Still using your MacBook as your primary laptop? Are you content with your MacBook?

for around 4 years I was using my 2008 MacBook, 250gb HDD 2Gb RAM and 2.0 Core 2 Duo, it still works perfectly but I did just recently upgrade to a MBP 16Gb RAM and SSD. with the specs on that computer, especially the SSD I don't suggest you get a new one unless you really need it

/sarcasm "Pffffffffffffffffftttt. 5,1? Pffffffffffttt" /sarcasm off

I'm still rocking my 2,1 MacBook since March 2007. I'll replace it sometime in 2012, but I think I'll keep it around as a torrent machine/media hub. I already have about 200 GB of media from my own or friend's collections.

My Late 2006 2,1 MacBook does most everything I need just fine - don't even need a silly SSD. There's three reasons while I'll upgrade:

1) The Intel GMA 950 is a horrid integrated GPU. I can only run Anarchy Online and League of Legends in WinXP via Bootcamp (and Portal 1, but long overplayed that). I have a laundry list of games I want to try that will be essential to my next machine.

2) I've more than gotten my money's worth and there will be deals to be had. My previous computer was an HP laptop that I had for 4.5 years. I'm a stickler for big purchases - been sitting on the cash to buy a computer for about 6 months now, but only want to get what's right and is the best bang for my buck.

3) Random little annoying issues. One in particular is my computer lags or something and then video and sound gets distorted. Video kind of skips in place, sound either skips or gets all like Transformer-like ridiculous. Happens randomly. Sometimes I can force it, sometimes I can try and prevent it. Not just Flash videos. Genius bar had no clue except OS re-install, but really don't want to bother re-installing my partition(s).

I doubt I'll get a Mac again, unless I still need a new machine and the iMac revamp is something special (which it probably won't be). I'll probably hop on the Win8 train and am really looking forward to the options.

If it were still working I'd happily still be using my black 2006 MB 1,1. Unfortunately the back-light died, the power-adapter cable burnt through (twice), the battery is dead, it only runs for 30 seconds before shutting-off, and the trackpad is so worn it's concave.

Now replaced with a 2012 cMBP, and very happy, but still miss my old MacBook.

I bought my 2010 13" Macbook in September (of 2010). I was able to extend the AC. It's by far the best system I've ever owned.

I allowed my nephew to keep it for a week a few months ago and he loves it as well. I almost decided to give it to him for his birthday but, I thought about it and I just can't give it up.

I really don't think I'm going to upgrade my laptop system (I want a MacMini for sure and a iMac and Pro... but...)

It's light, fast, and just runs perfectly. I did upgrade to 8Gs of ram and I replaced the original drive with a 320G 72000rpm drive. Until AC expires or it un-repairable, I'm not going to give this system up. I may hand it off to my wife but, I'm going to keep it close.

I just got a aluminum Macbook - it's basically the same as my 2010 Macbook Pro. The biggest upgrade over the old white Macbook is the much-improved trackpad and no more old Intel graphics.

Upgrade to 4GB/8GB of RAM (which costs what, $20-$40) and drop in an SSD and it works as good as anything else. I'm sure if I used it to edit video or work on big Photoshop files, I'd notice a difference, but for surfing the web, playing games in emulators, and programming (Ruby on Rails - through a remote Linux server) there's no real difference.

Same reason I kept a C2D Air around for so long - it did everything I needed it to do, and it only had 2GB of RAM!

Urban Spaceman said:

If it were still working I'd happily still be using my black 2006 MB 1,1. Unfortunately the back-light died, the power-adapter cable burnt through (twice), the battery is dead, it only runs for 30 seconds before shutting-off, and the trackpad is so worn it's concave.

Now replaced with a 2012 cMBP, and very happy, but still miss my old MacBook.

Click to expand...

That's rough. I had 2x palm rests crack (2x free out of warranty repairs), my battery swell (free out of warranty replacement), and my adapter cord crack open (but not ignite luckily and covered under the class action suit).

All really small (yet tbh Apple, unacceptable) things. The palm rest both times were the thinnest sliver near my right wrist, but a free repair is a free repair.

