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Is my blackmacbook still good? or do I need to upgrade?

C

cootersgarage6

Guest
Original poster
Nov 6, 2010
215
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I'm 14, and I love macs. My whole house switched to apple. We have the Apple TV, 3 Ipad's, Iphone 4's, Ipod touches, my macbook (black) and a 2006 macbook pro, and the newer Imac. I only own an Ipod nano with the camera and a black macbook. I feel that my laptop is out of date now, because these are the specs.
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB11.0061.B03



I think that it's out of date because the intel chip isn't really that good. I'm 14 so I can't keep going and getting a $1,000 dollar computer yet. I am getting a job next week, so I will be getting about 130 a week, and I will be saving for a macbook. now, is it worth the upgrade? or is it still fine? I was thinking about the cheaper option, the mac mini, but it won't stay into date long will it? because it's GHZ speed... also, it really comes down to the new macbook air, or macbook. the macbook air doesn't look like it's going to stay into date either because it's meant to me really mobile, so it only has a 1.6 GHZ speed.....

So... here are the questions

1.) is it out of date?
2.) is it worth the upgrade?
3.) will the mac mini and air become out of usable date soon
4.) will my laptop be compatible with the mac app store coming, and the OSZ Lion?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It depends on what you use it for. It should be fine for everyday use (emails, browsing the internet, iPhoto), but if you intend to use it for more complex stuff, like Motion or Final Cut Pro, then you may need to upgrade.

I'd say it's fine for now. I'm still using some older Macs, iMac mid-2007, and even a G3 iMac occasionally.

Just because it's a few years old doesn't mean it's "out of date and unusable." Your current MacBook can still run Lion, most likely.
 
If you're asking the question "Do I really need to upgrade?" then you probably don't. You'll know when you need to upgrade as the computer will seem unusable.

An Intel Core Duo is "out of date" but if it suits your needs, just keep using it. My wife uses my old PowerBook G4 as her main computer and doesn't have any complaints. All she uses it for is web browsing, email, word processing, and some occasional light Photoshop work.
 
cootersgarage6 said:
1.) is it out of date?
2.) is it worth the upgrade?
3.) will the mac mini and air become out of usable date soon
4.) will my laptop be compatible with the mac app store coming, and the OSZ Lion?
Click to expand...

1. If it does what you want to do then it is not out of date. And it can do anything a newer Mac could do. It is not quite as fast, but that is all.
2. If you can handle a screw driver, you can upgrade the RAM and the hard drive very easily. Check out www.crucial.com to see what RAM upgrades you can get; and you can easily add a 320 GB hard drive. That shouldn't cost much more than $130 and will help a lot with any speed problems.
3. I did _not_ understand this sentence at all. Remember that many readers are not native English speakers and really appreciate correct English.
4. Definitely compatible with Mac App Store if you have Snow Leopard, and nobody outside Apple knows about Lion with your 2006 MacBook. Anything you buy new will be fine.

Also look at the Apple Store for refurbished MacBooks. And remember that with the MacBook Air, you pay a lot for the small size. Do you actually need that? If you don't then the MacBook or MacBook Pro is better value for you.
 
I wouldn't have thought for a minute you need to upgrade it. Keep it till it dies or is incapable of performing some tasks you need it to. :)
 
It's still good!

I've been using a similar Macbook for the last three and a half years (upgraded to 3GB RAM but that's because my wife and I both end up with loads of tabs open in Safari and iPhoto open x2 etc. etc.)

I've just bought an 11.6" Macbook Air, but that's for portability needs rather than hardware-out-of-date-and-can't-do-things issues.

Why not get the job, save say $90/week, then when you have $1000 saved ask yourself the same question.

Computing equipment being "in date" is a meaningless idea. If some hardware can do what you need it to do at a speed that's acceptable to you, then it doesn't really matter at all whether it's a month old technology or five year old technology.
 
If you can get by with it as it is, there's no point in upgrading. You can't have the newest stuff all the time - it moves on way too fast for that ;)
 
cootersgarage6 said:
I'm 14, and I love macs.
I feel that my laptop is out of date now, because these are the specs.
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB11.0061.B03
Click to expand...

First of all, Welcome to the Forum!

Congratulations on a fine, nicely written post.

Most people don't give us as much good, accurate information, as you have above. If more people did as good of a job with their posts as you have, it would make it so much easier to answer their questions appropriately.

cootersgarage6 said:
I think that it's out of date because the intel chip isn't really that good.
Click to expand...
I happen to think that the chip in your Mac is one of the better ones for the job.

True it's not brand new, but newer is _not_ always better. I've owned a lot of new laptops, both Apple and other brands, and I speak from experience when I say that newer is not always better.

cootersgarage6 said:
So... here are the questions

1.) is it out of date?
2.) is it worth the upgrade?
3.) will the mac mini and air become out of usable date soon
4.) will my laptop be compatible with the mac app store coming, and the OSZ Lion?
Click to expand...

1) No.

It all depends on how you look at it. Yes it's out of date by the calendar, but no, it's not out of date when it works fine and does what you need it to do.

One of my favorite Macs is my 2002 PowerBook Ti. An "old" machine that still looks like new and does a lot of things that I want it to do just fine.

