[klb5090]

Hey Everyone,
I am finally ready to upgrade and buy a new mac. Currently i'm running a G4 iBook with 640MBRAM. My decision has come down to these two systems, any advice would be appricated.

1. MacBook Pro 15" - 2.16Ghz Intel Core Duo 2, 2GB DDR RAM, 120GB HD, 128MB SDRAM + APPLE CARE
$2196 w/ education discount

2. Macbook Pro 15" - 2.33Ghz Intel Core Duo 2, 2GB DDR RAM, 120GB HD, 256MB SDRAM
$2299 w/education discount

My main uses for my mac is full time use as a college student
iPhoto
iTunes
Safari
Final Cut Pro
iDVD
iMovie
Microsoft Office
small amount of gaming

[Peter]

get the 2.33Ghz.
Applecare can be bought at any time.

[MrN79]

I agree, i'm using the 2.33Ghz...and i don't regret my purchase at all.

[MRTrauffer]

I was under the impression that Applecare had to be purchased within 90 days of your hardware purchase.

[masugu]

Originally Posted by MRTrauffer 

I was under the impression that Applecare had to be purchased within 90 days of your hardware purchase.

You get 90 days of phone support free.....You get a year of repair svc. So you could wait a year - unless you think you want phone support day 91.

[phazedowt]

Whichever one you get, you *should* get applecare. However, you do have up to one year to buy it, so if money now is the issue, you can get the 2.33 and buy applecare in 8 or 9 months.

[buddy1065]

Do you get longer warranty time if you get Apple care just before your origional 1 year warranty expires? I was under the impression if you buy Apple care the day you buy your laptop the origional 1 year warranty is counted as part of the Apple care warranty. So is Apple care warranty time added in FULL on top of the origional 1 year warranty or not?

In other words, if you get a 3 year Apple care warranty does it add to the origional 1 year warranty making the total coverage time 4 years? Seems like I read somewhere it is still only 3 years...?

[jmelrose]

That is correct. Whether you buy the Applecare on Day 1 or Day 364 after recieving the PB (and registering it), Applecare only lasts 3 years after the purchase date.

I usually wait until the 11th month, which allows my bankbook to recover a bit from the $3000 shock to the system.

JMelrose

[TailsToo]

Using American Express, they'll give you one more year of warranty support for free. When the Power Adaptor went on my PowerBook G4 2 years ago, they told me to go to an Apple store and buy a replacement. They took the charge right off of my bill - very quick and easy!

[osiris]

Originally Posted by TailsToo 

Using American Express, they'll give you one more year of warranty support for free. When the Power Adaptor went on my PowerBook G4 2 years ago, they told me to go to an Apple store and buy a replacement. They took the charge right off of my bill - very quick and easy!

Gotta love AMEX..

on Applecare - wait until the last month of coverage and get it. It is worth it, because a tech breathing on a MBP can cost $400.

[pete]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Gotta love AMEX..

on Applecare - wait until the last month of coverage and get it. It is worth it, because a tech breathing on a MBP can cost $400.

Most platinum visa cards and above will also double your warranty for free. PLUS you can buy great extended warranty from them for very little money, not even half of what applecare costs and in many ways better, more flexible coverage and no lemon policy etc. The only thing you don't get is tech support, but that's what these forums are for!

[TailsToo]

Consumer Reports just came out and apparetly said that extended warranties were a rip off, and to avoid them (although they said they might be worth it for Apple, but only because without AppleCare, they only offer 90 days of tech support. Which is funny, because my Dad is a fixture at the Apple Store in Sagemore getting help, while his iPod warranty has been long expired.. they even replaced it once for free outside of the warranty. Love that store!)

[pete]

Originally Posted by TailsToo 

Consumer Reports just came out and apparetly said that extended warranties were a rip off, and to avoid them (although they said they might be worth it for Apple, but only because without AppleCare, they only offer 90 days of tech support. Which is funny, because my Dad is a fixture at the Apple Store in Sagemore getting help, while his iPod warranty has been long expired.. they even replaced it once for free outside of the warranty. Love that store!)

Well, I think the credit card extended warranties are more than worth it. When my ipod had a small glitch with the headphone plug, it was going to cost $250 for Apple to repair it. VISA asked me if I want the money or the repair - I took the money, bought a new ipod and got to keep the old one which I managed to fix with plyers! My pismo's battery died after several years and VISA paid for a new one. In fact, if anything happens to my computer I know that there will be absolutely no hassles in getting it repaired and if it has to go into repair too many times (=3) for the same issue, VISA will REPLACE It for free with a new equivalent one. In short, VISA's deal is in many ways much better than Apple since it has a no lemon policy, and you can tkae your computer anywhere for repair too. Best of all, unlike Apple, VISA will pay for batteries if they die and they will never argue with you about the reason for the malfunction of your computer.

