2.0 current white MB vs. 2.4 previous white MB

[relativist]

So, I made a mistake and let the warranty on my previous gen. 2.4 160GB white MB expire. I did intend on getting apple care, but life got in the way. Anyway, I have so far upgraded the Ram to 4GB, so I'm thinking of buying a 2.0 so I can put the 4GB in it, if I buy from Micro Center there's a $200 rebate. Eventually I do want a UMBP, but I'd like to wait for the next cpu upgrade. So I'm sticking with a MB for now. I play WOW, use programs like Mathematica. I don't like the fact that I'd be going down in cpu speed, but I think the video improvement more than makes up for it.

Should I do it? Should I wait? I'm also considering doing a trade-in for it with Powermax maybe.

 

[kindablue09]

So, I made a mistake and let the warranty on my previous gen. 2.4 160GB white MB expire. I did intend on getting apple care, but life got in the way. Anyway, I have so far upgraded the Ram to 4GB, so I'm thinking of buying a 2.0 so I can put the 4GB in it, if I buy from Micro Center there's a $200 rebate. Eventually I do want a UMBP, but I'd like to wait for the next cpu upgrade. So I'm sticking with a MB for now. I play WOW, use programs like Mathematica. I don't like the fact that I'd be going down in cpu speed, but I think the video improvement more than makes up for it.

Should I do it? Should I wait? I'm also considering doing a trade-in for it with Powermax maybe.

Well, it all depends on your financial situation... You are saving for the mbp, which can be costly, and a new whitebook would set you back a little less than a grand. I don't know about the powermax trade in, but I am assuming you'd loose a bit of money on it.

I don't see the next mbp upgrade taking any longer than 6 months, so if you aren't having any hardware problems with the current whitebook, I'd stick it out. But of course this is coming from someone with a G4

 

[relativist]

I'm probably not going to do the trade in, but sell my MB on eBay after I get the new MB. My current MB should go for at least $700 I think, so I'm assuming I have to pay a difference of at least $100 (not including tax).

 

[clyde2801]

See what your model is going for on ebay and on craigslist first to make sure your appraisal is realistic.

Another option is holding onto your machine and rolling the dice until the next revision comes out.

Tough choice either way. Good luck.

 

[relativist]

The financials I understand, but I'm asking about the performance, is it really an upgrade? I know the GPU part is, but does it make up for the decreased CPU performance? I'm hoping there is a small bump in CPU speeds sometime soon, but either way if it's worth it, I'll upgrade soon.

 

[kindablue09]

The financials I understand, but I'm asking about the performance, is it really an upgrade? I know the GPU part is, but does it make up for the decreased CPU performance? I'm hoping there is a small bump in CPU speeds sometime soon, but either way if it's worth it, I'll upgrade soon.

As far as speed goes, this is the best I could find...

http://www.macworld.com/article/136214/2008/10/macbookbenchmarks.html

Unfortunately, they don't have the current whitebook listed, but I am assuming since it has virtually the same components as the 2.0 ubmb it will preform the same. There is a huge difference in gpu performance, but speedmark shows a very small difference...

The way I see it, the upgrade would give you a big enough increase in gpu power with only a minor cut to the cpu.

 

[relativist]

Micro Center has been sold out, but I'm going to get it from them if they get some stock. Hope they do. I'll just transfer hard drives and sell my old one.

 

[omarjk]

When selling on eBay, if you can open up your sale to the UK market, with reasonable USPS cheapest postage - around $40 for a laptop to the UK - you will probably find yourself getting a significantly higher price than $700 for your 2.4 Ghz.

People are not scared of buying from the US, yet I have had to beg sellers to deal with me just because I am in England. It was the only way I could get an Incase Hardcase for my MacBook.

 

[relativist]

Thanks for the tip, I will add that option for sure. I'm still waiting for stock at Micro Center, but so far no luck. I haven't e-bayed in a long time, but luckily I still remember my password. Yesterday I visited the Apple store, I did not like the UMB that much more than the white MB, but the screens on the MBA were nice. I'm going to try and be disciplined and stick with the white MB.

 

[relativist]

Have the 2.4GHz right here next to my new 2.0GHz, one more thing to note is that the DVD drive on the 2.4 is on the ATA controller and on the 2.0 it's on the SATA controller.