Today is the day!

[craigo424x]

Well after I leave work (early) today I am going to buy my mac at the apple store. Most likely getting the Macbook 2.0ghz, does anyone think it's worth it to get the mid-level 2.16ghz w/ the 120gb hd and the "super drive". It seems like most people get the 2.0ghz or the blackbook, any thoughts? Thanks

Craig

 

[twistedlegato]

Congrats!


The mid-level is absolutely excellent. The only reason should buy the blackbook is if you really love the color, and want that extra HDD space.

 

[iKwick7]

Well do you need a superdrive and/or more hard drive space? I personally have to have a super drive and my hard drive space fills up very quickly, but it really depends on what you do with your computer.

 

[theman]

Well for $200 you get: 160mhz faster CPU (not really a difference), 40GB hdd space, and a Superdrive. I think that is actually a fair price increase. It is nothing like the $500 difference between the 15" MBPs. (That is a rip-off imo). If I were buying one, the Superdrive would seal the deal for me. I can't live without being able to burn DVDs. I could use an external drive, but that's just annoying. And, the blackbook is a TOTAL waste. What a ripoff. You spend $200 for extra HDD and a black case. You can just upgrade the whitebook for $75 to get the bigger HDD, so you really end up paying $125 FOR A COLOR?? that is ridiculous.

Basically, if you don't need to burn DVDs, and you don't need HDD space, get the 2.0ghz model (or you can get an external HDD and external DVD RW). But, if you need that stuff, spend the extra $200, because i think that is a fair amount for the stuff you get for it.

 

[Gromet]

craigo424x.

i bought a macbook, (blackbook, 2 gig RAM, 160HD) 2 weeks ago...

I returned it and went with a 2.2ghz Macbook Pro. It is AMAZING how much faster the Pro is compared to the Blackbook. I'm not saying you should automatically spend the extra money for a Pro, but I'm telling you, The 2.16 Macbook was a dog. It felt slow from the minute I booted it up.

I swapped it for the Pro, They both have 2 gigs of RAM, so I don't think that had anything to do with it, and I'm not even talking about in games, so of course the Pro's Video card will outperform the integrated Video card in the Macbook, but from the first time the Pro booted up, it has been noticably faster than the Macbook was...

I burn a lot of movies etc, so a superdrive was a must for me, and my pro only came with a 120 gig HD, I have a 250Gig on order cause my Pro is basically already full and I need the portable space... But the Screen real estate and speed of the pro far surpasses the Macbook.

What i'm really getting to is that I would highly recommend you get the fastest processor you can afford. As I stated before i'm not pushing you to go with a pro (Although if you can afford to, I would HIGHLY reccomd it) but I would at least get the fastest Macbook processor there is.

Good luck with your decision,

Gromet

 

[docc]

craigo424x.

i bought a macbook, (blackbook, 2 gig RAM, 160HD) 2 weeks ago...

I returned it and went with a 2.2ghz Macbook Pro. It is AMAZING how much faster the Pro is compared to the Blackbook. I'm not saying you should automatically spend the extra money for a Pro, but I'm telling you, The 2.16 Macbook was a dog. It felt slow from the minute I booted it up.

I swapped it for the Pro, They both have 2 gigs of RAM, so I don't think that had anything to do with it, and I'm not even talking about in games, so of course the Pro's Video card will outperform the integrated Video card in the Macbook, but from the first time the Pro booted up, it has been noticably faster than the Macbook was...

I burn a lot of movies etc, so a superdrive was a must for me, and my pro only came with a 120 gig HD, I have a 250Gig on order cause my Pro is basically already full and I need the portable space... But the Screen real estate and speed of the pro far surpasses the Macbook.

What i'm really getting to is that I would highly recommend you get the fastest processor you can afford. As I stated before i'm not pushing you to go with a pro (Although if you can afford to, I would HIGHLY reccomd it) but I would at least get the fastest Macbook processor there is.

Good luck with your decision,

Gromet

So you're saying that a 2.16 Ghz Macbook is a dog compared to the 2.2 Ghz MBP? There must have been something wrong with your Macbook because with just 1Gb of RAM, my MB runs like a champ and i do a whole lot with it. Unless you work with graphics or you're a big time gamer, i don't see any reason why anyone should plunk an extra 600 bucks for the MBP.

Please don't pass out inaccurate information.

Regards.

 

[aethelbert]

So you're saying that a 2.16 Ghz Macbook is a dog compared to the 2.2 Ghz MBP? There must have been something wrong with your Macbook because with just 1Gb of RAM, my MB runs like a champ and i do a whole lot with it. Unless you work with graphics or you're a big time gamer, i don't see any reason why anyone should plunk an extra 600 bucks for the MBP.

