[stugots]

About three years ago I decided to switch from PC to Mac. After doing a lot of research I decided the Macbook would be my gateway into the Apple Universe. I drove two hours to the nearest Apple Store and was shocked by the laid back and friendly Apple Store Experience. I picked out a White Macbook, 2.0 GHz Core Duo, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, and a Super Drive. When the total came to roughly $1,500.00 I began to second guess my choice. After-all, I didn’t really like laptops as they seem to age much faster than desktops. However, within a couple of days I realized there was no looking back.

The only test left was the aging of the Macbook.

It’s been over three years and the Macbook is going just as strong as ever. I’ve done a few upgrades over the years.

- Upgrade RAM to 2GB
- Upgrade OS to 10.5 and then to 10.6
- Upgrade HD from 80GB to 500GB
- Replace the battery

Recently I’ve installed Photoshop Elements 8 and Final Cut Express 4 on the Macbook. I was worried that these apps would finally be the straw that broke the Macbooks back. To my surprise the Macbook runs these apps like a pro with little to no slowdown.

The bottom line is that my Macbook runs as good today as it did the day I unboxed it!

[Spheric Harlot]

It's very sad how these machines nolonger hold their *monetary* value as Macs used to before th intel switch, but i concur:

It's amazing how strong these things hold up.

[Simon]

But isn't the drop of resale value also a consequence of the fact that today we're getting cheaper Macs and we're also getting Macs with a whole lot more performance per Dollar?

[Spheric Harlot]

No, I think it's more to do with the fact that we're hit with a new generation every six months.

And that there's just so bleeding many of them.

Performance-wise, the current 13" models aren't *that much* faster than my late 2006 blackbook C2D.

And I'm really not quite forcing my old box to its knees just yet, so as desperately as I want a unibody, this amazingly capable little bastard (500GB Momentus, Logic Studio, 10.6, doing fine) will be plucking along just a little, yet.


You may have a point, though, if you're saying that lower entry point means destroying the used market.

[Simon]

You know, after reading both our posts again I was thinking about how much has actually really changed. The update cycle on the 15" MBP is about 8 months. Was ist that much longer back in the PB days? Granted, the MB seems to see updates more frequently than the 15" MBP. Same thing with the entry level price point. Was the entry-level iBook so much more than $999 back in the day?

[mduell]

Woo! TWO GIGABYTES OF RAM! Party like it's 2005!

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by Simon 

You know, after reading both our posts again I was thinking about how much has actually really changed. The update cycle on the 15" MBP is about 8 months. Was ist that much longer back in the PB days? Granted, the MB seems to see updates more frequently than the 15" MBP. Same thing with the entry level price point. Was the entry-level iBook so much more than $999 back in the day?

I don't think the update cycles are any shorter than they were, at least compared to the PowerBook. It seems like the PowerBook was updated just as often, especially near the end of the line with 1.5 GHz to 1.67 GHz to 1.67 GHz with DDR2 RAM.

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

And that there's just so bleeding many of them.

I think that's the reason for the lower resell value. Maybe it's me but it seems there are a lot more used Macs on the market due to the growth of the Mac user population. If all other variables stay the same then the growth in the Mac user base will naturally saturate the market with more used Macs. At that point it just comes down to supply and demand. The more there is the less it will sell for due to competition.

[P]

It was updated often, but not much happened. The Powerbook got the G4e in 2001, and had it until 2006. The clockspeed went up a total of 150%, but the FSB only increased by 25%. The first Core Duo increased the FSB by a factor 4 in one sweep, and quadrupled the L2 cache at the same time, and both of those were far behind the desktop Core 2 arriving only a few months later. The G4 was incredibly starved at the end of its lifetime - sad, given that SSE still isn't up to Altivec's standard in some ways.

[IronPen]

I agree with you. I believe I have the same model Macbook, although mine doesn't have the superdrive. I also upgraded the RAM. If I recall, I found a great RAM deal from Crucial via these forums around the holidays that year; 2GB for $25 or something ridiculous after rebate. And recently I upgraded my hard drive to 500GB. For my needs, it works great. I don't have a desire to slap down another grand for a new one anytime soon. My employer provides me with a 13" aluminum MBP, so I can use it at my discretion if I want to use the newer system. But honestly, one of the things that bugs me about that new MB's is their glass screen that is just too glossy in some environments. At home I am happy with the white MB. It is a really great machine, and it has been a tremendous value given the use I have gotten out of it.

[Eriamjh]

I have a first generation MacBook Pro 15" CD running at 1.83GHz. It turned 3 in October of this year and is still a great machine. I have unibody Macbook pro envy and my next machine will be a 17", but for some reason except the desire to upgrade, I can't come up with a real reason except for crappy battery life (2hrs).

At one time I contemplated buying a Dell Mini9, but realized that everything about it would be inferior to my current model. Why pay less for a slower notebook? If I wanted slow, I could use my Pismo 400!

So I trudge along with my 32bit Snow Leopard Macbook running a measly 2GB of RAM and the stock 80GB HD. I'm still happy and it still looks better than 99% of all the PCs out there.

Yay for old MackBooks!