What's the better deal?

Liquinn · Jan 19, 2013

Hi, deciding what one I should pick between these two machines.

Machine 1:

Great overal condition
Very small minor marks on casing

Specification:

Apple Macbook Pro 5,4 2009 Macbook Pro
15" LED Backlit Anti-Glare Screen (1680x1050 Native Resolution)
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
8Gb DDR3 1066MHz Ram
1 x 750Gb Hard Drive (New)

OS:

Installed with 10..8.2 Mountain Lion
iLife 09 Included

I/0 Ports:

1 x Mini Display Port
WiFi & Bluetooth
2 x USB 2.0 Ports
1 x Firewire 800MB/s Port
1 x Gigibit Ethernet Port
1 x Express Card Slot
1 x Sound In
1 x Sound Out
1 x Superdrive

Package Contents:

1 x Apple 15" Macbook Pro
1 x Apple 85W Magsafe Charger
1 x Uk Power Cable
1 x iLife 09 Disk

ITEM PRICE: £795.00

Item 2: APPLE MACBOOK PRO 17" 2.8GHz C2D 8GB 500GB

Specification:

Macbook Pro 5,2 Mid 2010 Model
17" Screen (1920x1200 Native resolution)
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
8Gb DDR3 1333MHz Ram
1 x 500Gb HDD
Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT 512Mb Graphics card
Superdrive
iSight
WiFi
Bluetooth
3 x USB 2.0 Ports
1 x Firewire 80MB/s Port
1 x Mini Display Port
1 x Gigibit Ethernet Port
Loaded with 10.8.2 Mountain Lion

What's in the box:

1 x Apple 17" Macbook Pro
1 x Uk Power Cable
1 x iLife 09 Disk

Price: £900.00

Which is the better buy and why?

Thanks.

Vudoo · Jan 19, 2013

The better deal would be the 17" since it's a newer machine and has better performance.

Of course that's assuming you don't mind a 17" MBP. I personally find them too large for my liking.

Liquinn · Jan 19, 2013

Vudoo said:
The better deal would be the 17" since it's a newer machine and has better performance.

Of course that's assuming you don't mind a 17" MBP. I personally find them too large for my liking.

Okay I see.

Is 900 pounds a good price to pay for that 17"?

I find my 13" MBP is a tad small so 17" would be good to use from now on.

Am I getting ripped off?

Thanks.

Vudoo · Jan 19, 2013

I have a 15" anti-glare and I find that to be perfect for me. My friend has the 17" and he thinks it is too big.

If you don't need to move it from your desk often, then you may not mind the 17". But I like to take my MBP around the house and travel with it.

I do not live in the UK so I can't say if it's a good deal or not. In the US, the price would be around 750 pounds or less for the used 17" MBP.

RedCroissant · Jan 19, 2013

Liquinn said:
Okay I see.

Is 900 pounds a good price to pay for that 17"?

I find my 13" MBP is a tad small so 17" would be good to use from now on.

Am I getting ripped off?

Thanks.

I think it's a good price for it and the fact that it has a separate GPU with it's own RAM is going to give you a noticeable performance boost for some applications. However, they are BOTH mid-2009 machines, so don't get screwed on this deal.

The first machine also has OS X 10.8 "pre-installed" for you, but that's not the original OS for that machine and must be downgraded to Snow Leopard so that you can purchase your own version of either Lion or ML since it's tied to your Apple ID.

The second machine though(if those are the specs that were given to you) don't match with the model number because the Macbook Pro 5, 2 is a mid-2009 model; not a mid-2010. This is especially important due to the fact that the OS that came with it was 10.5(Leopard). And if you're not getting the original Install disks, then you'll be in a position to spend at least another 100 Not a huge deal, but it does make it a year older and might give you some leverage to drop the price a bit to compensate you for your necessary purchase of OS X 10.7 or 8.

Basically, the price seems to be right for either of the machines, but you need to get the proper OS installed first so that you can have it linked to your APPLE ID. Otherwise, you won't be able to upgrade any Apple apps that were included with the machine since you will be forced to log in with the "Apple ID used to purchase the applications" to update them.