2) No, I don't think it is.

3) There's no predicting the future and how these will fit other peoples needs.
Personally I like the model you have better. (and I have a new Air)

4) I don't see why not.

My advice would be to continue and enjoy what you have. Ignore a lot of what you read here. It's all too easy for some of us to get caught up in the idea of always having the latest. I've been guilty of this and it's not all it seems to be. After the newness wears off it's just another model.

Keep reading the forum, there's a lot of good info posted here.

Cheers... :)
 
gnasher729 said:
3. I did _not_ understand this sentence at all. Remember that many readers are not native English speakers and really appreciate correct English.
Click to expand...

The OP is asking if the Mini or the Air will get outdate soon after purchase.

In my opinion, they will get "outdated" after purchase quicker than, say, a Core i7 iMac with 8 GB RAM, but it again comes down to what you need it for. My dad used a Pentium III with Windows 98 for almost 8 years before buying a Mac Mini (model before current). The biggest reason he did so was because the Pentium was dying and half the things wouldn't work.
 
keep it. sounds like it will work for you. you could always get a SSD and bump its overall performance, then move the drive to your next computer.
 
Don't worry about it. If it's not super slow, which it shouldn't be, especially for basic tasks, then there is no reason to upgrade. Apple just likes to make you think you do with all of its marketing jargon, emphasizing new, next-generation, etc. I would say just keep it until it dies, or until it gets really slow. Also, a faster speed in terms of higher GHz processor doesn't usually mean a faster computer. It simply means faster when the computer is being worked harder. At 14, there are a lot better ways to spend your money, or better yet, stick most of it in a savings account for later on.
 
Speaking of the BlackBook. I've got a late 2007 model, 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo. I've got the stock 160GB hard drive in it right now. I've also got maybe 5GB left of usable space. I was looking to upgrade, but there's a few more SATA options than when I initially started looking. Just wondering what options I have on upgrading? Do I have to steak with the SATA 5400rpm/7200rpm drives? Can I use a Sata 3.0/6.0Gbps drive? How bout a 10,000 or 15,000rpm drive?

Any suggestions?
 
MonsterRain said:
Speaking of the BlackBook. I've got a late 2007 model, 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo. I've got the stock 160GB hard drive in it right now. I've also got maybe 5GB left of usable space. I was looking to upgrade, but there's a few more SATA options than when I initially started looking. Just wondering what options I have on upgrading? Do I have to steak with the SATA 5400rpm/7200rpm drives? Can I use a Sata 3.0/6.0Gbps drive? How bout a 10,000 or 15,000rpm drive?

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

It has to be a 9.5mm high, 2.5" drive. You can get that in 5400/7200rpm, SSD or hybrid like the Seagate Momentus XT. You won't see any advantage from a 6.0Gbps (SATA III) drive.
 
MonsterRain said:
Speaking of the BlackBook. I've got a late 2007 model, 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo. I've got the stock 160GB hard drive in it right now. I've also got maybe 5GB left of usable space. I was looking to upgrade, but there's a few more SATA options than when I initially started looking. Just wondering what options I have on upgrading? Do I have to steak with the SATA 5400rpm/7200rpm drives? Can I use a Sata 3.0/6.0Gbps drive? How bout a 10,000 or 15,000rpm drive?

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

In addition to what was posted above, you won't be able to use a 10,000 or 15,000 RPM drive, as those are typically SAS rather than SATA and would cause a lot of vibration.
 
To OP: Lol I'm your age too (well, a year younger) and my family all uses Macs too :D We've got an iMac (its sorta dead now), 2 MBPs, 1 MB, an iBook, an old iMac and a Mac Classic :p

Anyway, what do you use your BlackBook for?
 
i have a blackbook also 1.1 just like yours. 2gb with 250gb hdd and 2.0ghz processor

im a graphics designer, im using photoshop/illustrator/flash/dreamweaver CS5 and everything runs smooth, normally i have 5 or 6 things going on at once and it hasnt crashed on me yet

im running on the latest most patched snow leopard and also have office'11, ive upgraded to ilife'11 and everything is smooth as butter, ive got itunes 10.0.1 and xcode 3.1.4 i think for the iOS 4.1 development.

ive also got on this baby, FINAL CUT PRO! the student license of course. i tricked it into running on 64mb ram when the minimum is 128gb, i dont cut big videos but the short videos for weddings.

i burn dvds. watch movies, chat, skype. you name it ive done it

i still dont feel the need to upgrade this year or next, but i just might for the display of the new ones. the display on my mac is crystal and bright but i just love the new glossy on the newer ones. seems sharper and more color correct to me

to answer your questions




cootersgarage6 said:
1.) is it out of date?
2.) is it worth the upgrade?
3.) will the mac mini and air become out of usable date soon
4.) will my laptop be compatible with the mac app store coming, and the OSZ Lion?
Click to expand...

1.yeah its out of date its 4 years old lol

2. no its not, unless you do something processor intensive like cut video, do graphics design or animation work, or sound design, seems like you do none. gaming wise though, meh macs are not for games.


3. again depends, if it serves your purpose then no need to upgrade. but the air is for people who really need portability. and the mac mini is the only consumer desktop mac out there for normal people.

4. it should be!
 
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