Macbook 13" Aluminum - Where to buy, and what accessories?


Status
Not open for further replies.

Headshotzx

Senior Member
Dec 14, 2007
5,886
2
38
31
Punggol
As per title.

Standard apple online price is S$2088. Everywhere else is the same, but Cathay Photo quoted me S$2030 best price through the phone.

So should I go get the macbook at CP? Or should I go with Epicentre?

Note: I won't be getting microsoft office for mac (have one key from a friend) or applecare (going to buy at end of warranty). This is so that my dad is not stressed by the initial cost. I'm okay if the final cost after applecare at the end of warranty is S$40 or S$50 more.

Another thing is, what else should I be getting with the macbook? Soft sleeves? Hard-plastic protecting cases? Screen covers? (Heard that screen covers @ epicentre are ripoffs).

I will be getting the miniDVI to VGA adapter as well. Also, I'm going to travel by plane this june holidays (school cca trip), so should I get the magsafe airline adapter? I will probably be using the notebook on the plane for quite a while.

And the last thing I want to ask is this: Is there a cheaper way to have 500GB of internal harddrive space with the mac OS installed? Currently the upgrade from 160gb to 320gb (no 500gb option) is S$225, which is very expensive to me. Almost S$2 for 1 gig.

Cheers,
Zexun
 

a mouse, tht is the only addiitional stuff i got, as for the hdd, not too sure but u could access the hdd by opening the bottom part of the cover.
 

I would recommend you to buy from iShop; better service :D
 

Orchard Cineleisure ishop, actually i got my macs from there too, great service they have.
 

Hm, have heard some not so good things bout that shop..

Oh, d'you know if I can trade in my Ipod Nano 8GB 3rd Gen (good condition-- probably less than 48hours usage) for credits to fund the macbook purchase at epicentre?
 

I dont think they accept any trade in.
 

hey u might wanna wait a little while.
WWDC is coming in June and we prob
gonna see a new OS (Snow Leopard).

a cheaper alternative is to get a refurbished macbook
from the apple online store.
it's apple certified and comes with 1 year warranty.
(meaning it's the same as brand new)

for ram/hdd upgrades, its cheaper to upgrade them on your own
just youtube for some tutorials

if you want cheaper ram and hdd, wait for the next IT fair!

for softwares and downloads just youtube for them!

for the airline adapter, you might wanna consider it
cuz i think $78 is a little expensive, IMO
 

hey u might wanna wait a little while.
WWDC is coming in June and we prob
gonna see a new OS (Snow Leopard).

a cheaper alternative is to get a refurbished macbook
from the apple online store.
it's apple certified and comes with 1 year warranty.
(meaning it's the same as brand new)

for ram/hdd upgrades, its cheaper to upgrade them on your own
just youtube for some tutorials

if you want cheaper ram and hdd, wait for the next IT fair!

for softwares and downloads just youtube for them!

for the airline adapter, you might wanna consider it
cuz i think $78 is a little expensive, IMO

Hi, thanks for your reply and welcome to CS :)

I can't wait till June because having a laptop now will benefit me a lot for my school and photography. JC project work season has started, so I'd want to have the macbook now.

The new OS will just be better than the current one, not that the current one will be bad. My friends have told me about it and I don't want to wait.

I will upgrade DDR3 ram on my own once the DDR3 ram prices go down. I'll try to youtube some instructions on upgrading the harddrive.

Cheers,
Zexun
 

Cathay Photo does not give up privileges for your future Mac accessories purchase.
If you buy from iShop or EpiCenter, they will give you free membership which entitle you to discounts for accessories.

iShop is having some special promo for MB currently. You might want to check it out. :D
 

.... I'm going to travel by plane this june holidays (school cca trip), so should I get the magsafe airline adapter? I will probably be using the notebook on the plane for quite a while.

...

i'd get it through the apple store sg, with education discount.

hard drive u can DIY upgrade but warranty is an issue, or u can just get a portable external HDD. don't think you need to store everything on the laptop itself. at least that's how i console myself la. using a beat up 3 yr old acer with only 80 gig hdd.. :sweat:

oh yes. for OS update, apparently you just download the update FOC and install it. much like installing service pack for windows just that it should be fuss-free, unlike windows..
 

Last edited:
i'd get it through the apple store sg, with education discount.

hard drive u can DIY upgrade but warranty is an issue, or u can just get a portable external HDD. don't think you need to store everything on the laptop itself. at least that's how i console myself la. using a beat up 3 yr old acer with only 80 gig hdd.. :sweat:

oh yes. for OS update, apparently you just download the update FOC and install it. much like installing service pack for windows just that it should be fuss-free, unlike windows..

try I21Club at Orchard Cineleisure, saw they quoted 1988 for the alu version when i collect my boy macbk last Sat..
 

try I21Club at Orchard Cineleisure, saw they quoted 1988 for the alu version when i collect my boy macbk last Sat..

