Someone quick! Help me decide on what macbook to get for college!

Alright here's the deal. I'm a freshmen college student who is a Biology/Pre-Med Major and I already HAVE A laptop that we bought 4 months back. The total price of the laptop was about $950 and theres really nothing i can do to sell it (unless someone has some suggestions?)

Anyway, I REALLY want a Macbook because I believe they are great for students and I honestly just like the operating system and everything about the machine.

Now I was extremely surprised when my parents said they would buy me one. This probably due to the fact that I didn't ever do my work in HS and made bad grades, but now I'm whipping myself into shape and got a 4.0 this semester.

Now I'm currently stumped between the 2.0 ghz new macbook or the new 2.4 ghz macbook.

I was wondering how much of a difference the extra 400 mhz makes? I will be doing some video editing as well as some High Def Movie watching. And also I'll do some VERY light gaming. Mainly just counter strike source (I don't care if I have to run it on low, this isn't a concern for me)

Also, is it worth upgrading to 4 gigs of RAM?

If someone has a cheaper place to buy these things, please let me know! Because we're tight on money. Yes we can afford the 2.4 ghz model but it's stretching it.

 

Get the original macbook, although its performance will be slighly less... many users find the new touchpad annoying, the new screens to be far too glossy, and generally running hotter.

 

no,get 2.0 ghz version-you wont notice any difference unless you are doing heavy video rendering!And tho Mac OS works fine with 2gb,getting another 2gb is good idea!but don't buy from apple,buy it from newegg-much cheaper!

 

1)and lots of people love new touchpads-check out the reviews
2)it is personal,i like them,you need to see my HP's screen-thats glossy!



3)new macbooks are cooler then last ones(I say this from reviews )

 

Here are the newegg ones:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...bCategory=562&N=2153340562&SpeTabStoreType=15

And yeah, I would say the 2.0 one, it's good for your needs.

:laugh:

 

Another vote for the 2.0 alu. And if you have the cash the 4Gb is not a bad upgrade.
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why do u need a macbook? cuz its 13" and it can do microsoft office just like every other pc. stick with ur laptop and dont let ur parents cash go to waste.

 

Yea, the 2.0 will fit what you need it to do perfectly fine.

Don't get a whitebook.

And 2 gigs of ram will probably be perfectly fine for what you need it to do. If you want to upgrade it now/later make sure you dont buy the ram from apple, because they overcharge you for it. But you dont really need 4gigs right away/for what you want it for.

The guy wants a mac. Hes asking for advice on which one to choose, hes not asking if he should get a pc/stick with the old one. Just let him be, and come over to the macside.

 

A pre-med with a bad history of poor work ethic? you're in for a heap of trouble, son! i did well in hs and kept the same work ethic in college and it didn't turn out quite as i'd hoped, haha (cross your fingers for my med school apps).

anyways, the phrase "tight on money" and "i want to get a macbook" are essentially opposites. with that said, if you really want a mac, then you should ditch the older laptop on ebay or craigslist and recoup as much as you can. i also suggest the 2.0 macbook, if you must... but its not going to do your hw for you!

 

What about games? How much a difference would I notice? I will also be reencoding some movies to burn to DVD and such. Not really what I would call "heavy" video rendering but its close.

Also, I was just thinking of getting 2.4 since I can't upgrade it later. The RAM I CAN upgrade but not the cpu.

 

Not everyone was mature enough to realize what they are doing to themselves in High School! Everyone fully matures at a different age (this is even true in puberty

Ok maybe I should take away the tight on money. We really aren't, but I don't want to waste money. My parents said it's perfectly fine but I just feel ilke it's a waste.

 

Have you considered the MBP 4.1 (prev gen MBP)? A used one is the same price as the new 2GHz Aluminum MacBook and offers alot more. I got the Aluminium MacBook and then ditched it for the MBP.

 

How bad can a 4-month-old laptop be? That's wasting money if you don't use it.

 

I like your suggestion and will definitely look into it. However, wouldn't I be lacking things like the new trackpad, longer battery life, portability and most importantly, LED backlit display?

 

NOPE. I was so stuck on getting the new Aluminum MacBook first too.

Trackpad, the older MBP is just as good as the new MacBook. A bit better too IMO as I find the new touchpad a bit annoying to use as it takes more force to click and it makes a fairly loud clicking sound (not good in a quiet lecture hall). The only thing I miss is the right click via the bottom right corner but it is not a big deal. 2 fingers work just as well. Also the new touchpad seem to have more friction and it just not feel as slick.

The battery life is about the same IMO. I am getting 4 hours on the MBP. Dont remember what I got on the MacBook.

It is around 5.4 LBS. About a pound more. If you compare the two it is a bigger but not that much bigger.

The Penryn MBPs are LED backlit. The screen is just miles better than the new MacBook in viewing angle etc.

 

You mentioned that the screen quality is much better on the pros? Is there anyway I can get the technical details to this? Sorry, I just like to know my specs!

 

Uhh, well the resolution is 1440x900, which is larger the the mb. I think he means its better, because i think people have had bad luck with some of the new mb's screens, as they arnt good income cases.

 

if you want to play counter strike source, youll need an aluminum apple laptop at least. the old style macbook had integrated graphics and thats not going to help you.

i guess you have to decide between the different aluminum macbooks or an older pro?

the older pro is going to be faster and will have a larger screen, and better game performance. its also going to be somewhat larger and heavier (but still only an inch thick!)

id probably take the macbook for portability.