Buying a MacBook off someone

XxCH3AT3RxX · Feb 28, 2009

I am new to Mac. My windows PC that is 9 years old is about to give out. My dads friend is selling his MacBook and offered it to us if we wanted it. I do not know much about Mac's so I was just looking to see if this is a good deal.

Specs:
2GHz Intel Core Duo processor

512MB (two 256MB SO-DIMMS) of DDR2 SDRAM

80 GB 5400-rpm Hard Drive

13.3-inch TFT widescreen display

Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM

Built in iSight video camera

Front Row and Apple Remote

DVD+-RW/CD-RW

Built in Ethernet

Built in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

One Firewire port and 2 USB 2.0 ports

Optical digital audio input/audio line in, optical digital audio output

Mini-DVI port for DVI, VGA composite and S-video

All original packaging and boxing included.

http://i44.tinypic.com/fjmiz8.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/14lhaur.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/24cd3rq.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/2eb7kg2.jpg

Those are the pictures of it. I was wondering does that 'X' mean it has leopard or tiger or some other variant?

The price is $350, but we might be able to get it cheaper. Is this a good deal? Also, if I got this I would buy 2GB of Ram for it since it supports up to that much. Can I put DDR3 ram in it?

VSMacOne · Feb 28, 2009

I'm saying this very seriously, if you don't buy it I WANT IT!! Please tell your dad's friend!!

If those pictures are recent, then it looks like it's in great shape. You should go for it.
No DDR3, but you can put more DDR2 in there very easily.

michael.lauden · Feb 28, 2009

also,

make sure the battery is in good condition. iStat pro - or coconut battery can give you more information about this.

if everything is fine - i would say that is a great deal. also keep in mind DDR2 RAM is very affordable so that wouldn't be a big upgrade to do!

you will need to click apple menu->about this mac to see what version of OS X you will have.

10.5.x is Leopard
10.4.x is Tiger
10.3.x is Panther
10.2.x is Jaguar

rust.puppet · Feb 28, 2009

i would buy it if i were you, its worth the upwards of 800-850$ and they dont make blackbooks anymore so it will be worth SOME money in the years to come as they had a limited run.

rust.puppet · Feb 28, 2009

michael.lauden said:
also,

make sure the battery is in good condition. iStat pro - or coconut battery can give you more information about this.

if everything is fine - i would say that is a great deal. also keep in mind DDR2 RAM is very affordable so that wouldn't be a big upgrade to do!

you will need to click apple menu->about this mac to see what version of OS X you will have.

10.5.x is Leopard
10.4.x is Tiger
10.3.x is Panther
10.2.x is Jaguar

but OS is not that expensive if it has tiger, and they sell replacement batteries for 100 or less so either way its a win, and a big upgrade from a 9 year old pc.

michael.lauden · Feb 28, 2009

it was just for information there pal

if he is as clueless about Apple products as most PC users that i have talked to - i would atleast like to answer his questions!

darngooddesign · Feb 28, 2009

Its really worth around 600 (in the Atlanta, GA area) so that is a good deal. It also looks like the owner took very good care of it and since he's a friend he won't try to screw you on a machine with problems.

You will want to get a 7200 RPM drive and max the RAM. Doing those two upgrades it will give you years of service.

amrk47 · Feb 28, 2009

wow

you better buy that

even a year from now you can sell it for more than 350

ayeying · Feb 28, 2009

It says "10.4" in the first picture. So it's Tiger.

XxCH3AT3RxX · Feb 28, 2009

michael.lauden said:
if everything is fine - i would say that is a great deal. also keep in mind DDR2 RAM is very affordable so that wouldn't be a big upgrade to do!

Do you know how much 2GB of RAM would cost for this? I do not know how much since I am not sure what kind of RAM this Macbook uses.

Pixellated · Feb 28, 2009

XxCH3AT3RxX said:
Do you know how much 2GB of RAM would cost for this? I do not know how much since I am not sure what kind of RAM this Macbook uses.

DDR2. It will be about $30.

squaros · Feb 28, 2009

Tell him you don't want it and then let him know I'll give him $500 for it.

darngooddesign · Feb 28, 2009

XxCH3AT3RxX said:
Do you know how much 2GB of RAM would cost for this? I do not know how much since I am not sure what kind of RAM this Macbook uses.

Otherworldcomputing.com is a good place for upgrades and they make it easy to figure out what you need.

cis4life · Feb 28, 2009

once you buy it, go get a HD for it. You will spend less than about a $100 on a 320gb HD for it. Then go to http://www.crucial.com/ and do the "scan my system" tool, it will tell you exactly what you need to do to upgrade the ram. for a 4 gig kit (2 x 2gb sticks) your looking about 450 - $60 dollars.

