macbook buying help?

LK KID

my dad is going to california for a few weeks and i was going to get a macbook here but hes going to buy it for me in cali.
im looking to buy a cheap enough one so used/refurbished.
it will be used for graphic design,photoshop,illistrator,internet/videos.
iv been looking on ebay and there is so many different types.
im just looking for one that can handle being used for vectors/illistrator...
screen size around 13" but bigger the better.

could anyone who knows about macs please have a look and put up a few links or wat macs youd recommend,would be a huge help.
must be in california.
thanks

Torqay

A new Core i5 MBP with full warranty costs £1,199 or €922.

P.S. Your father should unpack it and post the documentation and receipt rather than risking to get caught at customs.

LK KID

Torqay wrote: »

A new Core i5 MBP with full warranty costs £1,199 or €922.

P.S. Your father should unpack it and post the documentation and receipt rather than risking to get caught at customs.

im looking to buy a used one from ebay in california with a max spend of 500 dollars.
what model should i get that would be in my price range and fit my needs?

Torqay

The one with the best specs of course.

Seriously, buying a second hand laptop on ebay is irresponsible (and Apple-certified Core i5 MBPs cost a lot more the $500). You won't have any warranty, the battery may be at the end of its life cycle and you'll have no way of testing the computer. Get a loan if necessary and buy a new one... or get a brand new Core i5 Windows laptop here for €450 which will run Photoshop or Illustrator just as well.

LK KID

Torqay wrote: »

The one with the best specs of course.

Seriously, buying a second hand laptop on ebay is irresponsible (and Apple-certified Core i5 MBPs cost a lot more the $500). You won't have any warranty, the battery may be at the end of its life cycle and you'll have no way of testing the computer. Get a loan if necessary and buy a new one... or get a brand new Core i5 Windows laptop here for €450 which will run Photoshop or Illustrator just as well.

it will be tested by my dad.
lots of people buy from ebay.
i never said i wanted a core i5 or watever.
but wat spec would i want for below 50dollar?
heres wat iv seen:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APPLE-MACBOOK-A1181-WHITE-13-LAPTOP-T7400-2-16GHz-CPU-2GB-RAM-200GB-MA063LL-A-/161002150503?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item257c79da67

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBook-13-3-Laptop-2GB-Ram-750GB-HDD-Mac-OS-X-10-6-Snow-ilife-11-/200910181248?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item2ec72e1380

Torqay

LK KID wrote: »

lots of people buy from ebay.

I suppose so, but that doesn't mean they should buy any junk offered there.

6 years old, scratches, no charger... God knows what else is wrong with it. Go ahead, if you have money to burn.

LK KID wrote: »

i never said i wanted a core i5 or watever.

Well, you mentioned "graphics design, video, Photoshop, Illustrator" which led me to assume that you intend to do some serious work on your laptop, ruling out some ancient Core 2 Duo model. Any cheapo 300 Euro laptop with a modern Sandy Bridge Celeron is faster than these old clunkers.

yoyo

Moved from Comp & Tech.

Btw, if buying second hand avoid any with Nvidia 8 series GPUs, like the 8600 or 8400 GT/GS etc. All these chips are faulty and fail over time

Nick

Losty Dublin

LK KID wrote: »

it will be tested by my dad.
lots of people buy from ebay.
i never said i wanted a core i5 or watever.
but wat spec would i want for below 50dollar?
heres wat iv seen:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APPLE-MACBOOK-A1181-WHITE-13-LAPTOP-T7400-2-16GHz-CPU-2GB-RAM-200GB-MA063LL-A-/161002150503?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item257c79da67

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBook-13-3-Laptop-2GB-Ram-750GB-HDD-Mac-OS-X-10-6-Snow-ilife-11-/200910181248?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item2ec72e1380

Both those MB's are not worth the asking price and you should avoid them both. They are going to be affected by the well known issue with the top screen while the second one is NOT a 2009 Macbook and has had a new hard drive fitted; MB. Also, Torquay has said that the battery will be well knackered. This will mean a hefty investment in the unlikely event that a new one was recently fitted. Stateside, that's another $129 from Apple, excluding sales taxes.

cowlick

Would you consider buying a refurbished one from the us apple store while your Dad is out there, comes with warranty.