Best Bang for $ Macbook 15 inch Right Now?

[foem]

Either refurb or new. Currently have 2.4ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Unibody 2008 I think. Any advice welcome. Looking for best price to performance ratio.

My main focus is doing audio (Ableton Live) using big sample libraries and CPU intensive plugins.

Also I plan on buying an internal SSD (3rd party).



I'm looking at this one right now:

MacBook Pro 15" 2.0GHz quad-core i7 (Configure Me)


Apple - Model Z0LZ
ExperCom Product #: EX739228
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB L3 Cache
Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384MB DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5 memory
8x SuperDrive
8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB Expercom RAM
500GB SATA (5400-rpm) Apple Drive
15-inch Glossy 1440x900
$1,849.00

 

[Hellhammer]

I would get the hi-res screen, it will be useful with audio apps as they tend to take up a lot screen estate. Other than that, the MBP you listed seems pretty solid.

 

[halledise]

I would get the hi-res screen, it will be useful with audio apps as they tend to take up a lot screen estate. Other than that, the MBP you listed seems pretty solid.

and if you're going to go with hi-res, make sure it's the anti-glare/matte one - for a few extra $ you'll be zoo glad you did

 

[foem]

Thanks for the advice. I will be using an external monitor a lot of the time but hi-res could be handy for when I'm not. Though at the highest resolution on a 15 inch monitor, I am definitely going to need my reading glasses...

 

[spacepower7]

Agree with the two above, especially if doing live work.