Buying a stock macbook

hi,

a little background;
i'm planning to buy a notebook next year (successor to the Qosmio G30). it seems that the optimal time to buy windows vista is about june or august next year, but it seems that it is a bit of a long wait, though my (Windows) pc is still (very) strong; i decided that i might buy a macbook just to get a taste of how life is using a machintos, i used mac at school, and found it a little bit difficult to adjust; but i'll try learning it; the main reason i wanna try using mac is perhaps because of iTunes+frontrow, and the concept of using the qosmio at my desk and macbook to move about, just intrigue me! imagine, not to worry of losing data when moving around, something like that ...

anyway... i'm just wondering, is the stock 512mb of RAM be enough to run mac? i'm planning to use it to listen to iTunes, viewing internet, watching movie, downloading program, using word, simultaneously and got room to spare... is it enough?

edit:can i order the macbook at an apple store and (ask them to) uprade the RAM and have a duty free?

and what is the memory footprint of the OS (when u got no program open)?

thanks a lot taking ur time reading this rather long post

 

Nah, just like windows you should at the very least have 1GB of ram, however 2GB is the sweet spot. 512MB is enough to run and stuff and with the Mac OS X sophisicated memory management you can do quite a bit, however that extra memory comes in handy.

You can upgrade the ram yourself and save yourself some money, heck you could even upgrade the HDD yourself without voiding the warranty, however for the HDD you might as well let them do it because their HDD prices fall in line with the rest of the industry, their memory doesn't.

 

As xbandaidx said, upgrade the hard drive and RAM yourself. It is cheaper, you'll have backups, and it is easier to get the MacBook exchanged for a problem if it is stock and not customized.

 

i read the iFixit.com guide and it seems that installing RAM is easy enough, but i still like AU$148 for RAM and AU$81 for HDD don't bother me much...

but the real question is; is 512mb RAM enough to begin with? this notebook wouldn't be my primary machine, i just wanna know how much program can i open without causing HDD<->RAM swap.

can i order the macbook at an apple store and (ask them to) uprade the RAM and hard disk and have a duty free?

and what is the memory footprint of the OS (when u got no program open)?

 

OS X uses more memoy than XP tipically does. 512MB is enough for everyday tasks, but some things may get laggy - specially using Word since it is not universal yet. With 512MB you'll most definitely swap a lot.

 

****! is 1GB enough!??!?

 

do you think i need to get that Apple Protection Pack?

 

At least 1GB is recommended. APP is highly recommended, however you can purchase it at a later time as well, as long as you purchase the extention before the 1 year warranty period is up. Sometimes if way down the road if something bad happens with the notebook, they'll swap it out with the newest current one even if its a new revised model.

Plus Apple's Customer service is one of the top 3 (don't know what number exactly) in the industry.

 

Always get AppleCare. It is worth it! Apple is almost always rated number 1 in customer support and satisfaction. And go with a gig.

 

urrghhhh... its getting scariliy expensive lol... i don't know what to tell my parent; would they let me?!?!? man.. i gotta do some convincing; lol, coz i want the qosmio for my bedroom (main computer) next year and this to roam around; should i get the 2.0 ghz one with the superdrive? or the cheapest one; which frankly is fine; except for the superdrive thing... and can i get apple duty free? can i use my student discount at an apple store? can i haggle with them? since this model is nearly superseeded, i'm planning to take it on holiday with me early december.

oh, when will leopard be out? when is the core2duo be out (on apple line up)?

oh. thanks a lot on the help so far; its really helpful

 

I think the student discount is for college students, so that would apply if you're a college student (it might work differently in Australia though).

I think that the most basic model is probably fine if you don't plan to burn any DVD's; the only reason I think to spend a bit more is that you'd probably have an easier time selling the 2.0 Ghz/Superdrive model.

You wouldn't be able to haggle with them over pricing, really.

Leopard is due out in Spring 2007; Core 2 Duo is very likely to be introduced in the MacBook Pro line in the next week or two...... no-one is quite sure when the regular MacBook line might get Core 2 Duo though.

If you're looking to get the cheapest possible price though, you might want to consider buying a Refurbished MacBook from the Apple Store, or buying a used one.

-Zadillo

 

If i break the MB screen does the applecare will repair for free?

 

If YOU break the screen, than its considered abuse and Apple will refuse to repair it. Apple does not have an Accident/Incident repair warranty.

Apple has excellent warranty but its up to you to take care of it.

I recall someone on this forum a year ish or two ago that said he slipped on some ice and it damaged his Powerbook, but Apple wouldn't repair it because its not a defect or anything on their part. Warranties only cover a defect in hardware or workmanship. If you accidently break it yourself or you worry you might, than talk to your insurance provider about something, many insurance companies have something for laptops/notebooks.

 

yes i am a college student; and my school is covered. can i have it with duty free?

when is spring 2007? sorry, i don't know when that is in the US

if it get broken bcoz of the heat they produce would that be covered?

 

It won't break due to the heat.

Spring is something around March - June. Something like that, don't remember the official start of spring date.

 

As for the duty free, I have no idea. You would have to check with your local Apple Store. If duties are normally charged then I am sure they will probably be charged, but I don't believe anyone here can answer that question. Ask Apple.

 

yeah i will, thanks

 

oh i forgot to ask! is macbook safe to buy now? with the heat and all... what problem is still present?

 

Yeah its pretty safe to buy now.

The two major issues were shutdown issues and discoloration since the release and both are being addressed. The heat issue has also been addressed with 'new fans' and an SMC update that many here have reported a 10+ degree C drop.