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

NEW MAC USER - New White Macbook or 2.0 Aluminum Macbook??

Colin0317

Colin0317

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 29, 2009
125
1
Hello everyone,

Is this new White Macbook almost as fast as the new 2.0 aluminum Macbook? This will be my first Mac purchase. I cannot decide between the two. I will be using this notebook to listen to music (BTW are the speakers on this as good as the aluminum ones???), surf the Web, run Vista or Windows 7 using Bootcamp for software that don't exist on Mac, photo editing, watching HD movies from iTunes and I'd like to be able to play Diablo III and Star Craft II. I take great care of my stuff and don't like when my "toys" gets scratched or have cosmetic flaws on them, so I'd also like to know if the White one will get swirl scratches on it if I take good care of it. Do they have these swirl marks when they are new (saw this on the display at the store). I'm super excited to get my Macbook, can't wait! :apple::D
 
Colin0317 said:
I will be using this notebook to listen to music (BTW are the speakers on this as good as the aluminum ones???)
Click to expand...

The speakers on the plastic MacBook are not as good as on the aluminum ones. However, the $300 dollars you save by purchasing the plastic one could be spent on a Klipsch iFi speaker system, which is probably the best speaker system under $1000 ever created by mankind! And it only costs $300. Click here to see it: http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/ifi.aspx

BTW, in order to use the Klipsch iFi with your MacBook, you will need to buy a 3.5mm male-to-male stereo cable, which can be bought for less than $1 at MonoPrice.com. I'd suggest either the 6ft one for $0.54 ( http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021802&p_id=644&seq=1&format=2 ) or the 12 ft one for $0.94 ( http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...d=10218&cs_id=1021802&p_id=645&seq=1&format=2 ).
 
in my opinion, the aluminum are going to be much more sturdy.

Reason 1 - unibody structure.
Reason 2 - glass across lcd makes it more rigid

will have more nicks and scuffs than aluminum.

in terms of sound, ifixit.com does a disassembly of the macbooks and shows that the aluminum macbooks now have a subwoofer built-in (albeit small)

the white ones have L and R speakers only
 
white cheaper same internals and firewire (it should be in the unibody but its not what the heck)
 
Unibody MB: DDR3 RAM, larger stock HDD, LED-backlit display, better speakers, Multi-Touch glass trackpad w/ no buttons, glass across display, aluminum unibody, Mini Display Port, no FireWire, 4.5 lbs and slightly thinner, 45-watt-hour battery, 5 hrs wireless productivity.

White MB: DDR2 RAM, smaller stock HDD, TFT display, poorer speakers, standard trackpad (no Multi-Touch), no glass on display, polycarbonate enclosure, Mini-DVI port, FireWire, 5 lbs and slightly thicker, 55-watt-hour battery, 4.5 hrs wireless productivity.

I think I got it all...
 
skorpien said:
Unibody MB: DDR3 RAM, larger stock HDD, LED-backlit display, better speakers, Multi-Touch glass trackpad w/ no buttons, glass across display, aluminum unibody, Mini Display Port, no FireWire, 4.5 lbs and slightly thinner, 45-watt-hour battery, 5 hrs wireless productivity.

White MB: DDR2 RAM, smaller stock HDD, TFT display, poorer speakers, standard trackpad (no Multi-Touch), no glass on display, polycarbonate enclosure, Mini-DVI port, FireWire, 5 lbs and slightly thicker, 55-watt-hour battery, 4.5 hrs wireless productivity.

I think I got it all...
Click to expand...

This is a great comparison! Thank you!
 
skorpien said:
Unibody MB: DDR3 RAM, larger stock HDD, LED-backlit display, better speakers, Multi-Touch glass trackpad w/ no buttons, glass across display, aluminum unibody, Mini Display Port, no FireWire, 4.5 lbs and slightly thinner, 45-watt-hour battery, 5 hrs wireless productivity.

White MB: DDR2 RAM, smaller stock HDD, TFT display, poorer speakers, standard trackpad (no Multi-Touch), no glass on display, polycarbonate enclosure, Mini-DVI port, FireWire, 5 lbs and slightly thicker, 55-watt-hour battery, 4.5 hrs wireless productivity.

I think I got it all...
Click to expand...

I was just going to post the difference, but this pretty much summarized it best :)
 
Unless you really need the firewire or are really tight for money I'd go with the aluminum. You might also look into the refurbished aluminum ones which have the same warranty at a cheaper cost.
 
Money is not an issue... I just want to buy the one that will last me longer and perform better. I think I like the design of the white one better though... But that could change once I own an aluminum. What made me look at the white is that I keep hearing these issues with the aluminum one which I don't want (keys are crooked, screen is really bad, battery cover is loose...).
 
