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To buy or not to buy? - Advice Needed

Leedsboi86

Leedsboi86

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 3, 2017
11
0
United Kingdom
Hey Everyone

Just wanna start by saying I'm a total newbie when it comes to Macs so please bare with me.
Ok so to cut a long story short my partner broke his laptop...... And I am thinking of giving him my windows gaming laptop as he needs one for work.
Just to be clear I've never played a game on it lol

Anyway I was looking at the 2010 Macbook Air or Pro for myself as I don't really need a power house laptop for what I use it for.

What I would need are -
Emails
Web Browsing
Watching Netflix & Youtube
Ebay
Music
iMessage(Not essential but would be nice to talk to friends)

erm thats about it really

The two I have seen are both 4GB Ram and SSD HD

Would these be any good for my needs?
Be nice if it started up quickly, Like less than a minute but I can't be fussy with a 2010 machine lol
Would I be better going for Air or Pro?
The seller has one of each in really good condition! and battery etc has been tested

Never used a Mac before so a friend of mine is lending me a 2010 Macbook Unibody next week to see if I like how they run and can get used to how they run.
He has said I can keep it and sell it to put towards a Macbook as it will sell for 150-200GBP on eBay.
It's only a 2GB Ram Model so he said it wouldn't be as fast as an air or pro but its a good way to see if I like the OS

Any advice would be great!
Oh both the Air and Pro are 220GBP
Don't really wanna spend much on a laptop as it's not mega often I use it but I like to be able to look things up and do a bit of typing in my free time.

Sorry for such a long question!

Thanks everyone
 
Leedsboi86 said:
Hey Everyone

Just wanna start by saying I'm a total newbie when it comes to Macs so please bare with me.
Ok so to cut a long story short my partner broke his laptop...... And I am thinking of giving him my windows gaming laptop as he needs one for work.
Just to be clear I've never played a game on it lol

Anyway I was looking at the 2010 Macbook Air or Pro for myself as I don't really need a power house laptop for what I use it for.

What I would need are -
Emails
Web Browsing
Watching Netflix & Youtube
Ebay
Music
iMessage(Not essential but would be nice to talk to friends)

erm thats about it really

The two I have seen are both 4GB Ram and SSD HD

Would these be any good for my needs?
Be nice if it started up quickly, Like less than a minute but I can't be fussy with a 2010 machine lol
Would I be better going for Air or Pro?
The seller has one of each in really good condition! and battery etc has been tested

Never used a Mac before so a friend of mine is lending me a 2010 Macbook Unibody next week to see if I like how they run and can get used to how they run.
He has said I can keep it and sell it to put towards a Macbook as it will sell for 150-200GBP on eBay.
It's only a 2GB Ram Model so he said it wouldn't be as fast as an air or pro but its a good way to see if I like the OS

Any advice would be great!
Oh both the Air and Pro are 220GBP
Don't really wanna spend much on a laptop as it's not mega often I use it but I like to be able to look things up and do a bit of typing in my free time.

Sorry for such a long question!

Thanks everyone
Click to expand...

Have you considered an iPad instead? A 2010 laptop will most likely have relatively bad battery performance, and the screens are starting to show their age compared to new stuff, which in your case is what matters the most. Aside from that RAM and SSD speed are your biggest performance concerns, as pretty much any set of CPU/GPU can handle what you need. A nice iPad would serve you well I think. Nice screen, great battery life, potential for keyboard add on.
 
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Looked into an iPad and it's just not for me, Would rather have a proper laptop.
I have a Samsung Tab which is ok just prefer a laptop.

The seller I found tests all the laptops etc before sale and he said the battery will be fully tested and perfectly working
I believe he said the processor was an i5 2.4GHZ
What would be wrong with the screen?
 
Your choices are at least six years old, which means the more powerful laptop is going to feel less outdated six/seven years later. I'd only get the Air if you really value portability over everything else.
 
Leedsboi86 said:
The seller I found tests all the laptops etc before sale and he said the battery will be fully tested and perfectly working
I believe he said the processor was an i5 2.4GHZ
What would be wrong with the screen?
Click to expand...

A working battery doesn't necessarily mean it'll last long though.
Processor is largely irrelevant. Even years old chips will do your tasks fine.
Screens lose colour reproduction abilities over time, especially with green hues. But it's not so much what's wrong with them, just that over the past 5 years, screens have gotten a hell of a lot better, what with Retina displays and all sorts.

If it's not too much more expensive, I would recommend looking into a 2012 or newer Retina MacBook Pro
 
2012 model would be twice the price

Only use my laptop maybe 1-2 times a week, Mainly to look something up for PS4 Games or to watch video reviews on games i am thinking of buying etc

The Laptop I have at the moment is 6 months old and cost 1200.00 GBP as it's a gaming system but sadly a bit of a waste of money for stuff I use it for
 
Given your situation I'd also suggest an iPad rather than a MacBook from 2010. The machines you're referring to are way too old and will be a frustrating thing to use. Definitely look at the latest version of the iPad. Not the pro or air or the mini, just the new iPad.

