Any advice on buying a 2nd hand MacBook?

[vRS Carl]

Ram they will do in the store. The remainder are upgrades that you have to order.

What spec do you want?

[RedRobin]

Thanks Robin I'm gonna go over to Sheffield Meadowhall Applestore today and have a good look!

....The great big candy store! Beware the slippery slope 

i7 if you have the dosh spare but i5 ain't no slouch. Plenty of RAM is what helps too. Enjoy your day at the Apple Store 

[rich83]

.... oh and make sure you get a 2TB Timecapsule...... and an Airport Express..... a bluetooth mouse.... and a 27" Apple display... 

[monte]

.... oh and make sure you get a 2TB Timecapsule...... and an Airport Express..... a bluetooth mouse.... and a 27" Apple display... 

 

What spec do you want?

13.3"MBA, i7, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD 

....The great big candy store! Beware the slippery slope 

i7 if you have the dosh spare but i5 ain't no slouch. Plenty of RAM is what helps too. Enjoy your day at the Apple Store 

Thanks again Robin

[RedRobin]

@ monte:

I don't want to fill your head with what might be technogeekbabble at this stage, but if you will be running Apps such as Photoshop or Logic etc then go for 8 GB RAM because unless you have 8 GB the 64-bit Apps will run in 32-bit. However, fear not! The Apple Store folks will be absolutely up-to-speed and will advise you well for your individual needs rather than their sales figures <--- Another reason to buy from Apple and not Currys Tesco Argos etc.

[You may have posted earlier what you'd be using the Mac for but I've forgotten and can't be arsed to re-read the whole thread]

You're gonna be a very happy bunny! 

[vRS Carl]

Robin that isn't true.

If you have Snow Leopard or Lion then any native 64bit apps will run in 64bit with 4GB of ram. It worked perfectly well on my MBP before i upgraded to 8GB and you can check what your apps are running in the Activity Monitor



You can also force it to run in 64bit constantly on Snow Leopard by holding 6 & 4 when you start up.

[andrewparker]

Best way to buy a Mac is to have a wife who works for the BBC (10% discount as part of the Corporate Perks scheme), and a boss who doesn't mind putting it through the business (20% VAT). Makes for a huge 30% off

[vRS Carl]

Best way to buy a Mac is to have a wife who works for the BBC (10% discount as part of the Corporate Perks scheme), and a boss who doesn't mind putting it through the business (20% VAT). Makes for a huge 30% off

Or Student discount

[monte]

Best way to buy a Mac is to have a wife who works for the BBC (10% discount as part of the Corporate Perks scheme), and a boss who doesn't mind putting it through the business (20% VAT). Makes for a huge 30% off

Wife???  Sounds like false economy to me!!!

If you fancy buying one on my behalf though Andy, I'd be happy to accept  
Send me your paypal details once you have got me it

[andrewparker]

Best way to buy a Mac is to have a wife who works for the BBC (10% discount as part of the Corporate Perks scheme), and a boss who doesn't mind putting it through the business (20% VAT). Makes for a huge 30% off

Or Student discount

Masquerade as a student?! No chance!

[RedRobin]

Robin that isn't true.

If you have Snow Leopard or Lion then any native 64bit apps will run in 64bit with 4GB of ram. It worked perfectly well on my MBP before i upgraded to 8GB and you can check what your apps are running in the Activity Monitor

You can also force it to run in 64bit constantly on Snow Leopard by holding 6 & 4 when you start up.

....OK, then I'll elaborate:

If you run a 64-bit App with only 4 GB RAM installed on your Mac, it'll only use 4 GB of the installed RAM regardless. Therefore you should have 8 GB RAM to run 64-bit Apps more efficiently. This certainly applies to Apple's Logic Pro 9.1.5.

Furthermore the OS can use a Bridge for 32-bit plug-ins within a 64-bit App but it can compromise performance.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

And you can also run an App individually in 64-bit if you Get Info on the App icon and deselect the "32-bit" box if the App's Get Info window has the option.

[no golf clubs at all]

There is no i7 mba, its a 1.7Ghz i5.

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air/select

Or have i got it wrong?

[RedRobin]

There is no i7 mba, its a 1.7Ghz i5.

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air/select

Or have i got it wrong?

....You got it right. I did wonder about an i7 in a laptop. Doesn't i7 need quad-core? Next generation perhaps. <-- I got it wrong! 

[vRS Carl]

There is a 1.8GHZ i7 upgrade option

[monte]

Yep def is i7 option for £100
On the 11" too