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2010 13" MBP or prev. Gen Refurb 15" MBP

T

txnoob

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
349
0
I'm ready to order my MBP, but I've caught a snag between these two.

The Refurb is as below for 1299.99, vs. stock 13" currently for sale at 1099 after education discount.

15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display
2.4Ghz C2D
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Illuminated keyboard
nVidia 9400 + 9600GT

I'm losing 2GB of ram so aftermarket that's about $100.

1099 vs. 1399 for bigger screen and slightly better graphics. How would you play this out?
 
Comes down to convenience/portability and if you need/have money left over to buy things like an external hard drive, more ram, etc.

15" always feels better, but I am a designer and I need more screen real estate when on the road.

JP
 
I was planning on getting the 15" refurb you're talking about, but I called Apple and they said it only had the 5-hour battery. Not sure if that kills the deal for you, though.
 
SonicBoom1981 said:
Oh dear, I thought refurbs would come with new batteries!!!
Click to expand...

You can call again to make sure, dude. But if it really does come with a 7-hour battery, get it QUICK. I was following the $1349 model a couple days ago and they sold out and just came back. They might go again for a while.

Please update us if the battery turns out to be 7-hours.
 
Dr. Scientist said:
You can call again to make sure, dude. But if it really does come with a 7-hour battery, get it QUICK. I was following the $1349 model a couple days ago and they sold out and just came back. They might go again for a while.

Please update us if the battery turns out to be 7-hours.
Click to expand...

I'm not the OP, and I'm not after a refurb. I'm about to order a 15" i5 matte one.

I don't know why, I just assumed that every refurb would come with a new battery as standard, or at least one that's tested and still lasts the equivalent of a new one.
 
_bnkr612 said:
Comes down to convenience/portability and if you need/have money left over to buy things like an external hard drive, more ram, etc.

15" always feels better, but I am a designer and I need more screen real estate when on the road.

JP
Click to expand...

Screen is honestly the biggest hinge, but at $300 I'm not sure. I'll have to go instore again and compare actual resolution. I have a 15.4 Win7 machine, and the resolution is hardly bearable at 1366x768. The 13" MBP displays 1200x800, but since it's smaller, I believe that's actually better resolution than my current setup.
 
SonicBoom1981 said:
I'm not the OP, and I'm not after a refurb. I'm about to order a 15" i5 matte one.

I don't know why, I just assumed that every refurb would come with a new battery as standard, or at least one that's tested and still lasts the equivalent of a new one.
Click to expand...

My bad. Congrats on your potential order.

Ah, sorry. The refurbs all come with new parts, I just mean that some of the refurbs come with the last generation 7-hour batteries, and that the MBP that the OP is looking at is two generations old, and thus has the 5-hour battery. The battery itself would be 'new', but has an outdated capacity.
 
Dr. Scientist said:
My bad. Congrats on your potential order.

Ah, sorry. The refurbs all come with new parts, I just mean that some of the refurbs come with the last generation 7-hour batteries, and that the MBP that the OP is looking at is two generations old, and thus has the 5-hour battery. The battery itself would be 'new', but has an outdated capacity.
Click to expand...

I didn't realise the battery life on that one was as low as that.

Yeah, I can't wait for my new laptop. I've never had one before, and always had an iMac (2001 and 2005) so due for a new computer! My parents have a recent iMac and a recent MBP, and I'm always wanting to use the MPB when I come up and visit. I'm typing on the iMac now, but it's just not as appealing as the MBP!! :)
 
If you're not fussed with the smaller screen go for the 13". The 13" is 2 generation ahead, better battery, can upgrade the RAM in the future to 8GB which you can't do with the late 2008 15" and better battery life.

I had a refurb 2.4GHz 15" and the best I ever got out of the battery was about 3 hours. Also the 320M is supposed to be a decent IGP, so less of a gulf between it and the 9600M, compared to the 9400 and 9600.
 
Is it true that the regular Macbook current gen. unnoficially supports 8GB of Ram?
 
That refurb 15" MBP is the 2008 model with the removable battery. No comparison, get the new 13". I love mine. The 320M video card is TREMENDOUSLY better than the old 9400M, and yes, 10 hours of battery life is possible (though about 8 is more realistic, IMHO).

And to answer your other question, yes the current MB with unofficially support 8GB.
 
Now the proud owner of a 13" MBP. Thanks to all who made me aware of the generational differences in the refurb. I'm quite happy with this sexy machine.
 
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