Liquinn · Jan 19, 2013

RedCroissant said:
I think it's a good price for it and the fact that it has a separate GPU with it's own RAM is going to give you a noticeable performance boost for some applications. However, they are BOTH mid-2009 machines, so don't get screwed on this deal.

The first machine also has OS X 10.8 "pre-installed" for you, but that's not the original OS for that machine and must be downgraded to Snow Leopard so that you can purchase your own version of either Lion or ML since it's tied to your Apple ID.

The second machine though(if those are the specs that were given to you) don't match with the model number because the Macbook Pro 5, 2 is a mid-2009 model; not a mid-2010. This is especially important due to the fact that the OS that came with it was 10.5(Leopard). And if you're not getting the original Install disks, then you'll be in a position to spend at least another 100 Not a huge deal, but it does make it a year older and might give you some leverage to drop the price a bit to compensate you for your necessary purchase of OS X 10.7 or 8.

Basically, the price seems to be right for either of the machines, but you need to get the proper OS installed first so that you can have it linked to your APPLE ID. Otherwise, you won't be able to upgrade any Apple apps that were included with the machine since you will be forced to log in with the "Apple ID used to purchase the applications" to update them.

Ahh damn, 900 quid seems like a lot of money to spend on a 4 year old machine.

Should I save up more money to purchase a 15" MBP from Apple?

RedCroissant · Jan 19, 2013

Liquinn said:
Ahh damn, 900 quid seems like a lot of money to spend on a 4 year old machine.

Should I save up more money to purchase a 15" MBP from Apple?

Not necessarily, just make the seller aware of the discrepancy and lower your offer, demand the original install disk or that the current owner at least downgrade it to Snow Leopard(a necessity for upgrading to Mountain Lion) I would instead offer 750 for it and see what the seller says.

And I have an early 2009 iMac that is still working wonderfully with 8GB RAM and an upgraded 3TB HDD. I have used it as my primary machine in 3 states and it has survived 4 moves.

Liquinn · Jan 19, 2013

RedCroissant said:
Not necessarily, just make the seller aware of the discrepancy and lower your offer, demand the original install disk or that the current owner at least downgrade it to Snow Leopard(a necessity for upgrading to Mountain Lion) I would instead offer 750 for it and see what the seller says.

And I have an early 2009 iMac that is still working wonderfully with 8GB RAM and an upgraded 3TB HDD. I have used it as my primary machine in 3 states and it has survived 4 moves.

"Hi Amy,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCRUMPYMA...omputing_Apple_Laptops_ET&hash=item460bf6f25f

This is a 2009 17" MBP, not a 2010 model and because of this I'd like some leverage to drop the price a bit to compensate you my necessary purchase of OS X 10.7 or 8.

Also I'd be prepared to offer 750 pounds for the machine since I'd need you to downgrade the OS to Snow Leopard since the OS would be tied to my Apple ID.

Thanks Amy,

Regards"

I bought my G5 from them so I do trust them.

I really do find my 13" cMBP too small. Hmmmmm.

I'll post back with what the seller says.

Thanks.

RedCroissant · Jan 19, 2013

Liquinn said:
"Hi Amy,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCRUMPYMA...omputing_Apple_Laptops_ET&hash=item460bf6f25f

This is a 2009 17" MBP, not a 2010 model and because of this I'd like some leverage to drop the price a bit to compensate you my necessary purchase of OS X 10.7 or 8.

Also I'd be prepared to offer 750 pounds for the machine since I'd need you to downgrade the OS to Snow Leopard since the OS would be tied to my Apple ID.

Thanks Amy,

Regards"

I bought my G5 from them so I do trust them.

I really do find my 13" cMBP too small. Hmmmmm.

I'll post back with what the seller says.

Thanks.

That looks good. And if the seller states that they are correct, then tell them that the 2010 17" models incorporated the "i" processors. the last C2D 17" released was in 2009.

If you want, you can visit http://www.everymac.com or download the mactracker app to confirm.

Liquinn · Jan 19, 2013

RedCroissant said:
That looks good. And if the seller states that they are correct, then tell them that the 2010 17" models incorporated the "i" processors. the last C2D 17" released was in 2009.

