Current 2010 i7 Macbook Pro Owner - Should I Upgrade?

[FrankySavvy]

I know there are many threads going around like this, and I know it is just speculating but I have a current April 2010 Macbook Pro 15" Core i7 2.66GHZ 4GB Ram Machine that I use for Graphic Design/Personal Use.

Would it be worth it to upgrade to the Sandy Bridge Core i7 processors, the Solid State hard drive and possible ram upgrade?

Would I really notice a speed difference?

I could probably get away with selling my current MBP for $1800 tops and to buy a new one for 2199+Tax (Student Discount). Would I really notice any difference using the Adobe CS5 Master Suite and Personal Use?

Thanks Again.

[xdbuix]

not that much of a difference honestly, but if you are willign to pay then go for it. I dont think its worthwhile especially since you coming from a 2010 i7. If you had a 2010 13", that might be more worthwhile.

[alphaod]

If you can afford it, why not?

[GeekGuys]

I have a Ferrari that is faster and more powerful than I could possibly require. There is a newer, faster Ferrari coming out soon (there always is...) so should I upgrade?

WHY?!??!!?

Sorry for being a little flippant but the question should be this. Do I NEED to upgrade?

Is the 6 month old laptop that you already use and bought as fit for purpose (I assume) still do what you want it to? If so, then why spend money on an upgrade? If you buy the latest version just to be up with the latest version then enjoy your products, enjoy the high depreciation and loss of money from your bank account and don't bother asking.

I don't mean to be rude but I really don't understand what you expect this forum to tell you other than it will be faster and newer and you will waste your money upgrading so soon.

Now, back to that Ferrari......

[ryanrich]

Depends completely on your personal preference and usage scenario. I have the same laptop, with some upgrades, and there's no way I'll be upgrading now because it's a complete waste of money to me seeing as mine is more than fast enough for what I use it for, and unless they add a new wondrous technology that I absolutely must have there's no point...

[mark28]

Better wait for next year. Ivy Bridge MBP will be Quad cores. The 500m series are nothing more but rebranded 400m series which are again 300m series GPU, so yeah .... better wait next year for a real upgrade in performance

If you still got a desktop PC, maybe think about a Mac Pro or an iMac. I'm picking one of those up depending what the specs are.

[Tamasi]

Get an optibay SSD for your current MBP instead

[legreve]

Originally Posted by mark28

Better wait for next year. Ivy Bridge MBP will be Quad cores. The 500m series are nothing more but rebranded 400m series which are again 300m series GPU, so yeah .... better wait next year for a real upgrade in performance

If you still got a desktop PC, maybe think about a Mac Pro or an iMac. I'm picking one of those up depending what the specs are.

Thanks for the tip I'll definately wait with buying that mbp now.

[wesen3000]

As another poster said, get an SSD. It will make more difference regarding to speed than switching the actual macbook (seriously). And you will able to swap that SSD into the next computer you get (assuming it still has SATA).

[theEconomist]

Originally Posted by GeekGuys

I have a Ferrari that is faster and more powerful than I could possibly require. There is a newer, faster Ferrari coming out soon (there always is...) so should I upgrade?

WHY?!??!!?

Sorry for being a little flippant but the question should be this. Do I NEED to upgrade?

Is the 6 month old laptop that you already use and bought as fit for purpose (I assume) still do what you want it to? If so, then why spend money on an upgrade? If you buy the latest version just to be up with the latest version then enjoy your products, enjoy the high depreciation and loss of money from your bank account and don't bother asking.

I don't mean to be rude but I really don't understand what you expect this forum to tell you other than it will be faster and newer and you will waste your money upgrading so soon.

Now, back to that Ferrari......

This would be my viewpoint.

[BAC5.2]

When the Ivy Bridge comes out, I might sell my 2010 i7 and get one. It'd be nice to have the ability to have more RAM.

I have 8GB now, and when I'm working full-tilt I'll have 100mb of free-ram. 16GB would definitely alleviate that.

I'm HALF considering replacing the Optibay with an SSD, but I'm not entirely sure about how to go about setting it up and what I'd put on the SSD vs. the HDD. It would have been an option had I started from "scratch", but I didn't and I frequently use the Optical drive.

