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Which macbook alu. should i get

Z

zunairryk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 8, 2009
217
3
Vancouver, BC
i know i know this question have been asked thousands of times before, but i really couldnt find an answer anywhere that is related to my needs.

i use my laptop for basic stuff, (surf net, email ,msn), however, i hv my dell xps m1330 which i bought last year, i just got the basic processor, (t5450, 1.6 ghz), as i thought it would be enough for my basic needs. But lately i have noticed that when im on a video chat on msn, and i try to do other stuff like opening up itunes, or even when i open firefox , the voice of the other person im talking to, would get cut off, and would keep doing that until the webpage is loaded, and while doing that i look at task manager , and it shows CPU usage 100%, so obv this is a processor issue.

so i want to get a processor which would run fine when im multitasking while on a video chat. Also im going to install windows xp through parallel desktop (only to run windows live messenger). So basically i would be chatting, and doing video chats on windows live messenger installed on windows xp, and rest of stuff (websurfing, itunes, email) will be on leopard.

i know theres a quite a big difference between 1.6 ghz and 2.0 ghz, but im still not sure if it would handle my needs.

Also i might upgrade RAM to 4gb, but i hv noticed that i dont really use RAM this much. I have windows vista rite now, and most of times, RAM usage is under 1 Gb ( I hv 2 Gb of RAM rite now).



And other stuff , like larger hard drive, illuminated keyboard in 2.4 macbook dont really matter to me.
Im a kind of person who would want to upgrade laptop about every 1-2 years. So im thinking of getting 2.0, but i dont want to spend more money on a laptop with same processor problem.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
 
I recommend the aluminum MacBook 2.0Ghz model since you don't care for the backlit keys. The latest processors aren't like the Dell's processors, they are much more powerful. The 2.0Ghz Intel chip will handle video chats simultaneously with other stuff like iTunes and Safari. You can always upgrade the hard drive and memory to higher capacities. I actually would purchase the refurbished 2.4Ghz model for roughly the same as the 2.0Ghz model new. That way, you spend less for the higher CPU clock speed and backlit keys. If not, the 2.0Ghz is fine.
 
Get the higher end model. Why settle for mediocrity if you can afford the best?
Agree with the above poster, refurbished will definitely be a better option if you don't plan on keeping it for >2 years.
 
lol yea i guess, bt still i would like to save that $300 :p

and yes i thought about getting 2.4 refurbished, But im thinking of waiting till june, because then ill be able to get free ipod touch and $50 off as well bc of education discount, and u dont get that with refurbished notebooks.

SnowLeopard2008 said:
I recommend the aluminum MacBook 2.0Ghz model since you don't care for the backlit keys. The latest processors aren't like the Dell's processors, they are much more powerful. The 2.0Ghz Intel chip will handle video chats simultaneously with other stuff like iTunes and Safari. You can always upgrade the hard drive and memory to higher capacities. I actually would purchase the refurbished 2.4Ghz model for roughly the same as the 2.0Ghz model new. That way, you spend less for the higher CPU clock speed and backlit keys. If not, the 2.0Ghz is fine.
Click to expand...

yea if the 2.0 ghz processor in macbook can handle that, then theres no need for me to get 2.4 ghz one. And also i know ill end up getting a new laptop in 1.5-2 years lol this is just how iam ( i know a bad thing). My dell xps m1330 (which i think is a great laptop in terms of design and weight), is hardly a year old, and now i want a newer one. This is why i always get the basic model bc i know ill end up upgrading to newer one anyways. But yea i just wanted to make sure if 2.0 ghz processor can handle my needs.

Thanks for reply.

Is there anyone who has actually tried using parallels (or fusion) in 2.0 ghz macbook?
 
I would (did) go for the 2.4. To be completely honest it was the backlit keyboard. I really didn't care about the processor or hd that I was swapping out regardless of which I got. Its just such a nice feature that I could not go from having on my mbp's to not having on this computer.
 
natebookpro said:
I would (did) go for the 2.4. To be completely honest it was the backlit keyboard. I really didn't care about the processor or hd that I was swapping out regardless of which I got. Its just such a nice feature that I could not go from having on my mbp's to not having on this computer.
Click to expand...

well im still nt sure. this other person said parrarells ran sluggishly on their 2.0 macbook with 2 gb ram. but i dnt know if its bc of processor or ram

and like i mentioned i dnt really need backlit keyboard, yea its nice to have obv, but i can live without it
 
Both will do well for you and serve your computing needs well. My advice is to buy the best that you can afford :)
 
The difference in the performance is about 14% overall in benchmarks. Unless you max out the CPU you won't see a difference. RAM is more important to performance in many cases anyway.

Save your $300 to spend $59.99 on 4GB of RAM from OWC and $79.99 on a 7k320 HDD at Newegg. Or save $600 and go with the White MB and spend $40 on 4GB of RAM at Newegg and the same HDD.
 