If you want, you can visit http://www.everymac.com or download the mactracker app to confirm.

Think I'll go for the anti-glare 15" - is it a good price to pay for it?

Thanks.

RedCroissant · Jan 19, 2013

Liquinn said:
Think I'll go for the anti-glare 15" - is it a good price to pay for it?

Thanks.

I think it is as long as you get the SL installation disc or get SL installed on it first. Otherwise, you're going to regret the purchase because it will involve more money in excess of the purchase price just to get it to the same point.

Liquinn · Jan 20, 2013

RedCroissant said:
I think it is as long as you get the SL installation disc or get SL installed on it first. Otherwise, you're going to regret the purchase because it will involve more money in excess of the purchase price just to get it to the same point.

Why do I need a Snow Leopard disk when ML is already on the MBP?

Thanks

Macman45 · Jan 20, 2013

Liquinn said:
Okay I see.

Is 900 pounds a good price to pay for that 17"?

I find my 13" MBP is a tad small so 17" would be good to use from now on.

Am I getting ripped off?

Thanks.

I tink that's a great price...I'm selling my 17" (Higher spec) and with a 21 in 1 card reader installed for £1200.00 and I haven't had any takers yet. If you can hack the weight of the 17" (and it is heavy) I'd go with it.

Stewart21 · Jan 20, 2013

I would not buy a C2D powered machine personally. I would save for a bit longer and go for at least a i5 processor. Oh, and the point about the laptops coming with a pre-installed OS is that if it was downloaded rather than coming on some kind of media it won't be linked to your Apple ID and you will have to buy it again.

RedCroissant · Jan 20, 2013

Liquinn said:
Why do I need a Snow Leopard disk when ML is already on the MBP?

Thanks

Because ML is download only and therefore has to be purchased with an Apple ID. Sure, as long as you install the extra applications yourself, then you might be fine as long as you don't have to reinstall the OS and have to enter in the Apple ID that was used to purchase it.

I would therefore want to play it safe and have SL installed first, and then spend the extra money on ML myself. Otherwise, you'll be stuck taking your machine to resellers to get them to reinstall an OS that you should be able to do yourself.

Liquinn · Jan 20, 2013

RedCroissant said:
Because ML is download only and therefore has to be purchased with an Apple ID. Sure, as long as you install the extra applications yourself, then you might be fine as long as you don't have to reinstall the OS and have to enter in the Apple ID that was used to purchase it.

I would therefore want to play it safe and have SL installed first, and then spend the extra money on ML myself. Otherwise, you'll be stuck taking your machine to resellers to get them to reinstall an OS that you should be able to do yourself.

I see where you're coming from. So I can't put Snow Leopard on the machine myself and just stick at SL?

RedCroissant · Jan 20, 2013

Stewart21 said:
I would not buy a C2D powered machine personally. I would save for a bit longer and go for at least a i5 processor. Oh, and the point about the laptops coming with a pre-installed OS is that if it was downloaded rather than coming on some kind of media it won't be linked to your Apple ID and you will have to buy it again.

Why wouldn't you buy a C2D machine anymore? There are some pretty powerful and now less expensive computers out there that are more than capable. The reason I say this is because I would buy, in a heartbeat, a late 2009 27" iMac with the 3.33GHz C2D. Its max RAM is 16GB of 1066 MHZ(which is double what my early 2009 can accept), can run ML, and has a GPU with its own dedicated memory as opposed to the GeForce 9400M in the early 2009 that shares it with the system.

So if you know of anyone selling this machine, please let me know.

This isn't an attack post or anything, but I think some iterations of the C2D are still well worth the money spent on them and wish I had really any money to spend on one.

Liquinn · Jan 20, 2013

RedCroissant said:
Why wouldn't you buy a C2D machine anymore? There are some pretty powerful and now less expensive computers out there that are more than capable. The reason I say this is because I would buy, in a heartbeat, a late 2009 27" iMac with the 3.33GHz C2D. Its max RAM is 16GB of 1066 MHZ(which is double what my early 2009 can accept), can run ML, and has a GPU with its own dedicated memory as opposed to the GeForce 9400M in the early 2009 that shares it with the system.

