UVA Class of 2012 Forum

[CE2JD]

I'd look at this (original price ~$3,000, macbook air competitor): http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=2289

I'll grant that some may disagree, but I think the bundles are REALLY bad deals considering what you can get out there on your own.

I don't think they're bad deals. A macbook on amazon with the same specs is only about 100$ cheaper but doesn't come with stuff like nortons, wireless card, service or loaners.

Yeah, I think people may be overstating how "bad" the Cav. Computer deals are. I think they are fair. They're not GOOD deals, but I think if you consider the software licenses, 3-YEAR subscription to anti-virus protection software, and accidental damage coverage, they aren't a complete rip off.

I'm pretty sure that Norton is available to everyone, even those without a UVA bundle.

Of course, but you have to pay for it.

[napolnic]

Yeah, I think people may be overstating how "bad" the Cav. Computer deals are. I think they are fair. They're not GOOD deals, but I think if you consider the software licenses, 3-YEAR subscription to anti-virus protection software, and accidental damage coverage, they aren't a complete rip off.

I'm pretty sure that Norton is available to everyone, even those without a UVA bundle.

Of course, but you have to pay for it.

nope.

[CE2JD]

Yeah, I think people may be overstating how "bad" the Cav. Computer deals are. I think they are fair. They're not GOOD deals, but I think if you consider the software licenses, 3-YEAR subscription to anti-virus protection software, and accidental damage coverage, they aren't a complete rip off.

I'm pretty sure that Norton is available to everyone, even those without a UVA bundle.

Of course, but you have to pay for it.

nope.

Oh nice. I stand corrected.

[iceberger]

BTW, is anyone else being hounded by Discover (or another lender) about UVA certifying the amount? They called me once and told me that they are waiting on the school would I please tell them to hurry up and now I just got an email saying I need to tell my school that they are my lender and they are still waiting on UVA.

I got the email about an hour ago, haven't received a call yet though. I selected discover when I accepted the financial aid on SIS...i'm not sure, but it seems like that's all I should have to do on the UVA side of things

[YCrevolution]

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[thesealocust]

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[CE2JD]

TL;DR / executive summary: I can build a Lenovo T400 with twice the battery life, identical technical specs, identical antivurs software, an identical warrantee (minus the loaner laptop program w/ UVA) for $500 less than the UVA Macbook 'deal'. You can buy a backup laptop/netbook for that $500 if the next-day technician through the Lenovo warranty just isn't good enough for you.

OK, disclaimer: I actually plan to purchase the model that disco_barred mentioned above.

But I really think people are vastly over stating the 'deal' you get from Cavalier Computers.

To demonstrate, here's a blow-by-blow comparison of a Lenovo T400 (same screen size, similar weight)

Processor: The Macbook comes with a 2.4 ghz processor. IMHO, this is unnecessarily speedy for a Core 2 Duo – and you can save $70 by skipping it when ordering a T400. But for the sake of equality, we’ll take the upgrade.
OS: The PC can run windows or linux, and UVA will likely offer windows 7 for the same $10 price you can currently get Vista for when it comes out. Otherwise this boils down to preference.
RAM: Both come with 2gb, and I’d assume you would want to upgrade both.
Hard Drive: I’d buy a 7200 RPM drive myself for either, but again for equalities sake we’ll pick the same as comes in the bundle: 250 GB 5400 RPM
Wireless/Bluetooth: Equivalent to apple
Battery: Reviews say ~4.75 hours web surfing on a lower brightness on the Macbook. With a 9-cell battery and the same usage conditions, the Lenovo gets 9 and a half hours of battery life*
Screen: The Lenovo can get either an identical screen or a better resolution screen for ~30 dollars more.
Anti-Virus: Personally I think AVG (which is free) is a MUCH better option than Norton or McAfee, which are both bloated and error prone. However, I want this Lenovo to be configured as similarly as possible to the macbook, so I grabbed a 3 year Norton Antivirus 2009 subscription.

So now we have two computers with technical specifications that are nearly identical except that the Lenovo 1) has a better screen and 2) has nearly twice the battery life. Additionally the macbook has applecare – while the Lenovo has a standard 1 year depot warranty.
Macbook Bundle Cost: $1,699 + sales tax = 1783.95
Lenovo cost: $907.80 with free shipping

Now let’s look at warranties. I’ll grab the cream of the crop: A 3 year on site protection plan (they’ll send a technician next-day) PLUS the Lenovo accidental damage plan covering damage due to drops, falls, liquid spills, and LCD damage. This is a ridiculously complete warranty, and easily matches what is offered by UVA with the exception of the ‘loaner laptop’.

Total price of the Lenovo? $1,256.80. That’s a savings of $500.

And with the Lenovo you can:
-Choose a faster processor a slower one to save money
-Get a better warranty (4 or 5 years) and still cost less or cut back (remove accidental damage or go for just 1 or two years) to save.
-Choose a discrete graphics card that can be switched on for better graphics or off for better battery life
-Replace your DVD drive with a battery for out-of-this-world battery life or with a hard drive for out-of-this-world storage
And pretty much anything you do will still cause it to be less expensive than the UVA deal.
$1,700 is too much to spend for a note taking and exam taking laptop no matter how much warranty they cram into it. You can get an identical model for MUCH less or a much BETTER model for the same price online.

