Which (Apple) Laptop Should I Get?

• 

  jimbobaus on 02/12/2014 - 12:45

  Try the refurb store.
  I got a 2012 Macbook Pro with 15 inch screen and pretty good specs for $1199
  They give u a full 12 months warranty and u can buy apple care within the first 12m too

  • 

    18 on 01/01/2015 - 17:59

    Do you know if they swap the externals with the refurbished versions? Cheers.

• 

  Randxyz123 on 02/12/2014 - 13:40

  +2

  Refubs are perfectly fine… Personally I'd buy a Macbook air 11" and use that mostly at Uni and then keep using the iMac at home. If however your course requires you to do graphics intensive work then a Macbook pro would be much better. (What are you studying?)

  Wait till just before you go back to Uni/boxing day sales etc. You should be able to snag a good Dicksmith deal then.

  Don't forget you can also get education pricing.

• 

  p1 ama on 02/12/2014 - 14:13

  +3

  There's no real price difference these days between Macbooks and good Windows notebooks if you can get the Macbook on sale. Best bet is to wait for the regular 11% off deals from DSE, JB HiFi or whatever store will have it next.

  To answer your individual questions,

  I am hesitant to run under a Windows OS again because I like/am used to the Mac and I don't think my iMac has much re-sale value does it?

  No, despite what people might say about Macs having great resale value, that is only relative. Computers will never have good resale value because of the quickly changing technology.

  What do you guys think about the Macbook air versus the higher-end Macs/Windows laptops? Is it worth its (relatively) expensive pricetag?

  If you compare a crappy plastic Windows notebook with a Macbook, then yes, the Macbook is expensive. But if you compare a Macbook Air with a comparable Windows notebook, such as the Lenovo X1 Carbon, then the pricing is comparable, as it should be.

  I mean, I want a laptop that will last me for years and I think, from its reputation, Apple computers last pretty long?

  All notebooks today that aren't the crappy $500 ones will last you for longer than what it'll be useful for. In other words, you'll want (need?) to upgrade before they'll start breaking on you.

  Also if I end up buying the Macbook air and I can't seem to find a sale: do you guys think it's bad to buy refurbished models? Apple Store has it at $889 - pretty cheap.. should I just buy that and use the savings to buy Apple Care?

  Refurbished is fine, but considering the sales are so regular and uni doesn't start until March, you're better off just waiting around for a sale.

  Also don't buy Apple Care. Apple Care is a scam, they're charging you a very exorbitant amount for "warranty". Like seriously, $279 for a $1000-ish notebook? That means that the expected failure rate has to be over 28% in 3 years for you to be getting any sort of a good deal. The expected failure rate in 3 years is probably less than 10%, so yeah, you're getting ripped off bad with Apple Care.

• 

  jimbobaus on 02/12/2014 - 14:32

  +1

  In response to above i disagree

  I sold a mid 2011 iMac a month ago, granted it had apple care for 9 months left and i got $1750 not bad for a 2.2 year old machine. i paid $3400 when i bought it so in 2 years it lost 50% value. Try and get that kind of return on a PC.. it wont happen

  In regards to apple care.. get it!
  Worth every cent, means you have piece of mind knowing if anything fails you can get it replaced at no cost.
  Given the design on apple machines the cost of replaceing parts if they need tro be replaced, is not worth the headache. AC means no need to worry, it also means if you decide to sell the device within the 3 yr period you can expect more back.

  as for sales, apple tend to have a small margin for retailers, you may as well just buy with education pricing now as its probably the best price you will get. Be aware education prices are not available on discounted items so if its on sale you wont get a further discount.

  • 

    p1 ama on 02/12/2014 - 14:42

    +1

    I sold a mid 2011 iMac a month ago, granted it had apple care for 9 months left and i got $1750 not bad for a 2.2 year old machine. i paid $3400 when i bought it so in 2 years it lost 50% value. Try and get that kind of return on a PC.. it wont happen

    Read what I said. I said:

    No, despite what people might say about Macs having great resale value, that is only relative. Computers will never have good resale value because of the quickly changing technology.

