What mac book should I purchase

[alphatectz]

I'm looking to buy either a MacBook 13" 2.0 or a MacBook 2.4 and customize it by adding more memory and maybe a ssd. I know that the 2.4 model has a light up key board but I just need the MacBook for school. I'm looking to spend a little more the $1500 so I'm not sure which MacBook I should get. I don't like big screens but which is better 13" mb (reg or 2.4 customized) or should I stock with a mbp stock which is 15" (if I'm not mistaken) or should I wait until june for the back to school sale and get a free itouch (if it's offered) also is there going to be an updated MacBook soon?

 

[macJC50640]

Wait to get the iPod Touch if you can. If your looking to spend more then 1500 then the 2.4 is at 1599 and the 2.0 is at 1299. Usually Apple introduces new MacBooks in December, or a little before I think.

 

[alphatectz]

Wait to get the iPod Touch if you can. If your looking to spend more then 1500 then the 2.4 is at 1599 and the 2.0 is at 1299. Usually Apple introduces new MacBooks in December, or a little before I think.

Thank you I really don't care much for the free itouch I have a 2g that's jailbroken and unlocked that I use as a iPod but I really do need a MacBook.

 

[kastenbrust]

There wont be an updated Macbook soon, but if you wait until August you'll get Apples new operating system (Snow Leopard) preinstalled rather than having to pay extra to upgrade, and also a free ipod touch which if you dont need you could always sell to pay for your RAM and SSD upgrades.

I would just go for the base 2.8 aluminium Macbook model, honestly the 0.4ghz is hardly any difference at all and the backlit keyboard is a gimmick, its nice, but not worth the extra money.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

There wont be an updated Macbook soon, but if you wait until August you'll get Apples new operating system (Snow Leopard) preinstalled rather than having to pay extra to upgrade, and also a free ipod touch which if you dont need you could always sell to pay for your RAM and SSD upgrades.

I would just go for the base 2.8 aluminium Macbook model, honestly the 0.4ghz is hardly any difference at all and the backlit keyboard is a gimmick, its nice, but not worth the extra money.

It's not just a gimmick.

 

[kastenbrust]

It's not just a gimmick.

Why because you payed for it? Typing in the dark is bad for your eyes anyway, ask an optician.

 

[avihappy]

Why because you payed for it? Typing in the dark is bad for your eyes anyway, ask an optician.

Well, I use the backlit keyboard. in the dark, and another family member of mine with a macbook does so too. Photo Booth is the gimmick, not the backlit KB .

 

[kastenbrust]

Well, I use the backlit keyboard. in the dark, and another family member of mine with a macbook does so too. Photo Booth is the gimmick, not the backlit KB .

yeah ok stop showing off, whats wrong with lots of carrots?

the Apple laptops are full of gimmicks really, theres a point where you have to draw a line and say "hey 2GB of RAM and an SSD is more useful than a backlit keyboard"

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

I'm looking to buy either a MacBook 13" 2.0 or a MacBook 2.4 and customize it by adding more memory and maybe a ssd. I know that the 2.4 model has a light up key board but I just need the MacBook for school. I'm looking to spend a little more the $1500 so I'm not sure which MacBook I should get. I don't like big screens but which is better 13" mb (reg or 2.4 customized) or should I stock with a mbp stock which is 15" (if I'm not mistaken) or should I wait until june for the back to school sale and get a free itouch (if it's offered) also is there going to be an updated MacBook soon?

If you've got the money, buy the 2.4GHz MacBook (use the education discount and it's only $1499). If you want more RAM, buy it from OWC or New Egg and install it yourself (it's very easy). I wouldn't spend $340 on the SSD but that's just me.

 

[longball11]

Whats so great about SSD?

Im not getting the point of SSD. What's so great about it? Is it better than 7200 rpm? Better than 540 rpm?

 

[DeusInvictus7]

Im not getting the point of SSD. What's so great about it? Is it better than 7200 rpm? Better than 540 rpm?

It's better (faster) than both, but the main point of it is that there are NO, meaning ZERO moving parts in it, so in theory it is more durable and will in result, last longer than a normal HD.

It's like this: Compare a 120GB iPod Classic to the 16GB nano, while the Classic has much more space, there are tons of moving parts in it, so doing things like jogging or whatever with it isn't really the best idea...

 

[kastenbrust]

Im not getting the point of SSD. What's so great about it? Is it better than 7200 rpm? Better than 540 rpm?

