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Is upgrading my 2nd gen macbook pro really worth it?

A

Alovesey

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hi all,

I have a 2nd gen 15" (2.16 core2duo) MacBook pro and was thinking about upgrading to the new unibody mbp.

Will I see much difference in performance compared to my current mbp?
I use the machine mainly for designing, CS4 usage etc and also some logic pro work.

Anyone think it's a good time to upgrade my laptop?
 
Core 2 hasn't changed much in the past 3 years in terms of performance unless you add more cores.

Is time more money? I'd get a newer laptop. Otherwise you have a fine machine.
 
Thanks. I've got 2gb of Ram in the machine, but I think it only takes 3gb to max it. Do you think the screen would be better for PS work on the newer models?
 
...max out the RAM and wait, there's not enough of a change for you to spend that extra $$ just yet...maybe a larger/faster internal HDD also...
 
I wouldn't advise changing either. If it is so slow that it is slowing down your productivity then make a change. You shouldn't be feeling that with what you have though. Max the RAM and put in a 7200rpm HHD and it will feel a lot quicker. SSD's are still too expensive for what you would gain.
 
JCastro said:
I wouldn't advise changing either. If it is so slow that it is slowing down your productivity then make a change. You shouldn't be feeling that with what you have though. Max the RAM and put in a 7200rpm HHD and it will feel a lot quicker. SSD's are still too expensive for what you would gain.
Click to expand...

I bought an SSD for my main PC and thought it was worth every penny. This is coming from someone who had a velociraptor...
 
Thanks, I was thinking of installing a 7,200 drive, it'll give me a lot more disk space too. Have just been googling the prices of the SSDs and although they look very tempting they are just too expensive. Getting a decent sized one is almost half the price of a new MBP.

Has anyone here swapped out their drives? Is it a particularly daunting refit?
 
Alovesey said:
Has anyone here swapped out their drives? Is it a particularly daunting refit?
Click to expand...

It is not trivial. But as long as you follow the instructions and keep track of the screws, those with a little technical aptitude should not find it too hard.
 
If you can wait till q1 2010 the new core architecture will be out which will offer a substantial performance increase over core2duo. In the meantime, buy some more ram, it's cheap.
 
Put 4 gigs and a seagate 7200 rpm in my 2.33, and it feels like a new machine.

Yes, I know I can't use all of the ram, but ddr 2 is so cheap right now, it doesn't make sense to not do it.
 
nutritious said:
I bought an SSD for my main PC and thought it was worth every penny. This is coming from someone who had a velociraptor...
Click to expand...

I was not saying that he would not see a difference. I just don't think that for the average user the advantages outweigh the cost difference. A 7200 RPM HDD will give enough of a boost at minimal cost. I am glad it was worth it for you though.

A friend of mine has two SSD's in his PC Laptop and loves it. We travel a lot and he wanted the SSD's because his HDD's were getting banged around a lot while in transit. I would love to have an SSD but I would need about 500GB and that would cost a fortune right now. A year from now maybe it will more affordable.
 
Alovesey said:
Thanks. I've got 2gb of Ram in the machine, but I think it only takes 3gb to max it. Do you think the screen would be better for PS work on the newer models?
Click to expand...

Side by side, I do notice a difference in screen quality between the LED backlight MBPs and the older non-LED displays. That being said, I only notice the difference when they are placed side by side.

I would max RAM and maybe get an SSD depending on your capacity requirements.
 
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