    I clearly said that Macs have good resale value relatively, i.e. relative to PCs. $3400 -> $1750 isn't bad for a computer, but it's still crap compared to anything else you can put your money in. Cars depreciate like crazy, your car wouldn't go down 50% of its value in 2 years. So yes, resale values on computers, as a whole, is crap.

    In regards to apple care.. get it! Worth every cent, means you have piece of mind knowing if anything fails you can get it replaced at no cost.

    Don't you understand basic high school probability theory?

    You're paying $279 Apple Care for a $1000 Macbook Air. That means that in order for your Apple Care to be worth what you're paying, the probability that your Macbook Air fails in that period has to be greater than 28% (280/1000), which it clearly isn't.

    Furthermore, failure rates follow the "bathtub curve", lots of DOAs and failures at the start, relatively few in the middle, then lots at the end. In the first year, you're covered by warranty. So essentially, Apple Care is insurance on the years where your Macbook is least likely to fail.

    You're much better leaving that $279 in a savings account and in the odd chance that your Macbook does fail in that period, you can put that towards a new one. In the long run, you'd be better off than you would with Apple Care.

    Extended warranties are a scam. Seriously, we've known that for decades now.

    • 

      jimbobaus on 02/12/2014 - 14:51

      I dont agree with your logic regarding extended warranties being a scam. Many an extended warranty has paid for itself in our household.

      • 

        p1 ama on 02/12/2014 - 17:41

        Yeah, but what's your sample size?

        You can't "not agree" with my reasoning based on your experiences with other products. Go and look up failure rates and MTF curves for Macbook Airs and see if it is anywhere near 28% over the life of Apple Care. If not, then it's a scam.

  • 

    TassieJones14 on 02/12/2014 - 15:36

    By educational pricing, do you just mean the Apple Education store on the Apple Website? I don't think that's worth it tbh - I only get $50 off a $1,100 Macbook :s; a 5% discount…

• 

  Kel Varnsen on 02/12/2014 - 16:29

  If you go Apple, for your budget Macbook Air seems pretty good, also refurb Pros. I found it particularly useful to go in store and get a feel for the sizes and weight of each one. The retina screens are pretty flash too.

  Perhaps worth noting DSE have 10% off Macbook pro and (it seems) selected air until 8th December. Although I imagine they'll be more of this closer to/post Christmas.

  Also, does anyone know how Apple Education Store works, in terms of how eligibility is confirmed? And could education tax rebates apply too? In process of helping a friend who is starting uni next year and I'm a little confused. I'll try reading up more too.

• 

  TassieJones14 on 02/12/2014 - 17:27

  +1

  Hey guys - quick question.

  Is it worth the extra ~ $100 for the 13" air instead of 11" air?

  Apart from the obvious - less crammed keyboard, bigger screen, extra 4 hrs of battery life - what sets it apart aesthetically? I heard the screen resolution is better as well but not so sure what that means. If my laptop is not going to be my main computer should I just stick with 11" - curious to hear any input.

  Thanks a lot :)

  • 

    p1 ama on 02/12/2014 - 17:39

    $100 isn't a lot of money, especially if you're going to be keeping it for a while. It's up to you as to what you want and need. It's hard to give advice because we don't know what your preferences are. The 13" screen is obviously bigger, so you get more space to play with and it's easier to work with, but the downside is that it is bigger and heavier.

    Personally, I would go for the 13". 11" is so small that it's pretty much an iPad with a keyboard. 13" is much better for any sort of productive use.

  • 

    scynaz on 02/12/2014 - 23:28

    If you can't pick between the 11" and 13" I suggest you get yourself to an Apple store pronto rather than ask people on a random forum to decide. Try for yourself. The $100 is pretty irrelevant. They are very different beasts. The 11" is when you value portability above all else, want something to easily open on flights etc. 13" you can get real work done. For me it's a no brainer to go 13" but it's a very personal preference, can't let someone else decide for oyu.