[Cottonsworth]

Originally Posted by pete 

Well, I think the credit card extended warranties are more than worth it. When my ipod had a small glitch with the headphone plug, it was going to cost $250 for Apple to repair it. VISA asked me if I want the money or the repair - I took the money, bought a new ipod and got to keep the old one which I managed to fix with plyers! My pismo's battery died after several years and VISA paid for a new one. In fact, if anything happens to my computer I know that there will be absolutely no hassles in getting it repaired and if it has to go into repair too many times (=3) for the same issue, VISA will REPLACE It for free with a new equivalent one. In short, VISA's deal is in many ways much better than Apple since it has a no lemon policy, and you can tkae your computer anywhere for repair too. Best of all, unlike Apple, VISA will pay for batteries if they die and they will never argue with you about the reason for the malfunction of your computer.

What kind of VISA card do you have?

[mrbigcdx]

Yeah, pete or anyone else with these Credit card warranties: can you explain how to sign up for it? Or if you have a claim, how do you register it? Is it automatic if you buy your machine with it? Where can I go to buy the "visa" warranty?

[bbqhog]

Originally Posted by mrbigcdx 

Yeah, pete or anyone else with these Credit card warranties: can you explain how to sign up for it? Or if you have a claim, how do you register it? Is it automatic if you buy your machine with it? Where can I go to buy the "visa" warranty?

The warranty is automatic if it is part of your card's member benefits. Check w/ your card company.

[trevj]

I think you also need to have purchased the computer using that Visa card, no? i.e. You can't buy with a Mastercard, the use the Visa warranty. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by klb5090 

Hey Everyone,
I am finally ready to upgrade and buy a new mac. Currently i'm running a G4 iBook with 640MBRAM. My decision has come down to these two systems, any advice would be appricated.

1. MacBook Pro 15" - 2.16Ghz Intel Core Duo 2, 2GB DDR RAM, 120GB HD, 128MB SDRAM + APPLE CARE
$2196 w/ education discount

2. Macbook Pro 15" - 2.33Ghz Intel Core Duo 2, 2GB DDR RAM, 120GB HD, 256MB SDRAM
$2299 w/education discount

My main uses for my mac is full time use as a college student
iPhoto
iTunes
Safari
Final Cut Pro
iDVD
iMovie
Microsoft Office
small amount of gaming

Just to muddy the waters more: equip the MBP 15" with 160 gb hd that is standard in the 17" MBP and you will see that the 15.4" is only $200 less than the 17" MBP. That $200 buys you a fair number of pixels and an extra USB port.
I would pick either the 2.16 15.4" or the 17" myself, and disregard the 2.33 15.4". Of course, you gotta draw the line somewhere, and the (roughly) $2600 for a 17" MBP may be outside your lines. Like everyone has said: just buy Applecare later. Applecare saved my bacon on my dual 2GHz G5 PowerMac when a dead logic board and HD paid for Applecare twice over easily... so I always get it.

[ONG]

i was just at bestbuy today and the sales guy was trying to sell me their own "performance warranty". it's got that no-lemon-policy also but i'm not sure if it applies to one defect happening 3 times or three different issues and u get a new laptop.

i think i'm going to get the MBP 2.33/256 but the MB is half the price and very tempting.

[pete]

Yes, first check with your VISA issuer to see if you have VISA performance guarantee extended warranty. I have an amazon.com platinum. Not all cards provide that, but most gold and platinum do I think. Second, your item is automatically covered for one extra year without any registration. If you need something done in the second year, you just go online and file the claim or call them. You're suppose to call before you have it repaired, but I've never done that. You send them your receipt and the claim form and they send you the check, usually within a week. They even call you to let you know that the check is in the mail!

If you want to extend the coverage further, you call them and sign up for either another two or three years. The cost is according to the cost of the item. I think I paid around $180 for an extra two years of coverage for my old powerbook (total 4 years). If you don't need Apple tech support, this is really great and I've never had any problem at all. It's also nice not to have to think about getting it until the end of the second year.

[ONG]

pete, that makes the most sense for me. i dnt need tech support, i'm assumming the tech on bestbuy aren't that much help anyways. will call my VISA insurer. extending it to 3rd or 4th year would be nice.