Refurbished MacBook

bmxracer said:

Would a refurbished MacBook model MC240LL/A be okay for general internet browsing, Microsoft office, and basic photo software? Are there any main issues to look for with this model? It says it comes with Lion installed, is that as new as you can get? Thanks

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Here are the specs for that Macbook. That would be a perfectly fine machine for the light usage you described.

That Macbook can run the newest OS X Mavericks version, but you would want to add some memory to get you up to 4 or 6GB first. You can either buy two 2GB RAM chips to get to 4GB, or one 2GB and one 4GB chip to get to 6GB total in that Macbook.

bmxracer said:

Thanks for the help. Is there a certain brand ram chip I should get? Would there be a noticeable difference between 4gb and 6gb of ram?

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RAM is pretty much a commodity. If it meets the specs, it will work. Just buy it from a known vendor that will support you if it fails. Crucial's memory scanner utility is nice to see what specs you need. Then you can either buy from Crucial or write down the specs and buy elsewhere.

For the light usage like you described, I don't think you will notice much of a difference between 4GB and 6GB.

bmxracer said:

I am now looking at several different models. How do I tell if they will be compatible with Mavericks? Thanks

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Here is a list of Macs that will run Mavericks.