<p>I have a plastic macbook that I have used for the past two years at my current day school. I have one of the lower levels so now I have around 29G of space left (out of an original 80?) so if you are planning on using your laptop for a few years, I would definately get a version with more space (I dont think it is possible to upgrade memory) my current school suggests a new computer after 3 years, but I would suggest seeing where you are, and whether you need a new one. in terms of speed, its pretty fast, has gotten slower throughout his life. it terms of wear and tear, after a couple locker fallouts (in case), a couple of desk falloffs and a lot of transportation, the front has some small scratches (onliy obvious from up clse) some a bit of wear&tear on the inside, and also some cracks and chips in the plastic around the corners and the edges (a slight flaw in the creation, many of my friends have it too, it doesn’t effect how the computar runs at all) that is probably one reason the created the new aluminum ones.</p>