Ok I'm looking at getting a base model 13" mbp from the refurb store. However today on craigslist I found a unibody 2.4 ghz MacBook that is in good condition but has no apple care but it is $700... What does everyone here on the forum think? And what would you chose in this situation ?
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13" unibody MacBook vs pro
- Thread starter mknapper1
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I'm assuming you already know all the pros and cons to each of these Macbooks because you searched, right?
That being said, the price is right for the unibody, but I would never choose that over the new 13"MBP. You might save a couple hundred bucks now, but I think you'll be loving your MBP much longer into the future. If you have the money for the refurb, get the refurb.
That being said, the price is right for the unibody, but I would never choose that over the new 13"MBP. You might save a couple hundred bucks now, but I think you'll be loving your MBP much longer into the future. If you have the money for the refurb, get the refurb.
MBP over uMB anyday. uMB has no firewire, no SD and can only support up to 6GB Ram and still be stable. MBP has FW800, SD slot and does 8GB from factory.
oh defo go uniMB the differences are great.
HOWEVER
I would still wait a couple of weeks and see what happens to the macbooks and see if they pick up the updates that is predicted because it might work out cheaper or better value
HOWEVER
I would still wait a couple of weeks and see what happens to the macbooks and see if they pick up the updates that is predicted because it might work out cheaper or better value
Here's the deal...
Display is stunning on new MBP, and NOT on most of the uMBs except the very last ones shipped before update. Big deal if you're planning to really use it for anything like a movie or even to look at daily.
Battery is 7 real hours for most versus 4... OUCH!
I feel those two could be seriously important... the display on most of the MBs are very inferior and anyone who enjoys watching movies on their Macs will notice the very purple blacks that are washed out, and all around poor color. And battery is a preference thing.
The FireWire probably isn't going to matter as most people use USB unless they're serious Pros with a reason to need target disk and etc.
The aluminum is the same for both.
MAX RAM... 8 GB in the future may lengthen the useful life of the MBP while the uMB will be stuck at 4 GB forever.
The SD card slot is a really nice feature. Also consider that you can buy a 64 GB SD card and install an entire operating system on it boot from it and etc. Perfect for Windows (I think I have read of people doing that now).
Also consider the warranty issue ... NONE vs one year.
I think it would be pretty foolish to not go Pro unless you absolutely cannot afford it. But at $999 refurbished, you cannot go wrong with the 13" MBP with SD/7-hour battery/Super Display/FireWire and etc.
Best wishes whichever route you go.
Display is stunning on new MBP, and NOT on most of the uMBs except the very last ones shipped before update. Big deal if you're planning to really use it for anything like a movie or even to look at daily.
Battery is 7 real hours for most versus 4... OUCH!
I feel those two could be seriously important... the display on most of the MBs are very inferior and anyone who enjoys watching movies on their Macs will notice the very purple blacks that are washed out, and all around poor color. And battery is a preference thing.
The FireWire probably isn't going to matter as most people use USB unless they're serious Pros with a reason to need target disk and etc.
The aluminum is the same for both.
MAX RAM... 8 GB in the future may lengthen the useful life of the MBP while the uMB will be stuck at 4 GB forever.
The SD card slot is a really nice feature. Also consider that you can buy a 64 GB SD card and install an entire operating system on it boot from it and etc. Perfect for Windows (I think I have read of people doing that now).
Also consider the warranty issue ... NONE vs one year.
I think it would be pretty foolish to not go Pro unless you absolutely cannot afford it. But at $999 refurbished, you cannot go wrong with the 13" MBP with SD/7-hour battery/Super Display/FireWire and etc.
Best wishes whichever route you go.
i would get the refurb basically for the warranty safety
but the firewire is nice if thats your kinda thing... but i would choose the MBP
He's looking at the 2.4 MB so it will have the keyboard backlight.
There are two very good reasons to buy the MBP.
1. It'll hold more RAM.
2. As Scottsdale mentioned the MBP has a MUCH better display than the MB. I cannot overstate how dramatic the difference is. Unless you get lucky and get one of the last MBs off the line it'll have a crappy display.
MBP has longer battery, SD slot and firewire and better screen. If that is worth the price difference, I say go for the MBP.
For the RAM arguement, somehow I think this will be similar to the older white macbooks that said they could hold only 2GB and now they can hold 4GB of ram. I'm pretty sure 8GB of ram is do-able on the uMB. ifixit stated the chipset can support 8GB but apple says it supports on 4GB...for now.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Unibody/589/2
MBP has longer battery, SD slot and firewire and better screen. If that is worth the price difference, I say go for the MBP.
