Buying a Macbook need help Urgent

[i-sidd]

Hi everyone,
I am finally buying a MB within this week, but I have a few questions. It would be great if someone could answer these for me. I am going to switch do its my first MB. I am a student so I decided to buy a Refreshed MB from the apple store, so do I just go to the store and ask them if they have a Refreshed MB?
What do I have to keep in mind after I buy the MB. Do I open it in the store and check if everything is ok and working. Also the I have seen the Refurbrished MB on Apple Online and it comes only with a 512 mb RAM, So how do I increse the RAM, DO I buy extra RAM from the store and ask them to install it, or do I buy it online and do it myself, if I buy it from a 3rd party and install the RAm will it Void my warranty. I have no idea what to do here.

Also I have read somewhere in the forum about the battery cycle or life. DO I have to charge the battery before I switch my MB for the first time, or I can just start using it out of the Box.
How do I protect the MB from scrathes and stuff, is there something out that I can use to protect it.

One last thing, I am also looking to buy a backpack for the MB, but I need something which can also hold my camera, I have a Canon S3, can anyone recommend any good backpacks.

Thanks and any recommendations is greatly appreciated.
I am excited, thrilled and at the same time a liitle confused. I don't want to make any mistakes buying my first MB, so Please HELP!!!

Cheers!!!

 

[Scarlet Fever]

First off, congrats on switching! You'll love it

do I just go to the store and ask them if they have a Refreshed MB?

You have to buy them online. You say you have seen the refurb site before, but for the sake of others, heres the refurb page for the US store.

What do I have to keep in mind after I buy the MB. Do I open it in the store and check if everything is ok and working.

You buy the notebook online, so open it at home, and set it up as you normally would. You'll know if theres a problem.

Also the I have seen the Refurbrished MB on Apple Online and it comes only with a 512 mb RAM, So how do I increse the RAM, DO I buy extra RAM from the store and ask them to install it, or do I buy it online and do it myself, if I buy it from a 3rd party and install the RAm will it Void my warranty. I have no idea what to do here.

People here seem to like RAM from Crucial (link at the top of the MacRumors Forums pages). Installing RAM is really easy, and it doesn't void your warranty. There should be instructions in the included users guide on how to install RAM. Otherwise, heres a guide on installing RAM.

Also I have read somewhere in the forum about the battery cycle or life. Do I have to charge the battery before I switch my MB for the first time, or I can just start using it out of the Box.

its a Mac; it works straight out of the box

How do I protect the MB from scrathes and stuff, is there something out that I can use to protect it. One last thing, I am also looking to buy a backpack for the MB, but I need something which can also hold my camera, I have a Canon S3, can anyone recommend any good backpacks.

Just good care should stop any major damage from happening. You can buy bags from the online Apple store, or most Apple Centres. Look out for Crumpler bags; a lot of people here swear by them. Some have pockets for other accessories as well.

 

[i-sidd]

Hey but I read somewhere in here that you can also get something called Refreshed MB from the apple store not online, refreshed are items that have been returned within 14 days and are the same as the Refurbished. maybe I am wrong, Anyways thanks for answering my questions. I guess the refurbrished one are the CD and not the newer C2D I guess that should not matter right? As long as the CD is good enough.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

no idea about the refreshed stuff; sounds like something available only in the States.

I guess the refurbrished one are the CD and not the newer C2D I guess that should not matter right? As long as the CD is good enough.

yeah it looks like they only have CoreDuo MacBooks on the refurb page at the moment. What do you plan to do with it? If you are doing any big shot editing, you may want to hold out for the C2D MBs to trickle in. Otherwise, I find a CoreDuo more than sufficient most of the time

 

[mkrishnan]

I guess the refurbrished one are the CD and not the newer C2D I guess that should not matter right? As long as the CD is good enough.

They have refurbished versions of both off and on. There are refreshed Macs or demo units etc at stores sometimes; just ask.

One thing you might consider is purchasing a sleeve such as the Tucano or Booq sleeves for the Macbook so that you can buy any bag that accommodates the camera and then put the notebook in it. I have the Canon bag for my 300D but it only really very barely accommodates a notebook in it...

