Used MacBook Air: Good Deal?

[fjanderson94]

I am looking to buy a laptop for school, but I'm having trouble deciding what would be best financially and what would best fit my needs. I originally planned to buy the updated 13" macbook air or pro which is in my budget.

My computer usage is minimum with nothing intense. Consisting mainly of iWork and iLife. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and internet browsing. I watch Hulu, and Netflix on my iPad and don't do any video editing or have any CPU intensive applications.

However, I looked into possibly getting a used Mac. I am considering buying a 2010 macbook air for $650. Specs: 1.86 Ghz intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 128 SSD. I'm unsure if the older CPU and skimpy ram would be enough, but I would save around $600 if I bought the new updated model.

(2010 for $650) http://support.apple.com/kb/SP618
vs.
(2012 for $1250) http://support.apple.com/kb/SP650

 

[asting]

I am looking to buy a laptop for school, but I'm having trouble deciding what would be best financially and what would best fit my needs. I originally planned to buy the updated 13" macbook air or pro which is in my budget.

My computer usage is minimum with nothing intense. Consisting mainly of iWork and iLife. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and internet browsing. I watch Hulu, and Netflix on my iPad and don't do any video editing or have any CPU intensive applications.

However, I looked into possibly getting a used Mac. I am considering buying a 2010 macbook air for $650. Specs: 1.86 Ghz intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 128 SSD. I'm unsure if the older CPU and skimpy ram would be enough, but I would save around $600 if I bought the new updated model.

(2010 for $650) http://support.apple.com/kb/SP618
vs.
(2012 for $1250) http://support.apple.com/kb/SP650

The used one would do all of that just fine, without a doubt. It's up to you on whether it's worth it.

 

[NewbieCanada]

You might want to consider a refurb 2011 model.

Cost more than used, but full 1-year warranty, and you can get one with 4 GB RAM and a better processor.

 

[fjanderson94]

You might want to consider a refurb 2011 model.

Cost more than used, but full 1-year warranty, and you can get one with 4 GB RAM and a better processor.

I did consider that as well. But the Apple Refurbished Store has been down for the last 3 days.

 

[NewbieCanada]

I did consider that as well. But the Apple Refurbished Store has been down for the last 3 days.

Yes, I know - I brought it up anyway because

a) I don't know what your timetable is before you need to purchase.
b) You might not have been aware of the option existing

 

[thekev]

I like the newest ones. The gpu is still somewhat of an achilles heel for more than just games, but the machine has been evolving into a highly capable laptop. I don't really like the way the $1500 model is optimized. It's $300 more just to go from the 128GB option to 256 in a standardized configuration. Typically the standardized configurations are priced more aggressively than cto options, and it's quite a bit for the gain in capacity given the falling prices on NAND.