For the RAM arguement, somehow I think this will be similar to the older white macbooks that said they could hold only 2GB and now they can hold 4GB of ram. I'm pretty sure 8GB of ram is do-able on the uMB. ifixit stated the chipset can support 8GB but apple says it supports on 4GB...for now.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Unibody/589/2
IIRC OWC has checked and the UMB can hold 6GB
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3
MBP has longer battery, SD slot and firewire and better screen. If that is worth the price difference, I say go for the MBP.
For the RAM arguement, somehow I think this will be similar to the older white macbooks that said they could hold only 2GB and now they can hold 4GB of ram. I'm pretty sure 8GB of ram is do-able on the uMB. ifixit stated the chipset can support 8GB but apple says it supports on 4GB...for now.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook-Unibody/589/2
it can hold 8gb based on the chip, but if you search the forum, you'll find a thread that states that 6GB is stable, 8GB causes kernel panic.
perhaps a software update will fix that eventually
as a I stated... 4GB for now.
I seriously doubt that the uMB, and uMBPs from Oct 2008 will ever support more than 4 GB (6 GB actually)... everyone that's tried has failed. Apple changed not just the firmware but the board with the 17" MBP in 2009, and small updates to high-end MBP to 2.66 GHz in Early Spring, then all MBPs in June 2009 to allow 8 GB of RAM.
If this were a simple firmware fix, it would have already been completed... it's a problem with the hardware, NOT THE CHIPSET NOR FIRMWARE. Apple would have wanted to allow it if it could have without the changes. Apple could have made money by allowing the upgrade. It's not just that they don't want to support it in those models... we should all realize by now that Apple changed the board to allow 8 GB in 2009 upgrades.
The 2008 event which introduced the two events was october 14th, so you have until 10/14/09 to buy applecare for the 2.4, since you have one year to buy applecare. If the CL seller can provide the original sales receipt or the serial number to check on the apple support site, you can use that to determine your deadline. One day over the first year when it was originally purchased, and you're out of luck. ALWAYS buy applecare on an apple portable. Always. You can buy applecare for a discount on ebay (always make sure you're getting an unopened box) but you may not have time for to do this.
The displays received a stealth update in the first quarter of 2009. Some umb readers are also showing improved display quality with 10.6's tweaking of the gamma level. If you can read the threads and figure out how to check what the mb's display is, avoid the 9c89 display. It is truly horrid and has spawned most of the controversy about the original screens.
If the mb doesn't already have 10.6, the $249 on applecare, and $30 for 10.6 will eat up the savings over a refurbed 13" 2.26. With a refurb you can at least defer the cost of applecare for a year.
Agree with previous posters to get the 2.26 because of the battery, sd card, firewire, ram capability and display if you have to get one now. The buyer's guide is listing the mbp at mid product cycle, with 114 days since the last update and an average of 120 days between updates on average. Will the next update be a minor speed bump or a whole new (quad core) cpu? I don't know, and any other opinion on the subject will be just that; an opinion.
If you truly need a laptop now, get the refurbed 2.26.
The displays received a stealth update in the first quarter of 2009. Some umb readers are also showing improved display quality with 10.6's tweaking of the gamma level. If you can read the threads and figure out how to check what the mb's display is, avoid the 9c89 display. It is truly horrid and has spawned most of the controversy about the original screens.
If the mb doesn't already have 10.6, the $249 on applecare, and $30 for 10.6 will eat up the savings over a refurbed 13" 2.26. With a refurb you can at least defer the cost of applecare for a year.
Agree with previous posters to get the 2.26 because of the battery, sd card, firewire, ram capability and display if you have to get one now. The buyer's guide is listing the mbp at mid product cycle, with 114 days since the last update and an average of 120 days between updates on average. Will the next update be a minor speed bump or a whole new (quad core) cpu? I don't know, and any other opinion on the subject will be just that; an opinion.
If you truly need a laptop now, get the refurbed 2.26.
MBP lighted keyboard
I have a new 13 inch MBP and love the lighted keyboard . I had no idea it would be such a nice feature and just can't imagine life without it.
I have a new 13 inch MBP and love the lighted keyboard . I had no idea it would be such a nice feature and just can't imagine life without it.