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Big Dilemma: Refurbished 2.6 vs. Clearance 2.5

P

parenthetic

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 18, 2008
6
0
Hey guys, like most designers/pros around here, I was completely dissatisfied with the new machines, and will now be buying an old MBP. In short, my dilemma is this:

($1799):
REFURBISHED MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display
200GB hard drive; 7200 rpm <------------Superior Drive Speed

or

($1599)
CLEARANCE MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display
250GB hard drive <------------------More Drive Space


I'm a graphic designer and primarily run Illustrator, Indesign and Photoshop. The major differences are in price ($1799 vs $1599) and hard-drive speed and size (see above). What do you think? Again I hate to invest in a potentially faulty GPU but with Apple Care I'm not too worried. Any help would be appreciated as I need to buy before these are all snatched up!
 
I assume the graphics processors are identical?

If that's the case, either one should be fine. The faster drive speed will help, but it isn't the only limiting factor on speed. You have to ask yourself whether it is worth the extra two hundred dollars. Both should be good machines for graphic-intensive apps, and if you find you need a speed-boost sometime later, a RAM upgrade might be a cheaper way to satisfy that.
 
Both machines are identical save the aforementioned differences. I'll upgrade the ram either way.
 
The refurbished unit is a little overpriced in comparison in my opinion. You will not see a noticeable difference between a 2.5 and 2.6 on the same chipset. If you are moving big files in photoshop and etc. you will see faster times from the 7200rpm drive. Its just too bad that you can't easily replace the drive yourself because a 320gb 7200rpm and 500gb 5400rpm are significantly cheaper than the 200 increase between the two.

I have saw the refurbished and they like just like the new units do with the full warranty. I think it really just comes down to if you think you will benefit from the faster speed of the drive and if its worth the 200 to you.

I have personally found it in my best interest to go with the smaller drive with the higher rpm. All of my Macbook Pros I have went that direction. I had the 7200 rpm in my Santa Rosa 2.4. I didn't see a noticeable difference in speed between it and the 2.6 with the 7200rpm that I received as a warranty replacement for my 2.4.
 
Is the 7200rpm really that much better? My concern is that I'd like to keep my music locally on the MBP and not an external, as I have like 80gbs of music. 50 extra gigs would help with space but not if it drastically slows my work. Does it void your Apple Care warranty to replace the drive? Will they do it for you?
 
I own the 2.5 stock. Haven't even upped the RAM ... yet.

My plan is to replace the HD with something 500gb or 1 tb (Once they start making them.)

At that point I'm going to up to 4gb ram too.

I'm telling you this to let you know that you can buy the 2.5, save some cash and get better things later. I doubt the gains for .1 is really going to be substantial.

You are also allowed to replace parts as long as you don't break anything in the process.

7200 is nice, but are you going to be moving large files (or bunches of small files) often? Often enough to justify the extra money?
 
Refurbished is TOTALY overpriced!

here you go- $1779 for new one in a box.

Actually a day ago I was considering $200 difference between 2.4 and 2.5 but decided that I am OK with 2.4. So check amazon.com they might still have 2.5 for $1644 (with rebate) back.
 
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parenthetic said:
Is the 7200rpm really that much better? My concern is that I'd like to keep my music locally on the MBP and not an external, as I have like 80gbs of music. 50 extra gigs would help with space but not if it drastically slows my work. Does it void your Apple Care warranty to replace the drive? Will they do it for you?
Click to expand...

Here are the test results.

At some point 2.4 with 7200 are better than 2.5 model with slower drive.
 
So it sounds like 2.5? As long as this thing is powerful enough/fast enough to be my PRIMARY system. I like the bigger hard drive, albeit slower. Any objections?
 
For $200 you can upgrade a memory to 4GB (now) and a hard drive (later (after few months) when you will feel OK about taking apart not so new and fresh mbp :p). and there will be few bucks left for 6 pack if you are lucky! :D
 
I would never ever again buy a refurbished!
They say its the same in warranty questions, but they will never replace a faulty system as it is a refurb and therefor a "unique" machine whichfor there is no replacement!
 
parenthetic said:
So it sounds like 2.5? As long as this thing is powerful enough/fast enough to be my PRIMARY system. I like the bigger hard drive, albeit slower. Any objections?
Click to expand...

Just get the 2.5 and upgrade the RAM and HDD later if you need it.
 
Kaupa said:
I would never ever again buy a refurbished!
They say its the same in warranty questions, but they will never replace a faulty system as it is a refurb and therefor a "unique" machine whichfor there is no replacement!
Click to expand...
That sucks. I wouldn't mind refurbished iPod, but mac laptop seems too much to lose if no warranty.
 
johnsy said:
That sucks. I wouldn't mind refurbished iPod, but mac laptop seems too much to lose if no warranty.
Click to expand...

All refurbished and clearance computers come with 1-year warranty and can be extended with AppleCare.

Kaupa, no idea what you're talking about.
 
alphaod said:
All refurbished and clearance computers come with 1-year warranty and can be extended with AppleCare.

Kaupa, no idea what you're talking about.
Click to expand...


I´ll tell you!
I got a SR Merom 2,4 MBP in April this year. It was refurbished. In the next few month till now its had all kinds of failures. First a clickering fan was replaced together with the ugly yellowish screen. A few weeks later the logicboard was replaced due to a hardware error. Then the trackpad stopped working and I got a new trackpad 2 weeks ago. When I took the machine up from the repair I realized that 10 keys were out of function. I went back and the genius also told me to change the bottom case because the release button loses color. Meanwhile the battery drains out some ugly black stuff.
I tell you, there is no chance to get the machine replaced! They will allways and ever repair that thing until you are out of warranty! I heard about 3 times that I shouldnt have bought a refurb one.
Finally I got apple to take the whole machine back and I´ll get a full refund which I just bought a brandnew 2,5 ghz Penryn for:)
But it was a real nihgtmare and costs hours and hours on the phone and on the way to the apple genius which nobody will pay for!
 
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