HELP! I want to buy a Macbook

[lettucenpico]

I have been seriously wanting to buy a Macbook. I do not want to pay full price on the newer versions. I have been looking in my local craigslist plus Ebay for older versions especially the A1181 and A1278. The prices on Ebay is what I am looking for. Around $250-350. I know the condition as far as cosmetic isn't great but it works great. To try out the Mac, should I buy the newer version or try out an older version mac?

[bluballer]

Older Macs are difficult to upgrade to the newest OS and may not have access to the App Store.

[lettucenpico]

Oh really? which year should I look into then?

[sk33tr]

i would never buy used electronics, no matter what they are or the brand; especially something like a macbook.

you can pretty much be assured if you buy it through craigslist or ebay that it won't have any type of warranty.

[lettucenpico]

That's the risk people take. Tons of people out there buy used products especially electronics. Thats why they created Ebay and Craigslist. Not everyone can shell out $500-1000 towards a new electronic so they buy used to either use it to see how it is or run it to the ground.

[Alexander the Drake]

It depends on how old the older version is. I myself have an A1278, but it's the final model from 2012 before they discontinued making the ones with firewire and built-in optical drive, and the models before that, the specs for the video card and RAM are somewhat lower, according to Everymac.com.

So, while mine works perfectly fine with OS X 10.9, a much older model may seem slower than you'd really want to work with.

However, 10.9 is a free upgrade from 10.6 or above, and as long as you keep the install disks/create a backup rescue/install usb stick* of the original OS and are willing to live with an older version of the system if you need to downgrade for performance reasons, you should be okay, provided you can get your MacBook from someone reasonably trustworthy.

Possibly you might want to look around at your local Mac User Group if there's one in your area, to see if any one in a recognized community has an older model they're willing to part with.

Hope this helps.

* Apple kind of hides the instructions for doing this on their website, and searching their built-in system help from the Finder doesn't lead you to it.

[lettucenpico]

Originally Posted by Alexander the Drake

It depends on how old the older version is. I myself have an A1278, but it's the final model from 2012 before they discontinued making the ones with firewire and built-in optical drive, and the models before that, the specs for the video card and RAM are somewhat lower, according to Everymac.com.

So, while mine works perfectly fine with OS X 10.9, a much older model may seem slower than you'd really want to work with.

However, 10.9 is a free upgrade from 10.6 or above, and as long as you keep the install disks/create a backup rescue/install usb stick* of the original OS and are willing to live with an older version of the system if you need to downgrade for performance reasons, you should be okay, provided you can get your MacBook from someone reasonably trustworthy.

Possibly you might want to look around at your local Mac User Group if there's one in your area, to see if any one in a recognized community has an older model they're willing to part with.

Hope this helps.

* Apple kind of hides the instructions for doing this on their website, and searching their built-in system help from the Finder doesn't lead you to it.

Thank you very much. Let me look into mac user groups in my area. What year or version should I look into then to be able to withstand any new OS update

[Alexander the Drake]

I'm bad at remembering year numbers, but I think the minimum you should try for is a MacBook that originally came with at least 10.6.

Anything older might have problems, and you'd have to pay for an upgrade from 10.5 or less to 10.6 so that you could update to 10.9 if you were so inclined).

I think this corresponds to around late 2011, which is around when I got my Mac Mini, after the then-new 10.6 OS came out, IIRC.

Apple has on its website a list of the minimum requirements in terms of Mac models compatible with 10.9, but some of them are pretty old and said to be very sluggish for their performance when upgraded.

I think if you intend to keep this MacBook for the next few years because you might not be able to afford another one for some time after, you should strive for something somewhat newer than the 2007-2009 models which Apple lists, because they're eventually going to upgrade the OS again, and the new one inevitably requires more resources than the ones before, bumping up the minimum model requirements yet again.

A model that's perhaps no more than 2-3 years old should probably be good for another 2-3 years of smoothly usable upgrades after that. Mind you, you can keep using an outdated Mac model for quite some time. I had an old Titanium PowerBook which lasted for nearly 8 years of almost-daily use before something went wrong with the power supply (I think, and will one day get a cheap replacement supply to try and revive it again).

[bluballer]

^^^Pretty good tips from ATD above.

