Son wants a 2nd hand mac -help!

brians_daughter

It HAS to be a mac... We've argued til blue in the face.

I think trying to build anything is well beyond my capabilities.

I get the funny feeling were going to end up going halves with him one for Xmas, if he'll wait that long!

I realise £400 is gonna buy him diddly squat in "mac land" but it's his decision..grrr.

System

well, if that's his decision let him learn his lesson!

jaydeeuk1

Sounds like he's the perfect apple customer. Kids, eh?

NeverEnough

brians_daughter wrote: »

Thanks never enough, how much do you think we need to spend for a "decent" model ? (note it's gone from 'him' to 'we' lol)

Could you rec certain models its worth looking out for? Really do not want him to be disappointed with it, he's saved since may!

Thanks

Sorry not to have got back to you sooner.........well, I would always want the highest spec I could afford if I was doing graphics design or other processor intensive stuff - bought my partner a MacBook Pro 17" 2 years ago for a special birthday and paid over £2000 for it! I must say, though, that the longevity of Macs definitely is far better than windows based laptops- her last one she used for over 5 years and it was still going strong when I bought the new Intel based one.

The plastic based ones should be very similar, just not as stylish or strong as the metal cased ones, so I would look for one about 2-3 years old, 15" screen. You may get one around £500 or so. Good idea to take a look on the completed listings on ebay for macbooks and see what the completed selling prices are and get some prices for warrantied refurbs as per my previous post details.

Don't let the naysayers put you off, the lad is set on a Macbook so just do the best you can to get the best Macbook you can for him within your budget more or less!

PS the ebay 15" macbook pro link you gave looks reasonable despite the anti-mac brigade screaming about it being 5 years old- macs really do outlive pcs by a very long way. A 17" one would be nicer but of course more expensive.

We use both macs and pcs in our house and the macs are far, far nicer to use in every way (just my opinion). The build quality is better than any laptop /pc I have ever owned, and operating system software a lot cheaper, as are many other software packages.

gonzo127

NeverEnough wrote: »

PS the ebay 15" macbook pro link you gave looks reasonable despite the anti-mac brigade screaming about it being 5 years old- macs really do outlive pcs by a very long way. A 17" one would be nicer but of course more expensive.

you do of course realise that mac's use the same parts as non mac based pc's and therefore shelf life of the components are exactly the same,

and also in the most recent reliability surveys Apple come in at either 3rd or 4th when you look at the actually warrenty claims or helpline contacts required by the user's, behind some of the non mac manufactorers.

System

mac do outlive pc's I've got my old imac keeping the server cupboard door open!!
If your son wants something to do graphic design on he'd be better to go with a better spec, newer pc rather than an a 3-5 year old mac
If however he's fixated with getting an old mac because they look cool or whatever, I say let him get one and find out for himself why (almost) everyone has recommended getting a pc in that price bracket

iwb100

He may be "14" but in my book that is more than old enough to make a rational choice.

IF graphic design is his thing, then a Mac wouldn't be a bad choice, however, I don't think you will get a Mac with the sort of capabilities that will be advantageous to him for anything like £400. You certainly shouldn't be spending money on a 2007 machine, as you showed from ebay. Definitely not.

Perhaps you should find out what particular software he is wanting to use? Then look and see if there is REAL benefit to getting a Mac.

The biggest benefit to a Mac is the OS.

Then I think it comes down to a hard choice of either spending what it takes to buy a proper Macbook pro, and you're looking at a considerable amount more, OR going the windows route and buying a PC laptop.

It all really depends on what he specifically wants to do.

NeverEnough

gonzo127 wrote: »

you do of course realise that mac's use the same parts as non mac based pc's and therefore shelf life of the components are exactly the same,

and also in the most recent reliability surveys Apple come in at either 3rd or 4th when you look at the actually warrenty claims or helpline contacts required by the user's, behind some of the non mac manufactorers.

I don't think the thread needs to become a slagging match between the Apple haters and the PC lovers, the OPs son wants a Mac, and so be it, no need to force him to have something else - he may need to save longer, and you and many others against Apple may think its not necessary, but that wasn't actually the OPs question in the first place. The kid wants the mac, not a pc laptop. And has saved for it. And could probably save more for longer if he wants it that much.

In our house, and those of friends with similar equipment, Macs have outlived PCs by several years on average - the build quality, aesthetics and operating system are generally far, far better than PCs, like it or not. And resale value is excellent, generally.

Warranty claims are only a small fraction of ownership- PC owners generally do not have warranties or even build their own in which casethe warranty is not like for like with Apple Care. So it does distort the figures a bit. In the past 10+ years of Mac ownership, I have only ever had a minor hardware issue while in the same time, I have had 4 windows laptops, all major manufacturers, not cheap, collapse with a terminal fault which could not be repaired except at extortionate prices, making it non viable.

OP, ignore all the yelling and shouting about how you should force your son to have a windows PC - that isn't your question, anyway.

Probably necessary to spend a bit more to get a 2008/9 intel based macbook or macbook pro rather than the 2007 one, alhough that is a fair spec and will run graphic design software with no problem, so not the worst choice in the world, although it would be better to go for a later one at a higher price.

Perhaps add to the savings and make it his Xmas gift?

System

some of us use computers as tools - all we are suggesting is getting the right tool for the job within the set budget, it's not always about mac vs pc
you keep saying, the longevity of the macs is so good, but recommending the op gets one nearing the end of it's useful life for graphic design!?
build quality isn't necessarily better, os is really personal opinion with w7, and they don't care about resale value (as mentioned in the op)
OP is looking for advice and is getting it, you might not like the fact that a new pc can outperform a 4 year old mac in this budget, but thems the breaks

gonzo127

never said the Son shouldnt get a Mac, and fully admit that Mac's are good systems if matched to the persons requirements correctly, just pointed out that the 'mac's are more reliable' line that tends to be used is not born out by the statistics