Advice on buying a new MacBook

Hi, I am planning to buy a new Mac Book for my personal use - I teach, train and do presentations on my technical stuffs. Please advice me on which MacBook / laptops best fit for my requirement.
I am reading most of the messages in Apple forum and quite scared of getting faulty Mac Notebook. Please advice me on this to gain confidence.

No doubt other Mac owners will contribute their opinions, but I'd like to set a bit of perspective for you. These forums are intended for people to come here and post their problems, so by nature what you're going to see will indeed be problems. The many thousands of Mac owners who are having no troubles have little reason to post to a technical support bulletin board, so just reading here will give you a skewed perspective on the issues. Quoting another regular contributor to the Discussions, "Trying to judge Macs by this forum is like trying to judge the health of a community by looking at the hospital ER".
There can be problems with any system and yours could fail at some point. The strong likelihood, though, is that you'll have no problems with your system whatsoever, particularly if you take care to give it a proper environment - low static, high quality power protection (no $15 hardware store special surge protectors), etc. - power problems are the number one cause of chronic computer problems. I've owned at least eleven Macs over the years, and have only had a hardware problem with one (a bad hard drive in a Mac SE more years ago than I care to admit).
As to which model and configuration to buy, you really haven't provided enough detail about your needs for anyone to make a really informed suggestion, but perhaps this web page will help:
http://guides.macrumors.com/Buyinga_MacBook_versus_MacBookPro
Regards

Similar Messages

Advice on buying Used/New Macbook Pro

I'm giving some serious thought to buying a macbook pro unibody and I'm trying to decide on whether to buy a near-perfect used machine as opposed to a new one. I'm after a 13" and have no interest in anything larger... actually wish there was a netbook-sized mackbook. And truth be known, if the iPad had a iSight camera built in, I would probably be heading down that pad. The macbook will mainly be used around the house and occasionally at wi-fi enabled off-site locations. We're also eligible for a educational discount, so if I buy new... that comes into play.
If I buy used, I would have to see the machine in person locally, watch it run, use it... and know that it's hopefully still eligible for AppleCare if ownership is transferred? I'd also want the original sales receipt and I might like to opt for one on one because even though I've had my iMac for over a year... I'm still learning.
Having only owned a couple of IBM ThinkPads and a WinBook way back when... I was just curious about whether the mackbooks are reliable and sturdy (my ThinkPad has a titanium frame), and whether its worth it to score a great deal on a gently used one that is loaded with more memory and/or larger HDD and possibly a bunch of apps or spend the same for a base model?

"... whether its worth it to score a great deal on a gently used one that is loaded with more memory and/or larger HDD and possibly a bunch of apps or spend the same for a base model? "
1. What do you feel is a great deal and where have you seen one?
2. Anyone who sells you a machine with third party apps needs to give you the original disks or you are both in violation of SLA's. Keep that in mind.
3. If you buy a used machine and the owner touts it has Applecare you need to make sure he/she purchased the AppleCare from Apple or AASP. Otherwise it's not transferable to you.

Scared of buying a new Macbook - help!

Scared of buying a new Macbook!
I really need to buy a laptop due to a book I'm about to start writing, but after reading all the negative things on here about the new Macbook and Macbook Pro with overheating and this funny heat gel that Apple are dunking on the intel chips to try and stop them from overheating, I'm a little worried about spending my money on a new one and am more inclined to buy an older used iBook; perhaps a 6 month old one.
Okay, questions to put my mind at rest. I would rather have a more future-proof intel laptop, and I do like the widescreen resolution of the new Macbook as I can play back native 720x1280 progressive HD footage.
So, this dollop of heat gel, is it on the Macbook chip from the factory from new, or do Apple engineers just dollop this stuff on there when they get a overheating one returned to try and rectify the problem. If the latter is the case, surely this will only work until the gel dries up and stops having any cooling effect?
Will future Macbooks be sorted, if so, should I wait 3 months and by a revised rev-B type Macbook.
I've also read that the fans can rev loud.
I'm only asking as I bought one of the first iMac G5's and it was an overheating over revving disaster; so much so that I had to sell it on eBay after just 3 months as I could not stand it. I bought another one a year later that is fine; after Apple sorted the design problems out. I don't want to make the same mistake again.
Advice please.
Oh, I love Macs, I have 3 in the house, iMac G5, intel Mac Mini and Dual 2 gig G5 tower. So I don't need convincing. I have been using Macs long enough to know that Apple tend to have teething problems with new gear, but when they sort it, it is simply the best.
Thanks.

