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bkpbc1 · May 26, 2006, 04:52 PM

If you're the owner of a new MacBook, what have you noticed so far that you love about it, hate about it, wish you had ordered with it instead, etc.? I'm also curious to hear about the size of the hard drive and/or amount of memory in your MacBook and if you've noticed so far how the size of either is affecting the use of it thus far.

Also: Is it possible to upgrade from a combo drive to a super drive in the lowest-end MacBook? I thought I had seen the option when I was first looking at the Apple website but I don't seem to see it anymore.

kashirat · May 26, 2006, 05:06 PM

The only thing so far I don't like is the edge on the keyboard (where your hands are resting), feels rather sharp and not very comfortable.. I'm hoping after some period of use it'll smooth out a bit.

Keyboard feel is still sort of up in the air.

Everything else is as good or better than I expected.

Oh, I'm planning on upgrading to 2gb memory and a 120gb hard drive .. so... (512mb is NOT enough for OS X)

kapkorn · May 26, 2006, 05:14 PM

Not enough Ram so I ordered 2GB today and the stock HD wouldnt have been nearly large enough so I got the 100GB.

My first Mac and I love it so far. No real complaints.

bkpbc1 · May 26, 2006, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by kapkorn

Not enough Ram so I ordered 2GB today and the stock HD wouldnt have been nearly large enough so I got the 100GB.

Do you have a lot of stuff on your computer/use it a lot or what? I am getting 1 GB of memory and an 80 GB hard drive and now I'm a little worried!

hadocon · May 26, 2006, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by mascarafiend

Do you have a lot of stuff on your computer/use it a lot or what? I am getting 1 GB of memory and an 80 GB hard drive and now I'm a little worried!

Relax. Go outside. Talk with a real person.

kashirat · May 26, 2006, 06:28 PM

I found (using my powerbook G4) that 1gb of memory was nearly enough, about 75% of the time. If you're just using your machine casually, safari, mail, ical it should be less than 1gb memory usage.

If you start watching big movies or open up photoshop or office then it usually went above 1gb memory usage.

I've almost never hit the 2gb limit, so I think 1.5 would be perfect, except matched sticks of ram runs faster.. so... 2gb it is!

kapkorn · May 26, 2006, 10:11 PM

I have a 35gb MP3 collection on it, plus it had around 10 GB used by the OS and ilife and such.

jeff25624 · May 26, 2006, 10:20 PM

Well right now I have tremondously enjoyed the Macbook experience. The heat issue hasn't really affected me too much, considering that I use the MacBook at a desk. For the past two years, my iBook/Powerbook and now macBook have served as my computer instead of a traditional desktop, so ironically they aren't "laptops" to me. However, in the time I have used it on my lap the heat wasn't horrendous. It was warmer than past laptops, but nothing too horrible.
The one item that I quickly realized that I needed was RAM. My brother, the family computer expert, had thought the 512 MB would be just fine. Well it isn't. The Macbook functions, and occasionally depending on how many programs and such I have open runs decently. However, it still needed RAM, which is why today I ordered a 1GB stick of Corsair. That stick, with one from the current stock should do me just fine. Other than that, I really can't say I've had any major problems.

DeathMan · May 27, 2006, 12:41 AM

This is probably obvious, but part of the reason 512 isn't enough could have to do with Rosetta running all the time. 512 really isn't too bad with say a g4 mac mini, but its not super fast, either. I'm going to add a 1GB stick now, and one later. Or I'll just go all the way and get the full 2.

I'm weak like that.

iDaver · May 27, 2006, 01:52 AM

I'll have to agree with other opinions that 512MB of memory isn't enough. Until now, I've been using a G3 iBook with 384MB of memory. It seemed to run smoother than my new MacBook with 512. I'll be upping the RAM very soon.

The heat bothers me a bit since I use it on my lap most of the time. I expected this, having experience with PowerBooks, so I can't complain. I knew it would be an issue but it's not a big one.

I really like the keyboard and the screen, having worried I might dislike both after initial reports. The keyboard has a nice feel and the screen is very bright with great contrast. Glare isn't the problem that I thought it would be.

Since I don't play games or use this computer for any heavy lifting, I can't really comment on its speed. I'm sure it's way more powerful than I'll ever need, since I have a Power Mac for the tough stuff.

I've already replaced the hard drive with a Seagate 120GB. I have lots of music and photos. Apple's upgrade price was too high so I ordered a new drive elsewhere and will eventually get an external SATA enclosure to use the smaller drive for backups and such. Same case with the RAM. Apple's price seemed too high so I'll be ordering more RAM elsewhere, very soon.

I've been happy with my decision to get the low end combo drive model. I don't think I'd be as satisfied if I'd paid $200-400 more, plus the necessary upgrades mentioned. It's a great value and a big improvement over my five year old iBoook G3. I'd recommend the MacBook highly.

Porco · May 27, 2006, 02:13 AM

And these days, they aren't worth anything.

I just ordered 2gb of memory as well. I tend to be a poweruser, with a lot of things open at once, so that will help me.

I ordered the midrange machine, and got the 60gb hd. Way too small... I just ordered the 100gb 7200 HD from TheNerds.net. I have bought from them before and they are awesome.

I installed Boot Camp, with no problems. This machine now does everything I need it to do. I am glad I didn't buy the MBP, since I don't play games.

On the subject of it cutting... it does feel strange, but only if I am laying on my back and typing with it on my chest...

harrisjamieh · May 27, 2006, 02:38 AM

Love: Speed, design, size, screen, front row, bluetooth, iSight

Hate: Heat, sharp edge at the front of the palm rest

Wish I had ordered: the Apple upgrade to 1GB of RAM, as it really isn't overpriced, and would have been less of a hassle

karelapple · May 27, 2006, 03:05 AM

Just picked mine up today and am loving it so far. I need ram although it is useable for basic stuff at 512, I'll go to 1GB for better performance. My she is a bit toasty though but I was aware of that so not unexpected. Gotta install Windows this weekend but I am digging OS X so I may just make it my primary OS even though I have always been a Windows user (Windows admin by day). I have to say that the intel mac notebooks are the most exciting thing in the computer world for me in a while. Macs are the only computer where you can run all operating systems (Win,OSX and Linux) so they are the most versatile machines available now.....

iDaver · May 27, 2006, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by harrisjamieh

Wish I had ordered: the Apple upgrade to 1GB of RAM, as it really isn't overpriced, and would have been less of a hassle

That's true. The upgrade to a Gigabyte of RAM at the Apple Store is reasonable. (The 2GB upgrade isn't.) However, Apple has to charge sales tax (at least in my state). I ordered from a reseller which doesn't have to charge sales tax. That reseller also offers a $50 rebate which more than covered overnight shipping, so it was nearly instant gratification.