Life-long PC user, but this time I've brought into consideration the macbook. My only problem with the macbook is that to get the specs I want, I'd have to spend a small fortune.

I'd like 4gb memory, at least 320gb hard drive, portable (13-15 inch). I'm also kind of enamored of having bluetooth on my new computer. Is that just bells & whistles, or do some of you find it useful?

I'm probably getting too hung up on specs, as I'm only going to be using this for web surfing, music, basic entertainment. But I'm not opposed to spending around $2k to get something that'll last me a while. That's all I got.

You should not spend more than ~$500

This was $500 two days ago. I had it in my shopping cart and in the end decided I didn't need a new lappy right now. However it is a great deal (now expired)


Lenovo IdeaPad Y530


Specs:
- Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T6400 ( 2GHz 800MHz 2MB )
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64
- 15.4 " WXGA TFT with integrated camera LCD Glossy 1280x800
- 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
- 320GB 5400
- DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
- Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
- Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR

This is the laptop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AsIAu0_xjA

Unfortunately the deal is gone, but the point is that you don't need to spend more than ~$500 for a high quality laptop like this with everything you need

this right here tells me you need a Macbook.

trust me, it'll be a wise investment.

You could get a PC laptop for what you need a little cheaper than a Macbook. If you do want to get an Apple laptop I think you would be fine with a regular Macbook. For your uses it doesn't sound like you would need a Macbook Pro.

You're not doing anything that requires 4GB of ram. Just buy the cheapest thing you can. I wouldn't even buy an OS installed and would just put a linux distro on it. I'm sick of dealing with patches and service packs and shit. I need web appliances, not huge mainframe processors.

At <$800 this aint a bad deal on a MacBook

http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0305909

Yeah, look for a refurb from a business or school. A lot of places sell them, and the ones you buy from an authorized dealer you can still get Applecare on.

ditto on the refurb. i've gotten several items through the apple store itself and never had any problems with them. that's if you decide to go with mac, of course.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=1902

Tiger Direct has never failed me, for your specs, a mac would be twice this price or more.

Am I missing something?

The Mac I linked is brand new, has everything he wants (except the hard drive, and externals are cheap as hell), and is <$800... If he is looking at a Mac seems to be a good choice, no?

Anyone have a link to a refurb example? How much cheaper are they?

he wants 4gb of ram and 320 of memory, that mac is 2gb and 120 memory

This is what I was thinking.

I don't necessarily think it's fair to say that you shouldn't spend over $500, but that might be a good target to aim for.

I've been kinda anti-Mac lately, to be honest. Used to be, the higher price for Macs didn't just get you a more attractive, more user-friendly package. It got you better quality, longer lasting components. That's become less and less the case over the years. You probably won't get more than 3-4 years out a new Mac now without some serious maintenance and/or expensive upgrades, and I just don't think that's worth the price.

Plus, Windows looks to be getting better lately.

Yeah, I used to be strictly Mac, but I've come around on PC's. I still use my Mac for Illustrator, Photoshop, and iTunes, but I don't mind windows as much recently.

RAM is cheap as hell. The hard drive is a different issue... I would consider getting an external unless there is a clear need for an internal