Impressed with MacBook 5,2 and questions

[rex450se]

I picked up a mid 2009 white MacBook 2.13Ghz, 2 GB of ram for $30 last night that needed a hard drive. The guy said that it would power on but wouldn't do anything and he thought it needed a hard drive. I was going to pay $50 for it but when he got it put back together it wouldn't even power on so he took $30 for it. I got it home last night and the first thing I noticed when taking it apart was the ribbon cable to the keyboard wasn't plugged in, no reason it wouldn't turn on. So I connected that and put a 320 Gb hard drive I had laying around in it and used my Mavericks bootable USB and loaded it up and am typing this from it right now. I am really impressed with the speed of this thing. It isn't a slouch at all. Especially when having only 2 GB of Ram and coming from my rMBP that makes anything look bad. I think this will be perfect for my kids and for browsing the web while I'm sitting in my chair watching tv with the wife. It's nice and small and just a great little laptop. It's not the best cosmetically but it works great. Is it common for these to have the white plastic cracking all over? And how much ram will this take? I've seen some stuff say 8 GB and some say 6 GB? I don't want to pay the price of 8 if it will only use 6. Thanks in advance.

Victor

 

[Intell]

You can put up to 6GB in that machine. The cracks are common on them. Apple has an extension repair program were they'll replace the cracked parts for free. If you are wanting to get the cracked parts replaced, I suggest doing it soon. Those older Macbooks only have less than a year of support remaining until Apple won't touch them anymore.

 

[rex450se]

Where do I find out about this repair program? I did a quick search and didn't see anything

 

[iDutchman]

You just have to make an appointment at the Genius Bar in your local Apple Store. They replace chipped off keyboards (topcases) up to 5 yrs from the purchase date. So a 2009 MacBook is on the edge. I would advise you to make an appointment ASAP.

When this is done, the whole inside part of the MacBook looks new again.

 

[MPclk2006]

I also have a mid 2009 macbook, bought it last year on Amazon for $240, it has been great and turned into my main computer I use for school work. I am upgrading the RAM this weekeend (ordered RAM from amazon as well), I am only doing 4GB because I do not need more and to do 8GB (yes apparently it takes 8GB) it would be over $120 to buy.

Mine only has scratches, no cracks that I have noticed but did not know that Apple would take care of their products for so long after purchase. I was going to update the harddrive as well but I dont think I need more the 160GB that it has.

 

[Intell]

(ordered RAM from amazon as well), I am only doing 4GB because I do not need more and to do 8GB (yes apparently it takes 8GB) it would be over $120 to buy.

The OP's is a mid-2009 Macbook. Only the late-2009 and newer models can take 8GB. The OP's is limited to 6GB.

 

[Twimfy]

The OP's is a mid-2009 Macbook. Only the late-2009 and newer models can take 8GB. The OP's is limited to 6GB.

Correct.

 

[rex450se]

Well, I just ordered a new battery, this one wouldn't last an hour, and 4 GB of Ram. I couldn't justify the prices of the 4 GB sticks for something the kids will browse the internet with. I still don't have a $100 in it, so I can't complain. I'll make an appointment with the Apple store to see about replacing the case.

Victor

 

[dylin]

Glad to hear youre enjoying your purchase. If it wasnt for that 9400m i think it would feel as slow as a turtle

I had the model right after yours and i gave it to my little cousins and i kinda miss it a bit.

 

[jbsmithmac]

...So I connected that and put a 320 Gb hard drive I had laying around in it and used my Mavericks bootable USB and loaded it up and am typing this from it right now....

Victor

I just got a used late-2009 unibody white macbook that only has 2GB of ram, but its a 2.26Ghz machine.

I'm running 10.8.5...and was considering going to Mavericks because of its more efficient use of memory and batter (among other things).

How did yours like Mavericks with only 2GB of ram (I might upgrade later, but perhaps not if it works well)....

Thanks!

 

[rex450se]

I just got a used late-2009 unibody white macbook that only has 2GB of ram, but its a 2.26Ghz machine.

I'm running 10.8.5...and was considering going to Mavericks because of its more efficient use of memory and batter (among other things).

How did yours like Mavericks with only 2GB of ram (I might upgrade later, but perhaps not if it works well)....

Thanks!

Since it had a bad hard drive when I got it I can't compare the previous OS to Mavericks. But when I first replaced the hard drive and loaded Mavericks on it with the 2 GB of Ram it ran fine. No noticeable slowdowns or beach balling. I have a white early 2008 MacBook with 10.5.8 on it right now and this one with Mavericks is a huge improvement. I received the 4 GB of Ram today, woohoo for Amazon's Saturday delivery option, and installed it right away. To be honest I haven't noticed any improvement or difference yet. But like I said, with just the 2 GB of ram it ran great, but the most we do on it is Safari so far. I couldn't beat $40 for 4 GB of ram though and I got the battery for $15 so I have less than $90 in this and it's a great little machine.

Now if only I can sell this other white MacBook I may get out of this breaking even or with a few bucks extra in my pocket. I've never had so much trouble selling a $120 laptop. I've sold 4 G5 PowerMacs for about $140 each, but an Intel MacBook and nobody's bitting.

Victor

 

[jbsmithmac]

Thanks for the review. I may be interested in that Macbook... PM me the specs and $!!

 

[rex450se]

Just got back from the Apple store and they are replacing the case on this mid 2009 MacBook free of charge. I'm so happy with this little sub-$100 machine. And now it will look great to. I'm glad you guys pointed that out that they will fix it. Thanks

Victor

 

[rex450se]

Got a call last night that it was done. They told me 72 Hours but it was done in 4. The outside still looks used but not bad, not nearly like the inside. Now she looks like a new machine. Now I'm just waiting on a data doubler to remove the dvd drive, move the hard drive there and add an SSD.

Victor