Macbook Pro Core Duo or Core Duo 2??? (Price difference=$500)

[knownasmichael]

Im currently a student in college majoring in computer media and I need a mac pronto. My question is, which is a better deal?
A new macbook pro core duo with 2.0 ghz, 80 harddrive, 512 ram, 128 vram for $1299

or a new 2.16 ghz core duo 2, 120 harddrive, 1 gig ram, 128 vram for $1799?

or should I just wait a month and wait for the new LED macbooks if they come out? but i desperately need a new laptop now so that might not be a good option. any advice would be nice!

 

[phungy]

Im currently a student in college majoring in computer media and I need a mac pronto. My question is, which is a better deal?
A new macbook pro core duo with 2.0 ghz, 80 harddrive, 512 ram, 128 vram for $1299

or a new 2.16 ghz core duo 2, 120 harddrive, 1 gig ram, 128 vram for $1799?

or should I just wait a month and wait for the new LED macbooks if they come out? but i desperately need a new laptop now so that might not be a good option. any advice would be nice!

If you need it now pronto, get it now!!

Also I'd opt for the newest C2D...

80GB to 120GB is a $150 upgrade. 512MB to 1GB is $75 via Apple...

Or you can buy the refurb and do the upgrades yourself and save a few $$.

 

[pianoman]

go with the Core Duo and upgrade the RAM. a 2x1GB set should cost around $200 and your computer will be great.

i don't think you'll get any benefit from the slightly faster processor or the larger hard drive, but i'm not you, so i don't know for sure.

if you're purchasing this machine to last for a while, go for the more expensive one because it has the more advanced processor.

 

[phungy]

A G.Skill 2x1GB RAM is on sale on Newegg.com for under $174 shipped 3 day guaranteed.

 

[knownasmichael]

thanks you guys for the fast responses...

I was planning on upgrading the ram anyways...maybe purchasing 1 gig from newegg. Now in terms of it lasting me for a while im not sure about that....I really would like to install vista on it once it comes out just to have access to my pc programs and such... but isn't vista gonna be only 64 bit? meaning that i should purchase the core duo2 instead of core duo?

what about the new LED screens....is it worth it to even wait for those?

 

[Umbongo]

thanks you guys for the fast responses...

I was planning on upgrading the ram anyways...maybe purchasing 1 gig from newegg. Now in terms of it lasting me for a while im not sure about that....I really would like to install vista on it once it comes out just to have access to my pc programs and such... but isn't vista gonna be only 64 bit? meaning that i should purchase the core duo2 instead of core duo?

what about the new LED screens....is it worth it to even wait for those?

Apple will surely update everything at once, which means santa rosa platform needs to go in at the same time they update anything else. Which isn't supposed to be out until late April.

 

[flopticalcube]

C2D gives you an n-capable wifi card, if that's important to you.

 

[Boxer]

I say the newer Core 2 Duo, it will last you longer and I think you will be happy with it longer.

 

[iW00t]

If you can find a refurb the price difference between the top and bottom model will be much smaller.

A refurbished 2.16ghz C2D MBP can be had for like $1599. Which is only $150 more than a 2.0ghz CD. On top of that you get the big hard drive and a single 1gb stick of ram. Great value IMO.

 

[knownasmichael]

ahhhh! i cant make up my mind! i just bought the 1299 core duo version and i think i might just return it and do what u guys recommend which is to just get a refurbished cd2 for 1599.

 

[caccamolle]

get the C2D.

I have a MPB CD and it gets way too hot, it's pathetic. It seems, but you would want to confirm, that the more recent models have less of a problem there.

On a side note, I still like my MBP, but hey that heat it's just ... idiotic. On the other hand I am not a heavy user, so I can live with that for now. But obviously that battery cannot possibly last too long at those temperatures.

 

[ktbubster]

ehh?

get the C2D.

I have a MPB CD and it gets way too hot, it's pathetic. It seems, but you would want to confirm, that the more recent models have less of a problem there.

On a side note, I still like my MBP, but hey that heat it's just ... idiotic. On the other hand I am not a heavy user, so I can live with that for now. But obviously that battery cannot possibly last too long at those temperatures.

