Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
2.0ghz macbook worth extra $$?
- Thread starter mrweirdo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think the battery life is pretty close.
In hindsight, I probably would have been content with the 1.83ghz model. I got the Superdrive model just. in. case., but of course that never matters. The base model is the best deal, easily. You don't lose anything but the Superdrive and a wee bit of processor speed, which you won't notice unless you're doing a lot of heavy work.
In hindsight, I probably would have been content with the 1.83ghz model. I got the Superdrive model just. in. case., but of course that never matters. The base model is the best deal, easily. You don't lose anything but the Superdrive and a wee bit of processor speed, which you won't notice unless you're doing a lot of heavy work.
I just went through this same decision yesterday. I couldnt tell a difference between the speeds, but I think resale value down the road would be better with the higher ghz and superdrive. I previously had a powerbook g4 with the superdrive and I burned a total of 0 dvds. I found myself just transferring files to my PC desktop to backup files.
If you can spare the extra ~150 then I think why not, but I used that money to get more RAM.
I think battery life should be similar Ive only gone through one cycle so far on mine but it seems to be over 3 hrs and 30 min with lowered brightness on the 1.83 macbook.
If you can spare the extra ~150 then I think why not, but I used that money to get more RAM.
I think battery life should be similar Ive only gone through one cycle so far on mine but it seems to be over 3 hrs and 30 min with lowered brightness on the 1.83 macbook.
I think if you can afford it, the Black is worth it. It definitely feels and looks nicer, but that is a subjective matter. I just ordered one, and am waiting for it to receive.
I'm leaning towards going with the superdrive one just because I plan on keeping this new comp for awhile(who knows cds are so small in data size they may become usless within the next year or so) along with it becoming my main system and I dont actualy have any other computers that burn dvds after my liteon burner in my desktop died. Whenever I want to burn one I have to borrow my sisters comp for a few minutes heh.
unfortionently black is probably just outside my price range athough white will look beter on my desk anyways and it matches my floorlamp even
unfortionently black is probably just outside my price range athough white will look beter on my desk anyways and it matches my floorlamp even
Do you or don't you need a superdrive? That is pretty much the only difference with the speed bump being so small I'd seriously doubt if you noticed it
The 1.83Ghz Machine is a nice machine. However if you really need a superdrive to burn dvd's on the fly you should consider the 2.0 Model.
I did the same think a couple of years ago with my iBook I opted for the combo drive and I was pretty upset down the road that I did not go for the superdrive.
I would say spend the extra dough upfront and get the Model with the superdrive.
I did the same think a couple of years ago with my iBook I opted for the combo drive and I was pretty upset down the road that I did not go for the superdrive.
I would say spend the extra dough upfront and get the Model with the superdrive.
alexstein said:
I thought about this, but then I realized that the Superdrive on the MB is single layer, and if you're truly interested in burning DVDs you might as well use the extra money and purchase a nice dual-layer external drive.
External DVD burners are quite cheap. So even with the lowest end MacBook isn't a bad decision, but getting one with the superdrive is probably the better idea. The price difference isn't so huge, $200 US.mrweirdo said:I'm leaning towards going with the superdrive one just because I plan on keeping this new comp for awhile(who knows cds are so small in data size they may become usless within the next year or so) along with it becoming my main system and I dont actualy have any other computers that burn dvds after my liteon burner in my desktop died. Whenever I want to burn one I have to borrow my sisters comp for a few minutes heh.
unfortionently black is probably just outside my price range athough white will look beter on my desk anyways and it matches my floorlamp even
daze said:
worth it? lol.
if you don't really burn dvds (or have a different machine with a dvd writer), then the base model is fine (the difference between 1.83 and 2.0 is marginal and probably not noticeable in everyday tasks). also consider that in the next 2-3 years that hd-dvd (or blu-ray) drives will become standard, so it doesn't really matter what kind of drive you have now.
I agree. I had bought a PB 12" 3 years ago without a SuperDrive, and I too regretted it down the road, but hooking up an external drive wasn't so bad. Of course, you can't lug it around, but then again, how many times will you need to burn DVD-Rs on the go?alexstein said:
In the next 10 years, something else will replace Blu-Ray, so that won't matter either. Not exactly a good line of thinking. Look at what you need right now, not what it will be replaced 2-3 years down the line. IMO.w8ing4intelmacs said:
I got the 2 ghz model... I think that it will resell better, and even though the base model would have been fine, I was spoiling myself.
LOL I hate decissions still cant decide and now lolygaging on ordering heh
I dont like the fact that the superdrive doesnt have dual layer support athough I have a 100 pack of ritek dvd-rs still waiting to be used before i buy more. also I need to buy a 56k modem(mostly for when visiting granys only dialup there unless there is a open wireless in the neighboorhood i leech off of to browse the net ) plus Im gona get a mini dvi to dvi adapter. So mayby i will just get the base model. Athough I do like the sound of being able to brag to my friends at college that I got the 2.0ghz with superdrive when i go back to school
I dont like the fact that the superdrive doesnt have dual layer support athough I have a 100 pack of ritek dvd-rs still waiting to be used before i buy more. also I need to buy a 56k modem(mostly for when visiting granys only dialup there unless there is a open wireless in the neighboorhood i leech off of to browse the net
) plus Im gona get a mini dvi to dvi adapter. So mayby i will just get the base model. Athough I do like the sound of being able to brag to my friends at college that I got the 2.0ghz with superdrive when i go back to school 
QCassidy352 said:I got the 2 ghz model... I think that it will resell better, and even though the base model would have been fine, I was spoiling myself.
