New to Mac.. what do you think?

Hey guys, I am looking to make the switch to a Macbook. I have been looking into a used one to get started. I am not looking to do much on it right now internet, email, etc. Down the road I would like to buy an external blu ray burner drive. I was looking for some advice on whether or not this sounds good:


$560
13" Apple MacBook, Late 2009 Unibody, White, 2.26 GHz, 8GB RAM, 750GB SSD Hybrid Harddrive
Specs
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook6,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.26 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
Memory: 8 GB
Boot ROM Version: MB61.00C8.B00
Storage: Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Solid State Hybrid Drive

Comes with:
- Original packaging including installation DVDs and other documentation.
- Mavericks is installed.
- RAM is upgraded to 8GB.
- Harddrive has also been upgraded to 750GB SSD Hybrid.
- MS Office

Do older models have major limitations for new software and hardware?

Thanks!

Welcome to the Mac Forums.

As for the price of the MacBook, you can compare it to the average street price the machine would normally get. Look on eBay and Craig's List for some idea of what a like machine is selling for.

Also... take note that everything on the machine is licensed to the original owner and his\her Apple ID. Make sure you get the installation disks that came with the machine. As for Microsoft Office... unless you receive the disk and product id code, it legally will not belong to you. If you buy the machine, you'll need to get your own Apple ID first before downloading Mavericks from the Mac App store. You can only download from the Mac App store if the MacBook is running Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or higher.

Unless you need a laptop, I'd look at the Mini for that money...

CPU Passmark scores - higher is better
2009 MB - 1476
current Mini - 3804

Graphics card Passmark scores
'09 MB - 116
current Mini - 457

'09 MB - 4 yrs old, no warranty - $560
current Mini - brand new with warranty - $599

Everything that has already been said above is true, but the Mac Mini although GREAT value may not give you the portability you want.
It certainly sounds as though the previous owner has pushed performance to the max with new hard drive and increased RAM but remember the rest of the hardware is 5 years old. For example if the "E" key on the keyboard stops working you're a bit limited. The disk drive may have been used extensively and could die on you any time (although some might say you don't need one anyway).
So despite upgrades it's still an old piece of hardware and circuitry. Having said that the price is fairly reasonable.

Price is okay but pirated software a little off putting. Ask the seller does the DVD come with Office. You will need to open an Apple ID to get your own version of Mavericks, which is free. Problem will be as it stands you cannot enter the App Store nor use Recovey until you have that Apple ID.

If you're going to get started in Macs, my suggestion would be to save up and get something recent.

That 2009 is a very fine Mac -- I have that model myself, and I'm using it right now! -- but it's five years old. How attractive is a five year old PC? Not very. Macs are better at remaining relevant longer, but even so ... the minute you try to load a modern 3D game on that thing you will (if you're even allowed to do so) really feel the years on that machine.

Unless you really need the portability, the new Mac Mini is a WAY better choice for that budget level, and if you wait and save up a bit you can get a recent refurb or new iMac or MacBook Pro. Macs may seem expensive up front on occasion, but they MORE than make up for it in value. I'd particularly encourage any new-to-Mac switcher to get a machine that comes with an AppleCare warranty to help ensure that their first experience with Macs and Apple is the best it can be.

bobtomay said:

Unless you need a laptop, I'd look at the Mini for that money...

CPU Passmark scores - higher is better
2009 MB - 1476
current Mini - 3804

Graphics card Passmark scores
'09 MB - 116
current Mini - 457

'09 MB - 4 yrs old, no warranty - $560
current Mini - brand new with warranty - $599

Click to expand...

I agree with that 100%, value wise, but you need to have a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse as well. For sure you get a better computer, on all fronts, but you cant pop it in your shoulder bag.
Your suggestion is what I have precisely.

Most PC switchers, in my experience, have a keyboard or three, a mouse or dozen, and at least a temporary monitor laying about. Particularly with "white box" PC owners, you can't have too many spare parts about the place!

chas_m said:

If you're going to get started in Macs, my suggestion would be to save up and get something recent.

