Hi everyone, I've lurked around these forums for a while and always found it to be an excellent source of advice, so hopefully some of you will be able to give me some advice regarding second hand macbooks/macbook pros.
In 2005 I bought my first macs, a G5 dual core powermac and a 12 inch powerbook G4. They have both been absolutely fantastic computers but sadly the logic board in the powerbook died a few months ago and I have just sold the G5 on ebay, as part of my plan to upgrade to a 27 inch iMac. It is very important to me to have a computer with a large amount of storage to store all my music (I am a musician and have an enormous music library, currently about 400GB and growing) so I don't feel like I could manage with just a laptop. Also I'm totally seduced by the huge screen (assuming I manage to get one that works properly) for score editing in sibelius and also just for watching films and so on (I do not have a lot of space where I live so there is not room for a TV and a computer, a computer with a large display is the best of both). Anyway as you can tell I'm almost 100% sold on the Imac. However my budget does not stretch to an iMac and a new laptop and I do need some kind of portable computer.
I have just been working away from home for the last 3 months and since I didn't have a laptop to take with me I bought a Dell Mini 10v and hackintoshed it. It served me well while I was away, I was able to use local wifi to get online, and I used it to watch tv shows and films from a portable hard drive to pass the time while travelling, however I am really feeling it's limitations since I have been home and I think I need something more powerful that can at least handle flash content, has an optical drive and a bigger screen (although not too big, 13 inches would be perfect!). I am basically wondering what the best bang for buck in a second hand macbook would be. I see on amazon various second hand options between about £450-550 (eg. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...ie=UTF8&qid=1269879772&sr=8-28&condition=used or http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...ie=UTF8&qid=1269879772&sr=8-30&condition=used). is the price of a machine like these justified given that there are refurb macbooks available for under £700? obviously buying a refurb I would also get a more comprehensive warranty, better specs, no wear and tear etc. However I am on a tight budget and every penny counts. If there are any other options for second hand macbooks I may not have considered please point me in the right direction. I do not need cutting edge power in a laptop, I am typing this on a 2ghz 2007 macbook belonging to a family member, and a machine like this would be perfectly adequate for my needs, given that I will have a the iMac at home for when power is required. I just wonder if the relatively high price of a second hand machine is worth the risk compared to shelling out another £150-200 for a new/refurb machine.
Sorry for the long rambling message, if anyone has any advice it would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
In 2005 I bought my first macs, a G5 dual core powermac and a 12 inch powerbook G4. They have both been absolutely fantastic computers but sadly the logic board in the powerbook died a few months ago and I have just sold the G5 on ebay, as part of my plan to upgrade to a 27 inch iMac. It is very important to me to have a computer with a large amount of storage to store all my music (I am a musician and have an enormous music library, currently about 400GB and growing) so I don't feel like I could manage with just a laptop. Also I'm totally seduced by the huge screen (assuming I manage to get one that works properly) for score editing in sibelius and also just for watching films and so on (I do not have a lot of space where I live so there is not room for a TV and a computer, a computer with a large display is the best of both). Anyway as you can tell I'm almost 100% sold on the Imac. However my budget does not stretch to an iMac and a new laptop and I do need some kind of portable computer.
I have just been working away from home for the last 3 months and since I didn't have a laptop to take with me I bought a Dell Mini 10v and hackintoshed it. It served me well while I was away, I was able to use local wifi to get online, and I used it to watch tv shows and films from a portable hard drive to pass the time while travelling, however I am really feeling it's limitations since I have been home and I think I need something more powerful that can at least handle flash content, has an optical drive and a bigger screen (although not too big, 13 inches would be perfect!). I am basically wondering what the best bang for buck in a second hand macbook would be. I see on amazon various second hand options between about £450-550 (eg. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...ie=UTF8&qid=1269879772&sr=8-28&condition=used or http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...ie=UTF8&qid=1269879772&sr=8-30&condition=used). is the price of a machine like these justified given that there are refurb macbooks available for under £700? obviously buying a refurb I would also get a more comprehensive warranty, better specs, no wear and tear etc. However I am on a tight budget and every penny counts. If there are any other options for second hand macbooks I may not have considered please point me in the right direction. I do not need cutting edge power in a laptop, I am typing this on a 2ghz 2007 macbook belonging to a family member, and a machine like this would be perfectly adequate for my needs, given that I will have a the iMac at home for when power is required. I just wonder if the relatively high price of a second hand machine is worth the risk compared to shelling out another £150-200 for a new/refurb machine.
Sorry for the long rambling message, if anyone has any advice it would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.