Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The "I just ordered / bought / got my new/refurb MBP" thread [Merged]

Recent convert loving it

I've always used a Windows based machine and was hesitant to move to Mac because some of the programs I use are only compiled for Windows. After reading more about running virtually I decided to take the plunge.

After reading a lot online and pricing out systems, I decided the Air was not good for my use but the Pro looked promising. I went to the Apple Store 5 miles from my house and looked over the MacBook Pro. My main concern was to directly compare screen options and to see if 13 or 15 was best for me and to compare the display options (glossy or anti-glare). I am really glad I compared display types before buying because the anti-glare is a lot better for my application. Let me note, I was a little disappointed with the staff at the Apple store. The two people I interacted with seemed very indifferent and never even asked me what applications I use the most.

In any event, I went home and placed my order. Well, this was a little complicated because I wanted to earn extra rewards points from my credit card but also get my academic discount. So I linked via the rewards program and then selected my employer's Apple discount page. I am pleased that this worked so I got the (meager) academic discount and bonus points.

The website stated the build would get to me in about 10 days. I was pleased when three days later I received an email that my MacBook Pro was about to depart Shanghai! The tracking information provided was great because it showed delivery before 10:30 am and therefore I could plan my day around the arrival of the package.

Unpacking the Macbook Pro was surprisingly easy and uneventful. I first thought, my computer traveled 8,000 miles in THAT box??! But of course the unit arrived safely and booted up straight away.

My first task was to connect to my home wireless network; very easy. I then installed one of the statistical packages I use and was happy to see it ran without any hitches. I then spent some time ordering some programs with my academic discount. MS Office was one of the programs although I thought about not using it and going with an Apple program or Open Office, but I decided MS Office is worth the $10 it cost me. I also ordered Parallel.

Over the next few days I migrated my key files to the new MacBook Pro and ordered RAM. I ordered my build with the default 4GB but upgraded to 16GB Crucial. Installing the new RAM was very easy; the hardest part was making sure I did not lose any of the microscopic screws holding the back plate on.

I've since installed other programs and configured the mail client, etc. Even though I have a fast PC with dual monitors I have found myself doing most of my writing and data analysis on the MacBook Pro. This is in sharp contrast to other laptops I've had which were mainly ancillary devices for use when traveling or sitting by the pool with a large boat drink.

The MacBook Pro is certainly fast; this is probably largely a function of getting a SSD drive. With the 16GB of RAM even large datasets running in virtually (Windows 7) using SAS (a statistical package) do not slow this machine down.

If I could change one thing about the MacBook Pro it would be the ability to turn off the damn "Apple" illumination. I know this is not possible and I hate it that Apple thinks everyone wants to be an advertisement. But that is it as far as improvements. I probably would have been fine with the 128GB SSD. I wonder if I should have spent the money for the 2.5Ghz processor instead of the 256GB SSD.

I priced other laptops and for a similar configuration, the MacBook Pro was about a $400 premium. It was worth every penny.
 
Welcome to the club. Be advised that Apple products are addictive and often lead to the purchase of other Apple devices and accessories.

"The addict is the last one to recognize the problem".
 
user418 said:
Welcome to the club. Be advised that Apple products are addictive and often lead to the purchase of other Apple devices and accessories.

"The addict is the last one to recognize the problem".
Click to expand...
Yeah I know what you mean, I've got an iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, 2 Macs, Thundeerbolt Display and a few Apple accessories and I'm still not happy lol.

Welcome to the club OP :)
 
DataMiner said:
MS Office was one of the programs although I thought about not using it and going with an Apple program or Open Office, but I decided MS Office is worth the $10 it cost me. I also ordered Parallel.
Click to expand...

How did you get it for $10?
 