As far as OSX upgrading, here's a reply to one of the Apple forum questions regarding OS 10.5.8 vs. 10.6:

"Best Answer:
Depends on your Mac's processor. If it is a PowerPC processor, you CAN NOT install Snow Leopard. If it is an Intel processor, you CAN install Snow Leopard. To determine the type of processor, go to "About this Mac" in the "Apple" menu. If the word "Intel" appears anywhere next to "Processor", you can install Snow Leopard. You need at least 1GB of memory, 2GB or more is better. TIP: Consider installing Snow Leopard on a separate partition (especially since Snow Leopard may need to do some reformatting of the partition it is being installed to). With an OS installed on two partitions, you can then start up from either the Tiger partition or the Snow Leopard partition by pressing the Option Key during startup (or using the Start Up Disk preference in System Preferences). This lets you keep you OS 10.4.11 installation in case you want to jump back. BTW: If installing to a new partition, Snow Leopard installer will search your Mac for other OS installations and ask you if you want to import OS settings, apps, and/or files from an older installation. Say yes to all for a smoother transition to Snow Leopard. All settings, compatible apps/drivers and files will be copied to the new partition."

[lettucenpico]

Originally Posted by bluballer

^^^Pretty good tips from ATD above.

As far as OSX upgrading, here's a reply to one of the Apple forum questions regarding OS 10.5.8 vs. 10.6:

"Best Answer:
Depends on your Mac's processor. If it is a PowerPC processor, you CAN NOT install Snow Leopard. If it is an Intel processor, you CAN install Snow Leopard. To determine the type of processor, go to "About this Mac" in the "Apple" menu. If the word "Intel" appears anywhere next to "Processor", you can install Snow Leopard. You need at least 1GB of memory, 2GB or more is better. TIP: Consider installing Snow Leopard on a separate partition (especially since Snow Leopard may need to do some reformatting of the partition it is being installed to). With an OS installed on two partitions, you can then start up from either the Tiger partition or the Snow Leopard partition by pressing the Option Key during startup (or using the Start Up Disk preference in System Preferences). This lets you keep you OS 10.4.11 installation in case you want to jump back. BTW: If installing to a new partition, Snow Leopard installer will search your Mac for other OS installations and ask you if you want to import OS settings, apps, and/or files from an older installation. Say yes to all for a smoother transition to Snow Leopard. All settings, compatible apps/drivers and files will be copied to the new partition."

The ones I'm looking at on Ebay is the A1278 & A1181. They are both Intel core duo.

[bluballer]

If you're in a big city like Orlando there may be some Apple authorized resellers that are getting rid of old stock.

I bought an older Mac from Rakuten.com (forgot the year/model) for my 8 year old to do homework and net browsing on. It had OS X 10.5 and didn't bother to upgrade to Snow Leopard and won't be running Mavericks anytime soon. By the time she needs a better Mac I'll get her a new one.

[bluballer]

Originally Posted by lettucenpico

The ones I'm looking at on Ebay is the A1278 & A1181. They are both Intel core duo.

You should be able to buy/download Snow Leopard for $20 then download Mavericks for free then. That's if you want/need the latest OS X.

[lettucenpico]

Originally Posted by bluballer

You should be able to buy/download Snow Leopard for $20 then download Mavericks for free then. That's if you want/need the latest OS X.

Honestly I really don't know. This would be my 1st time using a Mac. I haven't really read much on there OS. even if I kept the original OS on there it would still be new to me you know what I mean.

[lettucenpico]

I would probably update to OS X Lion or maybe Snow Lion. So I would be able to use the App Store. Should that be ok for 2007-2009 models?

[bluballer]

It depends on what you're using it for. Light browsing and document are fine.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by lettucenpico

I would probably update to OS X Lion or maybe Snow Lion. So I would be able to use the App Store. Should that be ok for 2007-2009 models?

The new OS X Mavericks is supposed to work on MacBooks from 2007 on, but the older ones are coming closer and closer to obsolescence. Mine, my 2nd one I've owned, is a 2010 model If I remember correctly. I just upgraded from Snow Leopard, which was great, and I'm loving Mavericks. Avoid Lion or Mountain Lion. They sucked hard imho.