Macbook 13" Still Useful?

[StockDC2]

Hello, my cousin's birthday is coming up and I have a Macbook 13" Unibody (Mid 2010) that I was going to give her.

The specs are:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz
Memory: 4GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 250GB

She's going to be going to college next year and so I want to surprise her with a new (to her at least) computer. She's using my old HP with an Intel Solo 1.83 Ghz CPU so to say that she's far overdue for an upgrade is an understatement.

She doesn't do any Photoshop so she doesn't need anything too powerful but I was wondering if the Macbook would be enough to get her through her freshman year (she won't start school until 2014).

The other thing that I could do is sell the Macbook for $400ish (it's in excellent condition and comes with the box, accessories, etc) and get her a newer Dell with an i5 or i7 processor. That was my original intention but I think girls her age are willing to give up performance just to have a computer with an Apple logo.

Anywho, please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

 

[madmacfan]

Hello, my cousin's birthday is coming up and I have a Macbook 13" Unibody (Mid 2010) that I was going to give her.

The specs are:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz
Memory: 4GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 250GB

She's going to be going to college next year and so I want to surprise her with a new (to her at least) computer. She's using my old HP with an Intel Solo 1.83 Ghz CPU so to say that she's far overdue for an upgrade is an understatement.

She doesn't do any Photoshop so she doesn't need anything too powerful but I was wondering if the Macbook would be enough to get her through her freshman year (she won't start school until 2014).

The other thing that I could do is sell the Macbook for $400ish (it's in excellent condition and comes with the box, accessories, etc) and get her a newer Dell with an i5 or i7 processor. That was my original intention but I think girls her age are willing to give up performance just to have a computer with an Apple logo.

Anywho, please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

Having a mid 2010 macbook 13" myself, I can confirm that this will suit her needs just fine. It's capable of handling photoshop and final cut pro x, as I use these apps on a regular basis without any slowdown or performance issues. For a 3 year old macbook, it's surprisingly reliable and is not slow at all even with the stock 250gb hdd. You can also run windows 7 or 8 in bootcamp if she still wants to use windows. Theres not much in it. It all comes down to whether you think she'd prefer a mac or a new pc.

 

[DaKKs]

I still use the original white macbook and a Powerbook G4 daily, so i'd say yours will do just fine in a school environment. I know i used my two macs for software/multimedia design this year and they did okay. A mac nearly half a decade newer should meet and exceed the expectations.

EDIT: DDR3 ram is cheap nowadays, give it 8 gb. and consider an SSD, there is no better upgrade.

 

[MPclk2006]

Hello, my cousin's birthday is coming up and I have a Macbook 13" Unibody (Mid 2010) that I was going to give her.

The specs are:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz
Memory: 4GB DDR3
Hard Drive: 250GB

She's going to be going to college next year and so I want to surprise her with a new (to her at least) computer. She's using my old HP with an Intel Solo 1.83 Ghz CPU so to say that she's far overdue for an upgrade is an understatement.

She doesn't do any Photoshop so she doesn't need anything too powerful but I was wondering if the Macbook would be enough to get her through her freshman year (she won't start school until 2014).

The other thing that I could do is sell the Macbook for $400ish (it's in excellent condition and comes with the box, accessories, etc) and get her a newer Dell with an i5 or i7 processor. That was my original intention but I think girls her age are willing to give up performance just to have a computer with an Apple logo.

Anywho, please let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

I guess it depends on what you want to do with it, I just bought a used mid 2009 macbook and I love it, I have mountain lion on it, and runs great.

 

[MeUnix]

I think that MacBook would fit her needs just fine. I'm a developer and I use a Late '08 Aluminum MacBook as my main computer (although I am upgrading to the new MacBook Pro when it is released) and it works just fine for my needs.

 

[StockDC2]

Awesome, thanks so much for the responses.

I've decided to gift her the Macbook instead of a newer Dell. Memory and an SSD are a must but I'm hoping that she'll ask her parents for those .

Speaking of which, I threw an SSD into my MBP 17" 2010 and it is almost just as fast as my rMBP when it comes to opening apps and booting into the OS. Pretty crazy!

 

[DaKKs]

I guess it depends on what you want to do with it, I just bought a used mid 2009 macbook and I love it, I have mountain lion on it, and runs great.

Is it only mine or does ML eat ram like a bugger compared to lion? Got 4gb in my mid-2009. Unfortunately mine is maxed out.

