Mac Refurbs? Help me decide!!!
I am currentlyin the market for a new mac, I have been visiting the apple website and forums and can see that an update to both macbokk and macbook pro's will come at somepoint, however I can't wait for this update so I need to buy something now. I can't decide between a black Macbook 2.0 ghz core 2 duo with 1gb ram for $1,299 or a 15 inch2.16 ghz core 2 duo macbook pro, for $1,599 can anyone help me with this choice. I plan to use the computer for word processing, photo editing, and basic internet workload. What i dislike abput the macbook is the surface of the black macbook with attracts fingerprints and the underpowered 64MB video card, and for the powerbook i dislike the size and the fact that that virtually identical case has been around for several years now. Please Help with suggestions!!! Also, anyone had any problems with refurbs?
Comments
I am currentlyin the market for a new mac, I have been visiting the apple website and forums and can see that an update to both macbokk and macbook pro's will come at somepoint, however I can't wait for this update so I need to buy something now. I can't decide between a black Macbook 2.0 ghz core 2 duo with 1gb ram for $1,299 or a 15 inch2.16 ghz core 2 duo macbook pro, for $1,599 can anyone help me with this choice. I plan to use the computer for word processing, photo editing, and basic internet workload. What i dislike abput the macbook is the surface of the black macbook with attracts fingerprints and the underpowered 64MB video card, and for the powerbook i dislike the size and the fact that that virtually identical case has been around for several years now. Please Help with suggestions!!! Also, anyone had any problems with refurbs?
the macbook pro has a bigger screen and a real video card.
I think the g4 are just as powerful as the new macbooks. My theory about the processing power of the new macbooks and older g4 is the fact that windows is a power hog and to compensate apple [I]had to up the power so they can run programs like boot camp and parallels flawlessly. So that would enable macs to run programs like xp and vista.
Sorry, but this just bull... Do a proper research first about when, why and in which order things came out!
First of all, Apple didn't chose Intel processors because they wanted to be able to run Windows on their machines. They chose them because neither Motorola nor IBM could deliver the long-promised faster processors (G4 and G5) so they could stay competitive on the notebook market. There was no G5 for notebooks and the G4 was getting too slow compared to the Pentium-M line of processors.
Secondly, because Apple had secretly developed X86 versions os OS X for years, the processor switch was even more easy for them. To put it simple: Intel's processor roadmap for the next few years was far more interesting, both in terms of dual-core technology, speed and probably prices as well. So they chose to go with the manufacturer that could actually deliver processors in the promised timeframe (and speed variations).
Third, as soon as the first Intel Macs were out, a competition amongst independent developers on the net took place to find out how to get Windows running on the new, pc-like Macs. It didn't take them long to find out ways to boot into Windows. Only about two months later, Apple was wise enough to follow that path and "officially" provide all the drivers and EFI/BIOS pataches necessary to those interested in doing this (i.e. BootCamp). Very smart move, indeed.
Fifth, Apple has nothing to do with the Parallels team. They sell their (very good) software package in the AppleStore, but that's about it.
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My advice: don't get the G4. There is really no comparison speed-wise to even the lowest-level 1.83 GHz Core2 Duo MacBook. The G4 technology is really obsolete nowadays. Save some money by buying a refurb white MacBook with at least 1 GB of RAM! Or get the black MacBook (which isn't that bad with fingerprints, actually). Concerning the so-called proper video card, you could spend more money and get the 15.4" MBP, but I can assure you that there is nothing in your task list above that even the basic 1.83 GHz MacBook couldn't do with the GMA950. It is even fully supported by Vista - which a lot of older, so-called dedicated video cards aren't.
I have a black MacBook CoreDuo 2.0 (the first revision) and I'm absolutely happy with it. I even sold my Dual 2.0 GHz G5 tower recently because the MacBook is about the same speed-wise and I can run Windows on it, if I want to. And it's portable, too!
Every time I check out the refurbished section of Apple.com, I wonder "who's gonna buy those G4 machines for that price?"
People like NeedaMAC who have 'theories'.
and are apparently in need of a Media Access Control address.
Please Help with suggestions!
Wait until the new machines are released. It should only be about 6 or 7 weeks now.
Incidentally, from what you describe, I'd recommend you get this refurb if you need to buy now:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=FA700LL%2FA
Refurbs are machines that have been fixed so you should actually find less problems (not cosmetic ones though) than a new machine which hasn't actually been checked by anyone.
The white ones are IMO superior to the black ones. Don't mean that to sound racist. They do get dirtier but side by side, the white looks nicer. I haven't seen many PC laptops which use white so it makes you stand out.
For basic use, all you need is 1GB Ram at least and that deal above has it. You need fast enough CPUs and dual 2GHz Core 2 Duo is certainly fast enough. The graphics card could be better but I've done a lot of graphics tests and the graphics are still reasonable for average gaming and light 3D graphics work. Core Image etc features work well enough.