Android tablets including the Samsung variants are nowhere close to the experience you get from an iPad.
 
akash.nu said:
Given your situation I'd also suggest an iPad rather than a MacBook from 2010. The machines you're referring to are way too old and will be a frustrating thing to use. Definitely look at the latest version of the iPad. Not the pro or air or the mini, just the new iPad.

Android tablets including the Samsung variants are nowhere close to the experience you get from an iPad.
Click to expand...

Really not wanting another tablet, I just prefer a Laptop, I already have a tablet that never gets used lol
 
Leedsboi86 said:
Thinking it's best now to wait and see if I like the OS on the 2010 macbook my friend is giving me first :)
Failing to like it, I have seen a rather nice windows laptop for 600.00
Click to expand...

Regardless, 7 years is a long time in computer world, and even if they're fast enough for you, I don't think anyone can really recommend a 2010 Mac.
 
If I where you,I would have bought an iPad Air 2,with keyboard case,for your needs,it would be more portable,but still powerful enough for your needs,and it would also have a decent keyboard.
 
Been doing a bit of searching and i have found some Air and Pros that says 2012 and 2014 would these be any better or still a pretty bad investment?
 
Why not just keep the unibody MacBook offered by your friend and upgrade it with more RAM and an SSD? That should be sufficient for what you want to use it for while keeping the expenses to a minimum.
 
MadDane said:
Why not just keep the unibody MacBook offered by your friend and upgrade it with more RAM and an SSD? That should be sufficient for what you want to use it for while keeping the expenses to a minimum.
Click to expand...
from what I am aware it's in quite rough condition :(
And I really like the design of the Air
 
OP:

DO NOT buy ANY Mac UNLESS it has 8gb of RAM in it. With most MacBooks/MacBook Pros the RAM is soldered in and NOT expandable.

So... you need a MacBook with 8gb of RAM "right out of the starting gate" so that it will be able to handle the demands of the OS going forward.

You didn't say what your budget is, but I would suggest (first is cheapest):
- 2015 MacBook Pro 13"
or
- 2016 NON-touchbar MacBook Pro 13"
or
- 2016 touchbar MacBook Pro 13".

Any of the above will handle all you do right now, yet still have "legs" for the future.
If you have a lot of "legacy" USB stuff (with type "A" connectors), the 2015 still has the legacy ports. The 2016's will need "dongles" ...
 
Leedsboi86 said:
from what I am aware it's in quite rough condition :(
And I really like the design of the Air
Click to expand...
Even in a rough condition it might still be worth it (although based on your response it sounds like it is not).

From what you are describing it sounds like price is the most important factor. I think you should decide on a budget and then see what you can get for that. I have had a 2006 MacBook, 2008 MacBook (Unibody), 2010 MacBook Air (13"), 2013 MacBook Pro (13") and a 2016 MacBook Pro (15") and I know that, for me personally, I would not be happy with anything without a retina display in this day and age. However, that means that on the MacBook Pro's stuff like RAM is soldered in, the SSD uses proprietary connectors (and is now even soldered on on the 2016 models) and so forth. If you want to be able to upgrade these things you should go with a pre-retina version (2012 or older). However, these machines will only get a few more years of official OS support. This may or may not be important to you. If you go with a MacBook Air it will have soldered on RAM and SSD.

In short: Decide in your maximum budget as well as what is most important to you (upgradeability, battery life, age, portability, etc.)
 
Leedsboi86 said:
Ok so which year should I be looking at for the Pro?
Seems the 2012 Models are going for 700+
Click to expand...

As someone else stated, the Retina models started in 2012, but not all were retina then. So yeah, 2012 and up, but only if it's Retina. I believe all of this started at 8GB of RAM anyway, and even today, 5 years later, they offer a pretty good user experience.
 
Price range would be £400-450 ish

Don't need a super powerful one, Just one to deal with basic tasks


Think I'm gonna wait and see how I get on with the OS on the 2010 model :D If I like it I might be more inclined to get up in price.

So I need to look for -
SSD HD
8GB Ram
Retina Screen

Shall make sure I look for the above :D
Big thanks for the help though! so clueless when it comes to these things
 
Last edited:
Leedsboi86 said:
Think I'm gonna wait and see how I get on with the OS on the 2010 model :D If I like it I might be more inclined to get up in price.
Click to expand...

Out of interest, which version of the operating system is on the computer you're borrowing? If it's running, let's say Snow Leopard, you could find that a lot has changed since then if you decide to get your own.
And of course, if the computer itself runs rather slowly with the system on it, try and look pas that when you use it, as it should be better with a computer that has higher specs.


Leedsboi86 said:
SSD HD
8GB Ram
Retina Screen
Click to expand...

Well, if you just look for something with a Retina display, you're set, as they all have SSDs and at least 8gigs of RAM. standard across all Retina Macs.
 
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