[calijordan1987]

hi evreyone, i am posting for the first time in this forum. I am going to be a freshman this upcoming year, from what i have been listening to i have decided i want to make the conversion to mac's. With that being said could u guys please offer your advice on purchasing a laptop between the range of 1000-2000 dollars. This laptop is probbally going to be my main computer for the next four years at least so i need it to evreything a desktop can do. Thanks in advance for your suggestions. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[tchaten]

I would either go with a 2.0 Ghz Core Duo MacBook Pro, or a maxed out macbook. For gaming though I would go with the Pro model, and I just love my 17" Macbook Pro. I would recommend no less than 1 GB of Ram I am runing low on 1 GB and I don't think that I run that many apps. You can buy ram for much less at transintel.com or macsales.com
For a desktop replacement the macbook pro is great, I have a wireless keyboard/mouse (apple/mightymouse) they work great and are so seamless.
Good luck and Enjoy when it comes (this is my first mac and they are just so amazing)

[Vrenir]

I'm a college student with a MB (2.0 with 2ghz of RAM). I'd say that there are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself:
1) What am I interested in? If you plan to do 3-D modeling or extensive gaming, then you'll want to shell out the extra money on a MBP. On the other hand, you're a humanities major who uses their computer to write papers and look up sources, watch and listen to media, and play an occasional favorite game (Morrowind and Civilization via Bootcamp) then you'd likely be better off getting a basic MB and maxing out the RAM for better video rendering.
2) Is anything in Question 1 likely to change in the next few years? Seriously, this is a tricky question because it requires you to speculate, but if you want to use this computer for an extended amount of time, you need to account for minor interests possibly turning into major ones. College can do that to you. So, do you have a slight interest in something that you'd need a MBP for? If so, you might want to buy one and be safe rather than sorry to discover that your computer is no longer up to your needs.
If you don't "need" the higher graphics capabilities, there's really no reason to go for the MBP. The other stats are almost identical and the price difference is substantial. Additionally, the MB got a thorough reworking from the iBook model; the MBP didn't, which makes me think that one is coming in the next year. If you get the higher level model, you'll pay more money (basically for a graphics card) and a hull design that is likely to be replaced. My two cents.

[NicholasCox]

I agree with this posting in terms of minor interests becoming major interests.
Here's an anecdote. I was in the market for an iBook last year, and I was trying to decide between the 12" iBook and the 14" iBook, the main difference being the SuperDrive (DVD RW), as opposed to the ComboDrive (CD RW/DVD R). I asked everyone I knew for their input, and they said, "If you don't see yourself burning DVDs, spend less of your school loans and owe less: go for the 12 inch."
Here we are, a year later. I've loved the 12", especially because of how portable it's been. But recently my friend and I did a project on miniDV that we edited on iMovie, and, predictably, I designed a DVD I was really happy with in iDVD that's basically been sitting on my hard drive, calling my name.
I also never realized at the time that I'd want to make RAID backup solutions (redundant array of inexpensive discs), and that you can burn over 4GB on a DVD, as opposed to 700MB.
So here I am, having outgrown my poor iBook. Now it's time for a 13" MacBook.
The long and short of it is that he's right: if there's even the slightest potential that you'll be doing something that you'll need a more expensive machine for, spring for it. The worst thing that can happen is that its performance is overkill for what you need, and it exceeds your performance expectations, and you're completely happy. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[AdamOnFirst]

I'd go and get the best macbook or macbook pro you can in your price range. With 2000 bucks, you can get a lower end pro, or a very high end regular macbook. Remember to get your 10% educational discount, as well as you rfree ipod. Perhaps you could even sell the ipod after you get it and spend the extra cash on more ram or something. Also, I would suggest avoiding the 3-year warrenty. It may sound smart, but they are very expensive and if you feel you can take good care of your new expensive computer, I'd rather just have extra performance.
With something like computers. as ell as many other large investments like this, I always recommend spending extra cash now for the best available, top-of-the-line model now, instead of saving money for a more bargain model. Not only will you rcomputer last you much longer, saving you money over time, you'll have a VERY ahead of the curce machine to enjoy for the first while you own it.
So instead of owning a 1500 dollar machine that basically is in need of replacement in 3 years, why nto spend the extra 1000 for two mroe years? You get the same number of good yeaqrs per dollar, you get to spend more time on the same machine, which is good because you obviously spend a lot of time getting everthing just how you like it, and, as i said, you start off with a very sweet machine.
All tis is budget pending of course, but my motto is always go witht eh best you can get, and it'll be better in teh long run.