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    old mbp as temp machine (2007/2008)- what to look for/avoid?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by mmmangoes, Nov 22, 2011.

  1. mmmangoes

    mmmangoes Notebook Deity

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    Im a novice considering an old mbp 15 or 17 (2007-2008ish) as a temporary replacement for my thinkpad (c2d 1.83ghz, 1440x900) as I wait for the next iteration of the thinkpad x1 (est. may/june 2012). It will be for typical student use + Pages.

    I want to spend <$500 (as little as I can get away with + perhaps a squaretrade warranty) -and have seen several in that range on ebay with lion installed....but I have no idea what to look for in terms of specs. I simply want it to run a little faster than my old computer (my old computer was fast enough for my needs though), and have a good wifi antenna

    Unfortunately, I am not at all familiar with macs. any thoughts as to what specs to look for or avoid? How was the keyboard performance on that generation of macs?

    thanks so much
     
    mmmangoes, Nov 22, 2011
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  2. mmmangoes

    mmmangoes Notebook Deity

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    so far Ive read that I should check if the logic board has been replaced b/c the nvidia 8600 chip was problematic

    anything else to look out for?
     
    mmmangoes, Nov 22, 2011
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  3. Lieto

    Lieto Notebook Deity

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    Problems i had with my late 2007 2.4 core 2 duo, 8600m gt.
    over the course of 3 years. I wasnt too gentle with it though and carried it around every single day

    Replaced GPU
    Replaced HDD twice
    Replaced left cooler twice (it made extremely loud noise like i stroked a knife into it)
    Screen was starting to fail when i was selling it — closing and opening the lid would cause it to "shake" and sometimes it would shake for no reason at all.
    Battery — didnt bother but it still held like 30 mins in the end to be fair.
     
    Lieto, Nov 23, 2011
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