That is iShop lol :D
 


a cheaper alternative is to get a refurbished macbook
from the apple online store.
it's apple certified and comes with 1 year warranty.
(meaning it's the same as brand new)

Refurb mac has its problems when it was an educational piece. But its all on luck. sometimes, you get a genuilely new mac from a 7day return scheme. but if it was used in education set up, it would be quite used, but still works nonetheless. There is no rating on how new the refurb unit. Its all based on luck;)

If TS is still a student, get from via an educational institution: NTU, etc. The warranty is great and so is the price. If not, get from sibling.

just my humble thoughts
 

Cathay Photo does not give up privileges for your future Mac accessories purchase.
If you buy from iShop or EpiCenter, they will give you free membership which entitle you to discounts for accessories.

iShop is having some special promo for MB currently. You might want to check it out. :D


Ah I see. Will check it out. Thanks.


i'd get it through the apple store sg, with education discount.

hard drive u can DIY upgrade but warranty is an issue, or u can just get a portable external HDD. don't think you need to store everything on the laptop itself. at least that's how i console myself la. using a beat up 3 yr old acer with only 80 gig hdd.. :sweat:

oh yes. for OS update, apparently you just download the update FOC and install it. much like installing service pack for windows just that it should be fuss-free, unlike windows..


My father does not want to use his CC.

My qualms about portable hdds are that if there is any data inside that is not backed up, and I drop it (like I did with my previous one, thankfully it was a backup), then everything's gone.

OS update = Patching, right? I never asked about OS update, more of how I can get a blank 500gig harddrive to replace the 160gig harddrive and install the OS onto it.


try I21Club at Orchard Cineleisure, saw they quoted 1988 for the alu version when i collect my boy macbk last Sat..

That is iShop lol :D


Haha ic. That's a good price. Will check it out tomorrow.


Refurb mac has its problems when it was an educational piece. But its all on luck. sometimes, you get a genuilely new mac from a 7day return scheme. but if it was used in education set up, it would be quite used, but still works nonetheless. There is no rating on how new the refurb unit. Its all based on luck;)

If TS is still a student, get from via an educational institution: NTU, etc. The warranty is great and so is the price. If not, get from sibling.

just my humble thoughts



Yes I am a student, but as said above, dad doesn't want to use his CC for the purchase. Not going to go with Refurbs too. Thanks for the reply, though :)
 

Ah I see. Will check it out. Thanks.





My father does not want to use his CC.

My qualms about portable hdds are that if there is any data inside that is not backed up, and I drop it (like I did with my previous one, thankfully it was a backup), then everything's gone.

OS update = Patching, right? I never asked about OS update, more of how I can get a blank 500gig harddrive to replace the 160gig harddrive and install the OS onto it.







Haha ic. That's a good price. Will check it out tomorrow.






Yes I am a student, but as said above, dad doesn't want to use his CC for the purchase. Not going to go with Refurbs too. Thanks for the reply, though :)
You don't need a credit card to buy a laptop. You can look out for those I.T fairs at the polytechnics. You can get them cheaper. You can pay via Cash. You can always get any other blank Harddisk, and later go to SimLim Square to purchase an OEM version of the Apple OS. Do remember, if you remove the original drive, your warranty is subjected to being void.

OS updates only apply to the current OS you have in the laptop. Let's say a new OS is released, the patches will not upgrade you to the new OS, but Apple allows you to upgrade at a special price.

And Apple Care does not cost an additional $40-$50, but rather a few hundred dollars more.


GMAN
 

Last edited:
i am referring to shops like this one in an institution:

http://www.8flags.com.sg/


These are what we called co-operatives under the alumni. they can call for tenders and special deals for currently enrolled students or may extend to the alumnus.

But one has to be in the institution to enjoy the scheme. And yes, they surely will take cold hard cash for your macbook pro or mac pro.:bsmilie:
 

You don't need a credit card to buy a laptop. You can look out for those I.T fairs at the polytechnics. You can get them cheaper. You can pay via Cash. You can always get any other blank Harddisk, and later go to SimLim Square to purchase an OEM version of the Apple OS. Do remember, if you remove the original drive, your warranty is subjected to being void.

OS updates only apply to the current OS you have in the laptop. Let's say a new OS is released, the patches will not upgrade you to the new OS, but Apple allows you to upgrade at a special price.

And Apple Care does not cost an additional $40-$50, but rather a few hundred dollars more.


GMAN


Getting notebooks from poly's will mean that you will have to be enrolled in the polytechnic itself iirc.

I understand how OS patching works lol. I was just asking why he mentioned it because I didn't ask.

As for apple care, i said the difference between buying it at the point of notebook purchase (with special offer) and buying it later on will be S$50+.


i am referring to shops like this one in an institution:

http://www.8flags.com.sg/


These are what we called co-operatives under the alumni. they can call for tenders and special deals for currently enrolled students or may extend to the alumnus.

But one has to be in the institution to enjoy the scheme. And yes, they surely will take cold hard cash for your macbook pro or mac pro.:bsmilie:

Haha, sorry I don't know anyone in there.


Will be going to iShop tomorrow to purchase the mac if they have. If they don't, I'll head to apple epicentre @ orchard.

Will also be getting the Incase 13" hard-shell case.

Thanks all.


Cheers,
Zexun
 

Status
Not open for further replies.