12-14-2007, 10:49 AM

Hi,

Come Christmas, I (hope) to be a new MacBook owner. I am interested in the 13" white MacBook. However, I'm not sure which would be more worth my money; the 2.0GHz version or the 2.2GHz version.

I will be using my MacBook for the basic things: Internet use, and some video/music/image editing and web design/coding. More likely than not, I will not play any games on it. I'll probably use Photoshop and Sony Vegas, but other than that, I probably won't even need any other major programs.

I've talked with Apple Sales people via their live chat, but I personally don't feel they give me the most accurate answers. I was told the only difference (other than less GB, etc.) is that you cannot burn your movies to a CD with the 2.0GHz version. Appearently, everything else will be the same, speed and everything - I'd hope...

So, coming from experienced owners, what do you think is the better buy?

Thanks,
LG

P.S. I have a few more general questions. If you wouldn't mind answering...

In general, is the 13" MacBook a good product?

How is 13 inches, anyway? I only use a 15" monitor now, so it probably won't be that big of a difference, right?

Do you think they're going to have a new model of the MacBook at Macworld that will cause me to regret purchasing one now?

12-14-2007, 10:59 AM

You will be making a good decision to purchase the 13" 2.2 with 2G of ram. You will have a good machine for years to come.
The screen is a little small, but you will get used to it. You can always plug your current monitor into the MB. That's what I do.

There are a lot of roumors out there about a new line of laptops. So if you dont need it now, then I would wait for another month.

12-14-2007, 11:21 AM

the difference between 2 GhZ and 2.2 GhZ won't be noticeable. Really the difference is the DVD burner (the 2.2 model has it, the 2.0 model doesn't). I think the burner (plus larger harddrive) is reason to get the middle model - you might not burn DVDs often, but when you want to, you will be glad you have the burner.

12-14-2007, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by visualpurple

the difference between 2 GhZ and 2.2 GhZ won't be noticeable. Really the difference is the DVD burner (the 2.2 model has it, the 2.0 model doesn't). I think the burner (plus larger harddrive) is reason to get the middle model - you might not burn DVDs often, but when you want to, you will be glad you have the burner.

I'd second that - get the best you can afford. I got my wife the one without the DVD burner, thinking she'd never want to use it, and of course now she wants to create a DVD and was unhappy to hear she'd have to use my MacBook to burn the DVD. 'Why is yours better than mine" I got...

12-14-2007, 04:38 PM

Third vote for getting the 2.2. The cheapest Macbook has a CD writer/DVD Reader while the one model up can burn both CD/DVD. Save some cash and buy your memory from another source (not Apple). Apple charges a lot for their RAM and if you don't mind taking 10 minutes to install RAM then buy it somewhere else.

The Macbook is a good machine. My advice would be to hook up an external monitor to the Macbook when you are at home to have a bigger display. While 13" is very usable, it does help to hook it up to an external display when you are near one.

12-14-2007, 05:10 PM

Apple seriously needs to rethink the DVD burner thing. Even the cheapest of laptops have DVD writers nowadays, it's not a novelty any more.

As for the macbook's screen size, it is 13.3". If you are using a 15" CRT monitor, then it's viewable size is generally going to be 13.9". Just so you know.

12-14-2007, 06:19 PM

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll go with the 2.2. Like most of you said, I think it will be well worth it.