So basically for a rounded total of about $200, you have a macbook on par with even the new alum. macbooks (of course minus a few things such as case, and nvidia card)

I did this and love it. A friend bought a macbook from like late 2007 /early 2008 and sold it to me for $400. I snatched it up, upgraded the ram and HD and now im rocking a Pristine condition white macbook with all the fixings.

Grab it and Grab It Quick.

5280m · Feb 28, 2009

all i can say is that i wish i had a friend who would sell me a macbook for that price. snatch it up while you can before he wants to up the price.

GfulDedFan · Feb 28, 2009

That's the same model and age as my MacBook except mine is white and it came with a 60GB hard drive originally. It's a great notebook and very capable of running the latest and greatest of all the software offerings including Leopard, ILife '09, and iWork '09. You can upgrade the RAM to 2GB maximum and it performs well with a larger hard drive including the newest 500GB ones. I'm planning to keep mine as long as possible and would be willing to say that it's worth way more than $350 to me.

Go for it and enjoy.

Apology for the double post but a correction needs to be made as follows:

cis4life said:
for a 4 gig kit (2 x 2gb sticks) your looking about 450 - $60 dollars.

The MacBook that the OP is looking at will not function with a 4GB kit installed. The maximum RAM is 2GB and it's true that Crucial's finder will recognize that fact.

XxCH3AT3RxX · Feb 28, 2009

Thanks everyone. Shortly after reading some of the posts in this thread I went and purchased it. I cannot be happier. The Mac has less than 20 hours of use on it. The AC Adapter hasn't been used, but the travel one was used. The apple remote wasn't opened. All boxing and packaging was included. He just reformatted it and didn't even set it all up, so I had the privilege of setting it up. The system is all up to date. It seems fast right now, but I will definitely purchase 2GB of RAM soon since I know it will help a lot. As for the hard drive that isn't a big deal for me. I've lived off a 40GB hard drive in my desktop for the past 7-8 years with no problems.

Thanks everyone for the help as I do appreciate it.

VSMacOne · Feb 28, 2009

Congrats! Very good move! You'll be happy with it

What did you end up paying for it?

cis4life · Feb 28, 2009

my bad,

I didn't mean to say 450 - 60 dollars, a 4 gig kit will cost about $50 - $60 dollars. But if your will only take the 2gb max, you can get that kit (2 x 1gb) for about half of what I quoted. (the one I bought off a friend allowed for 4gb max)

My correction

Cedric

XxCH3AT3RxX · Feb 28, 2009

VSMacOne said:
Congrats! Very good move! You'll be happy with it What did you end up paying for it?

Thanks. I paid $350.

Do you guys have any recommendation on brands of RAM and where to buy it from? In the User's Guide I found where it gives the info on the RAM, but now it just comes down to which brand is the best. I also read the sticky up top, but was looking for more advice.

gamer2502 · Feb 28, 2009

XxCH3AT3RxX said:
Thanks. I paid $350.

Do you guys have any recommendation on brands of RAM and where to buy it from? In the User's Guide I found where it gives the info on the RAM, but now it just comes down to which brand is the best. I also read the sticky up top, but was looking for more advice.

i buy ram here http://crucial.com :apple:

XxCH3AT3RxX · Feb 28, 2009

gamer2502 said:
i buy ram here http://crucial.com

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=MacBook+2.0GHz+Intel+Core+Duo+(13-inch+Black)

It recommended this to me so I will probably get two of these.

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=110C6937A5CA7304

Here is a two pack, but I don't think there is an advantage to getting it this way.

So, crucial RAM is good?

Acorn · Feb 28, 2009

holy crap he sold you a blackbook for 350? I hope you thanked him.

J&JPolangin · Feb 28, 2009

XxCH3AT3RxX said:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=MacBook+2.0GHz+Intel+Core+Duo+(13-inch+Black)

It recommended this to me so I will probably get two of these.

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=110C6937A5CA7304

Here is a two pack, but I don't think there is an advantage to getting it this way.

So, crucial RAM is good?

...go to http://www.newegg.com and search for crucial or rendition (made by crucial)... both good with lifetime warranty and usually less than the crucial web site...

XxCH3AT3RxX · Feb 28, 2009

I spaced out and forgot to even check Newegg. I am glad you reminded me though since I believe I found the same one for $4 cheaper and free shipping.

Crucial site: http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=97C26B36A5CA7304

Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145048

These are the same two, correct? It all matches up, but I want to make sure so there are no problems.

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