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Online or from a store?

D

deepy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 28, 2006
160
0
I'm considering buying a Macbook very soon. It'll be the lowest end model but with a 1gb RAM upgrade. Would it be best for me to buy it online or from the store?

Something things to consider...

I'm in the UK.
I'll be using a higher education discount (is the same discount available in store as it is online?)
If i buy it online will I have to wait forever just because i asked for more RAM? will it be quicker from a store? will they just give it to me then n there?
Also i'm very fussy about things like dead pixels - in that I want none! If i got it from a store will they let me turn it on n look at the screen before taking it outta the shop?

Also, is using windows xp with bootcamp the same speed as running windows xp on a pc with the same specs? So for example, because office 2004 is not universal, will it be faster running office on windows xp through bootcamp than running office 2004 on mac os? (i know if it is faster it'll be only marginal but thats not the point - i'm just wondering about the concept)

Also, I know theres a separate thread for this but no harm in asking here, if anyone has any promo codes I can use in the UK higher education store they'd be much appreciated!!

Also any other buying advice/tips will be appreciated.

Cheers!
 
imo..

-buy aftermarket ram
-yes to the bootcamp question
-get it from the store esp if you're picky (as you should be with such an expensive machine)
-there's only a few seconds of noticable difference between office in bootcamp vs. office 2004 for the mac in rosetta (for me). i'm pretty sure the discount still applies, might want someone to second that or call.
 
CNU182 said:
imo..

-buy aftermarket ram
-yes to the bootcamp question
-get it from the store esp if you're picky (as you should be with such an expensive machine)
-there's only a few seconds of noticable difference between office in bootcamp vs. office 2004 for the mac in rosetta (for me)
Click to expand...

Thanks. But i havent managed to find the same speed 1gb RAM as cheap as it wud be for me to get it from apple. Apple will charge £60 for 1GB (approx $110) and I cant find it cheaper anywhere in the UK anyway. Plus i'm not so bothered about having 1.25gb or 1gb.
 
deepy said:
Thanks. But i havent managed to find the same speed 1gb RAM as cheap as it wud be for me to get it from apple. Apple will charge £60 for 1GB (approx $110) and I cant find it cheaper anywhere in the UK anyway. Plus i'm not so bothered about having 1.25gb or 1gb.
Click to expand...
Me neither, apparently it's a big deal to some. I only paid about $73 after a $10 MIR from newegg.
 
can't you just get someone in the US to order it and send it to you from their residence?
 
Hi Deepy,

I am also going to buy a MacBook from the HE store these days same as you and here is all I know:

First of all the same discount is not available in store as it is online. The discount rate in stores will be similar to the "education store" not "HE store" and they differ actually. Only 6% in the regular edu store as long as I know.

I also doubt if you can ask for more RAM in the store. Well, of course you can ask, but probably they will be selling you "extra" RAM, and it will be more expensive than the online store. :eek: Because, as I've read in a thread here, they also give back the two sticks that are originally included in your MacBook. It is not like "Built-to-order".

And I think you have to buy the box that has been opened for you, otherwise it would go 'refurbished' as they won't be selling an opened-box to anybody. But it's just my opinion though. There should be a return-policy about this issue.

By the way, if you find a "promo-code" or something like that for the HE store, please let me know and I'll be searching for one too ;) But I am not sure whether there are promocodes for the education stores.

Also don't forget to check www.scan.co.uk for RAM. They sell 1GB Corsair sticks for £54. I will be buying the 1.83 MacBook and the extra memory from them. And here is a thread about buying RAM in UK for you, I've also heard about Scan there.

Anyway, Good Luck! Hope you buy and start enjoying your MacBook as soon as possible :rolleyes:
 
Thanks alot Yigit, you've confirmed alot of the things i already throught. I think i will be buying from the online store then and hoping dead pixels just dont come.

Yigit said:
Also don't forget to check www.scan.co.uk for RAM. They sell 1GB Corsair sticks for £54. I will be buying the 1.83 MacBook and the extra memory from them. And here is a thread about buying RAM in UK for you, I've also heard about Scan there.
Click to expand...

I use scan.co.uk quite often. They are good but the £54 RAM is only 533mhz not 667. Maybe the difference wont make much of a diffence especially cos going that way will result in having 1.25gb instead of 1gb. Hmm, decisions decisions.

I'll let u know if i find any promo codes. I dont think there are for the Higher Education store because I just cant find anywhere to type them in even if i had one! lol
 
deepy said:
I use scan.co.uk quite often. They are good but the £54 RAM is only 533mhz not 667. Maybe the difference wont make much of a diffence especially cos going that way will result in having 1.25gb instead of 1gb. Hmm, decisions decisions.
Click to expand...
Well, I guess I've written something slightly wrong, it's £56,5 as I see now. :)

But it seems like it is 667? It says:
1GB Corsair Value Select, DDR2 SO-DIMM PC5300 (667), 200 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=353418

My technical knowledge is not that good, but this is the link that I reached through that thread I've mentioned.
 
Yigit said:
Well, I guess I've written something slightly wrong, it's £56,5 as I see now. :)

But it seems like it is 667? It says:
1GB Corsair Value Select, DDR2 SO-DIMM PC5300 (667), 200 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=353418

My technical knowledge is not that good, but this is the link that I reached through that thread I've mentioned.
Click to expand...


ohh yeh...i didnt notice that! ooh this is great.

Also, i dont live close to a store but where i go university is close to a store so that wudnt b a problem. But i'll only get it from a store if they do offer the HE discount which i doubt. Also the shipping is free - its just the wait! it does say 5-7 days on the online store tho - do they tend to stick to that?
 
I also wonder about that delivery period, they say it is because of the high demand.

By the way, I forgot to say. I hope you know this: if you buy it from the HE store, you will receive 3 years warranty for free. It seems to be a thing like Applecare minus phone support. Or there is also a cheaper full Applecare option.

Don't forget to consider this too :)
 
Yigit said:
I also wonder about that delivery period, they say it is because of the high demand.

By the way, I forgot to say. I hope you know this: if you buy it from the HE store, you will receive 3 years warranty for free. It seems to be a thing like Applecare minus phone support. Or there is also a cheaper full Applecare option.

Don't forget to consider this too :)
Click to expand...

You're a star. I know all these things but forget some of 'em when i come to summerise and compare my options!
 
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