That 2009 is a very fine Mac -- I have that model myself, and I'm using it right now! -- but it's five years old. How attractive is a five year old PC? Not very. Macs are better at remaining relevant longer, but even so ... the minute you try to load a modern 3D game on that thing you will (if you're even allowed to do so) really feel the years on that machine.

Unless you really need the portability, the new Mac Mini is a WAY better choice for that budget level, and if you wait and save up a bit you can get a recent refurb or new iMac or MacBook Pro. Macs may seem expensive up front on occasion, but they MORE than make up for it in value. I'd particularly encourage any new-to-Mac switcher to get a machine that comes with an AppleCare warranty to help ensure that their first experience with Macs and Apple is the best it can be.

Click to expand...

I'll second that, the AppleCare warranty is great for new users and their Chat Help is very good as well.

Complete waste of money - I feel cheated...

I was new to Mac when I bought a new Macbook pro in 2012 - and it has unfortunately been a huge mistake and a waste of money.

In the about 2.5 years I've had it, I've been to the service centre 5 times with it. They replaced the motherboard 4 times. The 5th time, they told me the hard drive has now crashed and something is wrong with the battery as well. They recommended I go get myself a new laptop - I think they were getting tired of seeing me...

I've also had to buy a new powercable and adaptor since that also stopped working at some point.

I've spent more than S$1250 on repairs and powercable etc. I also own an Ipad and an Ipod - which are both fine. But after this experience, no more macs for me!!

I've owned Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Compaq and HP laptops in the past and never had any hardware issues with any of them. And they were all significantly cheaper! I feel I've been taken for a ride by Apple... I'm not sure what laptop to get next, but I know for sure its certainly not going to be a mac!!

I don't know where you're posting from or where you live, but the service you received is not the usual from Apple. Here in the US they would have given you a new machine instead of replacing the logic board that many times. Apple service and reputation is still rated number one, but there are times when a "dud" or "lemon" ships from the factory. It appears you were unlucky enough to receive one of them.

cyriage said:

I was new to Mac when I bought a new Macbook pro in 2012 - and it has unfortunately been a huge mistake and a waste of money.

In the about 2.5 years I've had it, I've been to the service centre 5 times with it. They replaced the motherboard 4 times. The 5th time, they told me the hard drive has now crashed and something is wrong with the battery as well. They recommended I go get myself a new laptop - I think they were getting tired of seeing me...

I've also had to buy a new powercable and adaptor since that also stopped working at some point.

I've spent more than S$1250 on repairs and powercable etc. I also own an Ipad and an Ipod - which are both fine. But after this experience, no more macs for me!!

I've owned Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Compaq and HP laptops in the past and never had any hardware issues with any of them. And they were all significantly cheaper! I feel I've been taken for a ride by Apple... I'm not sure what laptop to get next, but I know for sure its certainly not going to be a mac!!

Click to expand...

I wish replacing a motherboard was that cheap here 5 motherboards would have run somewhere near 3 grand also if you purchase Apple Care it will cover all that for 3 years at about a quarter of what you spent.

This guy's story isn't real -- or if it is, he's not very bright. Not only did he not get AppleCare even though he could have bought it up to a YEAR after the purchase, he's clearly been taking it to a local PC shop that doesn't know how to fix it and doesn't have Apple authorizations, or it would be have been replaced. He should have simply called Apple directly and dealt with it that way.

Moral of this story: NEVER EVER have a "pc" shop work on your Mac.

@chas_m

From his description of what he paid (S$1250) I suspect he's posting from Singapore where it's entirely possible there are no Apple stores, only authorized Apple service and repair. However, I agree that he should have been given a new machine instead of going through what he did.

I am a previous and current owner of older and new Macs. Just decided to try my hand at joining a forum like this one.

