Mid-2010 MacBook White - Is it worth it?

[daniig]

Someone's offering me a Mid-2010 2,4GHZ 13" running OS X 10.7.5 for roughly $500.

I was planning to buy a new MBP after the WWDC, but they are not coming out till October *if* they release a new model, and my 2006 iMac barely works. So I need a new machine ASAP

Should I buy the MB and then upgrade when the new MBP comes out, or should I just buy the current MBP? Is $500 a good price for the MB?

 

[Hildegerd]

Is it in good shape?

Mine from 2010 is in tremendous good condition and out runs my friends macbook Air from 2012.

 

[madmacfan]

An a Mid 2010 white MacBook owner myself, I would definitely recommend this mac. It,s certainly worth it. They are very solid and reliable macs and I have never had an issue, since I bought mine on launch day back in 2010. Still looks as good as it did on launch day. it runs the latest Os and outperforms many of my friends MacBook airs on most tasks and can easily take 16gb of ram without any issues. The mid 2010 white unibody MacBook is still covered by Apples quality program, so if you're unfortunate enough to encounter hairline surface cracks around the hinges or charging port at any time during it's use (even if it's out of warranty) apple will replace the casing for free and you get a new screen thrown in as part of the repair.

 

[Livewings]

Someone's offering me a Mid-2010 2,4GHZ 13" running OS X 10.7.5 for roughly $500.

I was planning to buy a new MBP after the WWDC, but they are not coming out till October *if* they release a new model, and my 2006 iMac barely works. So I need a new machine ASAP

Should I buy the MB and then upgrade when the new MBP comes out, or should I just buy the current MBP? Is $500 a good price for the MB?

Not worth it. It's has an ancient C2D with a prehistoric graphics part. I bet this thing boots in 5 minutes minimum.

Go get yourself a VivoBook X202E

 

[paulbennett95]

Not worth it. It's has an ancient C2D with a prehistoric graphics part. I bet this thing boots in 5 minutes minimum.

Considering my C2D MacBook from 2008 boots in ~30 seconds with all original parts, I think your claims are baseless

------------------------

To OP,
If you're a basic user then I'd definitely take the offer. If you're a power user, I'd go for the current MBP, I doubt the new one that Apple releases will be much better, probably will have a Haswell processor for increased battery life and that's about it.

 

[AppleFanatic10]

Someone's offering me a Mid-2010 2,4GHZ 13" running OS X 10.7.5 for roughly $500.

I was planning to buy a new MBP after the WWDC, but they are not coming out till October *if* they release a new model, and my 2006 iMac barely works. So I need a new machine ASAP

Should I buy the MB and then upgrade when the new MBP comes out, or should I just buy the current MBP? Is $500 a good price for the MB?

I think that's a great deal! I have a MB 2010 that I purchased in Nov '10. Although it has a lot of scratches and it has a few hairline cracks on the hinges and by the ethernet port, it works AMAZING. I put 8GB of RAM in my MB a couple of years ago and its fast! Plus since I downgraded to 10.6.8, the battery life is 10x better than the updated Macbooks (IMO). Plus $500 is a lot cheaper than paying $1,000+ for a macbook especially if that's in great condition.

 

[madmacfan]

Not worth it. It's has an ancient C2D with a prehistoric graphics part. I bet this thing boots in 5 minutes minimum.

Go get yourself a VivoBook X202E

1) The graphics on this mac are not ancient. This mac uses an Nvidia 320m GPU chipset and has a similar benchmark score to intel HD3000 GPUS. It can also handle a wide variety of games including minecraft mods with a decent framerate and no lag whatsoever.

2) Even on the stock 250GB HDD, it still manages boot times of under 30 seconds and with an SSD fitted, it can boot in as little as 13 seconds. With my mid 2010 white MB I consistently achieve boot times of 13.5 seconds and shutdown times of 4 seconds. Even with a C2D it's by no means slow. it is very snappy and responsive and still outperforms MacBook airs on many tasks. It can also handle 16gb of ram, far more than any MacBook air currently around.

 

[pastrychef]

Not worth it. It's has an ancient C2D with a prehistoric graphics part. I bet this thing boots in 5 minutes minimum.

Go get yourself a VivoBook X202E

If he wanted to run Windows, do you think he would be asking here?