An SSD Drive has no moving parts so you cant actually measure its "RPM" however if you were to compare its speed in terms of RPM to a traditional 5400 or 7200 harddrive then an SSD has about 40,000 RPM.

Added to that, since it has no moving parts it cant break by simply moving it, whereas normal drives can break easily as they have a carefully balanced needle touching a delicate magnetic disk.

 

[alphatectz]

There wont be an updated Macbook soon, but if you wait until August you'll get Apples new operating system (Snow Leopard) preinstalled rather than having to pay extra to upgrade, and also a free ipod touch which if you dont need you could always sell to pay for your RAM and SSD upgrades.

I would just go for the base 2.8 aluminium Macbook model, honestly the 0.4ghz is hardly any difference at all and the backlit keyboard is a gimmick, its nice, but not worth the extra money.

thnx i might as well wait until august then, like u said i rather get snow leopard preinstalled, and i might just sell that itouch for my upgrades, but about that backlit keyboard does it kill the battery? so forget the 1500 15" and go for the 2.0 1299 13"?

 

[alphatectz]

If you've got the money, buy the 2.4GHz MacBook (use the education discount and it's only $1499). If you want more RAM, buy it from OWC or New Egg and install it yourself (it's very easy). I wouldn't spend $340 on the SSD but that's just me.

i have the money but i just dont know which would be better for me, i like my 13" that i have now i just hate the maker (dell) i would love my macbook but like i said if i stick with the 13" 2.4 and just upgrade to 4gb is it a reall diff? not to sure about the SSD an extra 275-375 is a little ruff after ill put down a good amount of dough. but like i said before is the backlit keyboard good and does it kill the battery faster? and should i get a 320 ssd instead of the 250?
i'm looking to spend around 1800 the most if i have to put an extra 150 that will be fine by me im just not sure if i should just stick with the 2.4 13" macbook with backlit key board or the reg mb that also is 13" no back lit keyboard and with the minor upgrades to a 4gb and a 320 ssd. well i know that the backlit key board makes the 2.4 cost more but is the .4 even good? its just .4 so can some one help me out before i make my choice, and till augest do i really want to wait and stick with my dell(;/)???

 

[Scottsdale]

You may want to consider a refurbished unibody MB. They are on sale at apple.com | store | refurbished Mac. Before you go thinking it's like a used Mac, it's NOT. The refurbished is made to look as new before sent out. It comes with a full one-year warranty. It also is eligible for a three-year AppleCare warranty (which you can buy on eBay for a substantial discount of 65% off - or around $100). Most say these were open-box returns or was a problem which Apple fixes and then sells at a discount (why they charge 10% restocking fee for returned Macs).

I think the absolute best value for any Mac is the low-end unibody MacBook refurbished for $1099. Use the extra savings to buy 4 GB RAM from MacSales.com and a 100+ GB SSD for around $200 to $250 from newegg.com.

The speed difference is minimal upgrading from 2 to 2.4 GHz... The SSD will make a MAJOR speed difference in boot ups, app opening, and file opening. Also, the 4 GB RAM will make much more of a difference than the CPU upgrade.

Last few things to think about... you can buy the 2.4 GHz unibody MB refurbished for $1399... or if you really wanted to consider a new unibody MBP, but the money was too big of an obstacle, the refurbished unibody MBP is only $1699. If you ever want to do games, it has a dedicated graphics card. At that price, you could just upgrade the memory and SSD later down the road when you have the extra cash. Some people really like the MB for portability, and others really like the dedicated graphics and the much nicer display of the MBP. Anyways, the unibody MBP becomes only $100 more refurbished than the new 2.4 GHz unibody MB.

Don't fall into the hype the MBP is a "pro" model and you don't need that. The truth is whether you want a dedicated graphics card, a 15.4" display, a nicer quality display, or a more powerful computer, the only option is the MBP... as the MB doesn't come with any of those options. Those options really have nothing to do with being a "pro" of sorts. Other than "pros" made need dedicated graphics, but so do gamers and some application users. The dual graphics and extra power of the MBP will make it into one amazing computer once Snow Leopard is introduced.

Best wishes with your decision. All of the current Mac computers are really nice and would work well for most users... cheers.

 

[uglyjerk]

I'll go for the MacBook 2.4GHz. pretty cool! One of my friend is using it and it is awesome. He got it a great deal on it.