I'd say the best thing for you to do is find the best relative price for a mac that you can in the area that you live in. I can't tell you what deals you could get but 560 for that model sounds high to me.

To question the usability of older macs is to question your own comfortability you have with using older versions of OS X; and by consequence older versions of software you want to use. I personally have a late 2006 iMac that is stuck on 10.7 which means I am forced to use for example Photoshop CS4 instead of the readily available upgrades that have come out between now and when I first hit the theoretical wall "old" Mac users face. Updatability in terms of software should not be concern for you in the near future if you plan to buy any Mac that was built before 2009. Finding old software, albeit confusing at first, is fairly easy for the OS X platform.

The bottom line is you can make old machines work perfectly well for you. But future proofing a investment worth hundreds of dollars is always a good idea as well.

chas_m said:

This guy's story isn't real -- or if it is, he's not very bright. Not only did he not get AppleCare even though he could have bought it up to a YEAR after the purchase, he's clearly been taking it to a local PC shop that doesn't know how to fix it and doesn't have Apple authorizations, or it would be have been replaced. He should have simply called Apple directly and dealt with it that way.

Moral of this story: NEVER EVER have a "pc" shop work on your Mac.

Click to expand...

To respond to some of the comments - yes, I live in Singapore. Apple does not have a store here but there are several authorized Apple resellers who sell only Apple products and no other. So I ordered my Macbook online at the Apple store and I had to pick it up from one of the authorized Apple resellers.

It was repaired at QCD Technologies, which is one of the authorized Apple service providers in Singapore - not a "pc shop".

Thankfully I didnt have to pay to replace the motherboard 4 times - I just had to pay the first time as the motherboards on my Macbook had the decency to stop working within the limited warranty period offered by QCD each time! Small mercies....

And as for the individual who has concluded that I'm "not very bright" because I didnt shell out another few hundred bucks to buy AppleCare - forgive me for not anticipating that my Macbook (which is meant to "just work" as my friends assured me before I bought it) would develop multiple-organ failure within 2 years of purchase and altogether collapse without AppleCare holding it together!!!

As I said in my post, I've owned lots of laptops by several manufacturers - Dell, Toshiba etc - even an old HP laptop that weighed a ton and sounded like an engine - but they all worked just fine for as long as I used them. So I assumed an extended manufacturer's warranty was an unnecessary luxury and just an opportunity for the manufactur to make a little more money for nothing - I didnt realize with Apple, its a must have...

I told the lady at QCD that I didnt expect this from Apple, and she helpfully suggested that in these days of evolving technology, I shouldnt expect my laptop to last too long!!! I thought that was the last straw...

So sorry guys, despite some attempts here to make it seem like I did something wrong - I played it by the book and my Macbook pro collapsed on me and I'm moving on....

I'm sorry that QCD didn't do their job properly, but I still say a long-distance call to Apple's Customer Relations would have done you a lot of good and saved you a great deal of time and money. I think it's obvious to say that you had an atypical experience, as anyone here could tell you. If nothing else, you should report your experience to with QCD to Apple and help save other customers from your fate. And feel free to cc that report to Tim Cook ([email protected]). He really does care about customer satisfaction.

As for the suggestion to purchase Apple Care I have always done so on their laptops as well as the Dell's we use in the field since they do not always reside on a desk and are subject to the rigors of mobility.
You may have had bad luck with your particular Mac but you will find any brand and model someone out there has had the same or worse experience since they were all manmade they are subject to fail how long is anyones guess.

Nowadays, it's almost a must to purchase Apple Care on a new Mac. I don't care if it's a portable Mac (MacBook Pro) or desktop (iMac, Mini, Pro) they're all becoming very difficult to do user repairs. The average buyer just does not have the skills to tear into one of the new Macs.

Macworld magazine had an article several months ago about purchasing Apple Care. Their take on it was to only purchase it for a portable Mac, not a desktop. I can't remember who wrote the piece but he was way off the mark on that one - in my opinion.