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Should I buy this MacBook?

vandyblackandgold

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
195
18
just looking for your opinion, wanna know what others would do...

2nd gen 13" MacBook, white
2.0Ghz Intel Core Duo
1gb RAM

needs a battery...

$200 for the laptop
~$120 for the battery

out the door for less than $350

fyi, refurbed equivalent (locally) runs $650

the thing is close to 5 years old. would you buy it?
 
No. I have a PC that is 5 years old.

Intel Core Duo is quickly becoming like my 3.2ghz Pentium 4. It seems fast on the outside, but try to do more than one thing, and your screwed.

I would get a netbook for that price though. As for if you want a laptop, Dell for regular stuff or alienware if your a hardcore gamer/multitasker.


while i did list the hardware specs, hardware is not the only deciding factor. my dell laptop is the last pc left in my house. without opening a whole other can of worms...my decision has been made, i will be dumping my laptop in due time and finally ridding myself of windows, soooooo.....

the question is, do i spend 350 today and make a few upgrades, or wait about a year and spend 1500...
 
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I'm still on my first gen MacBook, and it runs better today than the day I bought it. All I've put into it is extra RAM and a new hard drive (less than $100 spent), as well as OS X upgrades.

If I could get a second MacBook for the price you mention, I'd do it in a heartbeat. This machine, while on older Core Duo technology, runs amazing. The OS is reliable, and while I know Macs aren't for everyone, it does exactly what I need.

I'd recommend it in a heartbeat, but again, I know it's not what everyone wants.
 
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I'm still on my first gen MacBook, and it runs better today than the day I bought it. All I've put into it is extra RAM and a new hard drive (less than $100 spent), as well as OS X upgrades.

If I could get a second MacBook for the price you mention, I'd do it in a heartbeat. This machine, while on older Core Duo technology, runs amazing. The OS is reliable, and while I know Macs aren't for everyone, it does exactly what I need.

I'd recommend it in a heartbeat, but again, I know it's not what everyone wants.

i hear ya....its definitely for me. it runs leopard, ive got a copy of snow that we upgraded my wife's unibody macbook with. i already told the guy i wanted it, i was just curious as to other's opinions. big thanks gnome!
 
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$650 for a 5 year old laptop? I don't know what you will use it for, but if it were me, I'd buy a brand new laptop for the same price. And I would bet that the new laptop would be much faster.


the difference is that that 650 for a 5 year old laptop is sitting on a 2ghz dual core processor and 1gb ram and for everyday use, running snow leopard (the current OS for apple) and it will still be faster than the dual core 2gb of ram on my dell i currently have.

buying your brand new laptop for 650 means you get a 2nd to 3rd gen dual core processor, prob 4gb of ram and that is because that is minimum you need just to run the OS smoothly.

i spent the last 15 years working in windows, with an overlap of the last 4 on both systems. macs just work. plain and simple and you are getting what you pay for.

btw, my $1100 dell laptop is on its last leg, and I have run side by side comparisons of the exact mac i am buying versus what i have now which is only 2 years old and still running xp. i will still take the mac over the dell anyday.

there is a reason why some of the top design and media programs available today are mac only. imho.
 
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the difference is that that 650 for a 5 year old laptop is sitting on a 2ghz dual core processor and 1gb ram and for everyday use, running snow leopard (the current OS for apple) and it will still be faster than the dual core 2gb of ram on my dell i currently have.

buying your brand new laptop for 650 means you get a 2nd to 3rd gen dual core processor, prob 4gb of ram and that is because that is minimum you need just to run the OS smoothly.

i spent the last 15 years working in windows, with an overlap of the last 4 on both systems. macs just work. plain and simple and you are getting what you pay for.

btw, my $1100 dell laptop is on its last leg, and I have run side by side comparisons of the exact mac i am buying versus what i have now which is only 2 years old and still running xp. i will still take the mac over the dell anyday.

there is a reason why some of the top design and media programs available today are mac only. imho.

Lol that is very outdated information.
 
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how is that outdated? please explain.

The majority of these "mac only" programs were from adobe. We all know how thats going right now. Not to mention everything else that was "mac exclusive" is now on a pc, and the few that aren't there are more than enough PC versions of the same program that are equal to or better than the mac version.

That myth is passed around schools, because generally, people who go to these schools get macs at a substantial discount, and the rumor is passed on from teacher to student, student to student, etc.
 
