The Student Room Group

Is a Macbook worth it? HELP!

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Reply 20
Original post by ImNotSuperman
Because it's 'free' money. That's usually what happens when people get money they haven't had to earn. They blow it.


If you say so :lol:


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Original post by Psyc_Girl
If you say so :lol:

True though :wink: It's human nature, I'm just as guilty.
Original post by Psyc_Girl
I want to buy a Macbook, but the price is putting me off. I currently have a HP Pavillion, but wanted to upgrade to a Mac when I get my loan next week.

Anyone with a Macbook, is it worth the price? Would you recommend it, or are they just overrated and overpriced?

If I was to buy one, it would be the Macbook Pro 13 inch with retina display.

Thanks!


The new Macbook 13" Retina is now £999 or under with student discount...of course it's worth it! I spent 2 grand on mine last year and love it to death and I am happy with each and every pound spent.

When/if you order I would recommend you call them or go in store. This way you can take advantage of the student discount AND most importantly get the 3 years Apple care for only £40 (worth £150+)
Reply 23
Original post by Lemon Haze
The new Macbook 13" Retina is now £999 or under with student discount...of course it's worth it! I spent 2 grand on mine last year and love it to death and I am happy with each and every pound spent.

When/if you order I would recommend you call them or go in store. This way you can take advantage of the student discount AND most importantly get the 3 years Apple care for only £40 (worth £150+)


Yeah that's the one I'm thinking of getting! Definetely think that I'll be getting one (hopefully next weekend :biggrin:).

What would you say the main differences are between having a Mac and a Windows laptop? I'm really worried I won't be able to use it :lol:

Edit: && yeah, I'll be going in store to buy one. Do you think the Apple care is necessary? Would it matter if I didn't get it with the laptop? Are they likely to breakdown if they are treated well?
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Psyc_Girl
Yeah that's the one I'm thinking of getting! Definetely think that I'll be getting one (hopefully next weekend :biggrin:).

What would you say the main differences are between having a Mac and a Windows laptop? I'm really worried I won't be able to use it :lol:

Edit: && yeah, I'll be going in store to buy one. Do you think the Apple care is necessary? Would it matter if I didn't get it with the laptop? Are they likely to breakdown if they are treated well?


There are a lot of differences but none that will make you confused or make the computer hard to use. Of course the biggest one would is that the whole operating system is different, however, tbh its so straight forward that you'll figure it out quickly finding yourself rarely searching google for "How to do ... on a Mac".

I remember my initial thoughts on the differences is that everything felt and looked very polished. That retina screen will blow you away along the trackpad and keyboard are smooth as silk. The whole thing is just a joy use at all times.

In terms of applications you will have no problems at all. Word, Powerpoint etc are all available on a Mac. Although the Apple versions (Pages, Keynote, etc) can have more of a professional finish if you want to make a document look extra special. The Apple versions of a document can also be opened up in a windows document. For example sometimes I type up my homework in Pages and use the "Save as word doc" option so my teacher edit/view.

One app that I could never live without it would be "BetterSnapTool" its the one thing Apple has yet to include. It allows you to adjust window positions/sizes by just dragging them to a corner of the screen. Works the same way it does in Window 7/8.

Try it out in the Apple store if you haven't already, make sure you know what your buying!
Reply 25
Ive just got a MacBook Pro with retina, ive just set it up and this is my first time using it haha! Have to say I'm loving it so far, it's so so quick and light, perfect for carrying to school! Like I said I've only just got mine, but It's already miles better than my old windows PC
Reply 26
Original post by Jess_P
Ive just got a MacBook Pro with retina, ive just set it up and this is my first time using it haha! Have to say I'm loving it so far, it's so so quick and light, perfect for carrying to school! Like I said I've only just got mine, but It's already miles better than my old windows PC


Woo I'm glad you like it! Really excited to get mine! :biggrin:
Reply 27
Noooo
They are only worth it if you need all the software(that you have to buy an extra 200 each for)
Even then you can get similar software on other laptops cheaper

If your just using the internet and basic documents don't bother its the same as any other PC but more expensive
Also its a hassle having to convert everything to word before sending it to lectures ( lecturers who told me i NEEDED to buy a Mac , only to find out they don't even have one themselves and can't open my documents!

It has a new way of working to get used too and everything is longer eg,print screening on windows takes 2,keys Mac takes about 3 ( but you will have to Google how to do it there is no prntscrn button and there many ways to take one ) not that bad for one feature but when you discover a whole load of stuff that used to be simple now takes 5,steps that you have to Google it gets annoying
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by moooo_
Noooo
They are only worth it if you need all the software(that you have to buy an extra 200 each for)
Even then you can get similar software on other laptops cheaper

If your just using the internet and basic documents don't bother its the same as any other PC but more expensive
Also its a hassle having to convert everything to word before sending it to lectures ( lecturers who told me i NEEDED to buy a Mac , only to find out they don't even have one themselves and can't open my documents!

