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chachster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
29
0
I've been an avid lurker here and other mac forums. I've been a Windows guy all of my life. I have wanted a mac since the core was based on bsd unix as I am a unix junkie. With that said.

1. Old Macbook Pro 2.5 - Apple Refurb 1499 (when its available)
2. New Macbook Pro 2.53 - 2499

Have ruled out old MBP 2.4 and new MBP 2.4 as I would like the additional VRAM just incase

I'm trying to weigh the advantages/disadvantages
* Price - Is the new one worth the extra 1000? Maybe. I don't want this to be my final decision point. I'm looking for more of the technical abilities.

Old - Problem with GPU 8600GT - Does apple fix this with a refurb or do I still have that chance? 2 gb ram default

New - New touchpad, 2 video cards, a different cpu, 1066 fsb, ddr3, 4 gb ram

I would like to have this for 3-5 years, leaning towards the higher side.

For the most part I would be doing the following:
Office Applications
Web Surfing
Email
Fusion or Parallels
Bootcamp
Photo editing/viewing / Video editing/viewing (nothing pro, just family photos and video)
iTunes
Gaming a possibility (when traveling and not having my consoles)
and anything new that mac includes that I am unaware of since I haven't had much time to use one other than in the store!

The previous generation looks like it will be sufficient right now, but would I miss out on possbile OS X 10.6, 10.7, etc?


I've been reading and torturing myself as of late after waiting for the new one to come out to see what it offered. I know I want a mac, but want to make sure I get one that I know will get me quite a few years out of it. I've never been one to consider refurb, but it appears from my research that apple basically treats it like I'm buying new and allows for applecare to be added. I'd like to get new, but need to justify it to myself that the new one offers things that could be taken advantage of, etc.

Sorry for my ramblings and appreciate any and all feedback on this.
 

McGiord

macrumors 601
Oct 5, 2003
4,558
290
Dark Castle
For more years I'll go with the new one, also it has displayport and the gestures, and maybe will be better suited to take advantage of snow leopard and new OSX features that could arise in the future, anyway $1,000 is a significant amount of money, and only you really know if that difference is worth to have the latest model or use it in other investment nowadays.
I'm my situation I've been waiting since 2005 for a new mac, and have been using a white MacBook meanwhile, I'm undecided between the new MBP 2.53 and the 2.8.
 

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
get the new one

Seriously, the old one is a good deal, but having handled and worked on a new one is amazing. My old MBP feels like strips of aluminum screwed together. The new one feels like a precision instrument and looks beautiful. Plus you will future proof yourself and the opportunity to drive Snow Leopard by having the Nvidia GPU. Seriously, don't even think about going backwards. And since you are using for three to five years, $300 for the 2.8 CPU is worth the extra dough.

Best wishes.
 

Bengt77

macrumors 68000
Jun 7, 2002
1,522
7
Europe
Do yourself a favour and correct the title of your post (and thus of the thread). It says 'macbok' now.

Not good. No, sir, not good at all.



Oh, and indeed, what Scottsdale says: get the new one. Sure the older one is a sweet deal, but the new one is so much prettier!
 

chachster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
29
0
Do yourself a favour and correct the title of your post (and thus of the thread). It says 'macbok' now.

Not good. No, sir, not good at all.



Oh, and indeed, what Scottsdale says: get the new one. Sure the older one is a sweet deal, but the new one is so much prettier!

Well, I've reported it and have asked to have it changed. I don't have the ability to change the topic of my post. Wow.. very not good. macbok.. sheesh... It was early... that's my excuse for the typo. :)
 

soLoredd

macrumors 6502a
Mar 12, 2007
967
0
California
I bought the 2.5 refurb and couldn't be happier. Unless you are going for the new one due to the aesthetics, neither one has a distinct advantage over the other (Snow Leopard will be supported fully even with the "old one", don't let others tell you different). I plan on getting 3 solid years out of mine with the warranty + AppleCare. I have no reason to think everything I want to use it for won't be possible. The 8600M GT issue is worth thinking about, however, if you keep your computer covered beyond the one extra year warranty Apple put out for the GPU, it doesn't matter. "Old one" + AppleCare is still cheaper than a new one.

This is just how I narrowed my decision down, the entire thing is subjective.

scottsdale - both systems have nVidia GPUs. Not sure where you were going with that, unless you were referring to the new one having both an integrated and discrete graphics unit.
 

chachster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
29
0
Seriously, the old one is a good deal, but having handled and worked on a new one is amazing. My old MBP feels like strips of aluminum screwed together. The new one feels like a precision instrument and looks beautiful. Plus you will future proof yourself and the opportunity to drive Snow Leopard by having the Nvidia GPU. Seriously, don't even think about going backwards. And since you are using for three to five years, $300 for the 2.8 CPU is worth the extra dough.

