Buying Mac Book Pro in the US

thecommander · 13-07-2011 04:42PM

ZENER wrote: »

Fill the box with bubble-wrap and a wineglass and post it to a relative

Ken

And some guns, just to be sure.

Solair · 13-07-2011 05:32PM

Regarding the adaptor :

Simplest solution is to cut the plug off the power cord and fit an Irish one!

Get a decent looking plug, most large DIY stores will have something that will look good on your MBP cable and it's unlikely to cost you more than €2.00

Job done!

It's a simple matter of wiring the plug and normally the cable colours will be the standard international ones.

In the unusual event that they are US local colours:

White or light grey = Neutral
Black = Live
Green = Earth

Normal European colours :

North American Colours

Technically speaking, you should also fit a 3amp fuse.

thecommander · 13-07-2011 06:17PM

Solair wrote: »

Regarding the adaptor :

Simplest solution is to cut the plug off the power cord and fit an Irish one!

Or just use an Irish figure of 8 cable. Much easier.

Solair · 13-07-2011 07:31PM

thecommander wrote: »

Or just use an Irish figure of 8 cable. Much easier.

The only downside of that is that the charger is earthed when you connect it with a power-cord and not earthed when you use a figure-of-eight cable, or if you snap in one of the Apple plugs that lets you put the whole unit straight into a wall socket.

I've noticed that I get slight tingling / electric shocks from the outer casing of my MBP if it is connected to a socket without the grounding / earth connection.

E.g. if I use it with a figure-of-8 or, if I use the snap-on-plug.

darragh o meara · 14-07-2011 09:48AM

Best thing re: charger is to either buy a 3 pin version from eBay ( I got one from scrumpymacs and it's a genuine one ) and throw it inthe bag going over. Although at this stage I'd imagine you've bought and Imported your MBP.

Is there much savings to be made buying in the US?

Fol20 · 20-07-2011 10:41PM

IS the super drive compatible with uk dvds? I know i wont use it much but it is handy to know

Sad Professor · 20-07-2011 10:55PM

Fol20 wrote: »

IS the super drive compatible with uk dvds? I know i wont use it much but it is handy to know

Irish DVDs are UK DVDs, so I assume you mean US/Region 1 DVDs? Afaik the external Superdrive is RPC2 like the Macbook drives, meaning there's no bypassing the region coding. And before someone suggests VLC, that won't work either. You can change the region 5 times and then it's locked for good.

Fol20 · 20-07-2011 11:01PM

I burn my music onto blank cd's fairly regularly for my car..Will this not work?

Sad Professor · 20-07-2011 11:03PM

Fol20 wrote: »

I burn my music onto blank cd's fairly regularly for my car..Will this not work?

Of course.

Fol20 · 21-07-2011 04:21PM

It will or will not work?

Johnmb · 21-07-2011 04:24PM

Fol20 wrote: »

It will or will not work?

It will work. CDs are not region protected the way DVDs are.

Fol20 · 01-08-2011 12:48PM

When i go over to the States am i going to be able to use the educational pricing in a apple store, or do i have to buy them through their website for that?

What would you go for as well..MBA or MBP...Iv heard MBP are getting a complete refresh probably around Feb...Would love to wait till then but anyway

milltown · 02-08-2011 01:11PM

I think I posted this in another thread too but worth mentioning again here. Give Dixons travel shop in Dublin airport a ring and check their prices. You might be suprised, I was. I got a 13" MBP last month for €1016 (iirc) while nobody else would budge from the rrp of €1199.

Entirely up to yourself of course but you may decide that at those prices it's better value than running the gauntlet of customs, region locks and plugs/adaptors.

AFAIK if you're returning during normal hours, you can even pay for it on your way out and collect it when you get back. Save you carrying all the packaging, worrying about hotel security etc.

hada · 10-08-2011 10:06AM

Fol20 wrote: »

When i go over to the States am i going to be able to use the educational pricing in a apple store, or do i have to buy them through their website for that?

What would you go for as well..MBA or MBP...Iv heard MBP are getting a complete refresh probably around Feb...Would love to wait till then but anyway

As far as I can tell, you don't get 100USD off any more and instead get a the equivalent to spend in the itunes stores/app store....bit of a pain in the ass!

440Hz · 11-08-2011 12:46PM

Less talk of evasion, empty boxes, and anything custom related in general please.
READ the forum charter if you are unsure. Any dodgy posts after this will be deleted.

BollocksTits · 11-08-2011 03:40PM

Hows things, a friend of mine is buying a macbook pro in the states but is worried about the different voltages and possibly damaging her battery. Is this a legitimate worry or will it be fine?

Cheers.

Sad Professor · 11-08-2011 03:43PM

BollocksTits wrote: »

Hows things, a friend of mine is buying a macbook pro in the states but is worried about the different voltages and possibly damaging her battery. Is this a legitimate worry or will it be fine?

Cheers.

MacBooks have a universal power supply. All they need is an adapter for the plug.

BollocksTits · 11-08-2011 03:52PM

Cool. Thanks a mil!

hada · 14-08-2011 05:34PM

Sad Professor wrote: »

MacBooks have a universal power supply. All they need is an adapter for the plug.

Know this is slightly off topic (well kind off!) but have just purchased a travel adapter from Boots, but it only has two prongs on each of the adapter bits which would stick out into the wall socket. I'm pretty dim when it comes to this (and as I won't have my macbook air from USA until later on in week)...was wondering do I need a different one to work in Ireland?

It's this one:http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Travel-Adaptor-American-Australian-European_8263/

Many thanks guys!

Buying Mac Book Pro in the US

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