2.4 Refurb vs 2.66 Refurb vs 2.53 New UMBP

[mickbab]

Hi all,

I am planning on buying a MacBook Pro. I am having trouble deciding between the 2.4Ghz or 2.66GHz refurbished (previous-gen) UMBP, or the 2.53GHz new UMBP. (This is Australia, and all these are 15 inch)

My main concerns with the new one are: SD card, single graphics, and built in battery.
I am leaning towards the old one as it has ExpressCard, double graphics, and removable battery/accessible HDD.

The prices/specs are as follows:

Previous gen 2.4Ghz UMBP: 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 256MB dedicated graphics, ExpressCard 34 slot. $2149
Previous gen 2.66Ghz UMBP: 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD, 512MB dedicated graphics, ExpressCard 34 slot. $2699
Current gen 2.53Ghz UMBP: 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD, no dedicated graphics, SD card reader. $2699

Unless someone has a good reason to buy it, I think I will rule out the new 2.53 UMBP. I think with Snow Leopard coming soon the dedicated graphics will be useful, the SD card reader is no use to me as I use CF with my DSLR and I was thinking a few extra ports or a card reader could be useful, and the removable battery might be a problem if in the future I ever decide to get a 2nd battery or upgrade the RAM/HDD.

So now I am having trouble deciding between the 2 previous gen UMBPs. I'm not sure whether I should save the money, go the 2.4, and spend the saved money on RAM/HDD upgrades/whatever else. Or whether I should go the 2.66, save the RAM/HDD hassles, and 'future proof' the laptop a little.

My main uses at the moment are web/music/the usual, photos and some photo editing (venturing into more and more, also do lots of panorama rendering), getting into software design next year, and of course MSN! I'm almost 16.

Thanks for any help/opinions/tips.

mickbab.

 

[jake.f]

Well if it was me I would get the 2.4GHz but i have no job.....

 

[doubleohseven]

I think you should buy the 2.66 MacBook Pro. Future proofing is totally worth it. Don't make the same mistake I did, which was thinking that I would never need a SuperDrive, where here I am wishing I would have spent the extra $300 back when I bought my MacBook in late 2007. I mean yes, you could upgrade the laptop in the future if you needed to, but really...just to make life a little easier, buy the powerful machine now. It will make things easier in the long run. And that's a pretty good offer for a refurb MBP too.

Oh, and the dedicated graphics will be a big help for your photo editing, software designing and panorama rendering.

 

[svndmvn]

2.66 refurb, for the cache, graphics, express card... but the new battery/sd card/cpu is nice too. Up to you

 

[migsev]

EDIT: my bad, i didnt see the Australia bit.

The 2.66 should do you real well then.

 

[mickbab]

There isn't a $2699 MBP in the current generation. If you're willing to spend that much, just get the top end 15" available now. 2.8ghz/4gb/320gb/9600GT 512

I'm in Australia remember. A$2699 gets me the low end 2.53 15" or the 2.66 refurb 15"

 

[Sebbonny]

I think the 2.66 is your best choice! ;-)

 

[mickbab]

I think you should buy the 2.66 MacBook Pro. Future proofing is totally worth it. Don't make the same mistake I did, which was thinking that I would never need a SuperDrive, where here I am wishing I would have spent the extra $300 back when I bought my MacBook in late 2007. I mean yes, you could upgrade the laptop in the future if you needed to, but really...just to make life a little easier, buy the powerful machine now. It will make things easier in the long run. And that's a pretty good offer for a refurb MBP too.

Oh, and the dedicated graphics will be a big help for your photo editing, software designing and panorama rendering.

2.66 refurb, for the cache, graphics, express card... but the new battery/sd card/cpu is nice too. Up to you

EDIT: my bad, i didnt see the Australia bit.

The 2.66 should do you real well then.

I think the 2.66 is your best choice! ;-)

Okay well I had been leaning towards this as I said, this makes me feel better about my decision!

Now I just have to convince the parents to put in a couple hundred dollars as an early birthday present (July 6, as I recently posted )

 

[mynameisraj]

Refurbs are usually as good as if not better quality than the regular ones.

In addition, you get it for the same price AND it has a graphics card and speed boost.

It would be smart to go with the refurb 2.66.

 

[adamhh2326]

Help me too please!!

Hi al trying to decide between the refurbished 2.66Ghz Macbook Pro, the 2.66Ghz new Macbook Pro. The only difference between the two is the amount of RAM it can expand to and the battery.
Can someone please help? Thanks