Best wishes.

Good thought on upgrading to the 2.8 as even if it is 3 years ,that's 100 per year so that's not all that bad.. The initial upfront will be, but I can hold off on applecare until I get about 8-9 months into my initial warranty period. Great suggestion!
 

whatdhek

macrumors newbie
Nov 8, 2007
4
0
Good thought on upgrading to the 2.8 as even if it is 3 years ,that's 100 per year so that's not all that bad.. The initial upfront will be, but I can hold off on applecare until I get about 8-9 months into my initial warranty period. Great suggestion!

Plus you can pick up the applecare on amazon for a small discount. I picked up a 2.4 refurb on apple.com for $1349 for my father in law as price was a big factor and he is working with a 15" Titanium 1.5ghz G4 so any change will be significant. I noticed the store online ran out of the 2.5ghz $1499 models but they do come back sporadically...
so if thats the one you want then just wait a little bit and it should show back up or you can get a non-refurb in the clearance section for $1799. Good luck.
 

chachster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
29
0
Another question on the options when configuring it online. Is is worth the $50 to upgrade the hard drive to a 7200RPM from the default 5400RPM? Would I notice a difference?

So far looking at this if I chose the new one:
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA @ 5400
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
Accessory kit
 

Hatchet

macrumors regular
Dec 9, 2007
201
0
Baton Rouge
Another question on the options when configuring it online. Is is worth the $50 to upgrade the hard drive to a 7200RPM from the default 5400RPM? Would I notice a difference?

So far looking at this if I chose the new one:
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA @ 5400
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard (English) / User's Guide
Accessory kit

I weighed the exact same options and decided to go with the previous generation 2.5ghz. Why? $1000 can go along way. You can get an almost identical machine and that savings can go directly into an account where you can begin saving for the next machine you'd like to buy. Remember, this machine was $2499 just a week or so ago.

I am also a recent windows to mac switcher and believe me, the previous generation is more than enough to do what you need.

Another important thing to consider: Think about how little was done to the machine for this update (internally), it was just a few things and the price is at $2499. Sure the design is nice, but there are always downsides to brand new machines for the kinks to be worked out. Apple is surely going to update it by spring next year so you'd be paying $1000 more for very minor upgrades.

The refurbs and the clearance macbook pros are a seriously good deal right now. Save $1000 and put it towards you're next mac or a nice new 24" LCD. Also, it costs under $100 to upgrade to 4GB memory on the previous generation. ($69.95 from OWC)
 

chachster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
29
0
I really like Hatchet's thought on this one.

I am going to go with the old MBP 2.5gh. Now just deciding to wait for it to reappear in the Apple refurb store or get it from amazon. Either way, I'm sure this one will still last me the 3-5 years I am looking at.

I will definately get the 4gb ram upgrade. That just seems like a no brainer for this setup.
 

Bengt77

macrumors 68000
Jun 7, 2002
1,522
7
Europe
Save $1000 and put it towards you're next mac or a nice new 24" LCD.
How would you connect that display to an older MacBook or MacBook Pro? They only have the (Mini) DVI connector, for which there's no Mini DisplayPort adapter (and there very well might never be one).
 

Hatchet

macrumors regular
Dec 9, 2007
201
0
Baton Rouge
How would you connect that display to an older MacBook or MacBook Pro? They only have the (Mini) DVI connector, for which there's no Mini DisplayPort adapter (and there very well might never be one).

I wasn't particularly mentioning the new Apple Cinema display. Just a 24" display in general. As for the connectivity, I'm not sure, there are other monitors i'd look at first before the new display in any case.
 

consumedsoul

macrumors regular
Mar 14, 2008
149
0
+1 for new

Got a new 15" 2.4 MBP recently and am very happy w/ the decision.

I think the old one works fine/great (was thinking about the clearance model for a few days), but I want my resale value to be high[er] and the faulty nvidia chip issue might hinder that effort down the road.
 

McGiord

macrumors 601
Oct 5, 2003
4,558
290
Dark Castle
I just ordered the MBP 2.8Ghz with the 7200 rpm HDD from MacMall, and no taxes!!! + Parallels with a mail in rebate. Now just wait for it to arrive in the next couple of weeks.
 

chachster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
29
0
Thanks for all of the suggestions.

I've decided on the previous gen MBP 2.5 gHz matte screen. I went to the apple store to check out the new one and I know there are 4 bizillion threads on the glossy/glare, but that made the decision very easy. The glare in the store was causing me to go crazy. Yes, I know the store lighting sucks, etc, etc... this was just one factor.. the $1000 savings was a bigger factor.

I've placed my order and my first mac should be in towards the end of next week. Funny thing, shortly after placing the order my Windows blue screened... I'm sure it was jealous!
 
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