$999 WhiteBook or $1299 Aluminum for School/Internet?

[mosx]

The MacBook white is not worth the time or trouble.

For one, it's most definitely not more durable than the unibody MacBook. I had two different MacBook whites and they both needed multiple case replacements. They never even left my desk! They just crack due to heat and time. The build quality issues of the MacBook white eventually led to multiple system replacements that landed me with an aluminum MacBook.

Plus I know college students with plastic MacBooks and they're riddled with cracks in various places. Some due to heat, some due to just regular use.

The unibody MacBook won't suffer from these issues. They are, however, still not as durable as PCs in the same price range.

Also, the MacBook white does NOT have faster processing capabilities. The CPU looks faster on paper, but the MUCH faster FSB and DDR3 RAM in the $1299 unibody MacBook will take it will beyond what the MacBook White is capable of.

The unibody Mac will just last longer. It has a more durable case, longer life display, unofficially supports 6GB of RAM, and the 9400M GPU will have a nice impact if Apple keeps true to their word with Snow Leopard's OpenCL capabilities.

 

[99MustangGTman]

Get the MBA. I got one and love mine!

 

[MacsArePimp]

haha

For the post that said most of the pro-white macbooks are their owners, yeah its true, duh. But, Im speaking from the viewpoint of someone who returned the aluminum for the white one. And dont call me crazy. Some people are all about NEW. Im about quality and value. The main reason i gave back my aluminum was lack of firewire, i got all excited when i saw the new one and got it. BIG DISSAPOINTMENT. It looks cooler, I like the trackpad better, but there are reasons why i gave it back for the white one. 1) Maybe it was just mine, but my white macbook renders in final cut about 6% faster than the aluminum. 2) FIREWIRE. 3) It was $400 cheaper with student discount. 4) I was afraid to even carry the aluminum one. It just felt flimsy.

So far, my white one is way better than my aluminum was. Some people may like the fact they can say "But mines Newwwwer." but for me, its not about showing off, its about getting whats best for the money. And my friend in my film class is actually going in this weekend to get his money back for his aluminum and he's buying a white one. And Seriously! I dont want to buy a freaking MBP just to have firewire! So I guess its about how show-y off you are. Overall, Heres the best way to think about it.

The alum macbook can't do anything more than the white macbook other than look newer. But the white macbook can do more than the aluminum. Cough cough, FIREWIRE.

 

[Primejimbo]

1. Use the student discount, save $100.
2. Use NeoOffice or OpenOffice instead of Microsoft office (they read and write all the formats you will ever need), save $200.

Now buy the ALU Macbook, because it has better specs and will last you a good deal longer than the white one performance wise.

Or...

Keep the $300 you just saved and buy the more physically durable white MacBook and spend $100 of that 300 on more ram and a bigger HDD... or books.

Isn't the student discount $50 now?
MS office is $149.00 ($129 on sale at some places) so you're $100-120.00 off now.

 

[wishman35]

thanks for all of the advice guys!

 

[oban14]

The new trackpad is the reason I was finally willing to get a laptop with only one mouse button.

It isn't close IMO.

 

[Corvillus]

Both MacBooks (and probably ANY MacBook, even a 1.83GHz 2006 one, for that matter) will do the things you need it to do. That said, I would recommend that you get the unibody MacBook, because it is so much better than the white ones are. The trackpads aren't at all comparable, the unibody is also much more durable, and the 1033MHz FSB and 9400M make a big difference in noticeable performance between the 2.4GHz white and the 2.0 unibody, let alone the 2.1GHz available now. In Leopard, right of the bat even simple things like Exposé are notably faster on the 9400M, and you can bet the performance differences will only increase with the OpenGL optimized Snow Leopard.

 

[jbromer]

It's funny that many of the people who suggest the whitebook over the new aluminum macbook are indeed owners of the whitebook who may have been frustrated with the release of a major update over their model.

Possibly true, but I would also point out that only the people recommending the whitebook actually are answering the OP's question. OP was not asking if the unibody is faster/more powerful (it is), more attractive (it is), or even more bang for the buck (it is). OP was asking if $300 more was worth it for the applications listed (e-mail, internet, itunes).

For that, I agree with the whitebook people that $300 for those specific indications is definitely a waste.

I went through the same debate, and ended up getting a heavily discounted whitebook. Upgraded the RAM (which is also WAY cheaper), and I couldn't be happier.