Hey guys. I'm a high school senior who is looking to major in biochemistry in college. Right now, I have an aluminum Macbook from late 2009. I'm debating whether I should look to replace it for college or keep it. It's still running decent, but I'm not sure whether I should look into upgrading to a Macbook Pro or Air. I don't know how the new laptops run in comparison to the old aluminum MacBooks, so I wanted to see what you guys think. I'm really not into gaming, so that isn't an issue. Thanks for any help!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Should I Upgrade?
- Thread starter AntiHouseMD
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The most important question is, why do you wanna upgrade?
What do you feel that your current macbook isn't doing for you?
If there isn't any that you feel missing, then there is absolutely no reason to upgrade.
And if you have a reason but it can be solved by for example upgrading your current macbook, then do that instead. It all depends on what you want out of it!
What do you feel that your current macbook isn't doing for you?
If there isn't any that you feel missing, then there is absolutely no reason to upgrade.
And if you have a reason but it can be solved by for example upgrading your current macbook, then do that instead. It all depends on what you want out of it!
A 2009 MB is a very capable machine.
Given that you're about to have all of the expenses of college, I'd keep what you have.
Newer is always going to be faster, shinier, smaller, etc, but that doesn't really matter if what you have still makes you happy.
Given that you're about to have all of the expenses of college, I'd keep what you have.
Newer is always going to be faster, shinier, smaller, etc, but that doesn't really matter if what you have still makes you happy.
You do not have an aluminum MacBook from late 2009. You either have an aluminum MacBook from late 2008, an aluminum MacBook Pro from mid 2009, or a polycarbonate white unibody MacBook from late 2009.
I am guessing you have an aluminum MacBook from late 2008. If this is the case, I would stick with it until the new, redesigned MacBook Pros, and possibly Airs, are released in 2012 and then consider those.
You're going to find that money will be very tight in the near future, and you will likely need that money to pay your tuition. A better investment would be an external hard drive and/or cloud server space to back up all your files (sigh. That was a very painful lesson) and to set aside a general emergency fund using the money you would have spent on a new computer.