PDA

View Full Version : New(old) MacBook


CitizenTony
2008-02-29, 14:01
I'm thinking of purchasing last weeks base-line MacBook. I can get it at Amazon.com for $920 after rebate with no tax and free shipping. The combo drive is a concern, but I can't say that I've ever used my current laptops DVD burner as I usually use my office computer for that sort of thing. I have more ram that I can put into it so that 1GB isn't really a big deal either.

My question, would it be better to spend the extra $100 and get the newest model. Will I really notice a difference in the newest chip? 40GB extra would be nice but I get along fine with 80GB right now.

I'll need it to run Vista at some points. Does it work well in BootCamp?

I'm also looking at a refurb Dell m1330 for $750, which after shipping and tax would be $850 or so. It's a 1.66GHz with everything else the same as the MacBook except the DVD burner. I think I've ruled it out, but I could add $100 until I've found myself using a MacBook Pro at this point and wanted to keep it cheap.

I'm currently stuck on a 15.4" Inspiron with a Pentium M at 1.7GHz.

julesstoop
2008-02-29, 14:06
If you plan on using Vista on the MB, the extra 40 GB might just come in handy. 2GB doesn't sound like a luxury item either for that specific OS.
Considering speed differences between the old (Merom) and new (Penryn): they aren't really huge, or so it seems. 10% on average at best.

PB PM
2008-02-29, 14:07
Either Macbook would be better (other than the optical drive). The refurb model has a bigger L2 cache, which makes it better at some tasks than the new model, but otherwise, not much different. The newer model, due to moving down to the 45nm CPU may run cooler, and have better battery life though. The choice is really yours. Tests show that the new MBP gets 9-17% longer battery life (depending on the tasks its doing) over the older models, so I think the MBs will be about the same.

CitizenTony
2008-03-01, 23:28
I went ahead and ordered the newest base MacBook from Amazon yesterday. One day shipping came out to $3.99 so I splurged on that and should have it sometime on Monday. I went with the newest after reading the review on anandtech.com that claims much cooler running temperatures and improvement in battery life. Not that big of a deal really, but the extra 40GB of HDD space seemed nice too.

I was originally looking at the $849 refurbished option at apple.com, but after tax it came out to what amazon.com was charging for a brand new week old MacBook after rebate. No tax and free shipping helped make the decision of who to purchase from. $100 over 2-4 years of use isn't that much, especially if it means cooler temperatures on my lap, which is why I got the newest model. I have 2GB of RAM in my current laptop that I'll switch with.

I'm pretty excited. My last Mac was a Rev. A 12" PowerBook. I think it was running 10.2, and I think I upgraded it to 10.3 before I sold it. I was looking at the Dell m1330, and I really prefer the look and feel of it over the MacBook, but it wasn't to be. I got one from the Dell Outlet that was a mess. A really cheap screen with some sort of grainy appearance and a squealing processor made it unusable. Some research proved that it was a widespread problem so I passed on a repair option. I really hope the MacBook comes without error.

Thanks for the help.

ETA: On the topic of the optical drive. I sat myself down and tried to remember the last time I burned a DVD on a laptop. I came to the realization that I hadn't. I use my office machine or HTPC to do that sort of stuff and won't even realize it's not there within a month. It feels cheap buying a computer without the ability, and it's really cheesy on Apples part to exclude it, but I'll cope. The hardest part is coping with the fact that a $1000 laptop comes without a DVD burner, and that I actually bought it. Oh well.