Neil
Thank you for your detailed and helpful post. I have been in touch with
Macworx and they will upgrade the RAM for $50.
I'll also explore the options of going back to SL 10.6.8 for Dad.
Bob Howells, who has been eavesdropping :-), also suggested I look into
a small SSD drive to speed the machine up.
Thanks all.
Rob
On 1/6/17 5:34 pm, Neil Houghton wrote:
Re: Second hand macbook? Hi Rob,
>From your post, I think your Macbook models are:
* 2008 Macbook model 4.1
<http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-core-2-duo-2.1-white-13-early-2008-penryn-specs.html>
<http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-core-2-duo-2.1-white-13-early-2008-penryn-specs.html>
* 2009 Macbook model 5.1
<http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-core-2-duo-2.26-white-13-polycarbonate-unibody-late-2009-specs.html>
<http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-core-2-duo-2.26-white-13-polycarbonate-unibody-late-2009-specs.html>
If so, then:
*RAM
*
* The 2008 model 4.1 had 1GB standard and Apple officially supports
a maximum of 4 GB of RAM but third-parties have been able to
upgrade the system to 6 GB of RAM using one 2 GB and one 4 GB
memory module. He has 4GB RAM – presumably 2x2GB.
* The 2009 model 6.1 had 2GB of RAM is installed as two 1 GB modules
and Apple officially supports a maximum of 4 GB of RAM, but
third-parties have confirmed that it actually supports 8 GB of
RAM. The one you bought has the standard 2GB. You will definitely
see much better performance with a RAM upgrade.
* If you want to check out the RAM upgrade options for the 2009
macbook go to
<https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade>
o 2009 model 6.1 upgrade to 4GB (2x2GB) currently US$29.99
<https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/8566DDR3S4GP/>
o 2009 model 6.1 upgrade to 6GB (1x2GB & 1x4GB) currently
US$47.99 <https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/8566DDR3S6GP/>
o 2009 model 6.1 upgrade to 8GB (2x4GB) currently US$61.99
<https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/8566DDR3S8GP/>
* I have bought RAM from OWC in the past and found them quick and
efficient – but you can obviously also buy the RAM locally. OWC
also provide videos to walk you through the installation.
*OSX
*
* The 2008 model 4.1 was probably pre-installed with Leopard OSX
10.5.x and is currently upgraded to Snow Leopard OSX 10.6.3. The
latest SL upgrade was 10.6.8. This laptop cannot be upgraded past
Lion OSX 10.7.5.
* The 2009 model 6.1 was probably pre-installed with Snow Leopard
OSX 10.6.x (the latest SL upgrade was 10.6.8). It has been
upgraded to the current Sierra OSX 10.12 but not the latest
10.12.5 (upgrade earlier this month).
* You mention the learning curve is high for an 88yo - if your
father-in-law is used to Snow Leopard, he may also find the jump
to the Sierra OS a steep learning curve. He may also need to
upgrade software to be compatible with Sierra.
* I am still happily running SL 10.6.8 on my late 2009 iMac and
early 2008 Macbook Pro. The iMac (2.8GHz core i7 with 12GB RAM) is
very responsive. The MacBook Pro (2.4GHz Core2 Duo with only 2GB
RAM) is significantly slower – but still quite useable when we are
on the road). However, Apple no longer support SL and you will
find more incompatibilities with this software going forward.
* For Sierra, the 2009 Macbook is the oldest compatible laptop and
2GB is the minimum required RAM – so it is not surprising that it
is a little sluggish.
*MY THOUGHTS
*
* All other things being equal, the 2009 Macbook has better specs
than the 2008 Macbook and with more RAM should perform as well or
better than the 2008 model.
* You need to discuss with your father-in-law whether he is
personally better sticking with the Snow Leopard OS he is familiar
with or moving to the latest Sierra OS. This will depend on what
he wants to do, the software he runs/wants to run and his general
preference as to sticking with the old and familiar vs embracing
the newer software & methods of working.
* If you try to stick with the 2008 laptop, and get a new battery
for it, you should at least update the OS from 10.6.3 to 10.6.8
but, personally, I wouldn’t bother trying to track down a Lion
upgrade. You do not have the option of upgrading past Lion.
Personally, I think you would be better working on improving the
performance of the newer 2009 Macbook.
* If he is happier to stick with Snow Leopard, try installing that
on the 2009 Macbook – you will, at least, see how much of the
slow-down is due to the demands of Sierra and how much is due to
having half the RAM.
* A RAM upgrade for the 2009 macbook will significantly improve it’s
performance. If you are sticking with SL it should definitely
perform better than the 2008 laptop. If you stay up-to-date with
Sierra the extra RAM will definitely improve performance – but I
wouldn’t know how that would compare to SL on the 2008 Macbook.
Anyway, just my thoughts ;o)
HTH
Cheers
Neil
--
Neil R. Houghton
Albany, Western Australia
Tel: +61 8 9841 6063
Email: n...@possumology.com
on 30/5/17 21:29, Rob Phillips at r.phill...@iinet.net.au wrote:
Greetings
My 88yo father-in-law has a 2008 Macbook. Its battery died and he
went with my brother-in-law to a northern suburbs mac dealer.
He was sold a second hand Macbook as a replacement. Today, we
picked this up, and he said it seemed slow compared to the old one
- he has created some PPT photo shows with hi-res photos - file
size ~250Mb. I know he should reduce the size of his photos, but
the learning curve is high for an 88yo.
The Feb 2008 MB 4.1 has these specs:
* OS10.6.3
* Intel Core Duo 2.1Ghz
* 4Gb 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM
The $400 late 2009 replacement has:
* OS10.12.1
* Intel Core Duo 2.26Ghz
* 2Gb 1027Mhz DDR3 SDRAM
*
This doesn't seem like a good deal. The slight increase in CPU
speed is offset by 50% of the RAM and a slow-down of the later OSX.
Maybe battery replacements are no longer available for the 2008
model, but I would have expected he would have been offered an
improved model. We'll go back and talk to them.
Nevertheless, he's looking for a better machine, but it doesn't
have to be the latest model. Does anyone have an older macbook
which is surplus to requirements. Something later than 2010 for up
to $1000?
I guess the other option is to try to find a RAM upgrade for the
2009 model he just bought.
Any help/advice welcomed.
Rob
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