I use a 2006 white MacBook 1,1 - the original ones that came out, and it suits me just fine. I purchased it off a local reseller store not too long ago. I had been needing a new laptop for a long time, as my old Dell Inspiron laptop was starting to break down. While it's not a brand new laptop, I purchased this one for two reasons, 1) I got a great price on it, and 2) it is in excellent condition, physically and it also performs really well (for what I need it for).

This MacBook isn't far off from the specs of my old Dell laptop (except it has more RAM, 2 GB instead of 1 GB), so it still does everything like web browsing, listening to music, watching YouTube, etc. very well. I'm pretty content with it; I really have no use for anything more powerful - for laptops, anyway - at this point in time.

I thought that moving over to Photoshop CS6 would be the end of my Macbook, especially as the minimum video memory is 256mb. My old 2006 C2D with it's GMA950 (96mb) is quite a bit under that spec.

To my surprise, it installed and it works. You get a pop up message at the start saying some of the graphical bits are disabled. I've not noticed any problems yet with my editing.

You never know, there might be a Mountain Lion hack that might just stretch it out for another year or so.

I was using a MacBook 1,1 as my primary laptop until about a month ago when I got the new 15" non-retina. The MacBook still works great but I wanted a little more power on the go.

Kebabselector said:

I thought that moving over to Photoshop CS6 would be the end of my Macbook, especially as the minimum video memory is 256mb. My old 2006 C2D with it's GMA950 (96mb) is quite a bit under that spec.

To my surprise, it installed and it works. You get a pop up message at the start saying some of the graphical bits are disabled. I've not noticed any problems yet with my editing.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I have the entire CS5.5 installed on my 2,1 MacBook with the GMA 950 and for what I need it for - maybe editing a few photos in PS while editing/creating a flyer or two in Illustrator at the same time - it runs just fine. That was a big surprise to me. I don't even want Mountain Lion though seeing as I don't even have Lion. I should upgrade to Snow Leopard, though. Really been slacking there.

east85 said:

I think I'll be content with my MacBook until it dies. I honestly have no desire to upgrade at this point, since I mainly use it for getting college work done and making sales on Amazon, along with typical entertainment stuff.

Click to expand...

I would have used my MacBook 2,1 as a primary machine, but it started falling apart on me. Crackbook? Check. Dead battery? Check. Dead screen? Check.

It is also underpowered for HD netflix which lags, and HD YouTube both of which I watch routinely. It even stutters sometimes on 480p.

So yeah, I'm upgrading this year to rMBP, and plan on keeping it until it dies.

kaydot said:

It is also underpowered for HD netflix which lags, and HD YouTube both of which I watch routinely. It even stutters sometimes on 480p.

So yeah, I'm upgrading this year to rMBP, and plan on keeping it until it dies.

Click to expand...

I've found that Netflix HD cripples more so in OS X than WinXP (Bootcamp) - and especially in Chrome more than Firefox on the OS X side (since Silverlight for whatever reason isn't supported in Chrome 12+ in OS X). Definite downer in general, though.

I have a late 2009 macbook (that I got in 2010). So far I have put in 8gbs of ram and an SSD. Performance wise I am very happy. Mine does have a decent amount of gashes and scratches on it, so its well used.

In light of the new Macbook Air, I plan on getting one next year. Three years is a good replacement time for a computer anyway. But yes for now I am happy with my MB.

I love my MacBook (specs in sig) and use it every day as my main computer. I bought this particular one because of compatibility with ML and the fact that it's from 09 and isn't outdated (plus the case looks really nice )

Love mine - just got the topcase and bezel replaced for free cos it cracked - so right now it looks brand new again!

Does everything I need it to do - just edited photos in Aperture and although it lagged a bit - it did it fine.

Reasons why I will eventually upgrade (most probably mid 2013)

- No more OS X upgrades - ML isnt supported
- No multitouch trackpad (not that I feel the need for it)
- Processor starting to get a bit aged - doesnt always playback 1080p video nicely
-No SSD and although I can put one in - it wouldnt be as fast as a new machine
-The size - pretty thick compared to the MBA

So am anticipating a retina display MBA type machine in 2013 hopefully which will based on how long my MB has lasted - should take me through til 2019!

