Need Help w/ Macbook Purchase Options

[ajnbruin]

I've been waiting for months now and its finally here, Thank God. My wife has an Ibook G3 700 so I'm sure she's going to love the performance boost.

First question would you buy apple care for a REV A laptop?

Second question would you settle for 512mbx2 from Apple for 100 or buy 1gbx2 from a 3rd party for $180?

Third question I need to run XP or WIN 2K with bootcamp, which version of windows should i buy?

Thanks everyone!

[chucker]

I've been waiting for months now and its finally here, Thank God. My wife has an Ibook G3 700 so I'm sure she's going to love the performance boost.

First question would you buy apple care for a REV A laptop?

You have almost an entire you to decide on that. You probably should, though.

Second question would you settle for 512mbx2 from Apple for 100 or buy 1gbx2 from a 3rd party for $180?

Er, neither. 512 MB x 2 from third-party. ;)

Third question I need to run XP or WIN 2K with bootcamp, which version of windows should i buy?

XP Pro OEM.

[Banana]

I seem to recall that bootcamp only supports XP, not 2k...

Applecare for any laptops, regardless of models/revisions is a *must*, IMO.

RAM, that's really up to you; what are your needs?

[chucker]

I seem to recall that bootcamp only supports XP, not 2k...

Officially, yes. There's hacks to make it work, but there isn't much of a point. 2000 is pretty much EOL and shouldn't be installed any more, especially on consumer systems for which it was never intended to begin with. A lot of software now requires XP. Many updates are now XP-only. Etc.

Heck, XP itself is almost EOL, too. Maybe ajnbruin should wait for Vista.

[MrENGLISH™]

Heck, XP itself is almost EOL, too. Maybe ajnbruin should wait for Vista.

2010 is a long time to wait ;)

[Majost]

Heck, XP itself is almost EOL, too. Maybe ajnbruin should wait for Vista.
:lol: That'd be worse than it was waiting for a MIA MacBook. I'd put 10-1 odds down that they won't get it out in January 07. And even when it does come out... would you really be *that* excited? :p

At least the MacBook waiters had light at the end of their tunnel. ;)

[chucker]

:lol: That'd be worse than it was waiting for a MIA MacBook. I'd put 10-1 odds down that they won't get it out in January 07. And even when it does come out... would you really be *that* excited? :p

At least the MacBook waiters had light at the end of their tunnel. ;)

The thing is, XP is a dead end; already, certain features won't be available for it (e.g., Windows Defender won't integrate with Internet Explorer 7).

[Majost]

Yeah, but he said:
...Third question I need to run XP or WIN 2K with bootcamp, which version of windows should i buy?
"I need" doesn't qualify for a year's wait. And XP isn't even close to EOL. It will still be supported for another five years. I wouldn't worry about Vista, ajnbruin. If you need/want it for new features/support/compatibility when it comes out... buy it then.

[torifile]

Keep in mind that you don't need to buy the extended applecare warranty at the time of purchase. You can buy it any time during the first year of ownership.

[macleod]

I feel like the 512 MB of RAM is a good idea because I want to get 2 GB of RAM for it and the apple BTO option of this is way too expensive considering that it is 224 dollars at OWC. Also which hard drive is the best value or the best option in your opinions?

[ajnbruin]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I'm leaning towards XP now. But should I save a few bucks and get the Media Center edition or do I spring for the Pro? I definitely won't wait for Vista.

As for RAM needs, this MacBook is for my wife primarily (If I'm good, maybe I get the new MacBook Pro for Xmas :) ). So she'll be doing some web surfing, email, office, IPhoto, garage band and another app "Acid" that will run off of whichever version of XP that I get, and ripping and burning music. Plus what ever games she gets for herself and the kids. My question about the RAM though centers around the idea that OSX is RAM hungry and that the more RAM, the better.

Thanks again.

[Sketch]

Not only in OSX, in any OS, more RAM, better performance.

[DavidC]

how difficult/easy is it to install ram into the macbook? i'm considering going with a the lowest amount from apple and installing my own 2GB. thanks.

[Sketch]

it's not hard at all. Just read this RAM installation guide (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303491), and make sure you have the right RAM type. Hopefully you won't run into a problem like this (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=16223&highlight=screw).