Bare minimum for kitchen and FaceTime MacBook?

[TheStu]

Aren't SSDs just completely awesome?

I dropped an SSD into my mom's rev2 MacBook, that thing flies now. Not too shabby for a 6 or more year old machine.

 

[Eug]

Yes. SSDs are awesome. I have them in all my current laptops and in my net top.

MacBook Pro + SSD = Awesome
MacBook + SSD = Awesome (for non-HD-video-related stuff)
Pentium SU4100 + SSD = Good
Dual-core Atom 330 + SSD = OK

MacBook Pro + platter drive = Not bad
MacBook + platter drive = Not bad
Pentium SU4100 + platter drive = Irritating to use
Dual-core Atom 330 + platter drive = Outright painful

The $45 2x2 GB memory is used off eBay, not a regular retail store product, but at least it's name brand. Hopefully it doesn't suck. You can get new 2x2GB DDR2 SODIMM for about $50 locally, but it's 2nd tier brands like G.Skill and it's DDR2-800. (I've read that the MacBook won't boot DDR2-800 if it doesn't have the right SPD entries for 667 MHz function.) New big name brand DDR2 SODIMMs are more expensive though.

I just ordered another 4 GB (2x2) of DDR2 SODIMMs, this time for just $37.50 shipped, also from an high-rated eBay memory seller. This pair is DDR2-800/PC2-6400, for a Windows laptop.

I tried the DDR2-800 in the MacBook, which requires DDR2-667, and the Mac wouldn't even boot. This is Kingston-branded RAM. I've had the same result before on other Macs with overspec'd Corsair and IIRC Patriot RAM too. I guess this Kingston RAM doesn't include the proper SPD timings for slower speeds either. So, this just reiterates that on Macs, get the exact RAM speed that you need, and you should not assume that higher spec'd RAM will work.

However, this RAM is for my Windows laptop, and works perfectly in that machine, at 800 MHz. I'm still waiting for my 667 MHz laptop RAM to arrive for my MacBook.

P.S. On that Atom net top, 667+667 RAM is stable, and 800+800 RAM is stable, but 667+800 causes instability. I just assumed the net top would run both the 667+800 at 667 when mixed, but clearly something is amiss in this setup.

 

[Eug]

Finally received the 4 GB memory. Before with 2 GB it was fine as a kitchen machine, but 4 GB allows us to leave all the usual applications running and to have different accounts logged in too, with no page outs.

Total cost: $565 = $430 (laptop, including brand new top case and near new battery and 30 day warranty) + $45 (4 GB DDR2 SODIMMs) + $90 (estimate for handmedown SSD).

 

[Eug]

As expected, the screen quality is noticeably superior on the MacBook Pro 2009 compared to this MacBook 2008.

With bright content, the MacBook looks fine, but with dark content mainly consisting of night scenes with people in dark clothing, it's quite poor on the MacBook. There is a very narrow viewing angle with this type of content, and even with the optical viewing angle, it's not very good.

IIRC, this was one of the problems with the MacBook Air as well, but also IIRC, the MacBook Airs have an improved screen over these old MacBooks. However, the MacBook Airs' screens are still nowhere near as good as the MacBook Pros.