Best source for used MacBooks???

[redgtxdi]

Bro in law looking to buy a Mac for his daughter. As much of an apple junkie as he is (he's a graphics artist) he asked me (family computer fix guy) to find him a good source.

I know iPods, pads and phones but not so much the computer side. He wants to buy backwards for her and I'm thinking a 1st generation MacBook would be good (2008/2009). I'm seeing some reputable sellers of 13" 2ghz-ish MacBooks for around $400 on eBay.

Any better way to go or any current old technology that is too good to pass up in comparison? (keep in mind he'd like to keep it under $500)

TIA

 

[jpeyton]

If you want to run OSX 10.8, you need to keep the following in mind (from Wiki):

The earliest models supported in Mountain Lion are...late 2008 aluminum or early 2009 unibody polycarbonate MacBook, mid-2007 MacBook Pro, late 2008 MacBook Air...

But if OSX 10.7 is fine, any Core 2 Duo MacBook will run that. Avoid the older Core Duo models.

Some older MacBooks are easy to service; they offer quick access to user replaceable batteries, RAM slots, and hard drives. Newer ones, in comparison, are a little trickier to upgrade.

My brother is an Apple guy, so I bought him a used 2008 aluminum unibody MacBook (not the Pro) off Craigslist last year. I paid $500 and it was in good physical condition, and came with the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo (the highest offered on that model). I bought a new third-party battery on eBay for $20, bought 8GB DD3 for $20, and bought a cheap SSD for OSX 10.7. It flies.

 

[redgtxdi]

How's this look....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APPLE-MACBO...21174424?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item1e6f96d398

Ya, I'm sure older OS is fine. It's more about getting her to learn apple than use for anything serious (we're talking 12 year old girl). I'm actually surprised he isn't giving her his old one and getting a new one but he uses hardcore desktops for what he does and I'm sure his MacBook just fills in the gaps.

 

[RossMAN]

What city does he live in?

 

[redgtxdi]

Upland, Ca. (near L.A.)

 

[runawayprisoner]

How's this look....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APPLE-MACBO...21174424?pt=Apple_Laptops&hash=item1e6f96d398

Ya, I'm sure older OS is fine. It's more about getting her to learn apple than use for anything serious (we're talking 12 year old girl). I'm actually surprised he isn't giving her his old one and getting a new one but he uses hardcore desktops for what he does and I'm sure his MacBook just fills in the gaps.

That looks decent IMO. Average price for that computer.

I think he may want to upgrade that machine to at least 2GB of RAM if he doesn't want the little miss to nag about performance issues down the road.

 

[TheStu]

Yea, that looks pretty good. x3100 is a dead end GPU, you aren't going past 10.7 with that. But Lion is a fine OS that should run what you need for at least another couple years.

2 things that you can do to extend the life and usability of the machine will be to max out the RAM (either 3 or 4GB, can't recall which for that specific model), and drop in a small SSD. OS X has a smaller footprint than Windows, so you would have a little more breathing room on say... a 60/64GB SSD. But with the low cost of good 120/128GB SSDs like the M4 or the 830, if it is in the budget, I would say spend the ~$100 or so on one of those.

I put a 120GB OCZ Vertex into an OG MacBook, it is like a brand new machine in terms of responsiveness.

 

[blackdogdeek]

is this microcenter near him?

http://microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?N=4294967291+519+4294966363#

 

[redgtxdi]

Ya, the Orange County store is doable, although those units are up there in price. I'm sure they're nice, but $500 is more where he's lookin.

 

[blackdogdeek]

i think there were 6 macbooks in the <$500 range in that listing.

 

[redgtxdi]

Got it. Had to select store and then click on apple laptops to make it pick a spread.

Link took me directly to indiscriminate $1K laptops.

Thanks, I'll definitely give him the heads up with that price range as it looks exactly like what I'm seeing on ebay but gives him some B & M insurance in the event of trouble!!!

:thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

OWC usually has some specials on used Macbooks from time to time:

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Se...mary&Ns=P_ID|1&Ne=5000&N=5915&Ntt=OWCFeatured

 

[blackdogdeek]

Got it. Had to select store and then click on apple laptops to make it pick a spread.

Link took me directly to indiscriminate $1K laptops.

oops, my bad. i thought the link saved the store preference for some reason

 

[jpeyton]

OWC usually has some specials on used Macbooks from time to time:

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Se...mary&Ns=P_ID|1&Ne=5000&N=5915&Ntt=OWCFeatured

This is what I bought for my brother, with the 2.4GHz C2D: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/MB467LLAUC/

$620 online, but I'm seeing them closer to $500 on Craigslist.

 

[Kaido]

This is what I bought for my brother, with the 2.4GHz C2D: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/MB467LLAUC/

$620 online, but I'm seeing them closer to $500 on Craigslist.

Nice! fwiw I got my sister one - their warranty is pretty good, it starting having issues a few weeks in (keyboard randomly dying, overheating, etc.) so they sent us a replacement used one. That was nice, for a used model.

 

[TheStu]

If it didn't have to be a MacBook, for that money I would get a new Mini. But yea, not a bad price for what you get.

 

[intogamer]

Have you considered an older generation or refurbished MacBook Air?

 

[dagamer34]

I'd go for a 2011 13" Air. It was practically designed for college.

 

[TheStu]

I'd go for a 2011 13" Air. It was practically designed for college.

Well, in this case the OP said that it is for a 12 year old kid.