 

[Atomic Walrus]

Definitely do the SSD upgrade. The RAM is a case-by-case matter (doesn't help performance until you actually exceed the available RAM) but an SSD will make the machine feel brand new for many day to day tasks.

Edit: Hey, I should read the whole thread before replying since you already addressed those, right? Either way it should definitely be sufficient for normal college work. Writing papers, online homework systems, viewing PDFs.

 

[MPclk2006]

Is it only mine or does ML eat ram like a bugger compared to lion? Got 4gb in my mid-2009. Unfortunately mine is maxed out.

I don't really notice it, this is my first mac that I use full time (have had an imac since 2008 but my wife always used that one while I used my laptop)...i think it performs just fine, give it a few months I might upgrade the RAM, but what I really want is a bigger harddrive, I dont think 160 is enough for me hahaha

 

[DaKKs]

I don't really notice it, this is my first mac that I use full time (have had an imac since 2008 but my wife always used that one while I used my laptop)...i think it performs just fine, give it a few months I might upgrade the RAM, but what I really want is a bigger harddrive, I dont think 160 is enough for me hahaha

Again, ssd. Go for it. Amazing difference. Also, ram is gonna be a bitch. Yours takes 6gb 1x4 + 1x2 and the 4 gb modules are expensive as hell.

Mine is liquid damaged so i can olny use one slot which has a 4gb module. I gave and arm, a leg and my firstborn.

 

[MPclk2006]

Again, ssd. Go for it. Amazing difference. Also, ram is gonna be a bitch. Yours takes 6gb 1x4 + 1x2 and the 4 gb modules are expensive as hell.

Mine is liquid damaged so i can olny use one slot which has a 4gb module. I gave and arm, a leg and my firstborn.

from what I read here SSDs are so expensive, maybe I dont understand why they are so much for not a lot of memory...

 

[rjcalifornia]

What? Of course, it is very useful!

I run Photoshop, iMovie, Adobe Lightroom, etc. And also plays 1080p with no issues.

 

[ZVH]

With 4G of RAM, and assuming the MacBook is new enough (mid 2009 or newer, if I'm not mistake) they have no problem running ML.

The biggest asset on those units was the way the HD could be swapped out in just a few minutes.

 

[DaKKs]

from what I read here SSDs are so expensive, maybe I dont understand why they are so much for not a lot of memory...

Its a completely different type of storage media. Instead of the conventional spinning disc drive, SSD's use flash type memory. Like pendrives, memory cards etc. And the production cost of this relatively new technology is pretty high. The upside is unbelievable speeds. A fast mechanical drive maxes out on around 100mbps, while an SSD has no problem doing 400-500. My Lenovo boots in 12 seconds with an Intel SSD and 30-ish with the original hard drive.

That said, a few years ago they were a lot more expensive. Today they are completely affordable. And trust me, drives are far more expensive here that on your side of the pond. **** Sweden and the copyright taxes.

 

[cherishzm]

from what I read here SSDs are so expensive, maybe I dont understand why they are so much for not a lot of memory...

I'm sure it'll be a great gift for your cousin, but it can be even much better with the SSD upgrade.

You can buy a reliable 128GB SSD for around $80 which is not a bad investment considering the benefits you would get from it. If this space is not enough, ditch out the DVD drive and buy an optibay caddy ($10 on Amazon.com) to put the original HDD in to triple the storage space.

This upgrade will make the 2010 MBP feel like a new one!

 

[brdeveloper]

Besides the SSD upgrade, it would be nice adding USB3 support to a White Macbook. Sadly, there isn't any easy solution. With the small storage that SSDs provide, it's nice having the option of using fast external storage.

 

[MPclk2006]

Its a completely different type of storage media. Instead of the conventional spinning disc drive, SSD's use flash type memory. Like pendrives, memory cards etc. And the production cost of this relatively new technology is pretty high. The upside is unbelievable speeds. A fast mechanical drive maxes out on around 100mbps, while an SSD has no problem doing 400-500. My Lenovo boots in 12 seconds with an Intel SSD and 30-ish with the original hard drive.

That said, a few years ago they were a lot more expensive. Today they are completely affordable. And trust me, drives are far more expensive here that on your side of the pond. **** Sweden and the copyright taxes.

Thank yOu for the information. I will think about it, right now my Macbook is doing just fine, then again I have not tried loading it with all my music, movies, pictures, etc, its mainly just a faster, easier to move around laptop which I find myself using a lot more now. Once I start having issues with it being full I will research upgrading to SSD.