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MacBook Purchase advice

post #1 of 3
1/22/12 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
I'm a poor college student who can't afford to upgrade to the latest & greatest. Currently I'm running my 2006 CoreDuo MacBook, but it's showing its age. I need to upgrade to something even slightly newer than this that can handle more RAM. I've been keeping an eye on ebay to get a gauge on the going rates of different models, but here's where I'm kinda torn... I can only afford $750 tops. That might even be stretching it just a touch.

Anyways...the models I've been considering are the 2008 13.3" Unibody MacBook (not Pro). I'm also looking at the 15" 2008 Penryn MacBook Pro. Basically, I want something aluminum that can run Lion, and can handle more than 2GB RAM.

Any advice you have would be appreciated.
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post #2 of 3
1/23/12 at 6:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xamian View Post

I can only afford $750 tops. That might even be stretching it just a touch.

Anyways...the models I've been considering are the 2008 13.3" Unibody MacBook (not Pro). I'm also looking at the 15" 2008 Penryn MacBook Pro. Basically, I want something aluminum that can run Lion, and can handle more than 2GB RAM.

I wouldn't go any further back than 2010. There are a few models in that price range:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBoo...ht_2949wt_1167

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBoo...#ht_500wt_1182

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBoo...#ht_500wt_1182

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacBoo...#ht_500wt_1182

If you are able to beg/borrow another $180, a refurb from Apple is a good way to go:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC700LL/A

The i5 chips are a lot faster than the Core 2 Duo models and you get 4GB RAM included, although the GPUs in the eBay models are faster.

You should get $300-400 for your old one so your upgrade cost is about $450-650.
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post #3 of 3
1/23/12 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
Actually, I was approached by someone at another forum site with a 2010 MBP that falls within my price range. Thanks for the response, though.
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