Help my wife get the right computer...

[psychotropic]

My wife's PC died and she would like to join the goodness that is Mac! My wife uses a computer for the internet, school assignments, and scrapbooking. I know that we would need to run VM fusion or Parallels to be able to run her PC based scrapbooking programs, but I'm not sure which macbook would be the best for her. These are the two options on the refurbished website. Would it be better to go the original white macbook and get the 2.4GHz or would the newer macbook be sufficient at the 2.0GHZ to run fusion or parallels?

I don't know alot about computers and thus I don't know if she would notice a difference between the two processors, thus I come to you all seeking advice.

Thanks,




Refurbished MacBook 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
$899.00
Save $150.00
14% off



Refurbished MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Aluminum
13.3-inch 1280-by-800 pixel LED-backlit display
2GB memory
160GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Standard keyboard
$949.00
Save $50.00
5% off

 

[MacMini2009]

That White Macbook has the sucky Intel graphics.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB881LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC240LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw

Those are the new White Macbooks with the 9400M graphics chip.

 

[guydude193]

That MacBook Pro you're talking about is a MacBook. The one with the 2GHz. They didn't make a MacBook Pro with that low of a clock speed.
However, you're not going to notice a difference with just 400MHz of extra power on the White MacBook, and it'll probably be slower because of the slower RAM and crappy Intel "GPU".

 

[iMav]

Any intel Mac with sufficient ram will run an XP vm just fine for her scrapbook program needs.

Just make sure she is alright with the 13.3" screen size and then let her pick which design she likes better. (my wife has a 15.4" MBP mainly because she hated the small screen size of the MB's, wanted portability, and didn't want to use an external monitor.

Me, on the other hand, loves the 13.3" MB/MBP form factor and is fine with the screen size/resolution as I am a heavy spaces user.

 

[guydude193]

Me, on the other hand, loves the 13.3" MB/MBP form factor and is fine with the screen size/resolution as I am a heavy spaces user.

'Me' should be 'I' and 'loves' should be 'love'. 'Is' should be 'am'.
Sorry, that'll be my last grammar correction of the night.

 

[iMav]

'Me' should be 'I' and 'loves' should be 'love'. 'Is' should be 'am'.
Sorry, that'll be my last grammar correction of the night.

Thanks fors dee correcshun. Me always workin on talkin more gooder.

 

[ditzy]

I'd get the 2.0 Ghz version. I has a much better graphics card, which imo makes up for the slight decrease in power from the processor.

 

[gnasher729]

To run VMWare or Parallels, to most important thing is RAM. Basically, you want as much RAM as you need to run MacOS X well, PLUS as much RAM as you need to run Windows well. But that's no problem anyway, order any MacBook or MacBook Pro with the smallest amount of RAM you can get and go to Crucial to buy 4 GB if you want to save a bit of money, but buying with 4 GB of RAM from Apple isn't that expensive. But anyway, you want 4 GB. Processor speed is secondary.

The graphics card makes no difference to most people. The white MacBook has a more friendly look than the MacBook Pro, many people like that. The MacBook will easily last 3 years. The MacBook Pro should last longer and it should look like new for longer. A major difference and a big advantage of the MacBook Pro is the battery, not only does each charge last a lot longer, but the battery lasts 1000 complete charges instead of 300-400. If you use the MacBook mostly when its not plugged in, the better battery of the MacBook Pro will safe you money. The other difference is the backlit keyboard. You can work in the living room with the lights down because the keyboard is lit on the MacBook Pro, so you don't have to guess what you are typing.

 

[macjay]

Amazon has the latest white MB for $960.

For the same money as that refurbished 2.4ghz, you can buy brand new.

 

[rgarjr]

Get the wify an Aluminum MacBook 2.4GHz. You can find good deals on ebay on them.

 

[panzer06]

Amazon has the latest white MB for $960.

For the same money as that refurbished 2.4ghz, you can buy brand new.

Apple refurbs are great deals. The 2.13 white is only $849 with the nvidia 9400. Similar deals are available on the Aluminum MBs are also available on the Apple refurb site.

Cheers,

 

[bruinsrme]

my recommendation would be; have your wife physically check out th mac line.

Scrap booking on the 13inch screen may be frustrating especially thrying to view a full page.

IMO the 13 is ultra portable but the 15 display far more info per page and full page views are easier to view and navigate around.