Hello, I can't answer all your questions, but just so you understand,ALL cpu chips (even the previous apple g4's and g5's), some video chips, etc. use the silicon grease as a way to carry the heat away from the chips to the metal heat sinks. Every computer ever made (well maybe not the original tube ones have this type of heat transfer technology in place so the chips don't melt down.
The comments about heat grease are mostly about how much was applied (with the belief that too much grease may not transfer the heat effectively), not whether or not it is needed. Recent articles on other web sites indicate that in some tests where the factory heat grease is cleaned and removed, then replaced with what some consider to be top notch grease, has only reduced the temperature of the case by 2 degrees. To be clear, this was for the macbook pros, where there seems to be even more concern by some about temperature.
By the way, this heat grease is designed to last longer than the computer it is running in. It does not typically dry out during the lifetime of the computer.
Should you buy the Macbook? Only you can decide if this makes sense. But there are a lot of other people on other forums (popular mac magazines, and rumor sites) who are quite pleased with the machine so far.
Personally, I would not buy a previous generation at this point.
Mac OS X (10.4.6)
Powermac Dual G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Will I have to buy a new macbook to get iCloud?

I have the Intel Core Duo, not the Intel Core 2 Duo and therefore I can't upgrade to Lion and can't switch my mobileme to iCloud. I am very frustrated as to how to do this.
I don't have a PC and would like iCloud to use my existing email address and just not sure how to do this as every time I try and switch on one of my mobile devices iPad2 and iphone4S it tells me to switch using my mac or PC.... grrrr I can't switch from either because they don't have the OS to handle the switch or the hardware.
Please can someone advise me what I should do... I don't have the money to buy a new macbook and there's nothing wrong with this one anyway so why should I have to buy a new one?
Thanks in advance for tips, advice and help.

If you do not migrate from MobileMe before the end of June your email address will cease to function.
You can migrate using a Snow Leopard Mac (you don't say what system you are using - please always do) - go to http://me.com/move and when you are asked to confirm that your Mac has Lion, lie and say 'Yes'.
However you need to be aware of the implications. This will be the situation on Snow Leopard if you migrate:
Your email, calendars, and 'Find my iPhone' will be migrated to iCloud. Contacts and Bookmarks cannot be migrated from a Snow Leopard Mac.
Your iDisk, together with website hosting and Gallery, will continue to work as before until next June.
Syncing of Dashboard Widgets, Dock Items and Keychains between Macs, and Mail Accounts, Mail Rules, System Preferences, Signatures & Smart Mailboxes between Macs & iOS devices, will cease altogether.
You will be able to access email and calendars on the iCloud website at http://icloud.com provided your browser is reasonably up-to-date.
You will not be able to sync contacts or bookmarks from a pre-Lion Mac.
You will be able to enter the server settings for email manually in the Mail application and access your email.
You will not be able to sync your calendars directly.
Some people have been able to set up calendar syncing by using the method detailed here - this is an unsupported hack and may not be reliable, and may stop working at some future point. BusyCal is an iCal-like calendar application with extra facilities: it can sync with the iCloud Calendar while running on Leopard, Snow Leopard or Lion.
There appears to be no method of syncing contacts (though Address Book on a Mac can be synced with Google or Yahoo address books - I don't know how reliable this is).
Note that f you have MobileMe mail set up to collect mail from external POP accounts you should cancel this before migrating, or you may find it still working in iCloud (where it isn't supposed to) and with no way of stopping it.
You should be able to migrate using Leopard, with similar effects. You may not be able to do so on Tiger unless you use a browser other than Safari - I can't confirm this. You can set up the mail in Tiger - the method is different and is detailed here.

Should I buy a new Macbook Pro 13 inch or Macbook Air 13 inch?

Hi,
I was wondering if I should buy the new Macbook pro 13 inch, or keep my old 2010 1.4 C2D Macbook Air. I am not satisfied with the tiny 64GB SSD that my current Macbook Air has, because just a few weeks after I had done a clean reinstall of OSX Lion, the whole disk almost filled up. The one thing I do like about the Macbook Air, however is the speed of the SSD. Its really quick, and it boots in under 20 seconds. The Air didn't have many performance issues (other than overheating like crazy after playing a few graphics-intensive games).
If I were to buy a new Mac, my price range would be from $1200-$1500. I plan to use Garageband/iMovie frequently for making Youtube videos/school projects, and store a large music library. I also plan to do some moderate gaming and run Windows 7 in Bootcamp/Parallels. I don't plan to take it around much, but I don't want to have to weigh down my backpack in case I have to. My two options now would be the new Macbook Pro 13 inch or the new Macbook Air 13 inch. Could anyone give me a suggestion of which computer to buy?
Thanks!