Companies partner with Microsoft to offer a "Home Use Program", allowing employees of that company to buy a copy of Office (and other applications depending on the plan/company) at a MUCH reduced price, usually the $10 as noted here. There are 2 downsides as I see it, the license technically expires the day your employment is terminated and you can only buy one copy of the current version. In my case, I bought 2010 for my Windows PCs and now I don't qualify for 2011 if I buy a Mac for personal use. The $10 gets you the ENTIRE Office suite, including Access.

The same rules apply (for 2010 anyway, not sure about 2011) with regard to installations, you are allowed to install it on a single laptop AND a single desktop.
 
ugahairydawgs said:
There are a lot of colleges that have deals worked out with Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, etc to offer their products at varying degrees of discount. There are some that get free copies of MS software.
Click to expand...

Yuppp gotta love that MSDN Academic Alliance. I got Windows 7 for free when it first released through them, hopefully Windows 8 is on there too.

The only products I haven't seen were the Office suite
 
Free Ale said:
How did you get it for $10?
Click to expand...


HUP through my employer (a university).

hallux said:
There are 2 downsides as I see it, the license technically expires the day your employment is terminated and you can only buy one copy of the current version.
.
Click to expand...

I am not too worried about the first downside since I have a permanent position (i.e., tenure). On the second downside, this is the only machine I own that did not have a license for MS Office.

Edited to add: I bought Parallel for $39 but today I saw it for sale for $35 on one of those social deal sites.
Thanks for the welcome all. :)

----------
musty345 said:
It's good to hear that you got 3rd party RAM and didn't buy it from Apple. I feel like punching people when they buy it from Apple
Click to expand...


I've installed RAM a lot over the years so I figured it would not be too difficult to do it myself on the MBP. I went back and forth on buying the SSD from Apple but from what I read online, it seems the install is a bit more complex and I decided my time is better spent not tinkering with it.
 
Well after telling myself I was going to wait I gave in.

I just ordered a refurb'd 15 inch 2.2ghz quad core i7 with a 500gig HD

Still on the fence as to whether or not I should keep it

I don't know how crazy I am about all these rumored new features are so I just went ahead and decided to go with what's out now...
 
Just had a base model 15" delivered from Amazon Warehouse Deals and I don't know if I should have pulled the trigger so early. I told myself I would wait for WWDC, but it popped up for 1470, so it seemed like a good idea to snag it.

It was listed in "good" condition, and I figured it would be used and have some light scuffs, but the damn thing was still factory-sealed, so it's sitting in the corner until I work up the courage to break it open. Also still on the fence about keeping it. I've had two 13" books since '06, so this is the first time I decided to go with dedicated graphics.
 
Glad to see not everyone is in need of the latest and greatest. I, myself, just got ordered my second MacBook Pro (replacing a late 2008) which will be fully decked out. I feel like I won't be a big fan of the MacBook 9.x's mainly due to the no ODD "rumors", cause I actually use my SuperDrive and would not want to carry around an external.
 
Couldn't be happier

I am a senior in high school and going to college next year. I just bought my first MBP and couldn't be happier. I went with the 15 inch model and it works great! I am a moderate user and this system is much more than i need. I was working on a machine 2010 as my primary computer before so i know that this is a huge increase.
 
angrydog said:
Glad to see not everyone is in need of the latest and greatest. I, myself, just got ordered my second MacBook Pro (replacing a late 2008) which will be fully decked out. I feel like I won't be a big fan of the MacBook 9.x's mainly due to the no ODD "rumors", cause I actually use my SuperDrive and would not want to carry around an external.
Click to expand...

I feel the exact same. My MacBook Pro is perfect for me and to be honest, I'm not sure if I could live without my optical drive and ethernet port.

I regret nothing :D
 
I jsut traded my 2008 13" Macbook 2.4 Core2Duo + some cash on top for a 2011 13" Macbook Pro 2.3 i5 (still has applecare till end of this year). Really happy with the upgrade:cool:
 
I've been hobbling along on an HP that's slowly fallen apart on me due to normal backpack usage my previous MBP used to take. Retina + slimmer form factor looks to be the biggest refresh in years, so jumping back into the Mac world seems to be the way to go for me. Just got authorized for the 12-month no-interest financing they have for $1700.

