A couple questions about the Macbook core 2 duo:

Hello everyone ~
I have been keeping up with these forums for about a year. I read up and did my homework on the forums before i bought my dell xps m1210. I bought the dell at costco.com and will return it sometime soon for a full refund. With the money, i plan on buying the macbook; now with core 2 duo processors. Before i take the plunge, i had a few questions:

1. The first macbooks with core duo had many issues. Have the heat and other issues that plagued the first macbooks now gone?
Can i be confident in buying a core 2 duo macbook without worrying about these kinds of problems?

2. My m1210 gets pretty warm considering its discrete gfx. What kind of heat should i be expecting with the macbooks?

3. What are the main complaints (besides the lack of discrete gfx) you guys have about it?

These are pretty much my main concerns i wanted to clear up before i bought it. Thanks so much

-chun

 

1. The heat issues with the Core Duo Macbooks were fixed by a firmware update, so that's technically history. So far with mine, only the bottom of the machine gets warm after some light use (haven't had the time to rack up something big yet). The important thing in my opinion is that the places where your hands touch are cool.

2. Refer to 1.

3. Well, the complaints I have are: no card reader, no expresscard/cardbus slot, only 2 USB ports, no built in modem, no dedicated graphix

 

thanks for the reply budding.
anyone else have any input?
your replies will help me greatly in deciding whether or not to get this macbook.
Thanks in advance.
-chun

 

Well, according to all reports, the MacBook is cooler than before. In fact, it never seemed to have as many issues as the MBP. I do not think you will regret your decision. May I ask why you are returning the Dell?

 

Chuney,

I just bought my first Apple MacBook black 13" core 2 duo 2 Gig RAM,(though I'm now strongly considering selling it and buying a pro instead) and I love the machine. It looks great, and run pretty cool - barely noticed any heat. It's very silent, and boot and shutdown are superfast and overall I think OS X is impressive (I'm a long time windows user and still do for work). The screen is beautiful and so is the overall finish. You can see more on my site with screenshots (see sig)

What I think the downsides are

-screen: Once you're used to 15.4/17" screens, the 13" real estate does feel small..that's one of the reasons I'm considering a pro now. My windows Acer 8204WLMi is a 15.4" and I have a 17" SONY flat screen - so 13 feels a little cramped. Don't get me wrong, the screen is gorgeous and everything is so clear and beautiful.

-no card reader, but on ebay a ImageMate can get purchased for 10-15$

-no expresscard slot, so expansion is a problem

-no dedicated graphics card, so no gaming and intense multimedia work will suffer.

-firewire 400 instead of a standard 800 size

You should choose depending on what your ultimate use is going to be.

 

hey cashmonee.
i apologize for the delayed response. i spent a total of 1365 including tax/shipping for my dell xps m1210. it was a great deal at the time, considering that they were going for 1300 for the base model on dell.com. for some reason i was certain that my videocard, that i paid premium price for, would be useful. although i love videogames, i am realizing i have less and less time for them. i knoww ...its sad. all i need from a computer right now is to browse the internet, write papers for school, just basic things like that. i was actually quite pleased with the m1210, but im tired of all the spyware/viruses that come with windows. im ready for something new ~
wish me luck guys i'll be gettin it within the next week or two.
-chun

 

Congrats on the future purchase you will not be disappointed

 

Contingent on what method you use to connect to the internet I think the Macbook will do fine for your needs. I'm getting too old for gaming but still have some interest in it, so I opted for the MBP C2D and am very happy.