It has a new way of working to get used too and everything is longer eg,print screening on windows takes 2,keys Mac takes about 3 ( but you will have to Google how to do it there is no prntscrn button and there many ways to take one ) not that bad for one feature but when you discover a whole load of stuff that used to be simple now takes 5,steps that you have to Google it gets annoying


Command + shift + 3.

It's not that hard.
Original post by moooo_
Noooo
They are only worth it if you need all the software(that you have to buy an extra 200 each for)
Even then you can get similar software on other laptops cheaper

If your just using the internet and basic documents don't bother its the same as any other PC but more expensive
Also its a hassle having to convert everything to word before sending it to lectures ( lecturers who told me i NEEDED to buy a Mac , only to find out they don't even have one themselves and can't open my documents!

It has a new way of working to get used too and everything is longer eg,print screening on windows takes 2,keys Mac takes about 3 ( but you will have to Google how to do it there is no prntscrn button and there many ways to take one ) not that bad for one feature but when you discover a whole load of stuff that used to be simple now takes 5,steps that you have to Google it gets annoying


Saving a document as word file takes the same amount of time as saving it as a Pages file...
Reply 30
Original post by Lemon Haze
Saving a document as word file takes the same amount of time as saving it as a Pages file...


But it changes the layout ,words get cut off like th-
Is
Teachers mark you down for that
Also if u use diagrams they all just squash together , it just doesn't translate the same
Im sure some of my words have gone missing too
Reply 31
Original post by jameswhughes
Command + shift + 3.

It's not that hard.


What I'm saying is it all takes time to learn and overall isn't as simple as windows. if your used to windows os and there isn't a particular reason for gettingna Mac (, like a specific programme)
Then you may aswell just get another windows computer
Original post by Psyc_Girl
I want to buy a Macbook, but the price is putting me off. I currently have a HP Pavillion, but wanted to upgrade to a Mac when I get my loan next week.

Anyone with a Macbook, is it worth the price? Would you recommend it, or are they just overrated and overpriced?

If I was to buy one, it would be the Macbook Pro 13 inch with retina display.

Thanks!


Saved for my MacBook Pro for months, got a job and all! Best decision ever, it’s absolutely fantastic for work and schoolwork. Highly recommend! (although they are a little pricy!)
Reply 33
Where should I buy a case from? All of the ones on Amazon and Ebay have really bad reviews!
Original post by Psyc_Girl
Where should I buy a case from? All of the ones on Amazon and Ebay have really bad reviews!


What kind of case do you want, and how much are you looking to spend?
Reply 35
Original post by rayquaza17
What kind of case do you want, and how much are you looking to spend?


I want a case that I would put on the macbook to protect it from scratches and stuff (like the plasticy ones?). Upto £40ish.
I just thought I'd say this here in case anyone else is considering getting a Mac...

I bought one recently so I could get used to it before starting at uni in 2015, however at first they refused to give me a student discount as all I had was a conditional offer. After I looked around for a bit, I found that as long as you have an NUS Extra card (which are £12) you can get 15% off MacBooks, which is a better percentage than the normal education pricing discount anyway. Note that you can get this card even if you're just in secondary school. So yeah that saved me a lot of money - it's worth checking your discount is at least 15% or you could be missing out! :smile:

Also I really do agree that they're worth the money, I love my new Mac so much... would recommend!
Original post by Psyc_Girl
I want to buy a Macbook, but the price is putting me off. I currently have a HP Pavillion, but wanted to upgrade to a Mac when I get my loan next week.

Anyone with a Macbook, is it worth the price? Would you recommend it, or are they just overrated and overpriced?

If I was to buy one, it would be the Macbook Pro 13 inch with retina display.

Thanks!


I went from a 15" MacBook Pro to a Dell laptop as I thought using a Windows laptop would be better compatibility wise at uni.

Worst decision ever.

The MacBook laptops are incredibly overpriced but I much prefer them, especially as you can now get Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint on them.
Original post by Psyc_Girl
I want a case that I would put on the macbook to protect it from scratches and stuff (like the plasticy ones?). Upto £40ish.


I had a plastic one (brand is called speck) and I think it scratched my MacBook! Now, I just keep it in a sleeve I bought from apple themselves.


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I got one for my birthday last year, before that I had a HP G6 something which I had had for 3 years and was on it's last legs. I really didn't want to have to do my dissertation on that thing as I just had a feeling it would break, and it did over the summer break! But yeah, I love this, it's fast and there's no compatibility issues because you can export things as microsoft office files which is useful when you have to work on an MS computer at uni or whatever.

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