You know.. I've had my MBP CD for a few days now, and I know tons of people have said it gets too hot, but... I was watching a dvd in a window, while editing things in photoshop and moving them into illustrator while running a few other programs and downloading in the background and my computer still was really not that hot at all.. I was immensely impressed.

Granted I'm comparing this to my 800mhz TiBook which you could fry eggs and bacon on most of the time, but still I dont' find it that bad. (and I didn't install any extra fan control systems yet either)

I dunno. Guess it differs a bit from computer to computer.

Either way, IF you can afford it, I would go with the refurb C2D since, as everyone is saying, it is newer and some kinks have been worked out. (although I have yet to notice any of the kinks some people report with mine) but definitely upgrade the ram, and... actually as you are talking about video and graphics and such, those can be big files, and the extra 40 gig of harddrive, while maybe not important to some, as a design major myself (not so much video though) I would greatly appreciate any extra space to store files and keep them with me as opposed to putting a lot of stuff on my external all the time.

However, If the extra price is a crunch for you, then the cd will be just fine for you and you will love it no matter what... and hey, you can always upgrade your computer in 6-12 months anyway to the newest tech and maybe by then the LCDs will be in a second go around of screens. :-D and oyu can sell the other one. Upgrading from mac to mac is rediculousy easy now, so that is NOTHING to worry about.

Hope you love your computer as much as I love mine

 

[caccamolle]

You know.. I've had my MBP CD for a few days now, and I know tons of people have said it gets too hot, but... I was watching a dvd in a window, while editing things in photoshop and moving them into illustrator while running a few other programs and downloading in the background and my computer still was really not that hot at all.. I was immensely impressed.

Granted I'm comparing this to my 800mhz TiBook which you could fry eggs and bacon on most of the time, but still I dont' find it that bad. (and I didn't install any extra fan control systems yet either)

I dunno. Guess it differs a bit from computer to computer.

Either way, IF you can afford it, I would go with the refurb C2D since, as everyone is saying, it is newer and some kinks have been worked out. (although I have yet to notice any of the kinks some people report with mine) but definitely upgrade the ram, and... actually as you are talking about video and graphics and such, those can be big files, and the extra 40 gig of harddrive, while maybe not important to some, as a design major myself (not so much video though) I would greatly appreciate any extra space to store files and keep them with me as opposed to putting a lot of stuff on my external all the time.

However, If the extra price is a crunch for you, then the cd will be just fine for you and you will love it no matter what... and hey, you can always upgrade your computer in 6-12 months anyway to the newest tech and maybe by then the LCDs will be in a second go around of screens. :-D and oyu can sell the other one. Upgrading from mac to mac is rediculousy easy now, so that is NOTHING to worry about.

Hope you love your computer as much as I love mine

I guess you're lucky. When I say mine gets hot, I mean hot, I mean it's a miracle it does not melt away
This is a widely known problem, not only from a few friends I have who have the same MBP but also around this forum.

It is pathetic. When I watch a movie I put bean cans underneath because I am afraid it's going either to melt itself or melt my desk (which is many times more valuable that the MBP!!). And, got to believe it, I still like it ("love" sounds a bit excessive, it still is just a computer, I reserve love for girls and family). Nonetheless my usage is definetely handicapped.

That is what it is.

 

[notjustjay]

When I watch a movie I put bean cans underneath

Wow! Plays movies and heats up your dinner, too!

 

[acoustics940]

I dont see any need to spend $500 more for a core 2 duo instead of a core duo . If its that important that you must have a core 2 instead of core duo then do it. If you just need a computer that will do things you need and to get work done get refurbished one. If you want to study the internals piece by piece and study the speeds then get a core 2 duo they are both still fast either way.

 

[caccamolle]

Wow! Plays movies and heats up your dinner, too!

lol

indeed, again, how pathetic !!!!

 

[caccamolle]

by the way, is there a way to tell what temperature is inside the mbp ?

Last night I watched a couple of the Lost episodes and I thought the poor thing was going to explode from the heat, seriously. So, I definitely have to bring it back to the apple store and see what they say. I doubt anything useful though.

At those temperatures it's only a matter of hours before it literallly fries in hell.