I usually keep my laptop for 5 years, then give it away to charity or to my parents. So far havn't had a hard disk ever die (dells, hp's). My macbook is 2.5 years old, I think I will keep it till it's 6 years old.

A lot of videos already run slow even though I have 8 GB ram, but I will probably get a desktop for media and entertainment and keep this one for internet browsing, email, and work.

I still have my first Mac

Late 2008 Aluminium Unibody MacBook 13", 2GB RAM, 250GB HD. It came with 10.5.5 installed. That's the stock specs. I maxed out the RAM to 8GB and I've bought a 256GB Crucial M4 SSD to put in when I install Mountain Lion.

Never had a problem with this machine. It's still going strong. The only damage is cosmetic. Aluminium is chipped here and there, huge scratches underneath and a little crack in the plastic hinge. Only recently I've noticed it slowing down a bit which I'm hoping the SSD will help improve. The battery has had ~1300 cycles and is in "normal" condition. It holds about 2.5hrs charge with my normal use. I might consider a new battery in the future.

I love my MacBook. It does everything I need it to do. I wish I could do some video work but it just struggles. That's about it! It's lasted me almost 4 years. It has come from 10.5.5 to 10.7.4 and will be at 10.8 soon.

Ideally, I hope to keep it another year or two before buying a new Mac but if it doesn't last that long then I'll be going straight to Apple.com to buy a new iMac!

My first MacBook is an late 2006 C2D BlackBook.

After all those new Macs I've purchased over the years, I have never sold the Black MacBook. It nowadays is my back-up machine in the rare case I get to be without any of my newer Macs (iMac in the kitchen/ MB PRO 2011 daily driver).

I runs perfect with 4GB RAM (3,3GB utilized) and 120GB SSD. Superb. Looks as new as well. New battery etc. great machine

My girlfriend has an old white Macbook, not sure exactly what model it is. I maxed out the RAM, and I'll probably put this 64GB SSD in it when my 120GB shows up. She uses it for research, buying tons of crap from Amazon, and YouTube. It stutters a little on some videos so maybe I'll either get her a keyboard for my iPad 3 (that I've almost never used, it's un-officially 'hers') or find her an i5 Air super cheap?

Up to a few weeks ago I was happily using my 2007 Macbook (4GB RAM, 500GB HDD) Was kinda balancing cost of replacing my 5 year-old macbook against cost of a new battery and maybe a SSD. (But only Sata 1, so a SSD would be a bit of a waste of money.) Then it got stolen.

I needed a new laptop in a hurry, so I got a mid 2009 Macbook - probably one of the last whitebooks made (apart from the unibody ones). Two years newer, but more or less the same stats - same Geekbench score, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD. Biggest difference is the new Radeon 9400 graphics compared to the old Intel X3100 graphics. Games and Youtube are like night and day.

I'm happy with my 2009 MacBook for a while longer. I may get a SSD, and with SATA II, it's a bit more worth it. My next computer will almost certainly be a MBA, I may buy a 2012 MBA in a couple of years time.

I intended on using my 2007 MacBook Pro until it fell apart. It kinda has... super drive doesn't work, battery failed like 4 times, airport is iffy...

What killed my computer, is the fact that Lion runs like ass on it. I don't plan on buying another mac anytime soon. I've actually replaced it with a Windows 7 desktop and an iPad 3. Between those, I can do whatever I need.

Jookbox said:

What killed my computer, is the fact that Lion runs like ass on it.

Click to expand...

Yup. I never put Lion on my 2009 macbook for that precise reason. iOS upgrade hell has made me VERY wary. Still, Mountain Lion is getting good reviews on older hardware. Haven't seen anything negative re speed yet, but it's early days.

RedTomato said:

Yup. I never put Lion on my 2009 macbook for that precise reason. iOS upgrade hell has made me VERY wary. Still, Mountain Lion is getting good reviews on older hardware. Haven't seen anything negative re speed yet, but it's early days.

Click to expand...

I am running ML on my macbook 6,1 and it runs really well. I should point out that I do have an SSD and 8gigs of ram however. But even on a standard HDD it will be a lot better than lion. Also doing a clean install can help too!