Screens between the two are virtually identical except for the new LED backlight on the aluminum model versus the older CCFL backlight on the plastic books.

If money isn't an issue go with the aluminum. The problems with slanted keys, battery covers and such have pretty much been weeded out by now. Looks like the first batch had some problems but I haven't heard of any complaints for at least a month so the new batches look pretty good.
 
Colin0317 said:
Money is not an issue... I just want to buy the one that will last me longer and perform better. I think I like the design of the white one better though... But that could change once I own an aluminum. What made me look at the white is that I keep hearing these issues with the aluminum one which I don't want (keys are crooked, screen is really bad, battery cover is loose...).
Click to expand...

Trust me, you don't like the design of the white one better. If you have problems with the aluminum one, you just get it replaced at the apple store. The white one is not as durable but will preform as well as the aluminum. The aluminum runs cooler.

The unibody is better made compared to the white one with a lot of parts. The white ones have more problems than the aluminum ones imo.

Thats my take on it.
 
mynameisraj said:
Trust me, you don't like the design of the white one better. If you have problems with the aluminum one, you just get it replaced at the apple store. The white one is not as durable but will preform as well as the aluminum. The aluminum runs cooler.

The unibody is better made compared to the white one with a lot of parts. The white ones have more problems than the aluminum ones imo.

Thats my take on it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll go with the new aluminum one then. I think that because of the way it's designed, it should have less issues.
 
Colin0317 said:
Thanks, I'll go with the new aluminum one then. I think that because of the way it's designed, it should have less issues.
Click to expand...

It won't have any less issues because of the way it's designed. In fact, it'll probably have more! Aluminum is a very weak metal and dents VERY easily. The WhiteBook is a solid machine with almost the same specs - PLUS FIREWIRE - for $300 cheaper.
 
iObama said:
It won't have any less issues because of the way it's designed. In fact, it'll probably have more! Aluminum is a very weak metal and dents VERY easily. The WhiteBook is a solid machine with almost the same specs - PLUS FIREWIRE - for $300 cheaper.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? Have you not read the numerous threads about the palm rest cracking on the white macbooks? The discoloration issues still exist as well.

In regards to the OP, please get the aluminum MB. You will not regret it. The screen is way brighter than the white MB and the look and feel of the aluminum will make you glad that you purchased it.
 
staccato83 said:
Are you kidding me? Have you not read the numerous threads about the palm rest cracking on the white macbooks? The discoloration issues still exist as well.

In regards to the OP, please get the aluminum MB. You will not regret it. The screen is way brighter than the white MB and the look and feel of the aluminum will make you glad that you purchased it.
Click to expand...

The discoloration issues are nowhere near what they were originally. The discoloration issues they have now are because people's hands are dirty.
 
staccato83 said:
Are you kidding me? Have you not read the numerous threads about the palm rest cracking on the white macbooks? The discoloration issues still exist as well.

In regards to the OP, please get the aluminum MB. You will not regret it. The screen is way brighter than the white MB and the look and feel of the aluminum will make you glad that you purchased it.
Click to expand...

discoroloration and cracks are under warranty
 
iObama said:
The discoloration issues they have now are because people's hands are dirty.
Click to expand...

I don't know about you but i wash my hands every time before i use my macbook and i STILL have discoloration. Not worth taking it to the Apple Store at least in my opinion.
 
iObama said:
It won't have any less issues because of the way it's designed. In fact, it'll probably have more! Aluminum is a very weak metal and dents VERY easily. The WhiteBook is a solid machine with almost the same specs - PLUS FIREWIRE - for $300 cheaper.
Click to expand...

What?! Have you even seen the new models?! They're like freaking bricks! The "denting" you're talking about is something seen on the OLDER MacBook Pro, but these new unibody machines are incredibly strong.
 
I am so digging the current white MacBook right now. The value is great now that it has the 9400m. I personally would choose it over the alum MacBook anyday.

I am going to buy a white model when I transfer to a university next semester(can't be seen walking around campus carrying an iMac everywhere I go lol). Hopefully by then it will get a minor speed bump. ;)

[EDIT] Now that I think about it, that speed bump probably wont happen until after the back to school special. Ah well...
 
If I'd be you, I would go with the unibody. The couple of $$ you add onto the plastic one will eventually pay off, because the plastic quality is very bad and cracks very easily.
 
does anyone want to break the news that he probably wont be able to play diablo 3 or starcraft 2?

if im wrong then correct me but i just didnt think it was that able.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back