Buying new MacBook

[RichMacca]

Been reading the forums for a long time and have finally decided its time to switch. However iv got a few (silly) questions!

Going for white Macbook 2.16 Ghz, not really a photo editor etc, just something to use for internet/ word processing/ general use.

Don't start Uni till September, so should i wait the extra month for leopard or just buy now?

At Uni for 3 years, will a Macbook will last me that long?

Is the Uni discount bigger than the higher education/college discount? if so by how much?

I was watching the Mac Microsoft office advert, is ms office perfectly compatibility with PC and mac, to the point were theres nothing to change/edit?

Was seriously considering buying 4 gb of ram, saw it in another thread for £150, would this have any great additions?

Most importantly, will this play Footy manager at a playable speed, not ridiculously slow.

Many thanks.

 

[paddy]

No my advice would be to get it now, I just did anyway. If you start to wait for the next mac you're going to be waiting forever because there's always something better around the corner!

By the sounds of the work you're going to be doing it should easily last you three years as you're not going to do anything CPU intensive.

Thats right, the Office's are more or less the same.

As far as I know the ram maxes out on the Macbook at 2gb which by the sounds of your needs is more than enough.

Finally Footy Manager will fly on the MB as it's a cpu and ram intensive game not a gfx heavy game.

Welcome to Mac!

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I would imagine that the MacBook would last you the three years quite well – I’d recommend though putting some extra RAM in (as you mention you are doing) and maybe looking at a roomier hard drive. It’s surprising how fast those things fill up with music, photos and the like.

I’m not certain about the 4GB RAM thing, I read that the MacBook may only read it as 3-and-a-bitGB or something. I’m sure that one of our more RAM savvy members can advise you on the best course of action there.

Oh, and I use my MacBook for Football Manager too, and it plays beautifully with quite a few countries and leagues active. No complaints at all on that front – just make sure you download the latest patch from Sports Interactive’s website to make sure you’re all up-to-date.

 

[Igantius]

Don't start Uni till September, so should i wait the extra month for leopard or just buy now?

Depends on how much you need it now, to be honest.

Last year, Apple UK did an iPod/Mac deal; worth waiting until sometime next month to see if it’ll be running again.

As you’re a switcher, you might find it useful getting your head round the OS before going to uni.

At Uni for 3 years, will a Macbook will last me that long?

What you’re planning to use it for, absolutely.

Is the Uni discount bigger than the higher education/college discount? if so by how much?

See the thread in buying tips. Basically, if you use the Higher Education Store as opposed to the Education Store you save more (about 5%) and a free three-year warranty, so if you can go the HE route.

I was watching the Mac Microsoft office advert, is ms office perfectly compatibility with PC and mac, to the point were theres nothing to change/edit?

Yes, files created in either are fully compatible with either platform.

Was seriously considering buying 4 gb of ram, saw it in another thread for £150, would this have any great additions?

In terms of what you’re doing on the machine, I would say no but go for 2GB (2x1) instead.

You’re quite correct that the MB can take up to 4GB - but the machine can only access 3.3GB. If you’re using very CPU/RAM intensive apps, then I would say it would be worth your while, but I think you would be better off saving some cash.

Most importantly, will this play Footy manager at a playable speed, not ridiculously slow

It will play it very very very well.

 

[RichMacca]

thanks very much, cant wait to get back in FM as computer at the moment doesnt play it!

If anyone knows for sure about the ram then that would be very much appreciated, as iv read different theorys/belives about how much a Macbook can use.

I'm getting my first mac

 

[Igantius]

If anyone knows for sure about the ram then that would be very much appreciated, as iv read different theorys/belives about how much a Macbook can use.

There's a couple of threads here and a very good one over at Ars Technica.

Here's some benchmarks OWC did:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Reviews/MacBook/Testing/Memory_Benchmarks

As I say, with what you've said you'll be using the machine for 2GB would be fine - in fact it's ample. By all means, go for 4GB if that would make you happier though.

 

[RichMacca]

Thanks for all the answers, just a couple more questions before i slap every penny i own down!

Has the price for Leopard been released yet? is there a student discount?

Will bootcamp work ok on a MacBook for the odd windows app i need

What should i do when it arrives, i read about calibrating battery? can someone point me in the direction things i need to do before use guide/thread, and a website for widgets (because iv never had the opportunity to use/see them)

 

[ktbubster]

In the US the price for leopard will most likely be only 69 as opposed to 129 (atleast that's how it works for tiger now) for students, not sure about UK.

Bootcamp will run fine... if you don't want to have to restart your computer in a different mode though, you could look into Fusion or Parallels to run Windows within OSX. You have to pay for it, but depending on how often you may have to use windows programs, it may be worth it. Bootcamp will do the job fine though, and the non-beta official version will come with Leopard (it's in beta now... but works well i've heard)

You can find widgets on the apple site.

Enjoy!

 

[Igantius]

Has the price for Leopard been released yet? is there a student discount?

Will bootcamp work ok on a MacBook for the odd windows app i need

What should i do when it arrives, i read about calibrating battery? can someone point me in the direction things i need to do before use guide/thread, and a website for widgets (because iv never had the opportunity to use/see them)

Further to what the previous have said...

OS X pricing has remained constant; you'll be able to get a student discount (not sure of the price).

Bootcamp works very well.... well, I'm not having any problems

Calliberation guide - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

Apple's website has a widget section - enjoy!

 

[2hondas]

See the thread in buying tips. Basically, if you use the Higher Education Store as opposed to the Education Store you save more (about 5%) and a free three-year warranty, so if you can go the HE route.

Theres 2 types of education discounts??

 

[Igantius]

Theres 2 types of education discounts??

In the UK, yes.

See the (very very) active thread in the buying tips section - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/305453/

The Higher Education is accessible to those studying or teaching in a qualifying educational establishment (I think by signing up to deal with Apple). Although it is largely universities that make up the list of these institutions, there are others (e.g. Bristol City Academy, various 6th Form Colleges in Wales).

If you aren't at a qualifying establishment, you'll have to use the standard Education Store.

Have a read through the thread and any questions, post there as it's an active thread with some helpful posters.

 

[2hondas]

In the UK, yes.

See the (very very) active thread in the buying tips section - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/305453/

The Higher Education is accessible to those studying or teaching in a qualifying educational establishment (I think by signing up to deal with Apple). Although it is largely universities that make up the list of these institutions, there are others (e.g. Bristol City Academy, various 6th Form Colleges in Wales).

If you aren't at a qualifying establishment, you'll have to use the standard Education Store.

Have a read through the thread and any questions, post there as it's an active thread with some helpful posters.

Thank you. I don't live in the UK, I live in Canada, hence the confusion.

 

[Igantius]

Thank you. I don't live in the UK, I live in Canada, hence the confusion.

Well, just to confuse you more, I'm pretty sure there's a similar system in Canada - have a look here http://canadaapp.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EducationStores.woa/wa/higherEd

I don't know if it's only good for you, but in the UK it's really worth doing, so good to keep in mind!

BTW I'm (pretty) sure there's been some threads about this from the Canadian perspective, which I'm sure would be pretty useful for you.

 

[2hondas]

Well, just to confuse you more, I'm pretty sure there's a similar system in Canada - have a look here http://canadaapp.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/EducationStores.woa/wa/higherEd

I don't know if it's only good for you, but in the UK it's really worth doing, so good to keep in mind!

BTW I'm (pretty) sure there's been some threads about this from the Canadian perspective, which I'm sure would be pretty useful for you.

Well thats the system I use (well, going to, tomorrow or so ). I am heading into University this September so yeah.