I went through this same thing when I purchased my first Mac 3 days ago, also between the 13 inch MBA and MBP. I ended up deicding with the 13inch MBP, here's why:
1. More hard drive space, yes it may not be an SSD but more space is more space. I have also heard about people taking out the disc drive and adding an SSD in its place, so there would be an option.
2. The disc drive, I rarely do use it but just in case it's there and easier than carrying around an external.
3. Upgradability, I plan on keeping this Mac for a while because I spent so much on it. On a MBP I can upgrade the internal parts such as the hard drive and RAM. On a MBA everything is soldered together so what you buy is what you stick with.
4. Ethernet port, this is one that could be gotten around by an adapter but I still took it into consideration. Not everywhere has wifi yet including my work where every computer is hard wired.
5. Bootcamp, as well I plan to run Windows 7 on mine and Windows 7 takes a good amount of space so this is another spot where the larger hard drive of the MBP comes in handy. You could always have an external hard drive and run Windows 7 off of that on an Air but then you would have to have it always plugged in when you wanted to run Windows 7.
About me, I am a student so I had a lot to think about and read a lot of reviews online before I decided on my MBP but I am glad I decided on this over an Air. It may be a few pounds heavier also but in the long run for me I think the Pro will be better, I do plan on adding more RAM in the future as software becomes more memory intensive. With you're pricerange being 1200-1500 the 13inch MBP with the i7 processor may be one to look at. From Apple with their student discount, if you are one, you get $100 of plus a $100 giftcard. At BestBuy (where I got mine) the price of the i7 13inch MBP is 1,424.99 and if you're a student you get $100 off but no giftcard. I got the i5 13inch MBP because I don't need an i7.
In the end it all comes down to what works for you, but I hope I was able to help you some.

Hi, ive been backing up my computer to an external hard drive (with time machine). When i buy a new macbook will that hard drive put all my info on to the new computer?

hi, ive been backing up my computer to an external hard drive (with time machine). When i buy a new macbook will that hard drive put all my info on to the new computer?

When you boot the new machine for the first time, you'll be prompted to import your data from a Time Machine backup.

After buying a new Macbook pro and opening an iTunes Match account most of my music is grayed out on my Mac and iPhone. I have not turned on iTunes match on my iPad and all my music is fine. How do I get my music back????

After buying a new Macbook pro and opening an iTunes Match account most of my music is grayed out on my Mac and iPhone. I have not turned on iTunes match on my iPad and all my music is fine. How do I get my music back????

The most efficacious way to get your music and other personal data onto your new Mac is to restore it from the backup you made of your old computer. Once that is done you can re-enable iTM on the new Mac and your iPhone.

I currently run the Design and Web Premium CS6 on a first generation MacBook Air and want to buy a new MacBook Pro. How do I know whether I can install my Adobe programs onto the new computer? Because I know there is some kind of limit.

I currently run the Design and Web Premium CS6 on a first generation MacBook Air and want to buy a new MacBook Pro. How do I know whether I can install my Adobe programs onto the new computer? Because I know there is some kind of limit.
Also, I had to install the software twice on my same computer before because I had to reboot the computer. I don't know if this affects the limit.

You are allowed to have two activated installations so there should not be a problem having working installations on the two machines. If by chance you have somehow tied up two activations for the one machine you can have Adobe support help resolve that thru chat.
Serial number and activation chat support (non-CC)
http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/service1.html ( http://adobe.ly/1aYjbSC )

Questions about buying a new MacBook pro with SSD

Hello, I am about to buy a new MacBook pro. I'm going to get the 13 inch 2.8 dual core i7. I want a solid state drive also. I was going back and forth between the 128 gig or the 256 but I will probably get the 256. My computer will ship with lion but i am so confused about the TRIM support. Does lion take care of this? Dop I have to do anything like run a command or program to take care of TRIM? Also, are solid states reliable? Should I get apple care? ( i really don't want to. Lol)

I suggest you buy the notebook with the standard drive and the standard RAM, if you were thinking about upgrading the RAM.
You can replace the original drive with a SSD at a lower cost then what Apple charges You can also buy RAM for a MUCH lower price.
TRIM:
Lion only supports TRIM natively when used with a Apple SSD. BUT, REALLY BUT, You can enable TRIM support yourself on the SSD you install. I have a SSD in my MBP that I installed and I have enabled TRIM support on it.
Are SSDs reliable? As far as I can tell Yes they are. I have one in my Win 7 desktop PC for the last 9 months, No Problems. I have a SSD installed in my Dell Win 7 Notebook for the last 1.5 months, No Problems. I have a SSD installed in my MBP for the last month+, No problems. There are reports of SSDs failing but there are also report of standard hard drive failing all the time.
I used Intel 320 series SSDs in my 2 Windows PCs and a Kingston V200 SSD in my MBP. I switched to the Kingston because of the price and it runs on the higher SATA III bus speed, 6GB, where as the Intel 320 series only run at the 3GB speed, SATA II.

