<p>I would like to purchase a portable Mac as a HS graduation gift for my daughter. I am not really current with the Mac offerings and need a little advice.</p>
<p>What is the primary diffrence between a MacBook and the MacBook Pro?</p>
<p>Looking at the Mac Books: the three different models vary widely in price and I see where the difference comes in. I just don't understand what benefit each difference provides.</p>
<p>i.e. DDR2 (white MacBook) vs. DDR3 (the other two models)</p>
<p>2.0GHz, 2.13GHz, and 2.4GHz </p>
<p>It appears as though I could get the white MacBook and add more memory and storage and still be less expensive than the 13" 2.0 GHz.</p>
<p>Also, is it necessary to purchase Microsoft Office 2008 in order to be compatible with PC users? To further clarify that question, can my daughter generate documents with iworks and submit them to a professor if the professors are using PC's?</p>
<p>I don't quite understand what "filemaker" is. I don't know if this is necessary.</p>
<p>Lastly, is the AppleCare protection plan for $249.00 necessary or worth it?</p>
<p>BTW: the educational benefit of a free ipod with purchase is now available.</p>
<p>The primary differences are the size of the screen and the presence of discrete graphics. MacBook screens are 13.3”, whereas MacBook Pro screens are either 15” or 17”. Moreover, MacBooks use Nvidia 9400M integrated graphics whereas the Pros have both the 9400M and a non-integrated (ie. “discrete”) graphics card, enabling you to switch between the two depending the situation. Integrated graphics trades performance for battery life.</p>
<p>DDR3 is a different type of RAM than DDR2. It’s newer and faster, but the difference isn’t noticeable if you don’t plan on doing anything intense with your computer.</p>
<p>Ceteris paribus, the difference between a 2.4 ghz processor and a 2.0 ghz processor is pretty much unnoticeable. The thing is, usually the two are not “equal in all other aspects.” The 2.4 ghz processor likely has double the cache of the 2.0 ghz. It is the increased cache, not the 400mhz clockspeed difference, that makes it the better performer.</p>
<p>The white MacBook is a good $300 cheaper than the unibody MacBook. You can upgrade a lot of things with $300, especially if you’re doing the upgrades yourself. Apple charges too much for RAM.</p>
<p>Also, is it necessary to purchase Microsoft Office 2008 in order to be compatible with PC users? To further clarify that question, can my daughter generate documents with iworks and submit them to a professor if the professors are using PC’s?</p>
<p>I (sadly) think Office is necessary for compatibility; the student version costs around $100.</p>
<p>I don’t quite understand what “filemaker” is. I don’t know if this is necessary.</p>
<p>It’s a kind of database program, unnecessary for most users.</p>
<p>Lastly, is the AppleCare protection plan for $249.00 necessary or worth it?</p>
<p>I don’t think so; we’ve owned many Mac laptops over the years and only one needed repair.</p>
<p>These are great replies! Can you clarify one more thing: * Integrated graphics trades performance for battery life.* In our case, I don’t think super duper graphics will be necessary. Does this mean integrated graphics will allow longer battery life?</p>
<p>I’m thinking of just getting the regular white macbook too. Is the only difference the aluminum body (besides the processor), or are there newer hardware in the new macbook?</p>
<p>I just ordered the MacBook from Apple. Now I want to purchase the additional memory. Do I need to purchase an “additional” 2 MB, or do I need to replace all the memory with a new 4 MB set? If I do the whole 4 MB, it really doesn’t save much money, so I’m thinking I can add -on 2 MB to make it 4 MB. </p>
<p>If I were the one receiving the macbook I would want the one with the aluminum body…</p>
<p>I also think that the microsoft office is necessary, and you should get it soon because they have a promotion going on right now that if your a student (Maybe it works for purchasing one for a student too) then you can buy a macbook and receive an ipod for free!</p>
<p>You’ll need to replace all the memory with a new 4GB set. The MacBooks come with two 1GB RAM modules, and there is a maximum of two slots.</p>
<p>Apple charges $100 to double the RAM on the white MacBook. That is a rip-off. I bought a 4GB set of g.Skill DDR2-667 RAM from Newegg last Christmas for $38 with free shipping. Surprisingly, the price of this exact set actually increased to $50 and doesn’t ship for free. Even so, a $50 labor fee is rather high, especially since it only takes ten minutes to install RAM.</p>
<p>The unibody has a more advanced touchpad than the white polycarbonate MacBook. In addition, the unibody uses DDR3 RAM instead of DDR2. As the number suggests, DDR3 is newer than DDR2.</p>
<p>I got an email today about the buy one mac and get a free ipod touch (rebate up to $229).