I agree about the resell value and you do get a little better speed. It is noticeable.Go with the white 2.0.
I didn't really need the superdrive, as I prefer to use my external LaCie drive anyway, and I think the difference from 1.83 to 2.0 GHz is totally unnoticeable for most tasks.
That said, I just had to get the white 2.0 version out of pure psychological (or psychopathic) reasons, I just had to have all those specs to read 2 ():
That said, I just had to get the white 2.0 version out of pure psychological (or psychopathic) reasons, I just had to have all those specs to read 2 (
):Attachments
i always go for the highest option i can afford. my reasoning? 1, i'm a complete nerd and like knowing i have the latest and greatest. 2, i like knowing my specs won't be completely blown to crap three weeks after my purchase. 3, so that the computer lasts me longer before i start complaining about it lagging or being sluggish. and 4, for the resell. you figure, down the road you'll be selling it to upgrade, so you want to be able to offer the person buying it from you the best specs you can, so that you get more of your money back.
I ordered the white 2.0 as well. Although I'd rather have a faster dual-layer Superdrive, I have that in two other computers and rarely burn dual-layer because of the expense of the media. OTOH, I hardly use CDs at all any more, and it seems to me that iBooks with only Combo drives don't sell nearly as quickly as those with Superdrives.
I'm at or below 1GB of memory use much of the time on the Mini so I decided not to go the 2GB aftermarket memory route to offset the 2.0 price some. Since Apple's 1GB wasn't much if any more than a pair of 512MB aftermarket sticks, I went with Apple.
A 60GB HD would normally be plenty in a notebook for me, but I may have to be assimilated and install Windows on it, so I sprung for the $45 upgrade to 80GB.
I use a notebook outdoors in the sun and so didn't want a black solar collector. I hear MacBooks run hot enough without help. So I went with the white, which I like better anyway.
I'm at or below 1GB of memory use much of the time on the Mini so I decided not to go the 2GB aftermarket memory route to offset the 2.0 price some. Since Apple's 1GB wasn't much if any more than a pair of 512MB aftermarket sticks, I went with Apple.
A 60GB HD would normally be plenty in a notebook for me, but I may have to be assimilated and install Windows on it, so I sprung for the $45 upgrade to 80GB.
I use a notebook outdoors in the sun and so didn't want a black solar collector. I hear MacBooks run hot enough without help. So I went with the white, which I like better anyway.
daze said:
Hint to the newbie: You should read the post before replying to it.
I prefaced the comment with "If you don't really burn DVDs". It's not really worth paying $200 for the ability to burn DVDs if you're not going to use it. For $200, you can buy more an external DVD writer or more RAM, or a larger hard drive, or wireless mouse and keyboard, or an iPod ...
I mentioned HD-DVD because many people buy the DVD writer to "future proof" their machine. Unfortunately, the next generation of media is starting to make its way down to the consumer. So paying $200 isn't going to future proof squat.
Of course, $200 for a super drive isn't that much if you're willing to pay $150 for a color
QCassidy352 said:I got the 2 ghz model... I think that it will resell better
Will it resell for more? Yes, because you spent more.
Will it resell for $200 more? I don't think so.
w8ing4intelmacs said:
You know I could see down the road if apple keeps the curent form factor and starts using a bluray or hd-dvd cabable drive U might see a lot of people with older macbooks moding there systems by replacing the optical drives that is assuming the new drives of the future will fit in curent case. I seem to recall this happening with the superdrive for awhile with the ibook. Hell I might even do it myself being the hardware geek I am if it becomes posible that is of course after warrenty is up then i got nothing to lose by posibly voiding the warrenty but I expect that its a couple years down the road anyways before we start seing such hd cabable drives showing up.
Go the 2Ghz White, you'll kick yourself later if you don't. The past two books I bought were only combo drives and each time afterwards I kicked myself for not getting the superdrive.
Ok so it's not dual layer... but it's not a combo drive either.
Ok so it's not dual layer... but it's not a combo drive either.
chris y. said:
Resale value is higher but what gets me is how much value a lot of people put in the resale value of there computers who have no intention of ever selling it. I sorry but to put any value in something like that when you have no plans to ever sell it....
So before you ever put value in that is how long am I going to need it or will I ever sell it? if you are going to run it as long as possible before selling it the resale will pretty much be the same accross the board. Very poor. differnce of maybe 20 -30 bucks andI mean MAYBE. So it shouldnt matter.
Sorry rant on people saying resale value of blah blah is great. If you dont plan on or never will then WHY DO YOU CARE.