So if you know of anyone selling this machine, please let me know.

This isn't an attack post or anything, but I think some iterations of the C2D are still well worth the money spent on them and wish I had really any money to spend on one.

True, to get a 2012 15" MBP anti-glare from Apple I'd be looking at 1600 or so, but I'm losing the Thunderbolt port which is OK and getting a C2C processor which doesn't bother me really.

I've contacted the seller regarding the downgrade to SL.

RedCroissant · Jan 20, 2013

Liquinn said:
I see where you're coming from. So I can't put Snow Leopard on the machine myself and just stick at SL?

Not at all. You can purchase SL yourself and install it. From there(since you'll now have the Mac App Store app) you can download and install ML. This way, the machine and every app you purchase/download will be linked to your Apple ID. This way you can rely mostly on yourself to take care of you machine instead of someone else.

The thing is, it should be the seller's responsibility to make sure the OS that was originally installed with the machine is still on it or at least available. That machine still came with the installation discs and in my opinion should be included. I still have the original discs that came with my Mac and if I ever sell it, will be certain to include in the sale.

Liquinn · Jan 20, 2013

"Yes of course we can load Snow for you however the licensees for Mountain Lion that we buy direct from Apple are unregistered so you can register it yourself to your Apple ID!"

That's what the seller said. Thoughts?

RedCroissant · Jan 20, 2013

Liquinn said:
"Yes of course we can load Snow for you however the licensees for Mountain Lion that we buy direct from Apple are unregistered so you can register it yourself to your Apple ID!"

That's what the seller said. Thoughts?

Call Apple and confirm it. They might have a license to do that, and if that's the case then I would definitely go for it. But confirm it with Apple first.

I know that MS sells bulk licenses to computer builders and then allows the buyer to register windows after that, but I'm not sure about what Apple's policy is since they don't have third parties building and selling machines.

Liquinn · Jan 20, 2013

RedCroissant said:
Call Apple and confirm it. They might have a license to do that, and if that's the case then I would definitely go for it. But confirm it with Apple first.

I know that MS sells bulk licenses to computer builders and then allows the buyer to register windows after that, but I'm not sure about what Apple's policy is since they don't have third parties building and selling machines.

I'm going to get the seller to put SL onto the machine, then I can download ML from the app store; I might as well upload my Mac Mini and 13" MBP to ML while I'm at it right?

Stewart21 · Jan 20, 2013

RedCroissant said:
Why wouldn't you buy a C2D machine anymore? There are some pretty powerful and now less expensive computers out there that are more than capable. The reason I say this is because I would buy, in a heartbeat, a late 2009 27" iMac with the 3.33GHz C2D. Its max RAM is 16GB of 1066 MHZ(which is double what my early 2009 can accept), can run ML, and has a GPU with its own dedicated memory as opposed to the GeForce 9400M in the early 2009 that shares it with the system.

So if you know of anyone selling this machine, please let me know.

This isn't an attack post or anything, but I think some iterations of the C2D are still well worth the money spent on them and wish I had really any money to spend on one.

Well, I'm running a Mid 2007 20" iMac with 2Ghz C2D. It's fine for e-mail, web browsing, iPhoto, Skype etc but I notice it starting to struggle if I want to do some more processor intensive operations. Even Microsoft Office is slow. My iMac will be OK for a while longer but only for basic tasks. I'm fine with that but if I replaced it I would want faster CPU's and more RAM and a bigger HDD.

Liquinn · Jan 20, 2013

Getting Snow Leopard onto the machine just to be safe.

Am I getting a good deal here?

RedCroissant · Jan 20, 2013

Liquinn said:
I'm going to get the seller to put SL onto the machine, then I can download ML from the app store; I might as well upload my Mac Mini and 13" MBP to ML while I'm at it right?

That's an even better idea and the smarter move.

Liquinn said:
Getting Snow Leopard onto the machine just to be safe.

Am I getting a good deal here?

I think you are. Plus, if anything goes wrong with the machine, the seller has a return policy right?

What's the better deal?

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