Does anybody know if Apple stores let you perform a purchase with two methods? I've saved up a decent amount already myself but I'm not sure if, by itself it'll be enough to get whatever model I want given the fact that they might increase the price and such... Does anybody know if they'd let me pay part of the purchase in cash and then use the Barclays Card for the remainder? I've previously worked some cashiering at major retailers and most of their cash registers support this sort of thing, but I wasn't sure if Apple was stricter.

Previously owned 2010 i7 15" Pro right after that refresh... got it stolen from me a year later and never had it recovered.
 
Vexed said:
Does anybody know if Apple stores let you perform a purchase with two methods? I've saved up a decent amount already myself but I'm not sure if, by itself it'll be enough to get whatever model I want given the fact that they might increase the price and such... Does anybody know if they'd let me pay part of the purchase in cash and then use the Barclays Card for the remainder? I've previously worked some cashiering at major retailers and most of their cash registers support this sort of thing, but I wasn't sure if Apple was stricter
Click to expand...

Yes, they do.
 
Vexed said:
Does anybody know if Apple stores let you perform a purchase with two methods? I've saved up a decent amount already myself but I'm not sure if, by itself it'll be enough to get whatever model I want given the fact that they might increase the price and such... Does anybody know if they'd let me pay part of the purchase in cash and then use the Barclays Card for the remainder? I've previously worked some cashiering at major retailers and most of their cash registers support this sort of thing, but I wasn't sure if Apple was stricter.
Click to expand...

Yup! :cool:
 
Refurbed 2010 Macbook Pro

I purchased a refurbished 2010 macbook Pro from Apple a few months ago and I must say, this is an awesome notebook. I use it for school and mainly use Microsoft Office, Email and surf the web. If anyone is considering this as an option, you won't be disappointed. Macs are far better than Windows based machines.
 
bowadoyle said:
I purchased a refurbished 2010 macbook Pro from Apple a few months ago and I must say, this is an awesome notebook. I use it for school and mainly use Microsoft Office, Email and surf the web. If anyone is considering this as an option, you won't be disappointed. Macs are far better than Windows based machines.
Click to expand...
I know. I'd rather have a iMac g5 than a top of the range Windows machine if I'm honest.

Congrats on your Mac :)
 
My refurb 15" i7 2.5 hi res arrived yesterday. I saved AU$500 and the machine is perfect. I have fitted a 512 gb Crucial SSD an 16g Ram. I already had a 27" TB display.

This machine absolutely flies and runs all my apps beautifully. Aperture, iMovie, Vectorworks, VM Windows and MYOB.

I've owned many Macs over the years and still have my Air 11 but my work computer died and I needed a new one now. If the new 15" Mac release blows my mind I might jump on it and hand this one down to one of my staff or family but it would have to be a quantum leap to justify it. I alway think it's better to buy the end of the line rather than the week one release, been burnt there before with Macs and iPhomes.

Love my new mac. :D
 
New MD311LL/A

I just got myself a brand new sealed MD311LL/A from ebay for only $1800 shipped. I just installed a pair of Samsung 1600Mbps (4GB each) and a Samsung 830 256GB SSD into the machine a few days ago. It runs Lightroom 3.4 and CS5 perfectly!

I found myself doing photo editing much quicker on this 1900x1200 screen.
 
kfc2 said:
I just got myself a brand new sealed MD311LL/A from ebay for only $1800 shipped. I just installed a pair of Samsung 1600Mbps (4GB each) and a Samsung 830 256GB SSD into the machine a few days ago. It runs Lightroom 3.4 and CS5 perfectly!

I found myself doing photo editing much quicker on this 1900x1200 screen.
Click to expand...
Glad to know not everyone wants the latest and greatest :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back