Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

13" 2.26 or 13" 2.53 MacBook Pro. Is there a big difference between the two?

ozziegn

ozziegn

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
1,323
888
Central FL Area
here's the deal. I just bought a 13" 2.53 MBP with a free 8GB iPod Touch (after rebate) from the Apple store. I got the laptop for $1400 which includes my educator discount.

but now, I have the opportunity to buy a 13" 2.26 MBP for $900 from someone who tells me he gets them at wholesale prices. the 2.26 only has 2GB of RAM vs. 4GB on my 2.53 model. also, the 2.26 has a 160GB hard drive vs. 250GB on my 2.53 model.

so my question is: would there be a big difference between the two or would I be better off by saving the $500 (plus sales tax on $1400) and getting the 2.26 model w/o the iPod touch?

please give me your opinion(s).
 
for $500 DEFINITELY get the 2.26. End of story. I would upgrade the ram to 4GB, which will cost you $60 from newegg. You can even buy the new Intel X25 M SSD for $229 and you should have a better performing computer than the stock 2.53.

If you are that worried then go to an Apple Store and test out both models. I highly doubt you will see any difference.
 
ozziegn said:
because I could save over $500 if the differences between the two aren't that much.
Click to expand...

You aren't saving $500. Did you forget that you could sell the iPod Touch for $200? Then the cost difference would only be$300 and you get a faster processor with the 2.53 which will help future proof your machine and increase the resell value. Yes, you can upgrade the HDD and ram but you can't do anything about the processor. Also, you might want to consider that you will get charged a restocking fee for returning an open computer. I would keep what you have.
 
It's so funny reading some of these threads, since people have the same weird questions I do. I was, at first, trying to decide between the 13" 2.53 model and the 15" 2.53 model. With all that debating in my head, I have actually settled on the 13" 2.26 model. One, for cost savings. Two, since I'll be using the MacBook Pro in clamshell mode 99% of the time.

This new MacBook Pro is going to fully replace my desktop PC so it needs to be quasi powerful, but nothing extreme. I had a Late 2008 2.0 GHz aluminum Macbook doing the desktop duties for awhile and it worked amazingly. Just upgraded the RAM to 4GB (as I'll do to the 2.26) and HDD and called it a day. So the $300 more for a whopping .27 GHz extra simply isn't worth it to me.
 
Grab the 2.26 and save the money.

Like others have said, if you need to upgrade you can and STILL save money.

IMO 0.27GHz isn't going to make a whole lot of difference - its still a great machine.
 
This is sketchy at best. The wholesale price of the 13" 2.26 is right around $1100 for resellers. I'd be dollars to donuts it's either stolen product or the seller is hiding something from you.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The odds of this guy losing $200 on a sale are slim to none so there's something else going on here.
 
Careful! I don't know if it works the same in the US, but in the UK any laptop bought with an education discount gives you a 3 year hardware warranty. This basically means you get AppleCare (just without the phone support) for nothing.
AppleCare is expensive!
Tot up the cost of the RAM, the HD, the iPod AND the extended warranty and it suddenly isn't that cheap!
 
I agree that for $500, the slower machine isn't a bad choice, you probably won't know the difference in performance. Plus you can always upgrade the RAM and HDD later to match/beyond the faster MBP.

Apple will always sell you another MBP if you cancel this one and regret it later, don't worry about that. What there is to consider is the deal itself, is your friend able to deliver what he promises and is the cheaper MBP clear for warranty and such.
 
danbt79 said:
Careful! I don't know if it works the same in the US, but in the UK any laptop bought with an education discount gives you a 3 year hardware warranty. This basically means you get AppleCare (just without the phone support) for nothing.
AppleCare is expensive!
Tot up the cost of the RAM, the HD, the iPod AND the extended warranty and it suddenly isn't that cheap!
Click to expand...

+1

I bought the high spec'd version as well, and there isn't a huge difference, but when compared to my wifes high spec'd uMB the speed difference is noticeable.
And indeed apple care alone would vaporise the difference...
Keep what you have and be happy with it!
 
HLdan said:
You aren't saving $500. Did you forget that you could sell the iPod Touch for $200? Then the cost difference would only be$300 and you get a faster processor with the 2.53 which will help future proof your machine and increase the resell value. Yes, you can upgrade the HDD and ram but you can't do anything about the processor. Also, you might want to consider that you will get charged a restocking fee for returning an open computer. I would keep what you have.
Click to expand...

.27GHz is future proofing? LOL.

Save the money and get an SSD.
 
Waste of time

As someone mentioned before, sell the Touch for $200. You should have gotten a free printer which you can sell for fifty bucks (sucks if you didn't bother). You also have 2 additional GB memory and hard drive upgrade worth about $200 is you count for the fact that you don't have to do installation for either one. And the last little bit for the faster processor is nearly $500. At least that's my math.

My 2.26 was $875 after educator discount, E-Bay Touch and Printer, and tax free. Great machine!!!
 
I'm looking to get a new 13" MBP next week, and have pretty much decided upon buying the 2.53 GHz. I was wondering if there was any difference in heat output between the two machines? I'll be using it on my lap quite a lot, so coolness is pretty important to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back