Switching today - To Core 2 Duo or not? :-)

Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook, 80GB, 1GB, Superdrive
I am going to switch this week (maybe even today) - and am going for a refurb Mac to gte me started.

I have a dilemma though, should I get this one for £599:

Refurbished MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo - White
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
512MB memory (2x256MB SODIMMs)
60GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera

or break the bank and spend £749 for this:

Refurbished MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White
13.3-inch glossy widescreen display
1280 x 800 resolution
1GB memory (2x512MB SODIMMs)
80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera

I am not a geek and currently use PC so would it be worth splashing out another £150 for the extra bit of memory, hard drive and COIre 2 Duo? Or would the lower spec machine be enough to blow me away?

Also, beraring in mind this is a refurb, which would be the safest in terms of possible previous usage and age?

Opinions much appreciated.
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
2,255
Reaction score
47
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
Al iMac 20" 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
To be honest, there isn't a great deal between the Core Duo and the Core 2. The upgrades are not worth the £150 in my opinion and the first gen processor will still be plenty fast enough.
 
Joined
Mar 15, 2007
Messages
80
Reaction score
4
Points
8
Location
utrecht, netherlands
Your Mac's Specs
i-mac dual-core 2.16Ghz 24inch, Macbook 2.4Ghz alu, 27" iMac Core 2 Duo 3.06Ghz
What a dilemma!
You should ask yourself a few questions like do I need 1g of ram for the applications I use? Will the extra 20g of disc space be useful? Are the extra specs worth £150
With refurbished you always take a risk but with these two machines specs I do not think there will be much difference in performance or reliability.
 
OP
thoras_herd
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook, 80GB, 1GB, Superdrive
thank you - i guess my main concern was whether the Core 2 Duo element did make a huge difference or not. i can always buy external storage if needed. i will run things lile photoshop, indesign and stuff but I am a just an amateur in those programmes so nothing major would be going. garageband could get used extensively though.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
230
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Glasgow, Scotland
Your Mac's Specs
Aluminium Macbook 13.3"
id go for the 749 one, simply because if you want 1 gig of ram in the older model its gonna cost you £80 as you will have to put two 512s in it as it only has 2 256s in ti just now. So for an extra £150 your getting core 2 duo ( a little faster and supports 64bit stuff better apparently whihc leopard will use) £80 worth of ram and 20 gig HDD space, in my opinion thats worth the extra £150 but thats just me
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
512
Reaction score
30
Points
28
Location
USA
The Core 2 Duo would be my choice. It would have to be a MAJOR price difference for me to pick the older machine. I don't like to pay major money for older technology. Personally, I would keep saving and buy the current version. I think it's worth it in the end.
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
4,576
Reaction score
378
Points
83
Location
St. Somewhere
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Studio, M1 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD
The 1 GB vs 512 MB is likely the major difference here. But do note that the Core Duo is only a 32 bit machine, while the Core 2 Duo is a 64 bit machine. Hence the Core 2 Duo should serve you better in the future. Note as well that Leopard will include 64 bit support, so there is a hand waving argument that it may run faster on a Core 2 Duo than a Core Duo.
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
199
Reaction score
8
Points
18
There are a few things to consider with core duo vs. core 2 duo. The core 2 duo offers full 64 bit which will help with leopard, and also the core 2 duo chipsets are upgradable to wireless N with a firmware update. The core 2 duo is a bit more future proof.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
1,814
Reaction score
137
Points
63
Location
NY USA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 5.1 | iMac 7.1 | iMac 12.1 | iMac 19.1 | iPhone 11 Pro | Watch s5
The thing that would do it for me is the ram. See how much it would be to replace the ram in the old machine to make it 1GB worth. Then check the difference with the more expensive computer.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
852
Reaction score
22
Points
18
Location
Marlton, NJ
Your Mac's Specs
3.06 iMac i3|12GB|500GB
I just bought that second computer last thursday, refurb and all. I would think it makes sense to go with the core 2 duo and extra memory. The memory alone would be a little expensive to upgrade, 1GB of memory seems to be a pretty good amount to do almost anything with the exception of really intensive programs.
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2007
Messages
50
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Newcastle, UK
Your Mac's Specs
White MacBook 2.0GHz CD | 2GB RAM | 80GB HDD | SuperDrive | iPod 3G 20GB
I'd say wait a little bit longer. I got a refurb 2.0GHz CD with 1GB RAM and 80GB HDD and SuperDrive for £599. Apple update the refurb site quite often so just wait until that option shows ;) ...If you can't wait get the C2D if only for the 1GB RAM
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
236
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Oxford, UK
My 2Gb RAM and 160Gb hard drive cost me ~ £170. To lessen the cost, I could sell the 512Mb of RAM and 60GB hard drive, but they are not worth very much

The Core 2 Duo might swing it for me.
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
2,255
Reaction score
47
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
Al iMac 20" 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
There are a few things to consider with core duo vs. core 2 duo. The core 2 duo offers full 64 bit which will help with leopard,

Bear in mind the 64 bit version of Vista does pretty much nothing for 64 bit processors at present.
And 64 bit support in Leopard is really dependent on developers producing 64 bit software, which won't be widespread for a while.
 
OP
thoras_herd
Joined
Feb 27, 2007
Messages
43
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook, 80GB, 1GB, Superdrive
whitenoisemaker - there was one there this morning - but disappeared within a couple of minutes of being listed.

I guess though trying to future-proof by getting a Core 2 Duo would be more sensible...decisions decisions...it's doing my head in!
 
Joined
Mar 28, 2007
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Lol, I have the exact same problem!

I was going to go for a CD and upgrade to 1GB RAM, but now these C2D have started appearing!

It does seem to bit of a jump between £599 and £749 to me though!

hmmm, decisions decisions!
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top