Should I buy an Apple laptop?

yeah, the biggest different a normal user notices with SSDs are app launching speed, which becomes essentially instant.

unless you are a billionaire you won't be storing video or whatever on them, and they don't help with processor-intensive tasks like video, so they're not so useful for that. they're not useful for the science simulation stuff i do either.

i gather putting your photoshop swapfile on one is a good for PS performance.

I ended up getting the stock 5400rpm drive on my MBP. Instead of paying Apple's hefty drive upgrade prices, I figured I'll swap in a larger 7200rpm drive when prices drop. Pretty sure hard drive swapping doesn't mess with AppleCare.

yeah they mention it in the manual iirc

Let me put it this way -- right now I have a 120GB drive which is almost full (5 GB free) and my machine is very laggy. Let's say I want to choose between having a small SSD which is almost full and a big conventional drive which is much less full. Which will be less annoying?

(xp to mh: yeah, thinking along the same lines -- maybe swap in an ssd when the big ones get cheaper?)

go with the conventional drive - a 120GB SSD would be 3-4x the cost of a 500GB drive (I use a western digital blue label scorpio)

another option is to try one of the new Seagate momentus hybrids...it has a SSD section on the drive that stores all your most-used files.

i was about to buy a new macbook pro (15", 2.4GHz i5) to replace my slightly-falling-apart (literally! in that it's missing screws) powerpc powerbook-- and then my internet connection died just as i was pressing the 'buy' button. and now i am attacked by waves of superstitious fear.

15" mbp is a champ. i literally lolled the first time i saw the battery time remaining.

anyway, anyone tried this? http://onethingwell.org/post/977670277/go-ssd

I haven't used mine much yet (bought it in anticipation of a need that hasn't quite arrived yet) but it seems like the battery time goes quick when it stays on the Nvidia graphics.

hello! i think i should buy a new apple laptop.

i have a macbook, about 6 years old now, i bought it for about £650 iirc. it's not dead yet but it's definitely overly creaky now. the model i have doesn't seem to be on sale any more and all the new ones are confusing me. also someone told me a while ago i should hold out because apple are bringing out a new model? what is the status with this?

i just want a basic laptop that's like the one i have now but not creaky for around the same price :(

you should definitely buy a new laptop

the new ones just got released last week.

they don't make laptops for 650 quid. they never have iirc.

the cheapest current model is the 11" macbook air for 849. that's probably about 700 with a student discount, which you can get if you have a pulse. that's fine for your purposes. a+ recommended.

if you need a disc drive for cds/dvds (lol old) then you'll need to buy an old model second hand or get an external drive. they don't sell them any more.

hang on what laptops don't have cd drives any more? you can't play dvds on them?

but...

I AM CONFUSED

i need to rip CDs to the hard drive all the time! and also i want to watch DVDs on the laptop!

apple don't make laptops with cd/dvd drives since last week.

no one except music journalists and my dad use them any more. you can buy an external one like an external hard drive for < 100£.

i don't know what to do now

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD564ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0Nw&s=topSellers

buy an 11" MBA and one of these http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD564ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0Nw&s=topSellers

so is it just the new models that don't have CD drives? aargh i should have done this the other week

WHY don't they have CD drives? I JUST WANT A LAPTOP THAT IS THE SAME AS THE ONE I HAVE

you can still get the old models refurbished though http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac they are cheaper and have optical drives. they are repaired ones, but they come with some sort of guarantee

e.g. this would suit you fine http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FD313B/A

also what do people watch if not DVDs these days? i knew CDs were obsolete but i didn't think DVDs were?

people download movies from the internet

the cheapest current model is the 11" macbook air for 849.

is this one of the new ones that just got released last week?

i find everything about this so stressful

people download movies from the internet

i thought that was just illegal torrents though? i tried to work out how to do torrents once and EVERYTHING CRASHED and i've been too frightened to try again since

also there's nowhere enough room on laptops for more than a few films?

yes, all the laptops are new ones that got released last week

you can rent/buy movies using itunes.

a film takes up the same amount of space as 10 albums

and if you rent it you delete it anyway

my current laptop won't even let me watch youtube without skipping or freezing

ok these new models, in what ways are they better than the old ones? like is there something to actually make up for lacking a function i need to use regularly?

they are not creaky

no i mean the macbooks that were available two weeks ago that have been taken off the market

they weigh less because they got rid of something most people don't use

they didn't exactly weigh a ton to start with. what else have they made better. if there's nothing else i may as well get a refurbished one.

they are a bit faster, but tbh the refurbs will be so much faster than your 6 yr old one the difference between the new ones and the two week old ones will be marginal to you

i would get a refurb

if i were you i mean

lex, having read many of your angry posts about your current creaky model, you will be absolutely fine with last year's model. also, get applecare.

my mbp is two years old and it's still superb

and are refurbished ones actually...likely to last long? given that they are 2nd hand/repaired/whatever? that makes me a bit uncomfortable.

ugh so if i hadn't dithered and had just done this two weeks ago i could've got a new model that actually had what i want? ugh

make sure you look at http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/refurbfaq_popup

also no education discount on refurbs

and yes, get applecare

they are fine. you are guaranteed for 12 months + you are sensible so you get applecare for any apple laptop refurb or not, which extends cover for 2 more years.

i'm not a student so don't get discount anyway (but i save a similar amount cuz i get to claim tax back)

old refurb vs new model + external CD drive aargh. also aware that old models can become obsolete in annoying ways when it comes to software programs and stuff, like i haven't been able to use google chrome on my current one

you get a student discount by having a pulse. you would get it on a new laptop. in the uk it is 15% + free applecare, so it's worth ~300 quid.

actually applecare for uk students is not free, but it's something totally nominal like 50 quid

but like i say, i recommend that refurb for you

+ applecare

they don't check you're a student?!