Go to the Apple Educational store. Order your Mac and an ipod at the same time and then send in the rebate for the ipod (up to $229 value). If you ordered your Mac today, I suggest calling them up and ask about your free ipod. It’s not really free–you pay for it and then get up to $220 back after sending in the rebate.</p>
<p>nysmile: I got the deal with the ipod. Thanks for mentioning it though.</p>
<p>Also, The old MacBook apparently used 677 MHz RAM. The newer version uses 800 MHz, so I don’t know if the pricing is the same. I’m going to search around for the better price.</p>
<p>The only thing that matters for RAM as far as compatibility is concerned is the number pins of the physical chips, not the clock frequency. SODIMM DDR2 RAM is NOT interchangeable with SODIMM DDR3 RAM. The frequency will be adjusted by the logic board (ie. if your bus speed is 667 MHz, and you install 800 MHz RAM, your computer will use it at 667 MHz).</p>
<p>If you’re considering upgrading RAM on your own (the more economic option) remember that the White Macbook uses DDR2 and the Unibody Macbook uses DDR3.</p>
<p>Another difference between the White and Unibody Macbooks is that the latter has an LED backlit screen. This has several advantages: brighter, instant-on full brightness, less fade, and better energy efficiency (thus, better battery life).</p>
<p>You don’t have to buy AppleCare right away. You can buy it at any time during the original warranty period. I suggest buying an insurance policy that has replacement cost coverage if you break the thing. That’s more likely than a problem with the computer - other than maybe some bad RAM and you’ll know that quickly. We buy a policy from NSSI but I assume there are other providers - and it paid the full cost for a broken screen. </p>
<p>As noted, buying your own RAM is cheaper. The manual tells you how to put it in. You can download a free program - memtest - and check the RAM. Some RAM is bad and don’t be afraid to send it back if it is.</p>
<p>If you’re looking at upgrades, the top ones on my list would be:</p>
<ol>
<li>External monitor, keyboard, mouse. Run a 19" or larger monitor on your desktop and then you have both a laptop and a desktop for a few hundred dollars.</li>
<li>External backup. External drives are dirt cheap now. Buy one. Use the built-in Time Machine program to back up to it. (I don’t see a reason to upgrade the 160 gig drive that comes with a MacBook.)</li>
</ol>
<p>fabrizio, did you get the unibody aluminum Macbook or the older, white one? If you got the white, you need DDR2 RAM. If you got the aluminum, you need DDR3 RAM, which is a bit pricier. And by the way, the aluminum ones use 1066 MHz, not 800 MHz.</p>
<p>To contradict what some other posters said about cheaper RAM: you can get it cheaper from third parties, but DON’T SKIMP on RAM. Don’t buy that value crap. Trust me when I say the last thing you want is a bad RAM module (which could happen with any brand, but is much less common with better brands)</p>
<p>I have a question about purchasing a MacBook as well.</p>
<p>I was told that purchasing a laptop through my university bookstore means I get the Apple student discount ($100 I think) and also not taxed for the purchase. Is this true? Should I try clarifying this with the specific bookstore? Apple does include a tax when you order online, right?</p>
<p>No, I’m not the one in the market for a new laptop. Also, the prices for DDR3 modules have dropped significantly in the last six months. A 4GB set of Mushkin DDR3-1066 RAM can be found at Newegg for $60 with free shipping.</p>
<p>There’s also nothing wrong with “value RAM,” especially for laptops. The $38 set I bought last Christmas was not only the cheapest but also among the best rated. It currently has 521 reviews, 448 of which are five-stars.</p>