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would you pay this?

B

bsurb

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 1, 2012
90
1
FL
im still in the market for a macbook laptop. tired of my old dell latitude 530 desktop... want to take a step up.

my budget is $600-$700 MAX. basically using the mac for illustrator, photoshop,designing and stuff..

found this macbook and talked him down to$650.... here are pics and what he said... is this worth it???

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the seller wrote me this:

It is the late 2008 to 2009 model. The screen on it is brand new from apple they replaced it about a year ago. I have never needed to add memory or ram because when I bought this unit brand new from apple it had all of the upgrades apple offered was a very expensive unit. I have microsoft office as well as keynote pages and numbers (apples version of Microsoft office). The speed of the computer is flawless and opening many browsers and programs has no effect, like I said it is a very upgraded unit for its time. If you use the computer on optimal Settings and brightness and so forth you can get 6-8 hours battery time. I also just replaced the charger about a year ago. All of the ports are working in great condition and speakers work like the day I bought them. It has normal cosmetic wear and tear for its age looks good most people use a case anyway, which i ordered hopefully it will be in by saturday i cant use it if i sell it so Id give it to you or when it comes in i could give it you. Most people are concerned with functionality, usage, hardware, which this laptop has it all. Hope all of this helps

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As a starting point, you can check Mac2Sell, eBay (including completed sales), or Amazon for prices of similar models, to get an idea of what a reasonable price may be. Then adjust the price to account for condition, configuration, remaining AppleCare coverage (if any), etc.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Would I? No.

I'd save up a bit more and try to get a used 13" i5 MBP - MUCH faster and more capable.
 
the thing is i really dont want to spend more than $650 at all... i want to get something for my price range.
 
There's been a refurbished 13" i5 2.3GHz on the Apple Refurbished store for $729. That's close to your budget, and comes with a new warranty. I'd try and go for that, as it also comes with 4GB of ram as well.
 
Mid 09 15"..

Yea I'd pay 650 for it for your uses a core i wünder processor isn't going to do much for you.
 
iv always been a windows user.. im a apple noob :p

so the one i am looking at is 2GB.... but isnt it a little faster at 2.4ghz? and where do you find out if its a i5 or i4 or what ever?
 
mgartner0622 said:
There's been a refurbished 13" i5 2.3GHz on the Apple Refurbished store for $729. That's close to your budget, and comes with a new warranty. I'd try and go for that, as it also comes with 4GB of ram as well.
Click to expand...

This.
 
bsurb said:
iv always been a windows user.. im a apple noob :p

so the one i am looking at is 2GB.... but isnt it a little faster at 2.4ghz? and where do you find out if its a i5 or i4 or what ever?
Click to expand...

8GB of RAM costs what $30 and takes 10 Min to install
 
For $650, you can get a windows laptop with much better specs (to take Dell, for instance the Inspiron 15R). Sure, it will be heavier/bigger and not as pretty as a Mac, but if you are on a budget, my advice is to get a budget machine (which Macs aren't). I don't see how it is justified to pay that kind of money on a hopelessly outdated computer (it is now two generations of CPU behind!) where you could get a less pretty but x2 faster machine with warranty, for the same money. Even a modern ultrabooks are faster than that MBP... If you absolutely want a Mac, look into refurb/used 2011-2012 Macbook Airs.
 
i just really need something good with photoshop.. illustrator ect. something quick but reliable....with a good battery.

which ones on best buy should i check out?
 
mgartner0622 said:
There's been a refurbished 13" i5 2.3GHz on the Apple Refurbished store for $729. That's close to your budget, and comes with a new warranty. I'd try and go for that, as it also comes with 4GB of ram as well.
Click to expand...

Tax (if applicable) would push it closer to $800, so it may be further out of his price range.

bsurb said:
would these be smarter to go with?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba...lver/5560019.p?id=1218704973366&skuId=5560019

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+...lack/4853107.p?id=1218551140714&skuId=4853107

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+...lack/4875227.p?id=1218560752682&skuId=4875227
Click to expand...

I don't think you are going to get much advice on those. Most will say save up and get the best Macbook you can afford.
 
$600 for this wouldnt be good?

http://ocala.craigslist.org/ele/3293987331.html

worse case i can just go to best buy and get their opinions.... all i need is a reliable laptop.. lot of memory and fast enough so i can run photoshop,illustrator and other programs... any recommendations on non macs then for $600 and less?
 
would i? definitely not.

i see no point in getting an ancient core 2 duo with only 2 gigs of ram for illustrator/photoshop etc purposes. if $600 is all you can spare, you're better off getting a much more powerful windows laptop for the same price.

i did use a late 2008 macbook aluminum NON-pro which was only 2.0ghz core 2 duo but i upgraded it to 8gb of ram. it ran alright for my work (mostly photoshop). upgraded to the rmbp though.
 
thats what im saying... if people would suggest getting a laptop for cheaper that is more powerful, what should i be shooting for?

i3 or i4 or how much memory? i always had a dell to... are they more reliable?
 
If you want the best value for performance, I would stick with a desktop unless you really need the portability.
 
bsurb said:
i was thinking ram would be a lot more for these.. im wrong lol.

but last one... this guy down the road from me has one listed for $700 but they said they would take $650... if i got it down to 600 is that a fair price?

i see this one is mid 2010.

http://ocala.craigslist.org/ele/3293987331.html
Click to expand...

I vote for the 15" one. Just because a machine is out of warranty doesn't mean it stops working. Just inspect to see if the computer has been abused/dented etc. Inspect the functionality and you're good to go.
 
You don't need a wünder computer for what you do..

Remember we use PS before C2D and Core i whatever's. We made music and movies on G3's. My main desktop is still a G5 with 12TB and a SSD internal and I have much the same uses you do. Either computer you pick will be about faster than my Quad by a 1000 or 2 geekbench and most likely have better graphics. The only limitation in the 15" is the 8GB RAM.

Look at both and buy the one you like none of us has to live with it, you do.
 
You can put up to 8 gigs of relatively cheap ddr3 ram in there, which should you give you enough horsepower to do what you need it to do. If you can get it for $600, you can max the ram for roughly $75 more from OWC, less if you carefully shop at newegg.
 
bsurb said:
iv always been a windows user.. im a apple noob :p

so the one i am looking at is 2GB.... but isnt it a little faster at 2.4ghz? and where do you find out if its a i5 or i4 or what ever?
Click to expand...

a Core i5 2.3GHz is MUCH faster than a Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor. The Hz on the processor is the frequency, not a speed rating. The same exact chip running at a higher frequency will be faster sure, but the Core i5 is such a better chip design it can easily beat a Core 2 Duo.

Buying a used low end Mac is really only a good idea if you really need to save every penny you can and you just have to have a Mac and nothing else. macs hold their resale value, so you are paying a high price for a used Mac... in your situation I'd not buy a Mac at all, even though I love them... I'd either save up money longer, or get something other than a Mac.
 
Get a refurb from the Apple store. Better investment if you get the 2011 and up models.

Core 2 Duo is really old architecture for laptops. CS6 is very demanding. Not that you can't work with it, but why the pain when you can plop down a bit more and get a more capable machine and sail smoothly?

It's an investment and you will get it back if you are productive on your computer.
 
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