<p>I ask because I have a 2 year old gateway laptop that works fine, but it probably won't last for all four of my undergrad years (i'll be a freshman this fall). I'll probably invest in a mac sooner or later, and i'm wondering if it's better to do it right now. </p>
<p>The school i'll be going to is known to have pretty affluent kids, so I don't want to be the poor kid with the jank laptop.</p>
<p>Any input? Thanks!</p>
<p>One piece of input: improve your self-esteem.</p>
<p>If it works, it works. Nobody actually cares that you use a “jank” laptop, especially if it works for you.</p>
<p>Exactly. Don’t ever think you have to do something (especially like spend a ton of cash on a new laptop) just to fit in. Affluent means jerk-off hipster. You know it as well as I do. They’re going to have an issue with everything, so just take it with a grain of salt. Use what works. If you want a Mac or whatever down the road, get it, but please don’t buy it just so you don’t get looks from people. Its not worth it.
From the investment standpoint, I think its a great idea though. Being a mac user (bought mine right before I started school in '09), I can honestly say that it was the wisest $1300 investment I’ve made since entering college. People get hung up on the price, but for the 4 solid years it gives you it’s well worth it. Macs aren’t any more magical then PCs, nor do they usually have superior specs inside the case. Just like the slogans which I’ve found to be incredibly true after close to 2 full years of intense usage, “They Just Work.” They’re well worth it to me and I’d recommend a mac to anyone.</p>
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<p>No, it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Well thats how I took lol. Some popular ****** making fun of you for what you’re using. Maybe not hipster per say, but close enough.</p>
<p>Don’t get it just to get a new one and keep up with people because new laptops (especially Macs) are expensive. I just bought my Mac laptop for college last Saturday because my old laptop was 2 1/2 years old, getting slow, and I was getting pretty upset with it on a daily basis when it was slow and refused to load things. It was a PC/Windows system, and I’ve switched to Mac now…love this thing.</p>
<p>If you want a Mac, get it because you want it, not because you think you have to spend $1000 or more. </p>
<p>By the way, if you haven’t heard Apple has the big back-to-school promotion for college students. Buy the Mac, get $100 off it for the education discount they always have, plus $100 free iTunes/Mac App store giftcard, and $100 off a printer, all through the summer.</p>
<p>Don’t get rid of a fully-functional computer in order to potentially be perceived better by your peers. A two-year-old laptop does not advertise that you are some sort of loser. As you note, your computer probably won’t last another 4 years, so just start saving up now for the replacement. In the meantime, get someone who recently purchased a Mac to give you one of the stickers that came with it, and stick that on the cover of your Gateway.</p>
<p>^Haha great idea Alf. I did that on my old Dell Inspiron. Looks just like a Macbook haha.</p>
<p>Just keep using what you’ve got if you’re fine with that. Think about this, you won’t have to take a loan AND the longer you wait the better the computer will be lol. :)</p>
<p>Gateway aren’t that great, and imo, it won’t last all 4 years. I would eventually get a new laptop but you don’t need one now. Maybe save up and get one next year or something?</p>