[bdodds1985]

Originally Posted by Tamasi

Get an optibay SSD for your current MBP instead

You don't NEED it, but if you got the dough, why not? Life is too short to not have the new macbook
and if you knew there are many threads just like this why start a new one?
maybe it's just me but I wouldn't buy an older MBP for $1800 or even $1500 when I could just continue saving and get a nice new one. good luck selling it.

[Lisa89]

If you find your computer too slow, you can always put some extra RAM and an SSD in it. If not, your MBP is good enough.
Do you want a really powerful device? Buy a pro for the office... Then use the laptop for personal use and on-the-road assignments.

[mrsir2009]

No, not really.

[nate.the.great]

Originally Posted by FrankySavvy

I know there are many threads going around like this, and I know it is just speculating but I have a current April 2010 Macbook Pro 15" Core i7 2.66GHZ 4GB Ram Machine that I use for Graphic Design/Personal Use.

Would it be worth it to upgrade to the Sandy Bridge Core i7 processors, the Solid State hard drive and possible ram upgrade?

Would I really notice a speed difference?

I could probably get away with selling my current MBP for $1800 tops and to buy a new one for 2199+Tax (Student Discount). Would I really notice any difference using the Adobe CS5 Master Suite and Personal Use?

Thanks Again.

you'll get nowhere near $1,800 for your macbook pro. you can get a NEW 2011 quad core i7 2.3, 750gb hd, hi-res matte screen for $1,600.

[JamesGorman]

Originally Posted by nate.the.great

you'll get nowhere near $1,800 for your macbook pro. you can get a NEW 2011 quad core i7 2.3, 750gb hd, hi-res matte screen for $1,600.

There are people who will pay that. But tell me where you can get this macbook pro you speak of? I haven't seen deal like this anywhere near where Im from.

[nate.the.great]

Originally Posted by JamesGorman

There are people who will pay that. But tell me where you can get this macbook pro you speak of? I haven't seen deal like this anywhere near where Im from.

http://slickdeals.net/f/3818312-Micr...z-Core-i7-1599

[Zwhaler]

Originally Posted by FrankySavvy

I know there are many threads going around like this, and I know it is just speculating but I have a current April 2010 Macbook Pro 15" Core i7 2.66GHZ 4GB Ram Machine that I use for Graphic Design/Personal Use.

I own this machine, except I have 8GB of RAM in mine and the hi-res glossy display. I use it for video encoding and it is still very fast for a laptop. Definitely hold off on buying a new laptop until next generation, as the current MBPs today are just a speed bump of the same processors from the previous 2011 gen. Get a RAM upgrade (it helps) and think about buying the next gen once it's announced.

[ixodes]

Do it.

Since it sounds like you've got extra time on your hands & money in your pocket, it will be a good experience.

Likely result?

You'll learn first hand that the difference in speed is far less than anticipated.

The overall experience will be nearly the same as your present Mac, and you'll think twice before repeating this same choice next time.

Me? I learned the same way

[Zwhaler]

Originally Posted by ixodes

Do it.
Since it sounds like you've got extra time on your hands & money in your pocket, it will be a good experience.
Likely result?
You'll learn first hand that the difference in speed is far less than anticipated.
The overall experience will be nearly the same as your present Mac, and you'll think twice before repeating this same choice next time.
Me? I learned the same way

I have to admit, the current gen MBP is nearly twice as fast in pure computation, however system tasks and application launching, etc will hardly feel different. If anything the OP should get an SSD + RAM upgrade, or at least a RAM upgrade until the next update comes.

[JamesGorman]

Originally Posted by nate.the.great

http://slickdeals.net/f/3818312-Micr...z-Core-i7-1599

Wont ship to canada so would not apply to me anyway.

[thekev]

Originally Posted by wesen3000

As another poster said, get an SSD. It will make more difference regarding to speed than switching the actual macbook (seriously). And you will able to swap that SSD into the next computer you get (assuming it still has SATA).

For the OP's purposes an SSD would only benefit him significantly if he's lacking enough ram to hold operations there. If he's working on any bigger projects, I'm not sure how he gets away with 4GB of ram. That amount of ram felt strained years ago, but 32 bit application limits really put you up against a wall at the time.