Please don't pass out inaccurate information.

Regards.

I agree. Unless you were doing something that the macbook just isn't designed for, it must have been defective. I got mine yesterday expecting to come home and order 2GB of ram, but it is just fine and very quick with 1GB.

And to the OP: If you need/want the superdrive or the 120gb, get the mid-grade model. I was gonna get the 2.0, but thought that I would later regret not getting the Superdrive. Also, if you want to install Windows, a 32GB partition leaves you with almost exactly 80GB in OS X. For the $200, it was a good deal to me with the speed bump just being a bonus. However, if you won't need those features, the base model would be perfect for you.

Good luck with your new mac: whichever one you choose.

 

[docc]

If you know someone who's at school or Uni, try to get a students discount. That will save you another 100 bucks and should make the midrange model the sweetest deal possible! Thats what i did

 

[NewSc2]

So you're saying that a 2.16 Ghz Macbook is a dog compared to the 2.2 Ghz MBP? There must have been something wrong with your Macbook because with just 1Gb of RAM, my MB runs like a champ and i do a whole lot with it. Unless you work with graphics or you're a big time gamer, i don't see any reason why anyone should plunk an extra 600 bucks for the MBP.

Please don't pass out inaccurate information.

Regards.

I'm not who you quoted here, but I partially agree with him. I had a Macbook (1.83ghz CoreDuo) and upgraded to a Macbook Pro (2.16ghz, Core2Duo), and I love the change. Worth every penny imo, especially now refurb 2.16ghz Core2Duos are $1499 online (refurb 2.0ghz CoreDuos are $1349).

Specifically it's worth it for the case and the screen. The screen is much, much, much nicer than the 13" Macbook's. If the MBP's screen was a 9/10, I'd put the Macbook around a 4/10. Poor contrast, dull colors, bad viewing angles, the whole gamut. The extra real estate is nice too -- less cramping on your workspace and eyestrain. The case is more solid, thinner, and better of a heat transferrer than the Macbook's.

As far as speed, I've used my gf's 2.0ghz Core2Duo macbook, and it's comparable. My MBP feels a good bit snappier, in Expose and stuff. Like you said, there's not a huge difference in processing speed -- for me the screen alone is worth $600.

 

[raxafarian]

I love my 2.16ghz core 2 duo MB. The screen was dull out of the box but after calibrating it was fine. I upgraded it to 2gig myself and love the fact the hard drive is easily user replaceable. A 250 gb drive is in my near future. I use it for photoshop and lightroom (14000 images) and for dvd ripping/burning. A friend at work has a G4 powerbook and he said the MB screen is much better than his and he will be getting a MB after seeing mine. The viewing angle is critical but I only see that as an issue if you are constantly trying to show something to other people.

I was a little worried about going from a 15.4" screen to the 13.3 but after using it for a week I was hooked. I went back to the 15.4 (non-mac) to prep it for sale and it's screen was terrible compared to the MB. I don't know how I used it for the past 3 years.

I think the only thing I'd replace it with as of now would be a 12 or 13 inch mbp (if they ever make one).

 

[dacreativeguy]

I just bought my mom a white 2.16 C2D MacBook and have been playing with it while setting it up. It seems plenty fast to me. I can convert movies to ipod format about 5x faster than my G5. It's ridiculous. We upgraded it to the 160GB drive for $75 since 40GB is a lot of space to not have.

 

[craigo424x]

Hi everyone, thank you for your input! I ended up getting the 2.0ghz b/c as of yet I never needed to burn a DVD (i get other people to haha, but rarely would I use it) and also I figured if I need a hd upgrade it's going to need to be at least a 120gb extra of external hd. It's late and I'm really tired but I had a busy day and wanted to get back since this thread wasn't completely buried yet. I LOVE my macbook, I was concerned w/ the smaller screen but it's not bad at all, this is much faster than my dell, and the fact I'm sitting on my couch typing this just because I can is amazing (first laptop too) I always use macs but finally to have my own is really exciting. It's so much nicer and easier on your eyes than a PC. I can't believe how the fan isnt on all all the time, it's so odd having a computer where it only turns on if it needs too, my dell has a high pitch fan that I couldn't stand. Anyway I guess this is my WOO I finally got a Mac post (I guess it's good I posted in my original thread since there's so many everyday on that) But thanks to everyone for helping me prior to purchasing. P.S. I had a few drinks so sorry about grammar etc. Don't worry I won't drop my mac!!

 

[janitorC7]

I think that the superdrive issue is this...

You dont need it, unless you dont get it...

I once bought one without it, and that was one of the only times I needed to burn a DVD...

my general views on computers now is that if you are going to get one, get the best you can