 

[Livewings]

1) The graphics on this mac are not ancient. This mac uses an Nvidia 320m GPU chipset and has a similar benchmark score to intel HD3000 GPUS. It can also handle a wide variety of games including minecraft mods with a decent framerate and no lag whatsoever.

2) Even on the stock 250GB HDD, it still manages boot times of under 30 seconds and with an SSD fitted, it can boot in as little as 13 seconds. With my mid 2010 white MB I consistently achieve boot times of 13.5 seconds and shutdown times of 4 seconds. Even with a C2D it's by no means slow. it is very snappy and responsive and still outperforms MacBook airs on many tasks. It can also handle 16gb of ram, far more than any MacBook air currently around.

C2D is slow. Do not get it. It is similar to current gen Atoms which are based on old Pentium M architecture. Slow and clunky. Plus their MacBooks can only support 2GB ram max. VivoBook can go 16GB if you wish.

If you still want a Mac, get a 2011 MBA.

 

[madmacfan]

C2D is slow. Do not get it. It is similar to current gen Atoms which are based on old Pentium M architecture. Slow and clunky. Plus their MacBooks can only support 2GB ram max. VivoBook can go 16GB if you wish.

If you still want a Mac, get a 2011 MBA.

The mid 2010 white MacBook can go to 16gb. It was only the first generation MacBook that supported 2gb max and that was back in 2006. Since then every white MacBook model has been able to support more than 2gb ram and the mid 2010 white MacBook which the op is thinking of buying supports 16gb ram. This mac has a core 2 duo and while it is not exactly new technology it is not slow at all. It can still out perform MacBook airs on even the simplest of tasks, runs Mountain lion very fast and efficiently and is set to support OSX mavericks 10.9

 

[Livewings]

The mid 2010 white MacBook can go to 16gb. It was only the first generation MacBook that supported 2gb max and that was back in 2006. Since then every white MacBook model has been able to support more than 2gb ram and the mid 2010 white MacBook which the op is thinking of buying supports 16gb ram. This mac has a core 2 duo and while it is not exactly new technology it is not slow at all. It can still out perform MacBook airs on even the simplest of tasks, runs Mountain lion very fast and efficiently and is set to support OSX mavericks 10.9

It is plastic. Enough said.

 

[madmacfan]

It is plastic. Enough said.

What's that supposed to mean? White MacBooks especially the mid 2010 white Unibody MacBook are very solidly built. They are super reliable and perform excedingly well, with a Nvidia 320m GPU. A lot of people prefer the look of a white MacBook to an aluminium one such as the MBP, and the mid 2010 white MacBook is the best of both worlds, it not only looks good but performs well too. (plus it doesn't dent if you drop it) If you're the kind of person whose looking for a more powerful mac then a MBP or haswell macbook air may be for you. But having said that a mid 2010 MacBook is more than powerful enough for the average user who may want to edit video footage or music.

 

[pastrychef]

Don't feed the troll.

I reported him.

 

[tom vilsack]

Your 2006 Imac should run fine...whats wrong with it? Have you tried doing a clean install of snow leopard (or lion)...I have same 2006 2.0 Imac and it runs great.

If the Macbook is in vnc, then $500 is a fair price...you could use it for next 6 months or so before the new mbp come out and then simply resell on craigs ect...at worst you lose 50-100 but get use of nice laptop for a while...btw: if you could afford putting a ssd into it,you will be blown away at how much of a difference it makes...

 

[vistadude]

Get a macbook air. The macbook is 3 years old, the processor is 4 years old, and it won't be supported by future OS's and software much longer. It works fine for word processing, but it's slow when scrolling through webpages. That being said, if you could negotiate for $350, it would be a good deal.

 

[daniig]

Thanks to everyone for your opinions, you've all been quite helpful. I'll probably get a MBP and be done with it, since the MBA will be hard to resell even if I only use it for a couple of months.

Your 2006 Imac should run fine...whats wrong with it? Have you tried doing a clean install of snow leopard (or lion)...I have same 2006 2.0 Imac and it runs great.

