Hi there everyone. I am in the market for a new Macbook, and as with the past couple of macbook purchases I am planning on a refurb from the apple store as they save a lot of money while having the same warranty.

Even with searching, I am having a hard time finding what the differences are between the current refurbs (core duo) and the current core 2 duo models, except for the newer chip.

-Were any other improvements made between the original macbooks and current ones, besides the newer CPU chip? Any feature upgrades or fixes for rev 1 issues?

-Any opinions on if I'll feel regrets for getting the older of the 2 chips? My use of the laptop would be split betwen normal office tasks (typing, browsing, itunes, etc) and some hobbyist level pro audio recording mixing (pro tools le, logic audio, reason, etc). I am coming from a 1.25GHZ G4 aluminum powerbook from 3 years ago. I will be installing boot camp and rebooting into windows sometimes.

Lastly, the current government employee store (wife is in the military) has 3 macbooks that seem to be the same aspecs part from ram and hard disk.

$800 for 60 gig/512 megs memory
$900 for 80 gigs, 512 megs memory
$1050 for 80 gigs, and 1 gig memory.

The last config is the one I'd require, but I was thinking I could get the cheapeast and get 1.5 gigs memory and a bigger than 80 gig memory fwith that $250 savings?

I know RAM is a cinch to install, what about hard disks on these models? I replaced the hard disk in my albook and it was quite a procedure, for me anyway.....

Thanks in advance, a lot of questions here I know..........

new core 2 duo 2.0 comes with 80 gig drive and 1 gig ram = no upgrades

older core duo and basic model core 2 duo only have 512 ram = ram update ASAP

ram and drives in the new macbook are easy, a 10 year old could do it under 5 minutes

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2006 12:33PM by jdc.

1. Core 2 Duo can run a 64-bit OS. That gives you a bit more future-proofing, as OS X will eventually be 64 bit.

2. You get about an 8-12% speed boost for the same clock speed, from what I've read.

3.Seemed like there were a lot of heat problems with the Rev. 1 Macbooks; less so with the Rev. 2. www.macintouch.com did a survey last week on repair incidence.

4. No other upgrades that I know of.

5. Supposedly, replacing the HD in a MacBook is very easy.

Yeah, since I posted this I did some more research (oops) and saw that the hard drive uses a new plug and play replacement design (very cool). So I'm no longer worried about that.

Looking on newegg, there are so many manufacturers to choose from, does anyone have a manufacturer and model to recommend? I would be putting in a 160 gig drive (I use a lot of sample libraries for the pro audio stuff and each one can take up 5-10 gigs on their own).

As for heat issues with rev 1, I remember hearing about that. I am wondering if the fact that these are refurbs, gives them more of a chance of having had any known issues "dealt with" already.

Thanks and keep the great advice coming! I welcome any opinions anyone has!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2006 12:40PM by dan steinberg.

its the chip with the heat issue, so unless you get the core 2 duo you might still ahve to deal with heat

your $1050 price is only about $100 away from a new white 2.0 from amazon (rebate, no tax, free shipping) -- if that $1050 doesnt include tax/shipping you might want to factor that in as well...

FWIW, my rev 1 2.0 white doenst get that hot at all.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

The memory and the hard drive are a piece of cake to install. Apple did right by the MacBook in that area... Unlike the iBooks - the HD is accessible and replaceable within 5 minutes via the battery bay... in the ibook it was like a 45-70 minute ordeal.

Short answer - both very easily user installable. We even have a video that shows:
[eshop.macsales.com]

I'd personally go with the Core 2 Duo model without a 2nd thought.
We have other benchmarks... and the results vary... but Core 2 is faster all the way around with its 64 bit and looking at both the After Effects test and the Stress test we have here:
[eshop.macsales.com]

Certain apps and situations seem to significantly benefit with the Core 2 Duo model vs. Core Duo.

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OWC Larry
Other World Computing
[www.macsales.com]

Cool, even Larry's weighing in, now I feel important

The amazon route has gotten me torn. I did the math and came up with this comparison:

Apple government store: Refurb is $850 with tax and shipping + 100 to bring it up to a gig of RAM + $150 for a 160 gig Hitachi travelstar = $1100 out the door

Amazon: $1220 out the door for a new Core 2 duo machine with 1 gig memory and 80 gig hard drive.

So basically I can get a core 2 duo for $120 more, but give up some extra hard drive space in the bargain. If I decide I can live without the extra hard drive space, would we say this is a no brainer at this point? $120 extra for a more future proof CPU design and a newer laptop generation that has likely worked out more pesky rev 1 issues?

I may still swap out the hard drive later, if I get the Amazon model, but I would most likely wait until price comes down on the 160 giggers or a good deal comes up.

Thanks!

It's like cars. Buy the best car you can, and install the fancy stereo later. Buy the core 2 duo, and install the big HD later.

For me, it would be a no brainer to go with the core 2 duo.

Quote
anonymouse1
1. Core 2 Duo can run a 64-bit OS. That gives you a bit more future-proofing, as OS X will eventually be 64 bit.

[blogs.adobe.com]

"First, let's check all the 64-bit hype at the door." Pay close attention. There is no need to worry about this when buying a machine today.

Ignore the 64 bit talk. It's meaningless with respect to today's purchases.

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In the words of DharmaDog: "it may or may not be utter horse@#$%&, but it shouldn't be dismissed simply because it doesn't agree with your opinion."

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Trying is the first step to failure. -- Homer Simpson

1GB isn't really much fun to work with. You should add 1GB to make it 1.25 or make your new MacBook usable and go to 2GB. So really $1100 vs. $1320 to have 1.25GB/160GB vs. 1.5GB/80GB. I don't know the specifics of the 160 drive and if it is faster or not. If you can live with 80GB for 6 months of course in 6 months a new $160 drive will be cheaper and faster. For myself, I would not pay $220 to have a slightly faster new MacBook.

On the Apple Store, the BlackBook (black MacBook C2D) has a 120GB drive standard, not 80. That's a change (a BIG change) from the CD BlackBook.

With the prices so close, I'd advise going with the C2D and get the larger HD later.

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chas_m




[crawlingfromtheusa.blogspot.com] <-- Moving to Canada blog

I picked up a Black Core Duo MacBook with 1GB RAM for $999 at the Apple Store in Christiana Mall in Delaware.

Couldn't be happier with it unless it started printing money.

I have also been trying to decide if I should order a refurb Black core Duo macbook with my government discount.

$899 seems pretty good but I think I will wait it out for now.

gg