Time to upgrade?

Stainless_Steel

Hi.

I have a core duo black MacBook bought when they were first released in 2006. Ive usgraded it since by putting in a 160GB HDD (was 80GB) and 2GB RAM (was 1GB I think). I've also upgraded to Snow Leopard.

The MacBook runs as fast as when I first bought it! Except....the battery is goosed and reports a health of 70%. This is optimistic as I barely get 40 mins from it and often get a "service battery" error in the menu bar.

Do you guys think it is worth upgrading to the latest 13" MacBook pro? Don't like 15" or 17" laptops by the way...don't need that size. I have the money for a new laptop but also would like to buy an iPhone 4 or a new mac mini. Which product would you choose? Also take into consideration I have a great mac desktop - iMac core 2 duo with 4GB RAM.

Thanks

corpo3030

Couldn't hurt to upgrade. By the way, if you want to sell on your old mac, let me know.;)

whiterebel

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Hi.

I have a core duo black MacBook bought when they were first released in 2006. Ive usgraded it since by putting in a 160GB HDD (was 80GB) and 2GB RAM (was 1GB I think). I've also upgraded to Snow Leopard.

The MacBook runs as fast as when I first bought it! Except....the battery is goosed and reports a health of 70%. This is optimistic as I barely get 40 mins from it and often get a "service battery" error in the menu bar.

Do you guys think it is worth upgrading to the latest 13" MacBook pro? Don't like 15" or 17" laptops by the way...don't need that size. I have the money for a new laptop but also would like to buy an iPhone 4 or a new mac mini. Which product would you choose? Also take into consideration I have a great mac desktop - iMac core 2 duo with 4GB RAM.

Thanks

Refurb MBP 13"(I'm using mine as we type), and maybe enough for an iPhone on contract? There was a 13" on the refurb store yesterday for €979

Stainless_Steel

corpo3030 wrote: »

Couldn't hurt to upgrade. By the way, if you want to sell on your old mac, let me know.;)

Will keep you in mind

whiterebel wrote: »

Refurb MBP 13"(I'm using mine as we type), and maybe enough for an iPhone on contract? There was a 13" on the refurb store yesterday for €979

Yeah refurb deffo the way to go if I was buying.

iPhone on contract is a no no....hate having the inflexibility of a contract.

Decisions decisions

Anybody else got a preference??

Ham'nd'egger

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Will keep you in mind



Yeah refurb deffo the way to go if I was buying.

Refurbs are cheaper but don't forget the right one for you may not be in on any given day so be prepared to maybe wait a few days.

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

iPhone on contract is a no no....hate having the inflexibility of a contract.

The "free texts if you top up" offers are bills without a bill cycle so in a sense you are as well to go onto a legit bill and get the handset at a decent price. At least I would do it that way. But the guys on the phone forums would explain the in's and outs better than us.

Sad Professor

Stainless_Steel wrote: »

Anybody else got a preference??

If you don't have one already, I'd recommend getting an iPhone. With a desktop and a laptop, I don't think you have any need for a Mini. There are other cheaper options available for watching media on your television.

As for the Macbook, it depends how much you use it. I like to upgrade around the 4 year mark as well, but if you still find the machine fast and it fits your needs, just get a new battery and keep it a while longer.

Stainless_Steel

Sad Professor wrote: »

If you don't have one already, I'd recommend getting an iPhone. With a desktop and a laptop, I don't think you have any need for a Mini. There are other cheaper options available for watching media on your television.

As for the Macbook, it depends how much you use it. I like to upgrade around the 4 year mark as well, but if you still find the machine fast and it fits your needs, just get a new battery and keep it a while longer.

Thanks for your reply. I have an iPhone 3GS at the moment. In all honesty I haven't really found the MacBook lacking in terms of speed. I think I'll look into finding a new battery.

Talisman

Get a new battery. If the system is working for you then there's no real reason to replace it now.

Stainless_Steel

The cheapest apple (non rip off) battery I could find was €116 exc. delivery!!

The laptop is only worth about €400...seems like a lot to spend to keep it going?

dubmick

I feel your pain on the battery front. I've to buy a new battery for my 2.5 year old macbook pro. Whether I upgrade or not I still have to buy one as I don't think anyone would buy it with a battery that lasts 30 minutes (max).

Talisman

In all likelihood OS X 10.6 is end of the line in terms of operating system support for the laptop because it's only a 32-bit processor. 10.7 will be 64-bit only (an educated guess on my part) - we'll know for sure in the next week when it's announced.

If you're happy with the system then the battery is all you need. Have you shopped around for the battery price? In the past I have found that batteries for the older models are half the price in the US.

If you want to replace the laptop with a new model do you need to do it now? Chances are there will be a new model soon - there's been a new model released in October/November for the last few years.

Stainless_Steel

Talisman wrote: »

In all likelihood OS X 10.6 is end of the line in terms of operating system support for the laptop because it's only a 32-bit processor. 10.7 will be 64-bit only (an educated guess on my part) - we'll know for sure in the next week when it's announced.

If you're happy with the system then the battery is all you need. Have you shopped around for the battery price? In the past I have found that batteries for the older models are half the price in the US.

If you want to replace the laptop with a new model do you need to do it now? Chances are there will be a new model soon - there's been a new model released in October/November for the last few years.

That's a good point - i forgot the core duo only runs 32 bit OS. If 10.7 is a good improvement feature wise it will be a reason to upgrade. And I think you're right re refresh due. I should really hold out till a new model comes. If not this year then I think Feb next year wouldn't be too long a wait.

I really only checked European sites for the battery. Will have another look in US sites.

Thanks