uses 512MB of dedicated video memory, the integrated takes 256MB from your system memory.
1.) Will I be happy?
Yes, but the system is way, way overspec'ed for your needs. The 17" is a big laptop. Are you going to take it to work or the cafe occasionally? A refurb or brand new 2.53ghz 15" MacBook Pro is more suitable for you... On Friday US time there should be a deal on the 15" MacBook Pro from the Apple online store. So go for this configuration:
$1,799.00
Ships: 1-3 business days
Free Shipping
Specifications
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm <-- FASTER HARD DRIVE = GOOD
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display <--CAN BE ANTIGLARE IF YOU PREFER
2.) I really cant afford the Apple Care for three years, its freaking over $300 bucks. Are my odds good that If i treat the Mac well, it will survive and has higher quality than non Mac brands? Basically I just want you tell me it's ok not purchase the apple care if I handle the system gently and with care.
No. Get the AppleCare. As you can see, if you get a MacBook Pro 15" with the faster hard disk as I mentioned, you can now easily afford the AppleCare. You are a new Mac user. You get a full 3 years of toll free phone support. Also, if you intend to keep the MacBook Pro for more than 1 year, you will definitely be glad you got the AppleCare when parts are replaced free for you in the 2nd or 3rd year should something go wrong (it does happen).
3. I do not understand the graphics and RAM information. It says I have 4gigs of RAM and 256MB of RAM and 512MB of RAM, what does this mean exactly.
Don't need to worry about this, if you get the model I suggested as specified. As long as you are not into gaming or video editing.
Sorry I can't be more informative in this short time. But ask questions and maybe I could hopefully be of more help.
Ireland and Addabox... I don't think "will I be happy" means will he reach enlightenment and one with infinity. He just means "will I be pleased with my selection for at least a few years".
And Avi, a bit more patience with us please.
Look it's not cub scouts, you want to buy a Mac, buy one. You won't get brownie points either way. Buy a Mac if you can afford to, otherwise don't. For most people that would be my recommendation.
Will you be happy? How do I know. It it easier to use and generally more stable? I think so. Can things go wrong which could piss you off? Potentially, yes. Generally speaking most do not regret it, but you can never know what might tick you off.
sad
You know, as a new poster coming onto a forum asking for help and guidance, your best strategy might not be to immediately label the first person that expresses slightly terse indifference and an inability to read your mind as "sad."
Because the answer to "will I be happy" is, of course, how on earth would anyone here know? As has been mentioned, some people coming to the Mac from PCs get very bugged by the fact that the Mac doesn't do everything exactly like a PC and they have to learn a few new habits. Such people regard the OS X way of doing things as "wrong", and stubbornly cling to what they have been used to. Such people are generally not "happy" with the platform, at least not for a while.
Are you such a person? I don't know. No one here knows. Pointing that out isn't "sad", and the fact that you think it is suggests that maybe you have some unstated issues that will interfere with getting good advice.
Ok, you make a valid point. I could have done better than "bad", i will admit that. For the record, my questions was asked in the context of will this computer make me happy in terms of its performance given my stated needs. I was not asking anything about the nature of the OS specifically.
Can you help me with an answer regarding that angle?
I think a couple of posters have given you some good info, but I appreciate the straight forward response here. Welcome to the forums, hope you get the machine that works best for you. If you do get your Mac, there's a ton of great info here regarding software, trouble shooting, etc.
.
I think a couple of posters have given you some good info, but I appreciate the straight forward response here. Welcome to the forums, hope you get the machine that works best for you. If you do get your Mac, there's a ton of great info here regarding software, trouble shooting, etc.
.
thank you and everybody else for all the excellent info
thank you and everybody else for all the excellent info
Any thoughts as to what you'll get? I agree with Marvin that the 17" is a bit of a beast unless you plan to do video editing or run Light Room or Aperture in the field.
For most people I think a refurb 15" unibody would be a great choice-- big enough screen for general use, great, durable industrial design, and solid performance.
If portability is high on your list consider a 13", which is basically the same machine made smaller.