*Sources:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4569
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4662

I already have a computer, so I wasn't planning on getting one of UVA's deals. But I think $450 for the loaner program over 3 years might be worth it for some people. Again, I don't think UVA's deal is a GOOD deal, but it's a fair deal IMO.

[thesealocust]

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[CE2JD]

I also want to reiterate that Lenovo is extremely well known for build quality and probably has the strongest reputation for laptop keyboards in the industry.

Here is a proof of principal:

<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b269/ ... 1243372312">

This is the latest license agreement from Lenovo and on page 3 at the top it says Lenovo WILL NOT fix things that are broken accidentally by the user.

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... -01-en.pdf

[thesealocust]

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[CE2JD]

I also want to reiterate that Lenovo is extremely well known for build quality and probably has the strongest reputation for laptop keyboards in the industry.

Here is a proof of principal:

<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b269/ ... 1243372312">

This is the latest license agreement from Lenovo and on page 3 at the top it says Lenovo WILL NOT fix things that broken accidentally by the user.

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc ... -01-en.pdf

I 'purchased' a 3 year accidental protection in the first example above that WILL cover user damage.

Show me the warranty agreement.

[thesealocust]

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[thesealocust]

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[YCrevolution]

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[CE2JD]

I'll have to check that out when I get home later today. I have work to do, but from the look of it, it looks like that agreement is for a different computer than the one you linked to earlier.

[thesealocust]

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[laurathenerd]

Yeah, I think people may be overstating how "bad" the Cav. Computer deals are. I think they are fair. They're not GOOD deals, but I think if you consider the software licenses, 3-YEAR subscription to anti-virus protection software, and accidental damage coverage, they aren't a complete rip off.

I'm pretty sure that Norton is available to everyone, even those without a UVA bundle.

Of course, but you have to pay for it.

nope.

I tried to download it and the thing said it doesn't work with Vista. Seriously? I knew Vista sucked, but I didn't know it was that bad...

[RTF]

This image, along with the notations made my day.

I live to serve!

I'll have to check that out when I get home later today. I have work to do, but from the look of it, it looks like that agreement is for a different computer than the one you linked to earlier.

I quoted two computers: The first was a hypothetical part-for-part, software-for-software, warranty-for-warranty match to the Macbook bundle - it came out to be $500 cheaper, and included the accidental damage + next day in person service plan for three years.

The second computer, which is in the image above, forgoes many redundant features (anti-virus software - I actually just remembered that UVA provides Norton Anti-Virus for free to all students (http://www.itc.virginia.edu/central/dis ... php?osID=8) and does not purchase any additional warranty (and so comes with just the 1 year standard), but instead you just buy a second computer. Instead of an accidental damage plan you have a second identical laptop at home.

Now I don't RECOMMEND anybody march over to Lenovo and drop $1,700 on two identical laptops, but the fact that you could and that each would have better stats than UVA's Macbook is, in my humble opinion, very telling. Your millage may vary.

But what value are you placing on the loaner that the UVA bundle provides? Are you assuming that if your computer is damaged that you will get it back in a relavtively short amount of time or that your computer isn't going to have trouble at one point in the 3 years at law schoool?

[showNprove]

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[geoffree]

This image, along with the notations made my day.

I live to serve!

I'll have to check that out when I get home later today. I have work to do, but from the look of it, it looks like that agreement is for a different computer than the one you linked to earlier.

I quoted two computers: The first was a hypothetical part-for-part, software-for-software, warranty-for-warranty match to the Macbook bundle - it came out to be $500 cheaper, and included the accidental damage + next day in person service plan for three years.

The second computer, which is in the image above, forgoes many redundant features (anti-virus software - I actually just remembered that UVA provides Norton Anti-Virus for free to all students (http://www.itc.virginia.edu/central/dis ... php?osID=8) and does not purchase any additional warranty (and so comes with just the 1 year standard), but instead you just buy a second computer. Instead of an accidental damage plan you have a second identical laptop at home.

Now I don't RECOMMEND anybody march over to Lenovo and drop $1,700 on two identical laptops, but the fact that you could and that each would have better stats than UVA's Macbook is, in my humble opinion, very telling. Your millage may vary.

But what value are you placing on the loaner that the UVA bundle provides? Are you assuming that if your computer is damaged that you will get it back in a relavtively short amount of time or that your computer isn't going to have trouble at one point in the 3 years at law schoool?

He may be assuming that he'll ditch the broken one and use the other one he bought instead. He also seems to be assuming that similar specs equal similar performance between a mac and a lenova.

[thesealocust]

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[thesealocust]

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[EaglesXLIV]

From anecdotal evidence (total hearsay, I admit) the UVA computer people aren't that great. Getting a loaner laptop will be nice, but you can easily buy a great laptop and a back-up laptop for less than one UVA bundle.

Truth. I haven't really heard very many good experiences with ITC. Every time I hear another story about something breaking with a Cav Computer-bought laptop and some bone-headed support person trying to fix it, I'm reminded about how I'm pretty happy with my two computers that I've gotten for way cheaper than one of the UVA bundles. There's really no need for all that extra stuff as long as you're smart with your computer and back-up your important files regularly.

[limegreen]

Use your student discount to buy a MacBook and Apple Care from Apple and get your free iPod or whatever they are giving away this back to school season. Done.

[gladiator]

I don't have any comments on the potential better deals out there, but for those that are scared of wading into all the details, I'll say that I got the Mac bundle and have been happy with it.