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If you're convinced of buying a Mac, then I won't be able to dissuade you from buying a PC. I'll say go for it. Like they say - "Whatever floats your boat".

But if you want a faster computer, for the same money, I still will recommend a brand new PC for the same price.

I for one would go with a PC anytime. And unless a Mac can offer me the same hardware specs for the price, I won't even consider it.

My name is Caloy and I'm a PC. :)
 
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If you're convinced of buying a Mac, then I won't be able to dissuade you from buying a PC. I'll say go for it. Like they say - "Whatever floats your boat".

But if you want a faster computer, for the same money, I still will recommend a brand new PC for the same price.

I for one would go with a PC anytime. And unless a Mac can offer me the same hardware specs for the price, I won't even consider it.

My name is Caloy and I'm a PC. :)

My name is IOWA, and I'm a PC ;)
 
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The majority of these "mac only" programs were from adobe. We all know how thats going right now. Not to mention everything else that was "mac exclusive" is now on a pc, and the few that aren't there are more than enough PC versions of the same program that are equal to or better than the mac version.

That myth is passed around schools, because generally, people who go to these schools get macs at a substantial discount, and the rumor is passed on from teacher to student, student to student, etc.


okay. my apologies. did not realize that the entire adobe creative suite was available for windows and had been for some time. never seen it used on a windows machine.

my wife works for one of the largest christian publishing companies in the world. the entire company is mac exclusive and she works within cs4 on a daily basis.
 
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okay. my apologies. did not realize that the entire adobe creative suite was available for windows and had been for some time. never seen it used on a windows machine.

my wife works for one of the largest christian publishing companies in the world. the entire company is mac exclusive and she works within cs4 on a daily basis.

My school uses iMac G4s for photoshop... Absolutely terrible. So slow its awful. I much prefer it on a PC.
 
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My school uses iMac G4s for photoshop... Absolutely terrible. So slow its awful. I much prefer it on a PC.

iMac G4's are the issue. Would run much better on the Intel iMacs.

However, like everyone has stated so far, it's whatever you prefer that matters. If you prefer PCs, awesome. If you prefer Macs, great. Get what you like and enjoy it - that's really all it should be.
 
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iMac G4's are the issue. Would run much better on the Intel iMacs.

However, like everyone has stated so far, it's whatever you prefer that matters. If you prefer PCs, awesome. If you prefer Macs, great. Get what you like and enjoy it - that's really all it should be.

haha this is true. I absolutely hate macs though. That could also be the issue.
 
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okay. my apologies. did not realize that the entire adobe creative suite was available for windows and had been for some time. never seen it used on a windows machine.

my wife works for one of the largest christian publishing companies in the world. the entire company is mac exclusive and she works within cs4 on a daily basis.

And the funny part is, the adobe stuff actually runs better on windows than mac.
 
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have you ever used the adobe stuff on a mac? i understand you prefer pc. you have never given me an indication that you actually tried using macs within the last 5-7 years.

just wondering.

Yes I have. The most recent of which was a g5 loaded with cs3. Macs in general are just not for me, or anyone that is a true power user. Their file system sucks, networking is annoyingly stupid and doesn't work half the time, (doesn't like working with industrial machines and high end routers) and for web development macs can't even stand on one leg.
 
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Yes I have. The most recent of which was a g5 loaded with cs3. Macs in general are just not for me, or anyone that is a true power user. Their file system sucks, networking is annoyingly stupid and doesn't work half the time, (doesn't like working with industrial machines and high end routers) and for web development macs can't even stand on one leg.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think a lot of what you've experienced with Macs no longer applies in the Intel-based Mac era.

As I've said before though, to each their own. If a PC does everything you need, awesome.

For me, it's a Mac that gets the job done.
 
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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think a lot of what you've experienced with Macs no longer applies in the Intel-based Mac era.

As I've said before though, to each their own. If a PC does everything you need, awesome.

For me, it's a Mac that gets the job done.

Well, it doesn't get the job done for real industry, and 97% of the world. So if you really enjoy the inferior product at a premium price, can I sell you a ford escort at a bmw price?

And even with the intel processor, there are still hardware inadequecies. Graphics/video cards are not good enough, tons of periphials simply will not work properly or at all, and its not easy to crack open the case and replace what you need. Computers should not be disposable. Especially at those prices. And the software inadequecies are just attrocious. There is A LOT still wrong with macs, and probably always will be. There is a reason why they lost the pc war, and some people forget that.
 
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