Any thoughts as to what you'll get? I agree with Marvin that the 17" is a bit of a beast unless you plan to do video editing or run Light Room or Aperture in the field.
For most people I think a refurb 15" unibody would be a great choice-- big enough screen for general use, great, durable industrial design, and solid performance.
If portability is high on your list consider a 13", which is basically the same machine made smaller.
I cant say you guys aren't right, the 17 is way more computer than I need. But I want the 17 inch and I only feel secure getting it refurbished from Apple. You only live once
p.s. i feel so much better knowing I can wait to purchase the Apple Care
I cant say you guys aren't right, the 17 is way more computer than I need. But I want the 17 inch and I only feel secure getting it refurbished from Apple. You only live once
p.s. i feel so much better knowing I can wait to purchase the Apple Care
Well, as long as you don't mind the luggability factor, the 17" is a hell of a machine, and you certainly won't regret the wide open spaces of that screen.
I cant say you guys aren't right, the 17 is way more computer than I need. But I want the 17 inch [...]
The 17" MBP isn't any 'more' computer than the 15" is. It is exactly the same machine. But with a bigger screen, more weight, and less battery life.
So for portability the 17" model sucks unless you really need the extra screen real estate (for what?).
If you don't need the extra screen real estate, and/or if you will be primarily using it as your desktop machine and not 'in the field' all-day, everyday, you had better get the 15" model and a separate monitor, as has been said.
However, if you will be using it as your desktop machine you had better get an iMac: they're much cheaper with the same specs. Or you could get a much better specced iMac than a MacBook (Pro) for the same budget.
The 17" MBP isn't any 'more' computer than the 15" is. It is exactly the same machine. But with a bigger screen, more weight, and less battery life.
So for portability the 17" model sucks unless you really need the extra screen real estate (for what?).
If you don't need the extra screen real estate, and/or if you will be primarily using it as your desktop machine and not 'in the field' all-day, everyday, you had better get the 15" model and a separate monitor, as has been said.
However, if you will be using it as your desktop machine you had better get an iMac: they're much cheaper with the same specs. Or you could get a much better specced iMac than a MacBook (Pro) for the same budget.
thank you
The 17" MBP isn't any 'more' computer than the 15" is. It is exactly the same machine. But with a bigger screen, more weight, and less battery life.
So for portability the 17" model sucks unless you really need the extra screen real estate (for what?).
If you don't need the extra screen real estate, and/or if you will be primarily using it as your desktop machine and not 'in the field' all-day, everyday, you had better get the 15" model and a separate monitor, as has been said.
However, if you will be using it as your desktop machine you had better get an iMac: they're much cheaper with the same specs. Or you could get a much better specced iMac than a MacBook (Pro) for the same budget.
I agree with this, but honestly, everyone's a bit different in what they're comfortable with (which is why there are 3 different sizes).
Honestly, Avi go to an Apple store, Best Buy that carries Macs, or a reseller if there are any near you and try the various MBPs out. I know people who carry around notebooks even larger and heavier than the 17" MBPs on a daily basis. On the other end of the spectrum, you have people like me who really aren't conformable with anything larger than 13-14in and 5lbs. You won't know what's your best fit until you have them in your hands.
I agree with this, but honestly, everyone's a bit different in what they're comfortable with (which is why there are 3 different sizes).
Honestly, Avi go to an Apple store, Best Buy that carries Macs, or a reseller if there are any near you and try the various MBPs out. I know people who carry around notebooks even larger and heavier than the 17" MBPs on a daily basis. On the other end of the spectrum, you have people like me who really aren't conformable with anything larger than 13-14in and 5lbs. You won't know what's your best fit until you have them in your hands.
thank you
Surprised no one questioned the Title. Maybe I missed it. You mean from, not to, dontcha?
Ok, I just skimmed through this.
Surprised no one questioned the Title. Maybe I missed it. You mean from, not to, dontcha?
hardy har har, touche sir
Ok, I just skimmed through this.
Surprised no one questioned the Title. Maybe I missed it. You mean from, not to, dontcha?
I let it slide... I thought it was cute.