 

[i-sidd]

Ok, I will be using it for the MB for general stuff like surfing, school work, etc, So I see that the 1.83GHz is for $799 and the 2.00Ghz is for $899. Which one should I get is the 2Ghz worth the $100 difference. Also since it will already have the 512 RAM, so do I need to buy another 1 512 RAM to make it to 1 GB, but I think MB have two RAM slots. so how does that work.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

Ok, I will be using it for the MB for general stuff like surfing, school work, etc, So I see that the 1.83GHz is for $799 and the 2.00Ghz is for $899. Which one should I get is the 2Ghz worth the $100 difference. Also since it will already have the 512 RAM, so do I need to buy another 1 512 RAM to make it to 1 GB, but I think MB have two RAM slots. so how does that work.

i reckon the difference between 2.0 and 1.83 will be very small, so it would be financially better to buy the 1.83 and put the $100 towards more RAM. Wait till you get the machine, though, because sometimes they give you more than you paid for; one member here got a refurb Mac Pro with a few hundred dollards worth of upgrades for free!

The stock RAM is set up as 2*256 MB. I recommend you buy a gig stick and swap it with one of the 256 MB sticks, giving you 1 GB + 256 MB.

 

[prophetess]

Also I have read somewhere in the forum about the battery cycle or life. Do I have to charge the battery before I switch my MB for the first time, or I can just start using it out of the Box.

It's best for the battery if you calibrate it first thing. See this article.

 

[tjcampbell]

Refreshed is the way to go!

Hey but I read somewhere in here that you can also get something called Refreshed.

YES! If you are lucky they will (in store only) have a refreshed product. Refreshed means that it's been opened but it has not been used. Legally they have to sell it at a reduced rate. So you get a brand new product with a great discount. I am typing this on my refreshed MBP as we speak. Hooray! Good luck to you. Cheers, Tom

 

[macg4]

yeah im gonna check my local apple store to see if they have any refurbs in stock this week

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

yeah im gonna check my local apple store to see if they have any refurbs in stock this week

Physical B&M stores usually don't have the refurbs. The only way I've seen you can get them is online...I think once they are sent for refurb, they stay at Apple instead of shipping back to the stores...

 

[butaro]

Just a comment...
I've been researching buying one since august and still havent bought it (Probably will next hw revision though!!), a lot of your questions are really quick and sound like you have no time to decide i think you should relax a bit and unless you have no computer at all or something do some more research.

Asking those questions about ram are really basic questions that you will find out in maybe a couple hours browsing these forums and wikipedia and the apple site...and the processor question has been answered a lot too.

In all, they have some refurbished ones from the online store with 1Gig of ram.

MB has 2 ram slot and if you buy from apple will have 2 ram modules (2x256=512or 2x512 1gig). You can still run with only 1 module but it is not as efficent.

 

[i-sidd]

I agree that the 1.83GHz will be $100 cheaper than the 2.00Ghz, however, it won't have the superdrive which is available on the 2ghz model. So I guess I will go for the 2.GHz.

I appreciate all the responses you all have provided., if I have missed anything that I should be aware of please remind me.

Cheers!!!

 

[i-sidd]

I called the apple store today and they said that they don't have Refreshed MB with them now, but asked me to check again after christmas. Is the price for the Refurbrished and the Refreshed the same, if its the same then I think I can buy it from the apple online store instaed of waiting. However, if anyone can TELL ME IF THERE IS A PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REFRESHED AND A REFURBRISHED MB, then I will hold off until after christmas, I am in no hurry to buy it this week, next week is fine with me.

CHEERS!!!

 

[mkrishnan]

TELL ME IF THERE IS A PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REFRESHED AND A REFURBRISHED MB

The principle difference probably won't mean that much to you: from what I understand, refreshed usually means a computer that was in a customer's hands is briefly inspected, they make sure everything is back in the original box, and then they close the box up, mark it, and sell it. Refurbished means the computer is more thoroughly inspected at a processing plant, and it is re-boxed in a different box (usually but not always). The thing I am under the impression makes a difference is that refurbs usually ship with the latest operating system and iLife, whereas refreshed computers usually ship with the latest versions.

Does that help?

 

[i-sidd]

I think your answer helped, I will anyways hold off until after christmas, and will try to get a Refreshed MB if I can get a hold of it.