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Unibody Macbooks

steve2112

steve2112

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 20, 2009
3,023
6
East of Lyra, Northwest of Pegasus
I have been thinking of getting a replacement for my old Powerbook 17". I don't need anything super powerful, since it's just a light duty machine. I wanted a Macbook Air, but it's not in the budget right now. I found this unibody Macbook refurb for sale at OWC for $679. It's cheaper than the Apple refurb, but should still do the job. I have always kind of liked the white Macbooks.

My question for owners of this model is how does this model stand up? I know some older Macbooks had issues with yellowing, cracking, etc, so I was curious how the unibody models stand up to use. I won't be traveling with it too much, so that shouldn't be a problem. Also, how difficult is it to tear down for adding RAM, changing HDs, etc? I have torn down unibody MBPs, so I figure it is similar.
 
I've had the same Macbook 2.26 Ghz since launch, and given it pretty heavy use (engineering student). I can tell you it's the best laptop I've ever had (haven't owned any MB Pro just yet).

No cracking, maybe a bit of plastic yellowness (nothing noticeable, just if you compare it with something real white).

I actually switched the dvd drive for an enclosure, on which I hold an SSD.
Real easy to open up and tangle around!

Only downside could be the the specs, but as you're saying you don't mind that too much, I'd say this is a good deal.
 
This are very great machines. My mom has one and loves it. I have an aluminum macbook, and my fiance has a macbook pro 2010 version, and to be honest, it's pretty much up to par if you upgrade the ram and give it a ssd. A C2D is a fine CPU for everyday use. :D
 
Cool, thanks for the info. The specs shouldn't be a problem, as I have a Mini with the same specs, and it still does everything I want. After using a Powerbook for so long, this will be a major upgrade. :D
 
If you planning to buy a MacBook pay about extra 100 dollars and maybe buy a MBP 13in?

Core 2 Duo and Intel Core i7 have a huge difference.
 
I also opted for a MB unibody due to budget restrictions, and have no complaints at all. Mine is only 5 months old, but having swapped from a new laptop running Win7 I'm finding performance very much on a par.
I think you'll be more than content with the performance of the MB, although it's not Cygnus X-1 :)
 
I've had a Macbook Unibody (model 6,1) since launch and it has stood up fine! One scratch here or there but not noticeable, only if you really look for it.

I have no cracks or hinge issues and for the past two years it's been the best laptop i have owned. Plus it's white, and white is just so sexy on this MB.

:)
 
These are the best plastic MacBooks, and they will definitely be worth it! Go for it, you can't go wrong, and being an Intel Mac, it definitely will have plenty more power than the PowerBook did.
 
steve2112 said:
I have been thinking of getting a replacement for my old Powerbook 17". I don't need anything super powerful, since it's just a light duty machine. I wanted a Macbook Air, but it's not in the budget right now. I found this unibody Macbook refurb for sale at OWC for $679. It's cheaper than the Apple refurb, but should still do the job. I have always kind of liked the white Macbooks.

My question for owners of this model is how does this model stand up? I know some older MacBooks had issues with yellowing, cracking, etc, so I was curious how the unibody models stand up to use. I won't be traveling with it too much, so that shouldn't be a problem. Also, how difficult is it to tear down for adding RAM, changing HDs, etc? I have torn down unibody MBPs, so I figure it is similar.
Click to expand...

I bought my MacBook Unibody in Nov 2010, I have the same model except mine is the mid-2010 model; specs for the 2010 model are a little different but I doubt you would notice it at all. I like it, it pretty much does what I want and it's way better than my old 15' Compaq laptop that gave out on me. I think you should go for it! $679 is not bad at all for a macbook.. considering some of the older 2006-2008 macbooks are going for a little more one eBay. Plus it's practically brand new. Hope this helped!
 
Thanks for all the info everyone! Now, all I have to do is sell my Dell to my coworker so I can get the rest of the funds. :)

I have loved the white look since the original iBooks, and I was sad when they neglected and finally killed the white plastic. Just imagine if they had produced a black unibody Macbook!
 
steve2112 said:
Thanks for all the info everyone! Now, all I have to do is sell my Dell to my coworker so I can get the rest of the funds. :)

I have loved the white look since the original iBooks, and I was sad when they neglected and finally killed the white plastic. Just imagine if they had produced a black unibody Macbook!
Click to expand...

You can do better than $679 IMO. I'm selling them for right around $550-$600 on eBay for the 2.26 with 4GB ram & a couple years left on the applecare protection plan. I actually see one on eBay for $550, and another that's under applecare for $610.
 
The problem is I hate ebay and Paypal and haven't used either in years. I got burned and repeatedly got horrible customer service, so I refused to go back. I may have to cave in, though, because I have seen a few deals in the Marketplace here that I wanted but the sellers would only take Paypal.
 
Refurb Unibody macbook on Mac Store site

I have a 2010 Unibody 2.4GHz and it's running 8GB ram and I'm getting ready to install a SS hard drive in place of the optical drive. This is a great little machine and I'm looking to complement it with the Quad Mac Mini for my work.

If you're looking for a refurb check the Mac site and look at their refurbs. They have one just like mine for around 800 and it's has the faster processor and better logic board.

I have been very pleased with mine... only complaint - no firewire which means slower backup/transfers and I can't use my macbook as a monitor when I acquire the new Mac mini, but it's much smaller than my 17" MBP.

I bought my Ram through Crucial and I can't say enough good things about their product. IT's actually cheaper most of the time to go through their website and you get free shipping. 8GB ram runs around $50 for a 2 chip set.

I had thought I had a logic board problem with this Macbook, turned out to be faulty 4GB APPLE Ram and symptoms were solved with the new Crucial 8GB upgrade. Cheap and low hassel fix.

Good luck with the Macbook. No cracking like the older macbook which I also had and was lucky enough to have the extended warranty. It was a lemon and they GAVE me my current Macbook after trying to repair the older macbook 4 times and two logic boards later.

Get the extended warranty. It will help you in the long run.
 
Yeah, the refurb from the Apple site is $850, so it is a decent jump from the one OWC offers. It does come with a longer warranty and is eligible for Applecare, though. I'm torn on Applecare, though. I have bought it on the Apple laptops I have bought, but never needed to use it. I normally avoid extended warranties, but I know with my luck, the machine will die 1 year and 1 day after buying it if I don't buy it. :)
 
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