<p>I've decided I'm going to get a macbook ,but i'm not sure whether to go with the 120 white macbook or the 160 aluminum macboook (300 dollars more).</p>
<p>I have almost 14 GB of music + movies too, which i need room for. other than that, I shouldn't need more space for things other than documents and programs. I'm not a gamer at all. I'm also going to be a govt/history major.</p>
<p>The only thing i'm concerned with the white macbook is that it's not as recent as the silver mac book, or am i wrong? and it's probably less durable?</p>
<p>For 300 dollars, you can buy an external hard drive with much more storage capacity than 40 gb. </p>
<p>Make sure the 120 and 160 have the same RPM. If the 160 has a higher RPM (which allows for faster information write and retrieval), then that is another factor you should take into consideration. However, given that you do not appear to need the computer for intensive tasks, I would say it is a very small, if not negligible, factor.</p>
<p>The 120 GB should be the way to go. You can always buy a hell of a lot more storage with the extra 300 dollars later and proper storage case for the computer. That’s the problem with Mac. It costs $300 for metal casing and 40 GB more memory.</p>
<p>A regular hard plastic case covering for a Mac should be fine enough.</p>
<p>Can you find and post the rest of the specifications for the two machines (cpu and ram being the two important ones)</p>
<p>I’m guessing there are more differences than just the hard drive and covering.</p>
<p>according to the site, memory is the only difference. so i guess this makes it an easy decision for the macbook white then?</p>
<p>macbook white means annoying yellowing overtime…</p>
<p>macbook aluminum will last longer…</p>
<p>^will the protective case prevent that?</p>
<p>that’s exactly what i figured.</p>
<p>Some might say that macs overcharge for pure aesthetics but from personal experience, the casings/protections on mac are well worth the extra cash you spend now I feel. </p>
<p>Anectdote:
There was a fire in the lab where my mom was working, every single computer had melted (macs+PC’s) but when booted up the Macs worked as if nothing had happened where as the PC’s were destroyed. Proof enough for me.</p>
<p>120GB for sure when it comes to the hard drives. These days, you can find 32GB flash drives that almost cover the difference for slightly over 20 bucks. And, as others have mentioned, $300 will get you far more disk space in an external drive, which would also make it easier to transfer your movies and music should you get a new computer in the future.</p>
<p>Actually, that’s not the only difference.</p>
<p>MacBook Pros have a dedicated graphics card.
MacBooks have integrated graphics.</p>
<p>If you plan on doing hardcore gaming, you will need the MBP, otherwise the MB should be perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Definitely get the 120 GB MB, and you can buy a 1TB external HDD for $180</p>
<p>Wow, while we’re on the subject, why is external memory so incredibly expensive?? I got my internal WD 1TB for a little less than $80. Surely a plastic shell, slower transfer rates, and a few other gimmicks aren’t worth the additional $100?</p>
<p>I don’t know where you got an internal WD 1TB for less than $80, an internal 1TB WD for desktop is $149 according to their website.</p>
<p>I think WD would charge more for their external memory because its able to be taken anyway, very very portable. More so than any laptop or netbook.</p>
<p>wow… i cant believe people are simplifying this to just the hard drive space. the white one is 2 to 3 years old.</p>
<p>I can’t stress this enough… buy the 160gb aluminum macbook. I owned the white one before this and just recently upgraded to the unibody aluminum macbook. You are fully understating the difference between the computers if you think that it is only storage capacity. </p>
<p>You will have this computer for 4 years (at least). You want the most up to date computer possible. The white iteration of the macbook as not changed in 2 or 3 years, whereas the unibody aluminum one just came out in october. It features a much better screen, a new trackpad that is much much more responsive and the new Mac OS “snow leopard” will certainly take advantage of the multi-touch features of the trackpad that are not fully found on the white macbook. 120 g is not very much space, and while you can get an external, which everyone should do to back up their info regardless, it is nice to be able to store all of the music, videos, and other school related files you will pick up in college. </p>
<p>the new macbook is much more durable and stable than the white one. it has a solid aluminum case and is one part so it is less susceptible to damage if you drop it. the screen is much nicer, and the graphics are nicer. i am sure there are many more comparisons that you can find by searching the forums on the mac website. </p>
<p>would anyone recommend buying a 2 year old outdated pc if a new version was available? trust me it is not just about the hard drive, if it were only that, i would also suggest going for the old one.</p>
<p>*<strong><em>also, if you decide to buy a mac, wait until mid june… their new operating system is being released at their annual conference in a few weeks. again you want to buy it with the most updated software. they may even lower prices or bump the specs on the computer at the conference.</em></strong></p>
<p>I won a new WD Caviar 1TB on eBay for about $74. And the same hard drive at a site such as Newegg or Amazon is about $100.</p>
<p>But there are always different product lines, and WD has external 1TBs at price points from $110-$199 (the $199 is a “mirror edition” that doubles all your data for extra security). So it all depends on budget and what features you want.</p>
<p>I also agree with the above post. The white macbook is far too outdated to last another 4 years. To be future proof, I think it’s probably wise to spend the extra $300 on the new aluminum one.</p>
<p>in addition… the white ones also get really dirty. the new one is also a lot lighter and thinner… the screen again is much better.</p>
<p>if you have 14 g music now, once you discover dc++ you will definitely double that… search these forums for old posts about dc++.</p>
<p>i bought an external 1TB for 109.99$ at newegg with free shipping…</p>
<p>thanks. I knew the white macbook was that old, but i figured they would at least update the graphics or something…definitely going with the aluminum</p>
<p>yes if you can afford the aluminum then go with it…</p>