Should I upgrade my Intel Mac?

[core2kid]

I have one of the first Intel Macbooks. A1181 with a Core Duo at 2GHz, 2GB DDR2 RAM at 667MHz, 250GB 7200RPM HD, Intel GMA950 GPU, AirPort, Bluetooth, SuperDrive and OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.5.

The processor inside isn't 64 bit compatible and I've noticed that sometimes on Facebook, typing in the chat window lags. I've also noticed that CPU Usage is at around 60% when running a YouTube video. Also my CPU Usage when idling is around 1.75%.

Should I keep using this Mac? I'm planning on upgrading to OS X 10.7 when it comes out. Also what are the benefits of going to a 64 bit compatible processor on Snow Leopard? Basically do I upgrade at this point when I can still get a fairly decent price on the laptop or wait until I can get a better laptop and this is outdated?

 

[Emulex]

well there are 64bit apps (Cs5) that are not available in 32 bit land.

plus video cards eat into the 4gb of ram in 32bit mode.

I'd suspect osx 10.7 will be 64bit only and you will be stuck on 10.6 and be forced to buy a new macbook air

that's the apple way right?

 

[GhettoFob]

Does that Macbook support more than 2gb of ram? If it does, you may want to upgrade to 4 gb of ram.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Yes, it's probably because of that GMA chip.

 

[intogamer]

Get a SSD.