Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

motulist

macrumors 601
Dec 2, 2003
4,235
611
Try asking in the "buying advice" forum. Also, refer to it as a "white plastic 2010 macbook", because otherwise people will think you're talking about an entirely different computer and give you the wrong advice.
 

ApolloBoy

macrumors 6502a
Apr 16, 2015
778
305
San Jose, CA
Those are still pretty decent machines; once you've upgraded the RAM and added an SSD it runs really nice. After that it should do everything your brother's looking for and then some.
 

Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
They are more than enough for word, excel, and powerpoint presentations. That's in addition to the apps that comes with it, Safari, mail, iTunes, etc.

I wouldn't invest too much into a laptop for high school. Not until he goes to college and can afford his own, or at least partially pays for it.
 

ApolloBoy

macrumors 6502a
Apr 16, 2015
778
305
San Jose, CA
I wouldn't invest too much into a laptop for high school. Not until he goes to college and can afford his own, or at least partially pays for it.
Considering Apple sold a ton of white unibody MBs to public schools it's actually not a pretty bad choice.
 

SHEEPOS

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 26, 2015
45
7
They are more than enough for word, excel, and powerpoint presentations. That's in addition to the apps that comes with it, Safari, mail, iTunes, etc.

I wouldn't invest too much into a laptop for high school. Not until he goes to college and can afford his own, or at least partially pays for it.
so should I upgrade the hard drive to SSD or it's not worth it for high school students?
 

Ghost31

macrumors 68040
Jun 9, 2015
3,432
5,322
Believe it or not it's actually more than enough for high school. I will probably never say the following statement again: the MacBook is actually more powerful than you even need. So yes. It will work just fine.

But a $1300 super thin MacBook for high school? Maybe if your parents are paying for it and money isn't an issue, but if you're paying yourself you might want to buy used
 

Queen6

macrumors G4
Believe it or not it's actually more than enough for high school. I will probably never say the following statement again: the MacBook is actually more powerful than you even need. So yes. It will work just fine.

But a $1300 super thin MacBook for high school? Maybe if your parents are paying for it and money isn't an issue, but if you're paying yourself you might want to buy used

Wrong MacBook :)
iu

Like $300 for one in good condition

Q-6
 

boltjames

macrumors 601
May 2, 2010
4,876
2,852
my 13 yrs old brother is in high school student
I'm wondering if this macbook is good enough or stable for Microsoft office, 720p 10min editing(for his project)
what SSD for this mac is good and cheap

Yes. My 11 year old daughter uses it in junior high school for these purposes and it's a stock-standard one from years ago, hasn't been upgraded at all.

Just use the old, original operating system. Upgrading to something new slows the thing way down.

BJ
 

Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
Considering Apple sold a ton of white unibody MBs to public schools it's actually not a pretty bad choice.

If the schools buy it, then you have no real control over that. I'm talking about individual purchase decisions.
 

Wallabe

macrumors 6502a
Mar 15, 2015
660
205
so should I upgrade the hard drive to SSD or it's not worth it for high school students?

If the macbook still works, I would upgrade it to a SSD if cleaning or a fresh install doesn't speed things up. They are relatively cheap now, so even a 256GB SSD is more than sufficient. It will significantly boost load time and make basic applications load nearly instantly.

When I was in high school, a high schooler doesn't need anything that is the latest or greatest, so that Macbook is more than sufficient. They just need basic word and powerpoint editing. They wouldn't care anyway, because once they are done with homework, they'll just go outside and play.

By the time they get into college, their laptops will be more involved, so they may like to get a new machine when they enter college. Save the money for when he is in college.

The decision isn't necessarily about social-economics, but rather being wise with money. It doesn't matter if the parents are millionaires. If you just hand them new toys all the time, they become dependent and it becomes engrained into them, expecting things from their parents.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.