My $00.02. I bought a Loaded 17" MacBook Pro three years ago for a lil' over 3K including a fancy printer. Before this day I had 3 PCs so at least one was working. I haven't turned those on after the first week of having the Mac. so 3K over 3 years of NO issues is well worth it to me. Wife wants a smaller MacBook now, so we will prolly be picking up another. also you can get a helluva good deal if you're a student. Also if your using it for skool you can claim it on your taxes. Woot.