FrankenMac 2006

[fayelizabeth12]

Hi Guys,

I hope this is the right place to post, first time here.

I have an ancient Macbook from 2006 (I looked up the serial, I had no idea it was quite that old!) It has the intel core duo processor but is in reasonable health and I installed plenty of RAM a few years back. Its obviously not updateable anymore so I am stuck with snow leapard, I can't update google chrome or firefox either which is annoying, but not the end of the world for me. The body of is also falling apart, I've lost a lot of the outer casing and I have 3 keys missing. Trackpad is also dodgy. I'm looking to buy another Macbook on ebay that I put my hard drive into and also my extra RAM. I'm not sure whether to go for the same model or whether to get a (slightly!) newer model like 2010 or 2012 OR whether to upgrade further to something with a newer chip that I can actually update? My budget is fairly limited, £300 max. I just wondered if anyone has any knowledge of the compatibility of the models with eachothers parts? OR general advice, what would you do?

Oh! Ideally I'd like to be able to use the same battery and power cable as both are fairly new.

Thank you!

 

[3349793]

Hi there,

For about £300, you can find a 2010 2.4GHz unibody MacBook, which is heaps better than the 2006 model. I don't think you should get a 2006 model. You can find a 2010 MB with 4GB RAM & 160GB HDD, with a GT320M, which is much much better than the GMA in the 2006 MB. You can upgrade the RAM to 8GB, and change the HDD to an SSD, though.

For about £350-400, you can find 2010-2011 MacBook Airs. But keep in mind that the 2010 models have Core2Duo processors, whereas the 2011- models have Core i5 & i7 processors, which are a great improvement over the older processors.. The only down-side with the Airs, is that you cannot upgrade the RAM. But you can upgrade the SSD.

The laptops above also run the latest macOS, and both would run the latest and greatest web browsers as well.

Also, for about ~£300, you can get a 2008-2009 MacBook Pro (13"), which would also allow you to upgrade the RAM, the SSD, and change the DVD drive to an additional SSD. This MacBook Pro will not officially run macOS. The highest it will run is El Capitan (10.11).

This is just my personal advice, but in conclusion if you can stretch your budget a bit more, you should be able to get a better MacBook. I read that you would like to put your RAM into your new computer, but that might not be the case, as the RAM might not be compatible with the new(er) computer. The HDD you can always turn into an external drive if you get an Air, but you might be able to transfer it to your new computer (the MacBook White and the MacBook Pro).

Hope all this information is correct, and is useful.

 

[fayelizabeth12]

Hi there,

For about £300, you can find a 2010 2.4GHz unibody MacBook, which is heaps better than the 2006 model. I don't think you should get a 2006 model. You can find a 2010 MB with 4GB RAM & 160GB HDD, with a GT320M, which is much much better than the GMA in the 2006 MB. You can upgrade the RAM to 8GB, and change the HDD to an SSD, though.

For about £350-400, you can find 2010-2011 MacBook Airs. But keep in mind that the 2010 models have Core2Duo processors, whereas the 2011- models have Core i5 & i7 processors, which are a great improvement over the older processors.. The only down-side with the Airs, is that you cannot upgrade the RAM. But you can upgrade the SSD.

The laptops above also run the latest macOS, and both would run the latest and greatest web browsers as well.

Also, for about ~£300, you can get a 2008-2009 MacBook Pro (13"), which would also allow you to upgrade the RAM, the SSD, and change the DVD drive to an additional SSD. This MacBook Pro will not officially run macOS. The highest it will run is El Capitan (10.11).

This is just my personal advice, but in conclusion if you can stretch your budget a bit more, you should be able to get a better MacBook. I read that you would like to put your RAM into your new computer, but that might not be the case, as the RAM might not be compatible with the new(er) computer. The HDD you can always turn into an external drive if you get an Air, but you might be able to transfer it to your new computer (the MacBook White and the MacBook Pro).

Hope all this information is correct, and is useful.

That is all extremely useful information, thank you very much!

 

[3349793]

That is all extremely useful information, thank you very much!

You are welcome. If you need any other help with anything, feel free to ask me.