First off I wanted to let you know I have an iMac 27 i7. I'm torn. I sold my old MBP 13 2.66 last week and ordered a 2010 2.4 (refurb) because of the great price. Computer is not here yet but I should be getting it on Monday. Now I'm having second thoughts because it is only a small amount for me to get the 2011 13 i5 using educational discount. I'm thinking about this in resale value if i wish to sell in a year. I have bought 2 x 4gb And a SSD in hopes to add them to the MBP. Should I just pay the difference and get the 2011 13 i5? Or perhaps even a MBA 13? I do photo editing an use Photoshop and light room on my main computer but occasionally i may use it that is why I bought the upgrade hardware parts. Other than that.. Th computer will be used for general office and administrative use. I will be most likely virtualize he computer to to run windows. This is a concern as C2D might not run so smooth. I do like the MBA especially the increase resolution but specs are not that great but built quality is quite nice. What do you guys suggest? Help would be greatly appreciated.
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2010 MBP 13 2.4 or 2011 MBP 13 i5 or MBA 13?
- Thread starter OatmealRocks
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If you want better battery life and perhaps slightly better video performance, then go with last years model. This year's model is all about speed on the processor. Get an Air if screen resolution is paramount to everything else, but be prepared to pay for the performance hit. Also the Airs might be updated by summer with i3 or maybe even an i5 on the higher end 13".
Given the price difference, send the refurb back and get a 2.3 i5--it's a LOT faster. And it will hold its value better based on both performance and the fact that it is not a refurb.
Do note that the new i5 uses faster RAM than the 2.4 C2D . . .
I had a 2.4 GHz 13" and the new 2.3 i5 smokes it. Well worth the $170 US difference with your educational discount.
Do note that the new i5 uses faster RAM than the 2.4 C2D . . .
I had a 2.4 GHz 13" and the new 2.3 i5 smokes it. Well worth the $170 US difference with your educational discount.
I say 2011.
The word is still out on the battery. It is exactly the same battery as in the 2010 model. Real world usage may put them at about equal run times give or take a bit. The previous 10 hour battery time was an over inflated unrealistic rating as very few people would ever use a laptop in the way the test was performed. Most people I know would get somewhere between 4 hours and 7 hours on the 210 MBP so really YMMV. I think in the overall picture we will find battery life to be about equal.
The word is still out on the gpu as well. Some say it is garbage based on their previous knowledge of 4 year old Intel gpu's. Nothing stays the same for 4 years in this industry. Intel has learned a lot about gpu's and the Intel 3000 seems to be in the same class as the Nvidia 320. Some things are slower and some things may be faster. Regardless of individual framerates the fact is both are integrated low end gpu's that force the user to play games with low settings.
The word is still out on the battery. It is exactly the same battery as in the 2010 model. Real world usage may put them at about equal run times give or take a bit. The previous 10 hour battery time was an over inflated unrealistic rating as very few people would ever use a laptop in the way the test was performed. Most people I know would get somewhere between 4 hours and 7 hours on the 210 MBP so really YMMV. I think in the overall picture we will find battery life to be about equal.
The word is still out on the gpu as well. Some say it is garbage based on their previous knowledge of 4 year old Intel gpu's. Nothing stays the same for 4 years in this industry. Intel has learned a lot about gpu's and the Intel 3000 seems to be in the same class as the Nvidia 320. Some things are slower and some things may be faster. Regardless of individual framerates the fact is both are integrated low end gpu's that force the user to play games with low settings.
On the re-sale angle.... I wouldn't let that drive me, personally. Presuming the 2010 suits your needs (and it sounds like it would), then you already have around $200 saved. IF you sell it in a year, you can add that $200 to the price you get for it, which seems like it would probably bring it up to about the same, right? If you don't sell it, you have your ~$200 saved instead of invested in a computer that you aren't really using (to full capacity).
Just another way to look at it. In the end you can probably find a good way to "justify" any one of the three decisions, so it comes down to you picking one.
I had some similar thoughts recently as I had got a 2010 13" about a month ago, and could probably exchange if I begged nicely. But... it took me two tries to get a nice, smooth shell on this one, and I'm not sure I want to go through that again. In the end I think the 2010 works for my uses, and having a nice top/bottom case will probably be more noticable to me than the difference between 2010 and 2011. And then too, I really would like a completely different case design and an anti-glare screen, or maybe an Air after they update them... or a 15" if I really get more into video.....
So, I'm keeping the 2010 for now, and will refine my mission while Apple potentially re-designs the computer for 2012.
But again, you could make a case for any one of your choices! (I just decided to respond because I hate "living my life for re-sale" -- it always makes me think my stuff is just temporarily for me and ultimately for the next person, which bugs me -- and so that caught my eye.)
Miss Terri
PS: Or, if you want to spend the saved $200 (or however much it was exactly - sorry, I can't remember), what about getting an SSD for the 2010? Maybe that would make more everyday difference in zippiness, depending on what you typically use it for.
Just another way to look at it. In the end you can probably find a good way to "justify" any one of the three decisions, so it comes down to you picking one.
I had some similar thoughts recently as I had got a 2010 13" about a month ago, and could probably exchange if I begged nicely. But... it took me two tries to get a nice, smooth shell on this one, and I'm not sure I want to go through that again. In the end I think the 2010 works for my uses, and having a nice top/bottom case will probably be more noticable to me than the difference between 2010 and 2011. And then too, I really would like a completely different case design and an anti-glare screen, or maybe an Air after they update them... or a 15" if I really get more into video.....
So, I'm keeping the 2010 for now, and will refine my mission while Apple potentially re-designs the computer for 2012.
But again, you could make a case for any one of your choices! (I just decided to respond because I hate "living my life for re-sale" -- it always makes me think my stuff is just temporarily for me and ultimately for the next person, which bugs me -- and so that caught my eye.)
Miss Terri
PS: Or, if you want to spend the saved $200 (or however much it was exactly - sorry, I can't remember), what about getting an SSD for the 2010? Maybe that would make more everyday difference in zippiness, depending on what you typically use it for.
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