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

i have the money but i just dont know which would be better for me, i like my 13" that i have now i just hate the maker (dell) i would love my macbook but like i said if i stick with the 13" 2.4 and just upgrade to 4gb is it a reall diff? not to sure about the SSD an extra 275-375 is a little ruff after ill put down a good amount of dough. but like i said before is the backlit keyboard good and does it kill the battery faster? and should i get a 320 ssd instead of the 250?
i'm looking to spend around 1800 the most if i have to put an extra 150 that will be fine by me im just not sure if i should just stick with the 2.4 13" macbook with backlit key board or the reg mb that also is 13" no back lit keyboard and with the minor upgrades to a 4gb and a 320 ssd. well i know that the backlit key board makes the 2.4 cost more but is the .4 even good? its just .4 so can some one help me out before i make my choice, and till augest do i really want to wait and stick with my dell(;/)???

The 2.4GHz MacBook only comes in the 13" size. The SSD is, in my opinion, a waste of money. The backlit keyboard is a cool feature but not a make-or-break one, in my mind; and I don't think it really affects battery life all that much.

The .4 difference probably isn't all that much but I would go for it if I were you. I you use the educational discount and save $100, then buy 2x2GB RAM from New Egg or OWC, you'll end up spending about $1600. Not bad.

 

[alphatectz]

You may want to consider a refurbished unibody MB. They are on sale at apple.com | store | refurbished Mac. Before you go thinking it's like a used Mac, it's NOT. The refurbished is made to look as new before sent out. It comes with a full one-year warranty. It also is eligible for a three-year AppleCare warranty (which you can buy on eBay for a substantial discount of 65% off - or around $100). Most say these were open-box returns or was a problem which Apple fixes and then sells at a discount (why they charge 10% restocking fee for returned Macs).

I think the absolute best value for any Mac is the low-end unibody MacBook refurbished for $1099. Use the extra savings to buy 4 GB RAM from MacSales.com and a 100+ GB SSD for around $200 to $250 from newegg.com.

The speed difference is minimal upgrading from 2 to 2.4 GHz... The SSD will make a MAJOR speed difference in boot ups, app opening, and file opening. Also, the 4 GB RAM will make much more of a difference than the CPU upgrade.

Last few things to think about... you can buy the 2.4 GHz unibody MB refurbished for $1399... or if you really wanted to consider a new unibody MBP, but the money was too big of an obstacle, the refurbished unibody MBP is only $1699. If you ever want to do games, it has a dedicated graphics card. At that price, you could just upgrade the memory and SSD later down the road when you have the extra cash. Some people really like the MB for portability, and others really like the dedicated graphics and the much nicer display of the MBP. Anyways, the unibody MBP becomes only $100 more refurbished than the new 2.4 GHz unibody MB.

Don't fall into the hype the MBP is a "pro" model and you don't need that. The truth is whether you want a dedicated graphics card, a 15.4" display, a nicer quality display, or a more powerful computer, the only option is the MBP... as the MB doesn't come with any of those options. Those options really have nothing to do with being a "pro" of sorts. Other than "pros" made need dedicated graphics, but so do gamers and some application users. The dual graphics and extra power of the MBP will make it into one amazing computer once Snow Leopard is introduced.

Best wishes with your decision. All of the current Mac computers are really nice and would work well for most users... cheers.

it all sounds good but i had heard horror storys about refub mb/mbp, but thnx. but then again not everyone has a bad experience, but i'll see it all depends if i can get my edu discount, and see what will be the diff when i add or i do not add the extra 2gb to make it a 4gb and a ssd of 320 + but u do have a point on the refub i do save money but what to do, i like the 2.4 but the mbp refub with minor tweaks can do wounders.

 

[alphatectz]

I'll go for the MacBook 2.4GHz. pretty cool! One of my friend is using it and it is awesome. He got it a great deal on it.

im leaning towards the 2.4 i like the model, really dont care for the backlit keyboard, but it can come to use.

 

[alphatectz]

well i just added a poll so feel free to vote, so i can figure out which will be best. thnx for all your help guys.

 

[ashjamben]

if you can afford it can brand new, if not go refurb. simple really.

 

[Scottsdale]

Ask people about refurbished Macs from Apple.com. The vast majority will say go refurb and use the money towards the upgrades you want. Most have a great experience. If not, send it back. Way to get a nicer computer for less.

 

[alphatectz]

Ask people about refurbished Macs from Apple.com. The vast majority will say go refurb and use the money towards the upgrades you want. Most have a great experience. If not, send it back. Way to get a nicer computer for less.

thnx, but I checked apples return section, from what I seen i'll be spending the same amount on either a mb or a mbp, but i'll be better off going to apple and asking someone which is better.
Thx for the info.