I'm buying a new Macbook Pro this week and am wondering what is the best way to copy over the software I have from my existing Macbook Pro to the new one? eg. Photoshop and Office etc. I no longer have the CDs.

I'm buying a new Macbook Pro this week and am wondering what is the best way to copy over the software I have from my existing Macbook Pro to the new one? eg. Photoshop and Office etc. I no longer have the CDs.

Ya know what I'm on a brand new MBP just about 24 hours old and you know whats been working amazingly for me. I have a 27inch iMac as well and i've just connected it to my network and been dragging files and apps across the network onto my new MBP. Its really working fast and its flawless. You could always do that option, Just go into sharing options and turn them on for both Macs. Then just click and drag. Of course they have to both be on the same network for this to be possible.
Look at my network.
Shared is what your looking at. I click on there see all my computers files and then drag the ones i want form its folder to my MBP folders. Hope that helps if your looking for a very simple way on a wireless network.

Should I buy the new MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro

Should I buy the new MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro?

it really depends what you are going to be doing, if you are going to be video editing and doing intensive stuff the Macbook Pro.
if you are going to be just browsing the web and doing lite video editing and not that intensive stuff than you should go with the Macbook Air.
Also if you want a cheaper computer than you should get the Macbook Air. By cheap, I mean less expensive.

Do I get a discount if I bring in my college acceptance letter to buy a new macbook pro?

Do I get a discount if I bring in my college acceptance letter to buy a new macbook pro?

I believe you do, but I'm not sure. I would call your local Apple Store and ask them. However, you must also be a HS graduate. If you are still in HS, then you are not eligible until after you have graduated.

Buying a new macbook/leopard..

i was wondering with all the things i've read about problems with leopard should i buy a tiger based macbook and wait to install leopard or buy a new macbook that comes with leopard pre-installed?? thanks for info

This happens with every upgrade. Some people have problems, scream loudly, and suddenly there are a dozen new posts here saying, "From what I've read Panther/Tiger/Leopard is full of problems!"
Really? What have you read? Where? What problems and how many people seem to have them? Because my installation of Leopard--on THREE computers--went without a hitch and I'm using it with no problems whatsoever.
You have to keep in mind that people who have trouble free upgrades are far less likely to write about it. Those with problems will write a lot about it, and make it seem like the OS is full of bugs. From what I am reading, Leopard is terrific. Everyone I've talked to has had trouble-free installation and no problems.
In answer to your question, however: are these problem with Leopard that you're reading about happening on newly purchased Macs, or with Leopard installed on Macs running Tiger? If the later, then keep in mind that every person's computer is configured differently. You don't know what third party software these people have on their Macs, how much RAM, how much Disk Space. You don't know if they've added in third party RAM or attached other devices, nor, unless they said, do you know the age of the Mac, or if it's had prior problems.
The first version of any major OS like this is bound to have some bugs. That's the nature of the beast. But a new computer with nothing on it, a blank slate, is less likely to give those bugs a chance to manifest because the computer, itself, hasn't been compromised by the tinkering we all do with these computers, software or hardware wise.

I am buying a new macbook pro but i want to fit my own ram memory and solid state hard drive , will apple permit this without voiding the waranty.

i am buying a new macbook pro but i want to fit my own ram memory and solid state hard drive , will apple permit this without voiding the waranty.

yes you can do it and not void the warranty. Those are the only hardware changes that Apple permits. Instructions on how to upgrade the ram and remove and replace the hard drive are even included in the owners manuals for MacBook Pros.

Can someone please help me... i'm about to buy a new macbook pro and i need some pros and cons of SSD

hi.. i'm about to buy a new macbook pro and i need some pros and cons of SSD.... i'm not sure which is really better, the regular hard drive or the SSD... because if i buy the mac with SSD it would be the 128GB, so i want to know how would that affect the overall performance of the computer...
Thanks!

I would suggest that you purchase the SSD through a third party source. You will save money that way.
Regarding the performance, go to the OWC web site. They have bench tested their SSD vs conventional HDD and have published the results for anyone to see,
The difference between the 128GB and the 256GB drives is capacity, no practical change to performance.
Ciao.

Advice on buying a new MacBook

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