Cheapest price for a 15" MBP (2.4ghz 256mb gpu)

I have my asus C90s comming in later today so I made my desision already because im budget minded I just couldnt afford or justify the MBP. I think its nearly 2300$ for the 2.4ghz one with the 256mb video card right?

However I know there are various things you can do for price cuts, mainly I think there was like a 300$ discount for students right?

So just wondering what the best deal is out there and how to get it.

I happen to have 4gb of ram and a 250gb hdd I want to put in it... if there was some way to get it with no hdd or ram to save money that would be great for me.

 

Apple doesnt sell barebones so cant get it without ram and hdd. However you can upgrade it to 4gb and 250gb on your own later.

I am not sure about the best deal but the student discount plus free ipod and free printer (not sure if still available) was a good deal from apple.

 

Or look at it as you have some new things to put up on ebay

 

eh I went to the apple store 2500$ for the one I want with 200$ off student discount. 2300$ is way too much.

maybe when it can be had sub 2000$ I would think about it, just too many other notebooks with identical stats are so much cheaper.

I "know" the apple has its benifits and you get what you pay for ect ect. Thats true but only to some extent. the MBP is so thin too wonder how well it cools, you cant realy put much of a heatsink in that thing :/ and id be afraid of breaking it in half.

For the record the 2.2ghz cpu is totally fine, its only the gpu that really needs to be upgraded for gaming, sucks how they force it into a package that requires the purchase of both.

2.2ghz with the better video card @ 2000$ --> 1800$ after the discount and I would be all over it.

 

With the student discount you basically get a $500 discount:

• $200 off when purchasing the notebook
• $200 mail in rebate if you get an iPod (the nano 4Gb is listed at $200); thus you get a free iPod Nano which you can either keep or sell
• $100 mail in rebate on the printer; same as above (keep or sell). Apple store has two 99.99 printers available

If you sell both iPod and printer, the "discount" comes to $800 (200 off + 300 mail in rebates + 300 earned from selling).

If you go for the entry MBP (8600GT 128Mb), you basically get it for 1,500-1200 + taxes, which, I think, is one hell of deal, specially for a Mac. The one with 8600 GT 250Mb one will be $500 more.

Personally I was set on a Compal IFL90, but decided to switch to a MBP: I'll get a T7500 instead of a T7300 and 128Mb graphic card instead of 512Mb, but MBP benchmarks are veeery interesting. Plus, I get Mac OS X, and even more discounts/rebates later (as M$ Office 2004). Oh, and that's not considering the one pound lighter, great design, etc., etc.

Btw, it's just isn't fair to compare the MBP to the C90: the C90 has a desktop process and will get from 70 to 14 minutes of battery life, depending on use. On the Mac you are looking at 3+ hrs.
The MBP should really be compared to G1 and IFL90/2090.

They are just different beasts, get the one that best suits you.
Good luck on your choice!

 

I don't think it gets to $800 because you've also spent an extra $300 + tax to buy the iPod and printer in the first place. They are mail-in rather than instant rebates, after all. So it's essentially a $500 discount (minus taxes for the ipod/printer as you don't get those back, either). Still a decent discount, though.

 

also through different college stores there can be even larger student discounts, through cornell I can get the 256 one for 2200 + free ipod+ free printer so like 1900 ish, and the 128mb version is 1700 + ipod printer as well so like 1400 ish. I think these prices are more than fair. Still a tad high for the specs but it has the benefits of apple: style, slim design, OSX, etc etc etc.

me likey

also all completly tax free

 

Is the tax free college store-dependent?
I'm buying through the Georgia Tech store, but I'm being quoted $160 in taxes
Well, those are estimated taxes, maybe whey will be removed later when the order is accepted?

 

o.... sorry my bad. I live on oregon and theres no sales tax so when i order online out of the cornell store I dont have to pay taxes casue im an oregon resident I guess... or maybe u just have to order it from a college store out of state to no pay tax.

 

Also thought I'd mention the ADC. That brings the price of the 2.4 model to $1999 + tax. Plus you'll get Leopard for free later on, so there is another $129(or however much it costs) in savings.

A quick search on the forums will give you tons of info on the program.

 

You only get the free upgrade to leopard if you become a select member or premier member. The Select membership is $499 and the Premier membership is $3499.

Josh

 

I had a shot at a "refreshed" 2.4 ghz MBP tonight for 2249.99... if the student discount had stacked I definitely would've taken it.

 

It's a $200 discount for students. NOT $300. Just to clarify. I think it's useful, $200 is a lot.