Screen has 7 lines of dead pixels, it constantly freezes, even when I'm doing simple tasks such as web surfing, text processing, etc. I love to do photography and digital art, but even with 2GB RAM the iMac struggles, freezes and sometimes causes Photoshop to crash, sometimes loosing hours of work. It would probably work better if I did a clean install of Snow Leopard, granted, it's been a GREAT machine for almost seven years, but I'd still feel more comfortable with a more powerful machine. Also, I want a computer I can take with me to my lectures, which of course is something I can't do with my iMac.

 

[SkyBell]

It is plastic. Enough said.

The current line of MacBook products are metal. Enough said.

 

[soapsudz]

I'm running the 2010 Macbook, I'm impressed that it's still a great machine for OS X and Windows. I can do some decent gaming with the 320M GPU especially with it overclocked. It's my main computer at the moment although it doesn't get outside much, the iPad is better for that.

I've added 8GB RAM, a fast SSD and a big fat hard drive in the optical disc bay - the old thing flies You can even go up to 16GB RAM if you think you need it.

Is the case replacement program still on? I have some hairline cracks on the top case near the hinge, the cracks pointing inwards towards the Apple logo. I would love to get a new top case and a screen if Apple is still doing this repair.

 

[Livewings]

The current line of MacBook products are metal. Enough said.

Yes it is. The way I like em.

 

[madmacfan]

I'm running the 2010 Macbook, I'm impressed that it's still a great machine for OS X and Windows. I can do some decent gaming with the 320M GPU especially with it overclocked. It's my main computer at the moment although it doesn't get outside much, the iPad is better for that.

I've added 8GB RAM, a fast SSD and a big fat hard drive in the optical disc bay - the old thing flies You can even go up to 16GB RAM if you think you need it.

Is the case replacement program still on? I have some hairline cracks on the top case near the hinge, the cracks pointing inwards towards the Apple logo. I would love to get a new top case and a screen if Apple is still doing this repair.

Hi, Yes they are still covering this repair under the quality program. Take your MB into any apple store and they will replace the lid/ screen free of charge. If you run into any problems, let me know and i'll PM you with my repair receipt.

 

[soapsudz]

How long did it take for the case replacement? Did you have to leave your machine there?

Mine is my main work computer so I can't afford to leave it for a few weeks at the service center.

 

[madmacfan]

How long did it take for the case replacement? Did you have to leave your machine there?

Mine is my main work computer so I can't afford to leave it for a few weeks at the service center.

I took mine into the covent garden Apple store here in London last week and had it back in 3 and a half days. I took my MB in on the monday afternoon and got it back on thursday morning. I got £254 ($391 usd) worth of repairs for absolutely nothing, not bad at all.

 

[SkyBell]

Yes it is. The way I like em.

Some of us don't care for them. Personally, I feel they give off a cold, emotionless vibe. Too serious, too "strictly business." MacBooks have some character, an air of leisure and "playfulness" about them.

As far as power? I just got a 2.2 GHz C2D MacBook to replace my 1.4 GHz PowerPC eMac for "heavy" tasks. To me, this thing is a speed demon.

 

[G-Mo]

An a Mid 2010 white MacBook owner myself, I would definitely recommend this mac. It,s certainly worth it. They are very solid and reliable macs and I have never had an issue, since I bought mine on launch day back in 2010. Still looks as good as it did on launch day. it runs the latest Os and outperforms many of my friends MacBook airs on most tasks and can easily take 16gb of ram without any issues. The mid 2010 white unibody MacBook is still covered by Apples quality program, so if you're unfortunate enough to encounter hairline surface cracks around the hinges or charging port at any time during it's use (even if it's out of warranty) apple will replace the casing for free and you get a new screen thrown in as part of the repair.

There is actually no quality program for the cracked cases, it's assessed on a case-by-case basis. The only REP for these units is for bottom case delamination.

 

[madmacfan]

There is actually no quality program for the cracked cases, it's assessed on a case-by-case basis. The only REP for these units is for bottom case delamination.

Thats not true. There is an internal quality program and this was extended to cover the cracking in the clamshell hear the hinges. I have the repair reciept to prove it. This is a common fault with all white unibody macbooks mid 2009 and mid 2010 models. On the day I visited the covent garden apple store (last Monday the 17th) there were 6 other people at the genius bar with the same white unibody macbook model all displaying the same fault of cracking in the clamshell near the hinges. The rubber bottom replacement program is a completely different program and has been made public as apple considers this a user replaceable part.