TBH the machine you're using now should be more than adequate for your current needs. If the CPU is at 100% you might want to look in Task Manager to actually see what's eating it up. Being XP\Vista, it may need a rebuild. However, as zer0tails said, go with the best you can afford, and as already mentioned, an Apple refurb 2.4 is a good option
 
idonotliketostu said:
agreed
Click to expand...

Sure - If you were on a budget - which, considering how often the OP upgrades his notebook, doesn't seem to have.

If you were given 3k to buy a notebook and you don't get to keep the balance, I'm willing to bet nobody in their right mind would settle for a low-end model. We're not all Lisa and Jackson from the Laptop Hunter Ads.
 
Illicit said:
Sure - If you were on a budget - which, considering how often the OP upgrades his notebook, doesn't seem to have.
Click to expand...

I upgrade a lot doesn't mean I need to burn my money every chance I get.

Having a budget or not is irrelevant to common sense.
 
lol actually im on a budget, i just dont want to get a laptop that would run slower, like my current one does, and then regret it. I can save money to get the 2.4 macbook, but like someone else said, y spend money on something which u dont need. If i know for sure that 2.4 macbook is the right one for me, then obv ill get that one, but i think ill just get the 2.0 macbook since i dont do any processor intensive work, other than video chat.

i hv decided that im going to wait until june to see if there are any updates, ill buy 2.0 macbook in june/july, this will also give me a free ipod touch which ill give to my brother, since i already have an iphone.

And then ill buy 4GB RAM from kingston or crucial, and also 320GB 7200rpm hard drive from western digital. The hard drive is not for the size like i said already, but after doing some research i figured out that a 320GB 7200rpm hard drive can increase the speed upto 15-20%. After reading reviews of this hard drive from various people, i learned that this hard drive runs very quiet and cool, i may loose ~15 mins of battery life, but thats ok with me.

And this time ill use it for ATLEAST 2 years, my goal is to use it for 3 years (which i highly doubt :p lol, but im going to try my best, 2 years is must tho)

thanks for the comments guys, if u would like to add anything about the RAM or hard drive updates that i mentioned , then please do so, and again im just going to use my laptop for email, internet, basic word processing, and ill also be installing parallel desktop 4.0, to run windows live messenger.

thanks
 
None of those things require much CPU. The HDD is fine. Buy it from Newegg. I still recommend you buy your RAM from OWC as it is as near as cheap as it gets for that RAM, guaranteed to work, and it has a lifetime warranty.

If you are only going to use a machine for 3 years (maximum it seems) then save your money. You could also sell that iPod touch for a pretty penny on ebay to reduce your computer cost.
 
brop52 said:
None of those things require much CPU. The HDD is fine. Buy it from Newegg. I still recommend you buy your RAM from OWC as it is as near as cheap as it gets for that RAM, guaranteed to work, and it has a lifetime warranty.

If you are only going to use a machine for 3 years (maximum it seems) then save your money. You could also sell that iPod touch for a pretty penny on ebay to reduce your computer cost.
Click to expand...

OWC sounds good since we can get rebate too for sending in the 2 GB memory, but i live in canada, do they ship to Canada?

Also im thinking i might get 4GB of RAM from apple, bc no matter where i buy it from (whether it be ebay or newegg), its going to cost me $100 after shipping and tax, and apple charges $120 for upgrade.

does anyone know, for how much i can sell the 2GB RAM that come with macbook, im thinking not more than $30, so i guess i can save $50 at the end, bt is this worth the hassle of upgrading RAM manually (i know its not that hard still), and then selling the older one? im not so sure...
 
I am on the same boat
I was going to get the 2.4 macbook , do you think I should get the 2.0 macbook, and use the extra $300 for RAM upgrades and a keyboard(i am buying external monitor too)?

The 160GB worries me, its too little by today's standards
+ Why would I want illuminated keyboard, is it just extra luxury?

My main concern now is , is there going to be any worthwhile updates soon. I have been waiting like forever to buy a new mac(mine is a 2002 imac) and everytime I was to buy a new mac, the updates are too close, and once they are they are sometimes not worth while so I just wait for the next update and so on.

You think I just should go with the 2.0, and upgrade the HDD myself? Is it a big deal?
 
kingmohd84 said:
I am on the same boat
I was going to get the 2.4 macbook , do you think I should get the 2.0 macbook, and use the extra $300 for RAM upgrades and a keyboard(i am buying external monitor too)?

The 160GB worries me, its too little by today's standards
+ Why would I want illuminated keyboard, is it just extra luxury?

My main concern now is , is there going to be any worthwhile updates soon. I have been waiting like forever to buy a new mac(mine is a 2002 imac) and everytime I was to buy a new mac, the updates are too close, and once they are they are sometimes not worth while so I just wait for the next update and so on.

You think I just should go with the 2.0, and upgrade the HDD myself? Is it a big deal?
Click to expand...

well deciding between 2.0 and 2.4 totally depends on u, what are u going to be using it for? if its not too processor intensive like video editing then just get the 2.0 one, and max out RAM and get 7200rpm hard drive, and from wt i have read it should be really fast, this is wt im going to do as well
 
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