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refurb or new?

N

n0id

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 11, 2008
38
0
I want to buy a new black-macbook soon, but after looking at the new ones and refurbed, i was wondering if its worth the extra money to go new:

(note: no matter which one i get, i am immediately getting 4gb of memory)

the refurbs i have seen are this:

$1049
2.2ghz
160gb
1gb memory

The new ones of course are:

$1499
2.4ghz
250gb
2gb


Does anyone feel $450 is worth the extra drive space and .2ghz increase in speed? I was also afraid that the newer ones get better battery life, and was told its close to 45min more....

help? :)
 
Personally I don't think it's worth it considering you can get 4GB ram for about $80. That puts the refurb at about $1130 before tax. I really want a black macbook myself but the black ones are hardly ever in stock at the refurb store. :(
 
So theres really no difference between the 2.2ghz chip it uses and the 2.4? I guess im just confused on when they did the upgrade to 2.4 and if they changed the chip to run cooler/less power.

If anyone else has suggestions please chime in!
 
n0id said:
So theres really no difference between the 2.2ghz chip it uses and the 2.4? I guess im just confused on when they did the upgrade to 2.4 and if they changed the chip to run cooler/less power.

If anyone else has suggestions please chime in!
Click to expand...

Oh there's a difference in the tech used in the 2.4 vs the 2.2 but personally I don't think it's worth an additional $400+.

This link http://guides.macrumors.com/MacBook explains it fairly well. 2.4Ghz is Rev E. while 2.2Ghz is Rev D.
 
that website is perfect!!! That has everything i wanted to know, thank you so much.
 
You're considering a refurb . . . and considering spending $1499 new . . . how about a refurbed MacBook Pro at $1449? It's a great deal.
 
45nm

Remember the new MB use the 45 NM Processors i would personally say it was worth it for the lower power consumption and the cooler temps but up to you.
 
Personally I have had good luck with my refurbed iPods. They have all arrived looking brand new. I say go for it... use the extra scrills for more RAM :D
 
The refurb gives you the better bang for the buck and the new one gives you the newest tech.

Either way you win.
 
if I were you I would try ebay for a macbook. I purchased the

2.2 ghz Black Macbook
160 HD
1 gig ram
gma 3100 video card

brand new for 1100 cash. Have a friend who can get them a bit less.

I just have a thing about buying refurb or used....thats just me though. Just keep looking around.
 
I just got the refurb blackbook 2.2 for $1050. Yes, there are small differences between the new and the old, but they are really slight. When you consider that the refurb is a bit more than 2/3 the cost of the new one, it's a really easy decision, IMO. Plus, my refurb came with an extra gig of RAM for free. :)
 
I was in the same dilemma as you, and when I decided I wanted the refurb the apple store was out. I ended up buying a brand new 2.2 online for only 1200 and no tax, so not much more than the refurb. The place I bought from is out now, but I found ones for 1189 with no tax outside of NY and free shipping at preferredphoto.com. Good luck!
 
ref26 said:
I was in the same dilemma as you, and when I decided I wanted the refurb the apple store was out. I ended up buying a brand new 2.2 online for only 1200 and no tax, so not much more than the refurb. The place I bought from is out now, but I found ones for 1189 with no tax outside of NY and free shipping at preferredphoto.com. Good luck!
Click to expand...

That price is great but like the saying goes, if it's too good to be true, then it probably is. I looked up PreferredPhoto.com at reseller raitings and well... yeah...

See for yourself. http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Broadway_Photo
 
Wow that is pretty bad, I didn't even check. I ordered mine from B&H Photo and Video for $1200 total and it shipped quickly and as described (sold out now though), so there are new 2.2ghz to be found for that price, which is why it seemed legit.
 
Same boat as you, I went with the refurb Blackbook

Hi, Same boat as you, I went with refurb Blackbook from Apple. 2.2 Ghz, 160 HD, 1GB ram.

I've had it for 2 weeks now, mine looks brand new, just a couple really minor knicks out of the box. Sometimes you get free extras like ram or larger harddrive, but I didn't get any, and it doesn't seem to happen too often. And you're getting max ram later anyway. I bought Kingston 4GB ram from newegg for $107 total (newegg actually just dropped the price $5 after I bought it on Monday 3/10, oh well).

Also check out: http://www.pcprices.net/macbook.shtml . I wish I had checked there first for some deals, as I was interested in VMWare Fusion and Windows XP bundled, oh well again.

Anyhoo, slightly longer battery life, slightly faster processor, and definitely the 2GB ram all weren't a big deal for me. Saving $450 is! I'll use that money to buy the latest Mac consumer notebook in 3 to 4 years, refurb of course.:D

Also like someone else said here, the MacBook Pro refurbs are also very attractively priced. I almost went for one of those, but ultimately just didn't need all those fancy features.

Any way you go, you will be happy. I just like saving money.:)
 
updated apple Refurb store

Here is what I'm looking at:

a new macbook (white 2.4) $1199 with Edu discount OR
a refurb mb black 2.2 for $1049 OR
a refurb mbp 2.2 $1449 OR
a refurb mbp 2.16 $1299


oh the choices, I'm mostly interested on what you all have to say about the mbp 2.16??? 1299 seems like a good deal and judging by CL prices, i could sell it when the new mbp come out for a slight loss if that.
 
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