    • 

      TassieJones14 on 03/12/2014 - 13:23

      Cheers guys! I have actually seen the 11" and 13" and the difference between them! It's hard to decide when you're only spending a few minutes on them at the store!

      I think I will stick with the 13".. btw when do you think is the time to get it? Are there likely to be crazy sales on Apple? I know Kogan once sold 11" for $500… can we expect that sometime soon? Or should I just get it once I get a 11% discount?…

      • 

        PVA on 03/12/2014 - 13:30

        +1

        get it when you see any sale (or even ask in store at Domayne, JBhifi - you may get 10% if you say you are buying right now.
        dont wait for a crazy price as it may not happen.

• 

  scynaz on 02/12/2014 - 23:32

  Apple resale values are generally pretty high, and the iMac hasn't been upgraded I believe, just the retina slotted in as a higher model. You will still probably lose 15-20%.

  If you can get decent sale price on the iMac, get a Macbook pro 15" and a 27" screen, there was a BenQ for 400 or the Dell for 532.

  Otherwise, get an Air.

• 

  PVA on 03/12/2014 - 13:28

  +1

  Keep the big one and get a 13inch air - even if its a refurb. Perfect size and battery life for studies. Dont get bigger (and I think 11inch is too small and misses a few things the 13 has like sd slot)

• 

  ElevenoutofTen on 04/12/2014 - 13:59

  +1

  I just got a 13" Mac Book Pro with Retina 2.6HGZ, 128GB SSD, 8GB ram for about $1300.00 which saved me about $300

  What I did was go into JB Hi-Fi and get them to price match the 10% off currently happening with Dick Smith. ($1599 to 1439.10)

  JB currently have a discount voucher of 50% off your next purchase with a maximum of a $75 discount after buying a mac computer. (so something worth $150 is half price, only thing is you have to come in the next day to use the voucher.)

  Since the 128GB SSD will fill up pretty quickly I decided to get an external hard drive for $150 with the voucher. (1439.10 - 75.00 = $1364.10)

  My work does this thing where you can get JB hi fi gift vouchers for a 5% discount eg. $100 JB voucher = $95.
  So I got 13 of those gift vouchers saving me a further $65.00 (1364.10 to $1299.10)

  All in all the Mac Book Pro cost me "effectively" just under $1300.00

  Real money forked out was 1375.00 but I got myself the Macbook Pro and a 2TB external hard drive (which I was going to buy anyway due to the small hard drive)

  Hope that helps

  • 

    drakeraj on 04/12/2014 - 18:29

    Hi @BackDoorBoss,

    This idea sounds really good. I've been thinking of getting an air all this time, but if pro is only a little bit more, why not. Can you give your insight as to how much better the pro is than the air?

    I also want to purchase office for mac, so the JB HIFI voucher sounds very appealing.

    I was wondering though, if there a way someone can purchase those JB hifi vouchers? Would love to purchase 13 my self.

    Also, do JB HIFI consistently price match because I was reading mixed reports?

    • 

      TassieJones14 on 04/12/2014 - 19:15

      Awesome! I used to work at Maccas and dang they had 6% cashback for JB for its workers :( Then I quit cuz my manager was being a dick.. sigh.
      Should have waited, lol!

      I don't think JB always matches offer - I tried to get them to match a iPad logitech keyboard thing with Dicksmith's price.. they just told me to buy from Dicksmith haha.

• 

  p1 ama on 05/12/2014 - 13:52

  +1

  And here you go!

  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/173283

  • 

    TassieJones14 on 05/12/2014 - 21:07

    Stil waiting for my 12+% before I go overseas next month (tax refund) hahah. :) Wise move? Probably not.

    • 

      p1 ama on 05/12/2014 - 21:40

      +1

      If you're going next month, you should probably buy now, given that it's 10%.

      Remember that even if you wait for 12%, that's only a $20 difference or so over 10%. It's not worth it, just get it now, have a laptop to play with and don't risk it :)

      • 

        TassieJones14 on 05/12/2014 - 22:39

        Haha I need to convince my parents first who cares a lot about that $20…