I don't know what to choose!!!

[ZenithGuardiano]

OK! I've been planning on getting a Macbook for months! Oh by the way, I'm a long time viewer of the site, first time poster. Anyway, I was planning on getting the OLD Macbook, the one that cost like $1,1?? with the School discount thing. Now, I see the same one, refurbished, for $999.

I would really like to get a new one, but I DON'T HAVE MUCH CASH... And I don't know if the refurbished ones are actually good...

Anyway, the new Macbook with the combo drive, that cost $999 with the education discount, well, is NEW for the same price as the refurbished one.

These are the specs of the refurbished ones:
2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
1GB memory
120GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

The NEW, Low end model's specs:

* 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* Combo drive

I plan to use my Macbook to make videos, place photos, and I'm gonna start an event planning business, so use it for business.

Please help me (I'm not a MAC owner... yet).

Things to consider:

The Combo Drive, what's up with that? I want to buy an apple tv later, so can I rip my dvd's with it?

The whole penryn thing, will it make a difference?

Will it last me a few years?

Are refurbished Macbooks good?

Sorry for all this blabber and questions, but I've never owned a Mac and I want it to be just right. Please help...

 

[macenforcer]

I would get a new one. The old ones had major fan noise problems. Like the chip would get too hot very quickly and the fan would jump to 6500rpms instantly. I am hoping the new ones don't do this.

 

[JBenz07]

well you wont be able to burn DVDs with the combo drive so I'm thinking that you'll have to buy the refurbished one. From what i hear and have seen before, Refurbs are as good if not better than most new macbooks. I say go for the refurb because the performance increase in the new chip is probably like 3% and you wouldn't even notice it. Hope this helps

 

[slybeans]

I would get a new one. The old ones had major fan noise problems. Like the chip would get too hot very quickly and the fan would jump to 6500rpms instantly. I am hoping the new ones don't do this.

Do they all have that problem?

Mine seems to be ok so far.

 

[macenforcer]

Do they all have that problem?

Mine seems to be ok so far.

Watch an HD movie trailer, or ichat, or look at flash movies.

 

[JBenz07]

Watch an HD movie trailer, or ichat, or look at flash movies.

well naturally the fans will start whizzing on heavy tasks like internet video or anything thats processor heavy but as far as comparing it to the MBP, it wont get too hot on your lap, nor that loud. As far as i know, the new processor chip won't show a dramatic increase in performance and the OP will get more bang for his buck going with the refurb.

 

[heatmiser]

Watch an HD movie trailer, or ichat, or look at flash movies.

All Apple laptops do this. The thin cases don't circulate air effectively when paired with the fans they use. No new processor will change this. Besides that, OS X has wretched flash implementation.

 

[macenforcer]

All Apple laptops do this. The thin cases don't circulate air effectively when paired with the fans they use. No new processor will change this. Besides that, OS X has wretched flash implementation.

WRONG. New macbook pro owner just ran this test for me and the fan never went past 2000rpms.

 

[dougnewman]

If you can afford it, the best deal by far (IMHO) is the current upper-level white MacBook. It gives you 2 GB RAM and a bigger HD. (Of course, you could also upgrade those later.)

That said, if cost is really important, I'd go with the refurb to get the SuperDrive. IMHO it's rather cheap of Apple to go not include a SuperDrive in an $1,100 notebook.

 

[mashinhead]

i think the questions comes down to the superdrive, the rest all seems the same to me an i don't think you'll notice a differnece at all. If you're burning dvd's get the new one if not save money and get the old one.

 

[heatmiser]

WRONG. New macbook pro owner just ran this test for me and the fan never went past 2000rpms.

Do you think it might have had something to do with his using a brand new computer with nothing on the hard drive but the operating system and a bit of software? Or the nearly sterile interior of the casing, which had yet to be contaminated by fan/vent-clogging, core-rising dust? You're comparing an untouched computer to well-used ones; you'd see a difference even if both had the same processors to begin with.

The accurate way to compare two computers in this fashion would be to compare two brand new computers--ie, a brand new MBP and a brand new (refurbished) MBP from the last revision. From there, direct both users to Youtube to watch the same video through the same browser. I doubt you'd see more than a few hundred rpm difference between the machines, if that much.